Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Danny Boyle - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Kelly MacDonald, Ewen Bremner, Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller more
A kinetic, intimate look inside the subculture of heroin abuse, this acclaimed adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel follows the misadventures of Renton (Ewan McGregor), a brash... more
Trainspotting [DVD] [1995]
The film that effectively launched the star careers of Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and ... more
Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed wit...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon...
Trainspotting [DVD] [1995]
The film that effectively launched the star careers of Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and ... more
Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed wit...
Trainspotting [DVD] [1996]
The film that effectively launched the star careers of Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and ... more
Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed wit...
Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed wit...
Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his so-called friends - a bunch of losers liars psychos thieves and junkies. Hilarious but harrowing the film charts the disintegra...
Jonny Lee Miller,Trainspottingis a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed with abandon by Danny Boyle, it conspires to be at once a hip youth flick and a grim cautionary fable.McGregor, Lee Miller and Ewen Bremner play a slouching trio of Scottish junkies, Carlyle their narcotic-eschewing but hard-drinking and generally psychotic mate Begbie. In Boyle's hands, their lives unfold in a rush of euphoric highs, blow-out overdoses and agonising withdrawals (all cued to a vogueish pop soundtrack). Throughout it all, John Hodge's screenplay strikes a delicate balance between acknowledging the inherent pleasures of drug use and spotlighting its eventual consequences. InTrainspotting's world view, it all comes down to a choice between the dangerous Day-Glo highs of the addict and the grey, grinding consumerism of the everyday Joe. "Choose life", quips the film's narrator (McGregor) in a monologue that was to become a mantra. "Choose a job, choose a starter home... But why would anyone want todo a thing like that?"Ultimately,Trainspotting's wised-up, dead-beat inhabitants reject mainstream society in favour of a headlong rush to destruction. It makes for an exhilarating, energised and frequently terrifying trip that blazes with more energy and passion than a thousand more ostensibly life-embracing movies. --Xan Brooks
Production Year: 1980 - Drama - Director: Randal Kleiser - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, William Daniels
This product has not yet been reviewed. Rate it now
Production Year: 2003 - Drama - Director: Michael Winterbottom - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Om Puri, Jeanne Balibar
Production Year: 1981 - Drama - Director: Franco Zeffirelli - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray, Richard Kiley, Penelope Milford, Beatrice Straight
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
A review by ikeaholic on Trainspotting (DVD) July 11th, 2004
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Loved it
Story
Good
Characters / Performances
Outstanding
Special Effects
Good
How does it compare to similar films?
Outstanding
Advantages:
Sublime and raw, a potently must - see eye - opener for the public .
Disadvantages:
Blotches of the disgusting capability of human anatomy - lots of faeces and the likes .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
"With God's help I will conquer this terrible affliction."
Ewan McGregor’s fame-grabbing role as Mark Renton takes us head-deep into the world of drugs and especially that of heroin - “the big one”, where countless hits and cravings drag the audience into a suspense of almost sympathy for the human body’s dependence. Danny Boyle’s directions and favourable choice of Iggy Pop and Lou Reed soundtrack undeniably adds a twist of clever desperation and heavy beat to the film itself. The cast providing consistent Class-A performances only raised the bar of film standards higher as on its release the film may have been criticised for “glamorising drugs”, but is arguably, and perhaps, the best British film of the 90’s in its own respect.
“Now why would I want to do a thing like that?”
Set in the backdrop of 80’s clash Edinburgh, Trainspotting is a tale of five anti-heroes who take addiction to one more level of raw anticipation. Drawing the world through in an eye, the viewer can see the true selves of drugs and that of drug-users, following the daily grind and suffering of Edinburgh’s junkies, these friends visit “Mother Superior” for a lunch of heroin whenever they can afford it. Stealing, scamming, and cheating, the group of friends make through for a trip to euphoric-kingdom as each member reveals their intentions of only living for heroin.
“Just one more hit.”
The plot in itself may only bare a few bones as it is not the most original and thought-provoking story base, but Boyle manages with little effort to give the whole film a U-turn into becoming an epic of ordinary human life. Poor, and buggered as the characters may appear, their appearances are foiled by the cast’s brilliant acting as they’re brought to life vividly in awkward scenarios forcing emotions into trial. The sequence of events bring the main protagonists into a road-trip through hell and hardship, as they live everyday in accordance to heroin, Renton (McGregor) being the semi-narrator, tells the story of a group of friends who struggle with a Class-A substance and attempt to make some decent cash. Central character Renton, tries to come clean and takes a stab at his life for once with the aid of his drug-abhorring parents and a hospital trip. The first attempt doesn’t turn out to be so successful with his solitary confinement; ranging with tomato soup, a TV, some pornography and a healthy dose of two constipation tablets stuck up his arse. As Connery-obsessed Sickboy (Miller) times his drug-suspension the same with Renton, he does it to “piss off” Renton, showing how easy it is for him to come off heroin. Changing the scenery and moving to London proves to be a difficult endurance with the constant magnets of Scotland and its mind-bearing enemies. In the end through a one-chance opportunity to exchange a package of heroin for sixteen grand, we could say that Renton was the one who ended up, the hero.
