'Spinal Tap' DVD Will Rock Your World

<A HREF="http://contests.channel2000.com/services/contests/questions.cfm?id=4125">Enter Our Spinal Tap Contest!</A><p /><A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/tims-bio.html"><IMG SRC="/sh/images/editorial/tim_lammers.jpg" ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="120" HEIGHT="90" BORDER="0"></A>If you're expecting a mind-blowing encore from cinema's most endearing heavy metal band, Spinal Tap, then your world is about to be rocked with the release of their "rockumentary," "<A HREF="http://www.spinaltap.com">This Is Spinal Tap</A>" on DVD.<p /><P>Granted, I'm partial to mockumentary movies -- comedies told in documentary format. In my opinion, they're among the funniest films out there. Ironically, what makes them funny is the fact that they are painfully real. But that's what makes them so endearing. <P> <IMG SRC="http://images.ibsys.com/2000/0908/69000.jpg" WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="150" ALT="Derek Smalls, Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="5" BORDER="0">Really, there are no illusions here. Whether or not you're a rocker like those in "Spinal Tap," or a community theater actor dreaming of Broadway in "Waiting For Guffman" (co-written and directed by Tap guitarist Christopher Guest), the films are easy to relate to because the emotions that the characters experience are so real.<p /><P>Given the superior visual quality in the DVD format, seeing "Spinal Tap" alone would have been enough to satisfy me. But what puts this DVD release over the top -- and what makes it one of the best releases since the format debuted -- is the endless amount of extra features. <P> Most discs contain audio commentary track by the filmmakers and actors, which provide an in-depth, fact-filled look at the movie for the most diehard cinephiles. What makes the "Spinal Tap" DVD different is that the commentary is <I>really</I> commentary. Forget about co-stars Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer. Their alter egos, Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins and Derek Smalls, are at the helm of the DVD's commentary track. Even the menu page contains hilarious musings from the trio.<p /><P>Forget about "what went into this shot" and "how we prepared for this" sort of talk. The fictional bandmates take playfully funny jabs at just about everybody and everything in the movie, including the faux documentary's director, Marti DeBergi (Rob Reiner).<p /><P><IMG SRC="http://images.ibsys.com/2000/0908/68760.jpg" WIDTH="130" HEIGHT="200" ALT="Spinal Tap DVD" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="5" BORDER="0">Like they've done in the past with concert appearances, recordings, TV specials and the like, the commentary by Spinal Tap is essentially an extension of the movie -- since the characters in 2000 looking back on the 1984 story. It's a wonderful parallel universe to be a part of. I can't imagine how much fun it must have been for Guest, McKean and Shearer.<p /><P>Unless you were fortunate enough to grab the CD-ROM release of the film (which featured some additional footage) a few years back from Voyager, what will be completely new to fans is more than an hour of "lost footage" scenes, an interview with DeBergi today, theatrical trailers and TV commercials (including the hilarious Metalhouse Records' "Heavy Metal Memories" spot).<p /><P>Even more features extend the "realism" of the band, including "appearances" on a Mike Douglas-like "Joe Franklin Show," and a Beatlesque, black-and-white "Flower People" press conference. Better yet are four music videos from the band, including the vintage tunes from the film, "Gimme Some Money" and "(Listen to the) Flower People."<p /><P> Where we were treated only to brief clips of the songs in the film, we get the full version on DVD. Not only do they capture the sounds and look of the '60s and '70s, I get the feeling that these songs would have actually been hits if they had come out at the time.<p /><P>On a scale of 1 to 10, this DVD gets an 11 (it's been said before, I'm sure, but I couldn't resist).<p /><H3>Spinal Tap Dolls Taking Stage</H3> Forget about going up to "11." Spinal Tap is about to appear in 12-inch form as a highly detailed set of dolls from <A HREF="http://secure.sideshowtoy.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/sideshow/cgi/web_store.cgi?page=info/spineprev.html">Sideshow Toy</A>, the toy company that has made waves with its <A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/stories/atthemovies-20000505-152315.html ">Universal Monsters</A> action figure line.