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49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Death Pony Tosses its Bloody Mane!, January 27, 2004
This review is from: The Return of Spinal Tap (DVD)
While nothing, absolutely nothing, can compete with the original "This is Spinal Tap" for comedic genius, this DVD is a brilliant work in it's own right. While it is true that the majority (maybe 75 percent or so) of the film is a live show shot in the Royal Albert Hall in 1992, there are numerous interludes and links to keep the satire quotient pegged. All in all the music is performed well, but some of the newer materiel falls a bit flat compared to the "Smell the Glove" set. Songs like "Cash on Delivery" and "Clam Caravan", while vaguely amusing are not up to the normal Tap standards (although Nigel playing the clarinet is quite a sight), and the Rap version of "Sex Farm" was just plain annoying. Having said that, there are moments of inspired brilliance here. During "Stonehenge" they have the opposite problem they had in the original...the monument is too huge to get in the theatre. During "Big Bottom" all three play basses, which is not only funny to think about, but very funny to actually hear. The guitar pyrotechnics and way over the top soloing of Nigel Tufnel continue in "Diva Fever", a forgettable song without the solo. During this particular solo (during which Derek takes a cab and gets a huge meal at a restaurant, while David has a cucumber facial and pedicure) Nigel plays his guitars by throwing horseshoes at them, juggling while playing with his feet, etc. Interspersed with the concert footage are numerous links, most of which are utterly brilliant. We learn that Nigel has invented a folding wine glass (he still needs the rubber hinges), and has founded 'Travel for Animals', an organization that allows animals (in this case his ferret, Trevor) to travel with their own passport. We learn that Derek goes on his father's telephone sanitizing service ('Sani Phone') business calls with him to help make ends meet, and has invested in not one, but two unbuilt London apartments, the net result of which is that he has to stay in a hotel while in London. David and his wife now work part time at a summer soccer camp in California and she runs 'Potato Republic', a store specializing in itchy Irish clothing. Additionally, David and Nigel visit their boyhood home of Squatney, and reminisce. All of these bits are inspired as are the guest spots featuring things like Mel Torme singing "Big Bottom" and a member of Primus with a picture of Derek tattooed on his bicep. My only irritant with this DVD is that some of the songs are incorrectly named in the liner notes for some reason; for instance, "Big Bottom" is called "Bum Cakes" in the credits. All in all, I think this is a wonderful DVD, and is well worth the money. If you are a true Tap fan, you must own this!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
WARNING: only a mono transfer from the NTSC LaserDisc, June 8, 2007
I now own three different commercially distributed versions of "The Return Of Spinal Tap" and this "Region free NTSC" version is clearly the worst.
I can tell that it is only a MONO transfer to DVD from the NTSC LaserDisc - which is crazy, because I own the LaserDisc and it's in superb digital stereo (one the best live stereo recordings I've ever heard).
When I transferred my own LaserDisc to DVD-R I had to use my brother's PAL output player which does a dodgy inbuilt conversion of NTSC for PAL TV's. Using the right setting on the DVR for that type of input gives acceptable results, but the process does noticeably compromise the video quality - making it look slightly washed out.
So the "Region free NTSC" DVD does have a more appealing look about the video - the colour and contrast are more natural. The major flaw (aside from being mono) is that the soundtrack is very slightly, but very annoyingly, out of synch all the way through - even though it is perfect on my LaserDisc.
As others have pointed out there are several blatant or wildly wrong song titles on this DVD (eight wrong titles in all), and this fact combined with "The Folksmen" being called "The Folkman", indicates that whoever authored this DVD knows as little about the English language as they do about Spinal Tap - and they didn't look for the correct titles elsewhere.
The other available version of "The Return Of Spinal Tap" is on the "bonus" DVD in the 4 disc French made (Studio Canal) boxed set, which comes in a Marshall Stack display box. That version is clearly made from the original film stock - it looks fantastic, BUT it is only the first 60 minutes (side 1) of the 110 minutes on the LaserDisc version AND it lacks some of the post production title and audio editing as well as being in mono - but with a MUCH wimpier sound than the mono audio of the "Region free NTSC" DVD.
I have given up hope of finding an officially released stereo DVD equivalent to my "Return Of Spinal Tap" LaserDisc. It took a bit of work, but I was able to use Sony Vegas video editing software to perfectly synchronise the video from this dual layer mono DVD with the stereo audio from my LaserDisc. It's been well worth the effort to have the best possible version in the DVD format. Mind you, if the producers of this particular DVD had done their job right, then everyone else would be able to own a DVD of the exact same quality.
As it stands this "Region free NTSC" DVD is at best a two star version of what could have been a five star DVD.
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
"This Is Spinal Tap" went to 11..."Return of"... falls to 10, July 19, 2000
This Is Spinal Tap was (and still is) a hillarious and exremely entertaining cult classic directed by Rob Riener made in 1984. In The Return of Spinal Tap, a just as entertaining sequel was attempted and unfortunately didn't live up to the hype. My thoughts on this movie are that first of all that cheap "made for T.V. movie" look that made it seem very low budget (which it was...)Second, the name should've been Spinal Tap: Live considering %90 of it was concert footage. However, I wouldn't have fast frowarded through most of that footage if it contained more of vintage Tap gags and humor (which it lacks emmensly.) So if you like the music, then I suggest this movie. If not, rent it first. Though I did get a kick out of the amp capo and foldable wine glass (minous the rubber hinges....) invented by lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel. But because of the effort made to create a sequel I give it 3 out of 5 stars. Hardcore Tapheads will certainly give credit where credit is due for even the attempt to recreate one of the greatest movies ever This Is Spinal Tap!
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