“Choose a life. Choose a job. Choose a family.”
Sometimes the extremes swing the pendulum off the scales, turning your stomach inside-out; scenes such as the death of a bloat-face dead blue baby, Alison “may have been screaming for days” but at least we knew who the father was now. “I’m cooking up” - Renton’s unemotional response shows perhaps his side of shock and evil together, but it seems again like heroin has saved yet another day for the motley crew. Other characters who beg to differ from the rest, the screwed-up Spud (Bremner) failing his leisure interview and his reward in the end scream a profoundly dumb, but kind soul - “In a word. I take pleasure, in other people’s leisure.” Showing off to be more useful as a rap star, Spud is the kind of person who just wanted to feel “true love” with his girlfriend, who is proving to be a challenge in the sex department, his balls were like “watermelons”. Contrasting against Spud is the drunkenly angst-ridden Begbie (Carlyle) who as we say, provided an astounding organic act for us to see, “No way would I poison my body with that shite”, Begbie didn’t do drugs, he did people. Hollowing back to the picture where Begbie drinks a pint of lager and chuckles the glass over his head, only for it to target straight into a woman’s bloody face, Begbie runs downstairs to “do the c*nt” who caused the commotion before anyone leaves.
“A little dab of heroin is just the ticket man.”
The imaginative role of Renton climbing into “the worst toilet in Scotland” rains down a peaceful bombardment as he delves literally head-first inside, past all the crap and diarrhoea, until he retrieves his two heavenly arse-pills while swimming past a mine. This perhaps was my favourite scene in the whole film, it in a close way, was the only moment where reality and fantasy were heavily separated and a blend of happiness was swiped across McGregor’s face - until he wakes up and walks out the pub soaked in someone else’s business of undigested nutrition. A similar point in the motion was when Renton begins hallucinating nightmarish figures, Alison’s ghoulish baby crawling across the ceiling defying gravity, and Tommy (McKidd) who reached death through his sexual corruption and eventual turn to drugs which resulted in his girlfriend leaving him - depressed as he was, he dies from the excrement of the kitten he bought to win back his ex only to lie in his vomit with a head abscess. Renton’s bedroom of train-wallpapered décor is a clever signifier of his dreams and aspirations, in the foreground, the haunting spectres of the people in his life suffer in his mind as he tries to grasp the inner-intentions of the subconscious.
“A little bit bad- but hey, don’t us girls just love that.”
After one viewing, the audience may be in need of rejuvenation as the likes of manic facial expressions and muscles contract and scare, you’ll need more than a cushion to stomach Trainspotting. Spiking in doses of underage sex involving Renton and his love-at-first-sight teenage school girl (played by Kelly MacDonald) - rehab seems a mile away as you drive deeper into drug culture and the string tied. This film has high regards compared to the other copycats later on who don’t manage to master the techniques envisaged in Trainspotting, placing the winning spot for the recognition it doesn’t so regularly receives.
“The Truth is I’m a bad person.”
Simple and anarchic, the warning signs of the film are frozen loud and subtle with many a times the disasters and deaths produced by heroin. Trainspotting provides a platform for junkies to watch, learn and practice their lives, hopefully to a better path, but as a whole is a rapid and strong message to addiction. The bleak and pitiful depiction of life running up towards a group of smack heads proves to be more than just a contemporary classic, with its tragically, and stunning art forms of cinematography, performances combined with soundtrack, in a large mish-mash of media-frenzy, is a religious celebration of realism.
An excellent adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s novel- viewing is highly recommended.
Advantages: The acting, the story, the rawness of the portrayal of drugs abuse Disadvantages: Not exactly family entertainment
...I squealed with delight when Trainspotting was produced - I loved that film when I first saw it about five years ago and I knew I'd love it again. I already knew what my next op was going to be about.
The opening of the film is brilliant - possibly one of the best opening sequences ever in film history. Hmmm, well, maybe.
It has Ewan McGreggor running to the juddering sounds of Iggy Pop, saying, 'Choose a life. Choose a job. Choose a family...' ... ...cinematography and especially the acting.
