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Trainspotting
Directed by Danny Boyle
Produced by Andrew Macdonald
Written by Novel:
Irvine Welsh
Screenplay:
John Hodge
Starring Ewan McGregor
Jonny Lee Miller
Robert Carlyle
Ewen Bremner
Kevin McKidd
Kelly Macdonald
Music by Damon Albarn, others
Cinematography Brian Tufano
Editing by Masahiro Hirakubo
Distributed by Miramax Films (USA)
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (worldwide)
Release date(s) February 23, 1996
Running time 94 min. Danny Boyle (born 20 October 1956 is an English director and Film producer, best known for his work on films such as Trainspotting Andrew MacDonald was also a pen name used by William Luther Pierce. Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958 Leith, Edinburgh) is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting For the footballers see John Hodge (Scottish footballer or John Hodge (English footballer. Ewan Gordon McGregor (born 31 March 1971 ËŒjuËÉ™n məˈgrÉ›gÉ™r is a Scottish Actor, who has had significant success in mainstream indie and art Jonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller (born 15 November 1972) is an English actor Robert Carlyle OBE (born April 14, 1961) is an acclaimed BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Award -winning Scottish Film Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish Actor. Bremner was born in Edinburgh, a son of two art teachers Kevin McKidd (born August 9 1973) is a Scottish actor best known for his roles as soldier/politician Lucius Vorenus on the joint HBO Kelly Macdonald (born February 23, 1976) is a Scottish Emmy Award - and Screen Actors Guild Award -winning actress Damon Albarn, ˈdɛɪmÉ™n ˈɔËÉ«bÉ‘Ën (b March 23 1968 in Leytonstone, London) is an English Singer-songwriter who gained fame as the lead The Trainspotting soundtracks are two Soundtrack albums released following the film version of Irvine Welsh 's novel of the same name PolyGram Filmed Entertainment ( PFE) (aka PolyGram Films and PolyGram Pictures) was a London -based Anglo - Dutch Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar)
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget £3,500,000
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Trainspotting is a 1996 Academy Award-nominated, BAFTA-winning cult classic film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for film television television craft video games and forms of animation A cult film is a Film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans. Danny Boyle (born 20 October 1956 is an English director and Film producer, best known for his work on films such as Trainspotting Trainspotting is the first novel by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh. Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958 Leith, Edinburgh) is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting The movie is about a group of heroin addicts in late 1980s Edinburgh and their passage through life. Heroin ( INN: diacetylmorphine, BAN: diamorphine) is a semi-synthetic opioid synthesized from Morphine, a derivative The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(É™rÉ™ Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. It stars Ewan McGregor as Mark Renton, Ewen Bremner as Spud, Jonny Lee Miller as Sick Boy, Kevin McKidd as Tommy, Robert Carlyle as Begbie and Kelly Macdonald as Dianne. Ewan Gordon McGregor (born 31 March 1971 ËŒjuËÉ™n məˈgrÉ›gÉ™r is a Scottish Actor, who has had significant success in mainstream indie and art Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish Actor. Bremner was born in Edinburgh, a son of two art teachers Jonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller (born 15 November 1972) is an English actor Kevin McKidd (born August 9 1973) is a Scottish actor best known for his roles as soldier/politician Lucius Vorenus on the joint HBO Robert Carlyle OBE (born April 14, 1961) is an acclaimed BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Award -winning Scottish Film Kelly Macdonald (born February 23, 1976) is a Scottish Emmy Award - and Screen Actors Guild Award -winning actress Author Irvine Welsh also has a brief appearance as hapless drug dealer Mikey Forrester. Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958 Leith, Edinburgh) is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting

The screenplay, by John Hodge, was adapted from Welsh's novel. For the footballers see John Hodge (Scottish footballer or John Hodge (English footballer. It does not contain any references to the non-drug-related hobby of train spotting. A railfan or rail buff ( American English) railway enthusiast or railway buff ( Australian / British English) or (often The title is a reference to an episode in the original book (not included in the film) where Begbie and Renton meet "an auld drunkard" in the disused Leith Central railway station, which they are visiting to use as a toilet. Formerly a municipal Burgh, Leith (Lìte is a district in the north of the city of Edinburgh at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is the port He asks them, in a weak attempt at a joke, if they are "trainspottin'". As they walk away, Renton realizes the drunk was Begbie's father (p309, Minerva edition).

