"Rock films, or rock bands for that matter, were never looked at quite the same way after this film was released. Rob Reiner, er, Marty DiBergi gets the director credit, but somehow I feel the combined improvisational talent of Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer has an awful lot to do with the sublime content within. Yes, it’s funny, but it’s also as painful as any Bergman epic. Such is life."

"Sadly, this Criterion edition isn’t available anymore on DVD, but back in the nineties this was my quintessential laserdisc (along with the Criterion lasers for Boogie Nights and Taxi Driver). This was the only place you could get a commentary track by Rob Reiner as well as an alternate commentary track with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer out of character. It also contained the original twenty-minute demo reel Spinal Tap: The Final Tour and the band’s first performance on TV five years before making the film. Thank God I still have my laserdisc player!"

"Whenever I watch this movie, I want to go out with my son and fire off an Estes rocket in the back yard. I love this movie. I love what it stands for — exploring the unknown and our deepest fears. I love the era: the space race with the Russians. I love the heroism — Chuck Yeager had the biggest pair of balls of any man. Ever! The greatest lesson this movie teaches is the balance of tone. Obviously it has some incredible drama and action, but it also has straight up comedy. It’s really hard to juggle those three things in one movie. Harry Shearer and Jeff Goldblum are the perfectly understated comic relief guys. Fred Ward, who I got to work with in Naked Gun 33 1/3, is hilarious. This movie has it all."