This is Spinal Tap Blu-ray

This is Spinal Tap

 (1984)

Comedy | Music



A spoof about a filmmaker making a documentary about a once-famous, now almost forgotten British heavy metal band returning to the United States after 17 years for a concert tour.

Turn your receiver to 11.1

For more details about This is Spinal Tap on Blu-ray, see the This is Spinal Tap Blu-ray Review

Starring: Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, Tony Hendra
Director: Rob Reiner

This is Spinal Tap Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


This is Spinal Tap arrives on Blu-ray with an accurate-to-the-source 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer. Shot on 16mm film, viewers shouldn't expect This is Spinal Tap to look like a brand new movie fresh out of the local multiplex, and this Blu-ray delivers a suitable image that conveys the intended look about as well as can be expected. There's a glowing aura to parts of the picture, some of it looking artificially bright with several objects accompanied by a noticeable halo effect, for instance Bobbi Flekman's sweater as seen in chapter eight. Fine detail suffices considering the source; nothing manages to stand out but clothing, instruments, and human faces look acceptably good considering the source. Colors, too, are adequate. None particularly stand out from the pack, save for a few scattered greens in nature, but for the most part, hues neither jump off the screen nor appear overly faded. The transfer does include some artifacts throughout, though nothing too terribly heavy that would otherwise interfere with the picture. Grain is noticeable but not all that heavy, and noise buzzes about some of the brightest backdrops. Flesh tones are fine, with only some scattered faces sometimes appearing too red, and blacks are suitably good for the source. It's obvious that the This is Spinal Tap is meant to look a bit unpolished as another factor in creating a believable documentary feel. Remembering that the movie can only look so good, and intentionally so, is key to recognizing the quality of MGM's transfer that makes for the best home video presentation yet of This is Spinal Tap.

This is Spinal Tap Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


This is Spinal Tap blares on Blu-ray with a loud and powerful DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The music as heard during the concert sequences is strong and precise; every speaker oozes with guitar riffs and the pounding of the keyboard. The subwoofer, too, enjoys the work of the bass guitar and drums that tend to rattle the chest cavity and scramble the brain. It's not just delivered with a hefty volume at reference level, but also with a fantastic clarity that, altogether, manages to fool the listener into believing the living room has magically transformed into the front row of a Spinal Tap concert. Even the more reserved behind-the-scenes sequences work wonderfully thanks to this lossless soundtrack. An interview sequence featuring the band and DiBergi delivers clear dialogue and plenty of atmospheric sound effects, some of which compete with the spoken word as the most noticeable trait of the scene. It's not a production flaw but rather another feather in the cap of the realistic, unrehearsed feel of the movie where fictitious production values and pinpoint sound capture and placement play second fiddle to capturing the subject material. Generally, though, the track excels during the concerts and does all that is asked of it everywhere else, and by extension this Blu-ray lossless offering makes for a fine all-around listen.

This is Spinal Tap Blu-ray, News and Updates

• MGM Re-Announces Spinal Tap Blu-ray - June 16, 2009


• This is Spinal Tap Delayed - November 9, 2008


• Specs for This Is Spinal Tap Revealed - October 6, 2008


• This is Spinal Tap Heading to Blu-ray - October 1, 2008

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