F-0218

Title:

Trainspotting

Category:

S

Produced:

1996

Country:

UK

Released:

Film: Feb 1996 (UK); May 1996 (France, Cannes Film Festival); Jul 1996 (USA)
DVD: Mar 1998; Apr 2004 (2-DVD)
VHS: Feb 1998
Soundtrack: Jul 1996 (CD, MC)

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writer:

Irvine Welsh (novel); John Hodge (screenplay)

Actors:

Ewan McGregor (Renton); Ewen Bremner (Spud); Jonny Lee Miller (Sick Boy); Kevin McKidd (Tommy); Robert Carlyle (Begbie); Kelly Macdonald (Diane); Peter Mullan (Swanney); James Cosmo (Mr. Renton); Eileen Nicholas (Mrs. Renton); Susan Vidler (Allison); Pauline Lynch (Lizzy); Shirley Henderson (Gail); Stuart McQuarrie (Gavin / US Tourist); Irvine Welsh (Mikey Forrester); Dale Winton (Game Show Host)

Description:

A wild, freeform, Rabelaisian trip through the darkest recesses of Edinburgh low-life, focusing on Mark Renton and his attempt to give up his heroin habit, and how the latter affects his relationship with family and friends: Sean Connery wannabe Sick Boy, dimbulb Spud, psycho Begbie, 14-year-old girlfriend Diane, and clean-cut athlete Tommy, who's never touched drugs but can't help being curious about them... (Michael Brooke)

A group of disaffected Scottish youths turn to heroin to escape the banalities of modern-day existence. Then, they begin to suffer the consequences and discover that there are no easy solutions to the inherent loneliness and pain of life. (Tad Dibbern)

With its hallucinatory visions of crawling dead babies and a grungy plunge into the filthiest toilet in Scotland, you might not think Trainspotting could have been one of the best movies of 1996, but Danny Boyle's film about unrepentant heroin addicts in Edinburgh is all that and more. That doesn't make it everybody's cup of tea (so unsuspecting viewers beware), but the film's blend of hyperkinetic humor and real-life horror is constantly fascinating, and the entire cast (led by Ewan McGregor and Full Monty star Robert Carlyle) bursts off of the screen in a supernova of outrageous energy. Adapted by John Hodge from the acclaimed novel by Irving Welsh, the film was a phenomenal hit in England, Scotland, and (to a lesser extent) the U.S. For all of its comedic vitality and invigorating filmmaking, the movie is no ode to heroin, nor is it a straight-laced cautionary tale. Trainspotting is just a very honest and well-made film about the nature of addiction, and it doesn't pull any punches when it is time to show the alternating pleasure and pain of substance abuse. (Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com)

From the director of 28 DAYS LATER ... The motion picture sensation that wowed critics and audiences nationwide, TRAINSPOTTING delivers a wild mix of rebellious action and wicked humor! It's the story of four friends as they try to make it in the world on their own terms ... and who end up planning the ultimate scam! Powered by an outstanding cast of stars including Ewan McGregor (BIG FISH, STAR WARS EPISODES I, II & III) Robert Carlyle (THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, THE FULL MONTY) and Jonny Lee Miller (DRACULA 2000, MANSFIELD PARK), and a high-energy soundtrack, TRAINSPOTTING is spectacular, groundbreaking entertainment! (Amazon.com)

Language:

English

TT:

94 min (Film, DVD, VHS) / 89 min (DVD - UK)

J.S. Bach's Music:

Chorale Prelude Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BWV 727
Gabor Lehotka (Organ)

Format:

Film: Color, Dolby Digital
DVD: (Anamorphic, Collector's Edition, Color, Widescreen, NTSC, Region 1) | (Closed-captioned, Color, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC, Region 1) | (Anamorphic, Full Screen, PAL, Region 2) | (PAL, Region 2] | (PAL, German, Region 2] | (PAL, Widescreen, Region 2) | (PAL, Widescreen, Region 2, UK) | (NTSC, Dolby, Full Screen, Region: Region 1)
VHS: (Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC) | (PAL) | (PAL, German]
Soundtrack: CD; MC

Company:

Film: Channel Four Films; Figment Films; Polygram Filmed Entertainment; The Noel Gay Motion Picture Company
DVD: Miramax Home Entertainment; Walt Disney Video; Universal
VHS: Walt Disney Video
Soundtrack: Capitol [CD, MC]

Comments:

Watch selections:

Buy movie at:

DVD: Amazon.com [2-DVD] | Amazon.com | Amazon.com [Region 2] | Amazon.com [Region 2] | Amazon.com [German, Region 2] | Amazon.com [German, Region 2] | Amazon.com [Region 2 - UK] | Amazon.com
VHS: Amazon.com | Amazon.com [PAL] | Amazon.com [PAL] | Amazon.com [PAL] | Amazon.com [PAL] | Amazon.com [PAL, German] | Amazon.com
Soundtrack: Amazon.com [CD] | Amazon.com [MC]

Source/Links: IMDB
Contributor: Aryeh Oron (November 2007)