Editing This Is Spinal Tap (section)

===Contemporaneous  reviews===
[[File:Spinal Tap The Gazette Thu Apr 19 1984.jpg|thumb|Newspaper article from 1984]]
At the time of its release, [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film four out of four and wrote "''This Is Spinal Tap'' is one of the funniest, most intelligent, most original films of the year. The satire has a deft, wicked touch. Spinal Tap is not that much worse than, not that much different from, some successful rock bands."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19850301/REVIEWS/503010301/1023 |title=''This Is Spinal Tap'' Movie Reviews |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun Times]] |access-date=June 11, 2010 |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606053541/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19850301%2FREVIEWS%2F503010301%2F1023 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Ebert later placed the film on his ten best list of 1984 and would later include it in his Great Movies list in 2001 where he called it "one of the funniest movies ever made".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041215/COMMENTARY/41215001/1023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051113143205/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20041215%2FCOMMENTARY%2F41215001%2F1023 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 13, 2005 |title=Ebert's 10 Best Lists: 1967 to Present |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun Times]] |access-date=June 11, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-this-is-spinal-tap-1984 |title=''This Is Spinal Tap'' Movie Review |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun Times]] |access-date=June 11, 2010 |archive-date=September 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921015131/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-this-is-spinal-tap-1984 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' also awarded four out of four, writing, "It is so well done, in fact, that unless you are clued in beforehand, it might take you a while to realize that the rock group under dissection in ''This Is Spinal Tap'' does not really exist."<ref>[[Gene Siskel|Siskel, Gene]] (March 29, 1984). "'Spinal Tap' a smashing rock parody". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 5, p. 12.</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised it as "a witty, mischievous satire, and it's obviously a labor of love."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Maslin |first=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |date=March 2, 1984 |title=Film: 'This Is Spinal Tap,' a Mock Documentary |journal=[[The New York Times]] |page=C6}}</ref>

Critics praised the film not only for its satire of the rollercoaster lifestyles of rock stars but also for its take on the non-fiction film genre. David Ansen from ''[[Newsweek]]'' called the film "a satire of the documentary form itself, complete with perfectly faded clips from old TV shows of the band in its mod and flower-child incarnations".<ref name="bestinshow">{{cite book |last=Muir |first=John |title=Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest and Company |publisher=Applause Theatre & Cinema Books |year=2004 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bestinshowfilmso00muir/page/31 31] |isbn=9781557836090 |url=https://archive.org/details/bestinshowfilmso00muir | url-access = registration}}</ref>

Even with cameos from [[Anjelica Huston]], [[Billy Crystal]] and [[Patrick Macnee]], ''Spinal Tap'' still managed to trick many of its moviegoers into believing the band existed. Reiner observed that "when ''Spinal Tap'' initially came out, everybody thought it was a real band... the reason it did go over everybody's head was that it was very close to home".<ref name="newsweek">{{cite book |last=Yabroff |first=Jennie |title=The Real Spinal Tap |publisher=[[Newsweek]] |year=2009}}</ref>