41 isn’t a typical anniversary to celebrate, but the rock gods of This Is Spinal Tap have never done anything the normal way. Their amps go up to 11, which is one higher than 10. Why shouldn’t they celebrate 41 years—it’s one more than 40!
The guys are officially coming back to theaters (if they can just find the damn door) on July 5. Today, Bleecker Street released a new trailer for what the studio promises is the “remastered, remixed, and definitive version” of the classic rockumentary, complete with all the performances of “Sex Farm,” battles over puppet billing, backstage antics, and dead drummers you already know and love.
Directed by Rob Reiner, the 1984 film starred Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean as a bumbling heavy metal band trying to stage a comeback. While the band’s comeback was met with a mixed reception the first time around (“Stonehenge” didn’t go over well due to the slight issue with the monument’s size, but “Sex Farm” became a major hit in Japan), it’s all happening for them now. This summer’s re-release precedes Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, a real movie that’s coming to theaters September 12.
Guest, Shearer, and McKean will all reprise their roles for the legacyquel, which will reportedly see the band reunite for a new concert after a 15-year hiatus. Reiner will also return to both direct and appear as on-screen documentarian Martin “Marty” DiBergi. High profile cameos include Elton John, Trisha Yearwood, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Fran Drescher, John Michael Higgins, Paul Shaffer, and more. Drummers might have been harmed in the making of the film.
You can check out a teaser for Spinal Tap II below. If you’re trying to catch it this fall in Boston, just don’t expect the screenings to get too rowdy. We’ve heard it’s not a big college town.
