This Is Spinal Tap turns it up to 4K UHD in new Criterion release

The new box set, including commentary and special features, will be available September 16.

By Emma Keates  |  June 16, 2025 | 4:46pm
Screenshot: Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers/YouTube
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Spinal Tap will never be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but This Is Spinal Tap—the very real documentary about the very real and extremely punctual band—is coming back to the Criterion Collection. Rob Reiner’s beloved mockumentary is getting a brand new 4K restoration, complete with newly mastered surround audio and a whole slew of bonus goodies.

The classic 1984 film follows a ragtag rock band—Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), and a rotating roster of ill-fated drummers—as they embark on their final tour, with trusty documentarian Marty DiBergi (Reiner) in tow. 

In addition to the 4K UHD edition, the multi-disc Criterion release also includes three separate audio commentaries: one with Guest, McKean, and Shearer, one with Reiner, producer Karen Murphy, and editors Robert Leighton and Kent Beyda, and one, in the spirit of the film, with Nigel Tufnel, Derek Smalls, and David St. Hubbins themselves. Other bonus features include a conversation between Reiner and Patton Oswalt (who hosted a virtual reunion with the band in support of Philadelphia Democrats in 2020), outtakes and deleted scenes, trailer and media appearances from the archives, an essay by critic Alex Pappademas, and a new cover by Dan Goldsworthy. 

The three-disc box set will set you back $49.95. (A two-disc edition without the 4K release costs $39.95). It comes out September 16—just in time to relive the madness and magic after watching Spinal Tap II: The End Continues in theaters September 12. 

 
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