<p /><P><IMG SRC="http://images.ibsys.com/2000/0707/30937.jpg" WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="138" ALT="12-inch dolls of Derek, Nigel and David" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="5" BORDER="0">"It was a great coup for us because I'm a fan and half the people here at Sideshow are fans," Mat Falls told me in a recent interview. As Sideshow's 3-D design director, Falls sculpted the dolls while his colleague, Tom Gillaland, supervised production and served as the dolls' painter.<p /><P>Happy heavy metal memories of the movie, of course, made the job that much more fun to work on. "I've been a fan of the film since it came out -- the music was the sort of stuff I used to listen to in high school," Gillaland said.<p /><P>Throughout the project, Falls and his production partner Ken Morgan met with "the band" to discuss the project and get approval for the look. Of course, then they were meeting with actors Guest, McKean and Shearer, but the thoughts of the guys in their "Tap" mode kept popping up in Falls' mind.<p /><P>"You try to be professional, but every once in a while the thought came up, 'Nigel Tufnel is sitting right in front of me!' Without the wig, of course," he said, laughing.<p /><P><IMG SRC="http://images.ibsys.com/2000/0908/68752.jpg" WIDTH="150" HEIGHT="200" ALT="David St. Hubbins" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="5" BORDER="0">"But you have to admit, it is tough being professional when you consider how accomplished these actors are. They are not only film performers, but they go out and perform music on top of that. That's mind blowing. And they have their individual personas away from 'Spinal Tap.'"<p /><P>The dolls, dressed for success, are wearing their costumes from the film's opening number, "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" and are equipped with guitars, miniature album sleeve reproductions, guitar pick-shaped stands and accessories unique to each band member in the movie.<p /><P>Nigel has an amp knob that goes to 11, David has girlfriend Jeanine's astrological drawing pad, and Derek has the infamous cucumber that caused a commotion in the film's airport metal detector scene. Now whether or not that prop is anatomically correct ...<p /><P>"That's something that you'll have to find out for yourself," Gillaland said, laughing.<p /><P><IMG SRC="http://images.ibsys.com/2000/0908/68754.jpg" WIDTH="150" HEIGHT="200" ALT="Derek Smalls" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="5" BORDER="0">Gillaland said that when Falls showed them the completed dolls for the first time, excitement was buzzing in the air. "They were overwhelmed when they saw the dolls together with the wardrobe and guitars," Gillaland said.<p /><P>"In fact, they were so excited that they said they would be using the dolls to represent them in their publicity photos. That's the ultimate validation for us as artists to have them say that."<p /><P>And the band has every reason in the world to be excited. Not only do the dolls have 20 points of articulation for flexible posing, they are incredibly detailed in their look.<p /><P>The faces aren't mere reproductions of the characters; they actually capture each of the members' personalities. In particular, Nigel's look of apprehension and confusion is represented perfectly.<p /><P><IMG SRC="http://images.ibsys.com/2000/0908/68757.jpg" WIDTH="150" HEIGHT="200" ALT="Nigel Tufnel" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="5" BORDER="0">"That idea was Chris Guest's," Falls said. "He was the only one who had a change from the original look. He said it wasn't our fault and that we had done a wonderful job, he just didn't want the original look to represent him. So we toned it down to that 'vacant Nigel look' that he is famous for."<p /><P>Like the making of the movie with director Reiner and crew, and like the band performing on stage in their series of real-life concerts, Gillaland stressed that it takes teamwork to get a project like this done. In addition to Falls, he credits the whole team at Sideshow for bringing Spinal Tap -- as well as their other toy lines -- to life.<p /><P>"Putting the dolls together takes a team," Gillaland said. "There's the sculptor, the designer, the model builder, mold makers and many others -- all of these people are just as important as the next in making this happen. The team that we work with is the best, and I wouldn't want to work with anyone else."<p /><P>The "Spinal Tap" dolls are scheduled to hit the shelves in late September to early October. And those already looking for an encore will be happy to know that a second series is already in the works. In addition to new costumes, the dolls will have sound chips recorded by the band members, featuring lines from the movie.<p /><UL> To read past @ The Movies columns, click <A HREF="/sh/entertainment/atthemovies/archive.html">here</A>. </UL> <H5><CENTER>To have it delivered right to your e-mail box for free, <A HREF=" http://treets.channel4000.com/services/treetlist.cfm?sitekey=C4K">click here</A>.</H5></CENTER>