Trainspotting still remains the most notable credit on Danny Boyle's CV, and unsurprisingly. Shallow Grave and 28 Days Later are good, maybe even great, and The Beach is interesting enough, but Trainspotting would be very hard to beat. Especially since he handles it with such original flair; the camera jumping about with style and inventiveness - most notably in the clubbing scenes and the aforementioned ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: See opinion Disadvantages: See opinion
...capital city.
~ ~ Trainspotting focuses mainly on the closed culture of the druggies, and on their off-beat and somewhat twisted humour.
Much of their effort goes into avoiding the awful possibility of gaining useful employment, as they are occasionally sent for interviews by the local employment exchange.
They accomplish this objective by being as repugnant and repulsive as is humanly possible, so that no one would even remotely think of hiring ... ...combination of taxpayer’s money (the dole) and thieving from shops, cars and people. ~ ~ So is there anything about this film that I liked? One scene I must own up to enjoying thoroughly takes place in an Edinburgh bar.
Mark and his crew are in having a bevvy (partaking of alcohol) when the local hard man Begbie, played to total perfection by the great and extremely versatile Scottish actor Robert Carlyle, (The Full Monty, Hamish McBeth) throws ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Soundtrack, innovative Disadvantages: Explicit and disturbing in places
...much of the strength of Trainspotting is down to the strong cast of actors it boasts.
It is difficult to watch the film and not become emotionally involved though strangely I found it was not so much the lead character of Renton who's life drew me in but rather the lives of those around him namely Spud, a fellow addict and Tommy who's story of being the 'clean' friend spiraling into the drug world is harrowing. Considering the hard hitting subject ... ...of life. The humour in Trainspotting is well placed and at times stomach churning. Without spoiling the scene for those who have yet to see the film - don't eat when Spud is taken home by a girl and passes out on her bed! It is an intense film, yes it has scenes of gritty reality and the squalor that so often surrounds drugs. What it isn't is glossy - in fact even the visuals feel and look matt in texture. The direction is excellent and the flow ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Very amusing Disadvantages: If you dont like swearing you will be offended
Oh look!!! Someones decided to write an opinion on an old film, not about "The Mummy 2" or one of the other latest releases, why bother you might think.
Well, just looking at my collection of video's there is always one that stands out a mile.
It has an orange spine and the words "Trainspotting" emblazened upon it.
I first saw this film at a cinema in 1996 when it was released and immeadeatley became a big fan of Irvine Welsh (the author of the ... ...basically follows the life of a heroin addict (Mark Renton , played by Ewan McGregor) living in Edinburgh and his friends who are a collection of losers, liars, psycos thieves and other junkies.
The main characters in this film are ;
Begbie - This man thrives on violence and cant seem to complete a sentance without the use of some very strong and sometimes very funny comments.He very much plays the hardman who will just about kill anyone that he ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Uniformly excellent performances, great soundtrack. Disadvantages: Not as great as we all thought it was.
When Trainspotting was first released five years ago, it was hailed as the film that resurrected the British film Industry. Before that, it was Shallow Grave, and before that, Four Weddings and a Funeral. One of these crops up every few years, makes a big splash, causes a spate of inferior copies and cash-ins, then bobs back under.
In hindsight, Trainspotting is far weaker than Boyle's debut, Shallow Grave. Due to the episodic nature of Irvine Welsh's ... ...end...curiously, the attempt to add some kind of plot with the boy's drug deal actually weakens the movie.
As it is, Renton (McGregor) and his friends live a life of squalor in Edinburgh's run down council estates. All they care about is the next hit, begging, stealing and borrowing to gather the capital needed. The episodes veer between hilarious, disgusting, tragic, and just boring.
This film made Ewan McGregor and others stars, and deservedly ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: characters, cast, fantastic storyline Disadvantages: needs to be watched more than once to appreciate it
...i was a trainspotting virgin until this was given to me as a gift. I thought it was a fantastic film the first time i saw it, but the more i watch it the better it gets and as an avid dvd watcher i would definately rate it in my top five films of all time! an adaptation of an Irvine welsh classic novel, takes shape in the murky, filthy underworld of scotlands capital city edinburgh. The main character renton in his journey through friendship addiction and greed. first of all the casting is phenomenal which leads you to believe that you could actually meet these same people on the streets of edinburgh,all producing great performances and all seem to work perfectly in what must be a tough role to play!!.Having said all this it needs to be watched more than once to appreciate the greatness of this film, those quick to write it off will be...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Will suck you in quickly. Price is cheap. Disadvantages: A good movie but a little slow.
...) Jacknife Lee Music Video.