Contents

Plot

Set in Edinburgh, the film begins with a narration from Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) as he and friend 'Spud' careen down Princes Street after shoplifting to raise cash, with security guards in pursuit. Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(É™rÉ™ Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. Ewan Gordon McGregor (born 31 March 1971 ËŒjuËÉ™n məˈgrÉ›gÉ™r is a Scottish Actor, who has had significant success in mainstream indie and art Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street Renton states that unlike people who "choose life" (a traditional family lifestyle with children and material possessions), he and his cronies have opted out of ambitious pursuits, preferring to live in a blissful, meaningless heroin-induced stupor. We are introduced to his friends: film buff Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), hanger-on Spud (Ewen Bremner), keen footballer Tommy (Kevin McKidd) and unpredictable thug Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Jonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller (born 15 November 1972) is an English actor Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish Actor. Bremner was born in Edinburgh, a son of two art teachers Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Kevin McKidd (born August 9 1973) is a Scottish actor best known for his roles as soldier/politician Lucius Vorenus on the joint HBO Robert Carlyle OBE (born April 14, 1961) is an acclaimed BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Award -winning Scottish Film Sick Boy, obsessed with Sean Connery, is also a heroin addict, as is the goofy, innocent Spud. Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born August 25 1930) is an Academy Award - Golden Globe - and BAFTA Award -winning Scottish In contrast, Tommy and Begbie openly criticise heroin use. Tommy lives an athletic, drug-free lifestyle. Begbie does not believe in heroin, but he is (ironically) a vicious drunk, eager to pick fights for the mere thrill of instigating physical altercations. This point is clearly illustrated when Begbie is seen casually throwing his pint glass off a bar balcony, injuring a woman and causing a large-scale pub brawl. The pint is an English unit of Volume or capacity in the imperial system and United States customary units.

Sick Boy and Renton decide to quit heroin, but struggle with temptation. A temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such tends to lead a person to Regret They join Tommy, Begbie and Spud in a dance club where all five men are in pursuit of sex. A nightclub (or "night club" or "club" is a drinking, dancing, and entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark The other three men have more complicated nights. After complaining about his relationship problems to his mates, Tommy takes Lizzie home for sex, wishing to make love while watching a porno video of themselves, until they discovered that their own tape was missing and instead, there was a football tape. An interpersonal relationship is a relatively long-term association between two or more people Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of Sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Renton had previously stolen their personal tape in the film while claiming to borrow the football video. Tommy believes he returned it to the video rental store accidentally - a point of contention with Lizzie that later leads to the end of their relationship. Spud drinks too much alcohol, as he's in a temporary abstinent relationship with his girlfriend, Gail. That night when Gail tries to have sex, Spud passes out and defecates on her bed. Renton flirts with a young girl named Dianne (Kelly Macdonald), who quickly dissects his bad chat-up lines, but takes him home anyway. Kelly Macdonald (born February 23, 1976) is a Scottish Emmy Award - and Screen Actors Guild Award -winning actress After the two have sex, Renton is forced to sleep on a couch outside her bedroom and discovers the next morning that he is actually at her parents' house and that she is under the age of sexual consent. See also Age of consent The ages of consent for sexual activity vary by jurisdiction across Europe. He tries to end their relationship, but she blackmails him into staying in contact lest she call the police and inform them of their one-night stand. Blackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public a family member or associates unless a demand made upon the

With their quest to be sober not as thrilling as hoped, Sick Boy, Spud and Renton decide to get back on heroin. The film shows a montage of drug taking and dirty dealings, while Renton narrates that he and his mates tried all drugs available to them. A montage sequence is a technique in Film editing in which a series of short shots is edited into a sequence to condense narrative Tommy is dumped by Lizzie and looks for solace in heroin like his mates, having been told it's "the ultimate hit. . . better than sex. " Renton's life of stealing and drugs continues, but quickly takes many turns for the worse - beginning with the screaming of Allison at their flat. The group discovers Allison's baby daughter, Dawn, has died. The cause of death is neglect while they were all present: an infant's distorted wails play over the preceding drug montage. All are shocked and feel terrible - Sick Boy, the father, most of all. A short time later, Renton and Spud are caught stealing from a department store (in a reprise of the opening scene of the film). Spud goes to jail but Renton avoids incarceration by enlisting in a Drug Interventions Programme where he is supplied with the heroin substitute methadone. The Drug Interventions Programme is a key part of the United Kingdom's strategy for tackling Drug abuse. Methadone ( Dolophine Amidone Methadose Physeptone Heptadon and many others is a synthetic Opioid, used medically as an Analgesic, Antitussive

Even though his journey to sobriety begins with much love from his parents and mates (such as Sick Boy and Begbie), within hours Renton is back at the flat of his dealer - named "Mother Superior" for "the length of his habit" - and orders more heroin. Renton overdoses on the heroin and is dragged by "Mother Superior" and a taxi driver to the hospital, where nurses save his life. The term drug overdose (or simply overdose or OD) describes the Ingestion or application of a Drug or other substance in quantities Seeing no other option, Renton's parents lock him in his own room to beat the addiction cold turkey. " Cold Turkey " is a song written by John Lennon, and recorded by The Plastic Ono Band. He has several hallucinations, including Spud in jail, a now drug addicted (and possibly HIV infected) Tommy, and Dawn, Allison's dead baby, crawling toward him on the ceiling, framed by a bizarre, dreamed or imagined TV gameshow in which host Dale Winton asks the contestants, who are Renton's mother and father, "Is he guilty. A hallucination, in the broadest sense is a Perception in the absence of a stimulus. Human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV) is a Lentivirus (a member of the Retrovirus family that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome Dale Winton, (born May 22 1955 in London) is an English radio DJ and Television presenter. ---- Guilt is the Fact, state or Verdict (by a Court or other Tribunal) of an Offence, Crime, Violation . . or not guilty?" The gameshow hints that Renton is free of AIDS, but his friend Tommy is not so lucky.

