“This Is Spinal Tap”: Movies I Love, Part XXXII
Posted: November 18th, 2010 | Filed under: Cinema, Ruminations | 3 Comments »
I sit here writing with a bemused smile on my face that will not go away.
How many times have I watched this incredibly funny satire? And, still, every time, can’t stop laughing.
“This Is Spinal Tap” is quite simply the greatest film ever made about rock & roll.
Period. I shall not argue with you.
And, is as clever and funny and penetrating a satire as I’ve ever seen. On film. In print. Or elsewhere.
Period. I shall not argue with you.
Let’s give credit where it’s due. Rob Reiner (Marty Dibergi), Christopher Plummer (Nigel Tufnel), Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins) and Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls). They all have writing credits, though much of the film, which includes lots of amazing cameos, was improvised.
Here’s a video with several clips:
It’s really silly for me to go into why this so good. So I shan’t. If you’ve seen it, you know. It’s time to watch it again. If you haven’t seen it, today is the time to go rent it, or download it, and let the humor cut through the gray and damp.
This is brilliance, the lyrics to “Stonehenge” for your approval.
Spoken Intro: In ancient times…/ Hundreds of years before the dawn of history/ Lived a strange race of people… the Druids/ No one knows who they were or what they were doing/ But their legacy remains/ Hewn into the living rock… Of Stonehenge
Stonehenge! Where the demons dwell/ Where the banshees live and they do live well/ Stonehenge! Where a man’s a man
And the children dance to the Pipes of Pan
Hey!
Stonehenge! ‘Tis a magic place/ Where the moon doth rise with a dragon’s face/ Stonehenge! Where the virgins lie
And the prayers of devils fill the midnight sky/ And you my love, won’t you take my hand?/ We’ll go back in time to that mystic land/ Where the dew drops cry and the cats meow/ I will take you there, I will show you how
Oh!
Spoken: And oh how they danced/ The little children of Stonehenge/ Beneath the haunted moon/ For fear that daybreak might come too soon
And where are they now?/ The little children of Stonehenge/ And what would they say to us?/ If we were here… tonight
Understand there is also a certain poignancy to the film that is beyond humor. There was tragedy too.
“as clever and funny and penetrating a satire as I’ve ever seen. On film.”
Not so fast my friend. As great as Spinal Tap is it can not top Dr. Strangelove.
Note my very specific use of words. Didn’t say it was the best, just that there was none better. Agree. Kubrick’s film is a masterpiece, one of my favorites, the 5th in the Movies I Love series here, where, without going back and reading, I probably called it the greatest satire on film.
Touche’.