6) Still Polaroid Gallery with commentary.
7) Animated story boards.
8) Trailers.
Opinion:
I heard alot of hype surrounding this film. Friends who saw it really enjoyed it, saying it has twist and turns - the realistuc presention makes you feel like the events really happened.
Coming from a celebrated director - Danny Boyle I expected a great film, I knew his style of directing from greats such as Trainspotting.
A review at the back of the DVD say's Stricking and Original and this is what I expected.
The original sequences quickly build up the film and you get sucked in. A sureal environment really makes you feel that events are happening. A feeling of the actors isolation and desperationg grabs you.
The action sequences are expected but when they do happen you are still scared, Panic and desperation...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Gritty, atmospheric, based on a true story.good soundtrack Disadvantages: no big stars, not uite saving private ryan.
...figured that the film wont be too bad.
Starring: Josh Hartnett - whom I cant really remember being in anything significant, (but I am sure I will be corrected). Ewan Mcgregor - Trainspotting, (and Obi-Wan-Kenobi). and I am sure I spotted Spud from Trainspotting also.
Winner of two Oscars: But I noticed on the cover of the D.V.D. these two Oscars were not named. Perhaps they won best Hairdo, or best limp. I am sure if they were decent oscars they would have named them.
The Story: Very Briefly - Based on actual events, the united nations had been sent to Somalia to turf out a ganglord who was confiscating the food that was being sent to starving people. Three thousand people had already starved to death but the baddie of the story was getting more and more powerfull as people became more and more desperate for food.
The story is about...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Consumer Advice: Contains very strong language, sex, violence, and drug use.
Video Category: Feature Film
Country Of Origin: United Kingdom
Plot: Cult filmmaker Danny Boyle (28 DAYS LATER) directs this quintessentially British film that focus on a group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh. Features star turns from the then-unknown Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlysle, and a terrific, chart-topping soundtrack that includes tracks by Pulp, Blur and Iggy Pop.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD, Blu-ray
Studio(s): UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK; UNIVERSAL MUSIC OPERATIONS, 4DVD; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES; SPIRIT ENTERTAINMENT
A kinetic, intimate look inside the subculture of heroin abuse, this acclaimed adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel follows the misadventures of Renton (Ewan McGregor), a brash twenty-something Edinburgh junkie, and his nihilistic chums Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Tommy (Kevin McKidd), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Alternately comical and dark, the film ultimately comes down to Renton's choice between self-destruction or life. The stellar soundtrack should not be missed.
Technical information
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital
Special Features: Ultimate Collector's Edition, Audio Commentary, 9 Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Danny Boyle, 'The Making Of TRAINSPOTTING': Featurette, 'The Look Of The Film: Then , Now': Featurette, 'The Sound Of The Film': Featurette, Production Interviews with Danny Boyle (Director), Andrew MacDonald (Producer), John Hodge (Screenwriter), Irvine Welsh (Writer), 'Behind The Needle': Bonus Feature, 'TRAINSPOTTING At The Canne Film Festival': Bonus Feature, Vox Pops, Original Theatrical Trailers, Stills , Photo Galleries, Biographies
Dubbing Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Award information
BAFTA: Best Screenplay (Adapted) 1995 (John Hodge)
"...A larkish black comedy, paced like a Beatles musical yet grounded by the charming misanthropy of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel....[With] a starmaking performance from Ewan McGregor..." (Film Comment, p.2-12, 01/07/1996)
"...Electrifying....Harrowing and hilarious..." (Rolling Stone, p.60, 13/06/1996)
"...The lasting after-effect of watching TRAINSPOTTING is a sense of exhilaration..." (Sight and Sound, p.52-3, 01/03/1996)
"...A dark, Tarantino-style humor courses through its veins...This hip rave-up is zippily entertaining....Ewan McGregor delivers his needle-sharp narration with raw charisma" -- 3 1/2 out of 4 stars (USA Today, p.1D, 19/07/1996)
"Scabrous, brutal and hip, TRAINSPOTTING is a CLOCKWORK ORANGE for the '90s....[The] performances are terrific at all levels..." (Variety, 12/02/1996)
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since : 17/09/2006
Compare Trainspotting (DVD) to other similar Drama
![Trainspotting [DVD] [1995]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/75200850.jpg)
![Trainspotting [DVD] [1996]](http://images.ciao.com/ide/images/icons/no_pic_generic_S1.gif){kind=icon}
![Trainspotting [DVD] [1996] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/70665010.jpg)
![Trainspotting [Special Edition]-DVD](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/103252867.jpg)
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
21.06.2008
10.05.2006