Clean of heroin, Renton feels no purpose in life and decides to move to London and start a job as a property letting agent. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Renton continues his sobriety while enjoying the vibrancy of London and saving up money on the side. His happiness is again short-lived, however, as Begbie arrives at his London flat seeking a hiding place from the police for armed robbery. Sick Boy also shows up and once again, Renton is frustrated that he cannot turn his "mates" away. As things are boiling over in the small space, the three are told of Tommy's death from toxoplasmosis back in Scotland. Toxoplasmosis is a Parasitic disease caused by the Protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. They return home and meet Spud, who is now out of jail and also sober.

Following Tommy's funeral, Sick Boy suggests a large and dangerous opportunity for them; the chance to buy two kilos of heroin for £4000 and sell it for up to £20,000. Begbie demands that Renton put up much of the money, having seen Renton's bank statements. Though he is wary about the deal, Renton agrees. The foursome meet a professional heroin dealer and sell him the heroin for £16,000, leading to an afternoon celebration between all four mates in a pub. However, Begbie draws a knife on a customer in the pub and beats him severely while accidentally slicing Spud's hand open. Renton has already been thinking about stealing all the money for himself. As Begbie stands over the beaten man and demands a cigarette to come down from his "high", Renton apparently resolves that he will steal the money from his mates, whom he has come to understand are not his mates at all, with the exception of Spud.

Early the next morning after the sun has come up Renton pulls the bag of money away from a sleeping Begbie. Renton looks at Spud, who is awake and has seen everything but he does not wake the others. Renton leaves and vows to live the stable, middle class life he described at the beginning of the film. When Begbie awakes he is furious and begins to destroy the room. The last time Begbie is seen, he is pulling a knife from his pocket as the police bang on the door. Spud later finds £2000 left for him by Renton in a locker.

Cast

Actor Role
Ewan McGregor Mark Renton
Ewen Bremner Daniel "Spud" Murphy
Jonny Lee Miller Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson
Robert Carlyle Francis Begbie
Kevin McKidd Tommy MacKenzie
Kelly Macdonald Dianne Coulston
Peter Mullan Swanney "Mother Superior"
Eileen Nicholas Mrs. Ewan Gordon McGregor (born 31 March 1971 ËŒjuËÉ™n məˈgrÉ›gÉ™r is a Scottish Actor, who has had significant success in mainstream indie and art Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish Actor. Bremner was born in Edinburgh, a son of two art teachers Jonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller (born 15 November 1972) is an English actor Robert Carlyle OBE (born April 14, 1961) is an acclaimed BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Award -winning Scottish Film Kevin McKidd (born August 9 1973) is a Scottish actor best known for his roles as soldier/politician Lucius Vorenus on the joint HBO Kelly Macdonald (born February 23, 1976) is a Scottish Emmy Award - and Screen Actors Guild Award -winning actress Peter Mullan (born October 21 1956) is a Scottish actor and internationally acclaimed film maker who has been appearing in films since 1990 Renton
Susan Vidler Allison
Pauline Lynch Lizzy
Shirley Henderson Gail
Irvine Welsh Mikey Forrester
Hugh O'Hagan (AKA Hugh Reed Man failing to seduce Dianne Coulston in disco

Critical reception

In the UK, the film garnered almost universal praise from critics. Shirley Henderson (born 24 November, 1965) is an award-winning Scottish actress. Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958 Leith, Edinburgh) is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting Time Out London called the film "a triumph", saying, "audaciously punching up the pitch-black comedy, juggling parallel character strands and juxtaposing image, music and voice-over with a virtuosity worthy of Scorsese on peak form, Trainspotting the movie captures precisely Welsh's insolent, amoral intelligence. Time Out is a Publishing company based in London, England. The company's best known product is the Time Out weekly listings Magazine The term voice-over refers to a production technique where a non-diagetic voice is broadcast live or pre-recorded in Radio, Television, Film, "[1] The Guardian newspaper gave the film credit for actually tapping into the youth subculture of the time, compared to other (now forgotten) contemporary British cinema. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. [2] Esteemed American critic Roger Ebert heaped praise on the film for its stark, realistic portrayal of addicts' experiences with each other. Roger Joseph Ebert (iËbÉt born June 18, 1942) is an American film critic and Screenwriter. [3]

Its release sparked some controversy in some countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, as to whether it promoted drug use or not. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the U.S. Senator Bob Dole decried its moral depravity and glorification of drug use during the 1996 U.S. presidential campaign, although he later admitted that he had not actually seen the film. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole (born July 22 1923 is an attorney and retired United States Senator from Kansas from 1969–1996 serving part of that time The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice This echoed sentiments Dole had made three years earlier, attacking Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers while lauding more mainstream films like James Cameron's True Lies as being more "family friendly". Natural Born Killers is a 1994 Crime film Satire directed by Oliver Stone about Serial killers and their coverage by the For the video game see True Lies (video game. True Lies is a 1994 action - Comedy film. Despite the controversy, it was praised as an inventive, highly effective film and received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in that year's Academy Awards. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. In 1999 the film came 10th in a BFI poll of British films, while in 2004 the magazine Total Film named it the 4th greatest British film of all time. In 1999 the British Film Institute surveyed 1000 people from the world of UK film and television to produce the BFI 100 list of the greatest British films of the 20th Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally Total Film, published by Future Publishing, is the United Kingdom 's second best-selling Film Magazine.

The film's release was supported by an imaginative marketing campaign using flyers inspired by rave culture and posters of each of the main actors. A rave (or rave party) is a term in use since the 1980s to describe Dance Parties (often all-night events Owing to illness, Kevin McKidd went on holiday having finished shooting for the film and did not attend the photoshoot for the posters. Kevin McKidd (born August 9 1973) is a Scottish actor best known for his roles as soldier/politician Lucius Vorenus on the joint HBO

Metacritic[4] and Rotten Tomatoes[5], sites which search for multiple reviews of films, gave it marks in the high 80s. Metacritic is a Website that collates reviews of music Albums games, movies, TV shows, DVDs and Books. Rotten Tomatoes is a Website devoted to reviews information and news of Movies.

Other versions

Upon its initial release in the United States, the first 20 minutes of Trainspotting were re-edited with alternate dialogue. Because of the strong Scottish accents and language of the characters, it was believed that American audiences might have difficulty understanding them. Scottish English is the variety of English spoken in Scotland, also called Scottish Standard English. The original dialogue was later restored on the Criterion Collection laserdisc in 1997 and then on the re-release of the "Director's Cut (Collector's Edition)" DVD in 2004.

Sequel

Boyle has stated his wish to make a sequel to Trainspotting which will take place 9 years after the original film, based on Irvine Welsh's sequel, Porno. Porno is a Novel by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh, and is the Sequel to Trainspotting. He is reportedly waiting until the original actors themselves age visibly enough to portray the same characters, ravaged by time; Boyle joked that the natural vanity of actors would make it a long wait. [6]

According to the director's commentary, the dealer to whom they sell the heroin is actually Hugo from Shallow Grave, Boyle's first film. Shallow Grave is a 1994 British crime thriller feature film that marks the directorial debut of Danny Boyle with an original According to Boyle, Hugo re-sells the heroin, thus obtaining the money he has at the beginning of Shallow Grave, and therefore making the storyline chronologically later than Trainspotting. Shallow Grave is a 1994 British crime thriller feature film that marks the directorial debut of Danny Boyle with an original For this reason, Boyle had actor Keith Allen playing the same character in both movies. Keith Philip George Allen (born 2 June 1953) is a British Comedian, Actor, singer and writer

Soundtracks

The Trainspotting soundtracks were two best-selling albums of music centred around the film. The Trainspotting soundtracks are two Soundtrack albums released following the film version of Irvine Welsh 's novel of the same name The first is a collection of songs featured in the film, while the second includes those left out from the first soundtrack and extra songs that inspired the filmmakers during production.


Locations

Despite being set in Edinburgh almost all of the film was filmed in Glasgow, apart from the opening scenes of the film which were filmed in Edinburgh and the final scenes which were filmed in London. Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

Notable locations in the film include:

Parodies

References

  1. ^ Trainspotting Review in Time Out London
  2. ^ Trainspotting Review in The Guardian
  3. ^ Trainspotting Review by Roger Ebert
  4. ^ Trainspotting on Metacritic
  5. ^ Trainspotting on Rotten Tomatoes
  6. ^ Scotsman.com News
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Filming Locations for Trainspotting. Movie-locations. com.

Notes

See also

External links

Human Traffic is a 1999 Film written and directed by Justin Kerrigan. Rotten Tomatoes is a Website devoted to reviews information and news of Movies. Metacritic is a Website that collates reviews of music Albums games, movies, TV shows, DVDs and Books. Box Office Mojo is a Website that tracks Box office Revenue in a systematic way
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