Trainspotting: Ultimate Collector's Edition [Blu-ray] [1996]

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. In Trainspotting's world view, it all comes down to a question of choices--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 to do 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

To recap, Trainspotting follows the lives of three junkies (Renton, Sick Boy and Spud) and a psychopath (Begbie) in Edinburgh (although quite a lot of the film is actually shot in my home town of Glasgow). Having recieved a mixture of acclaim and controversy when it was released, those who make the effort to watch it will realise it is not about glamorising drugs. It is essentially about the break up of friendships between men who have been pals since school and whose lives decay in a furore of drink, violence, sex, and drugs. It also makes an important statement of how mundane junkies' lives are.

The most disturbing aspect of this film is actually the amount of humour: from the bookmaker's toilet to the psychopath Begbie, quite simply a nutter, to use a nice vernacular phrase. Also look out for Sick Boy's great impressions of Sean Connery.

The extras on the DVD are great and a perfect length. Various missing scenes are included on the first disc. On the second disc, there is a mixture of interviews (including one with the author of the book, Irvine Welsh), and good behind-the-scenes material, including some nice multi-angle material.

Admirers of Trainspotting will have already appreciated its pulsating and eclectic soundtrack: from Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' to Sleeper's cover of 'Atomic'; from Iggy Pop's 'Lust For Life' to 'Habanera' from Carmen. This DVD explains the choice of sound, as well as other aspects such as visuals and colour, and was interested to find out the music is designed to move the audience from the 1980s where the story begins to the 1990s. Indeed, Renton, the hero (?) of the film begins as a person with his mind stuck in the era of Iggy Pop, before eventually waking up to the 1990s with Pulp and Damon Albarn. Incidentally, also look out for the vox-pops of Albarn at the Cannes film festival on the second disc, as well as the likes of Oasis and Ewan McGregor himself.

This a film which deals with a controversial subject in a perfect manner with an excellent cast, great visuals, and a racing sountrack. ***** Five Stars! *****


Choose the best British film of 1996   October 16, 2007
R. J. Harvey (UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter John Hodge's 1996 adaptation of Irvine Welsh's 1993 debut novel was so central to young British culture at that time that it was always in danger of being forgotten as a mere curio of a bygone Britpop era. Thankfully, good comedy leads a long life, especially the black stuff. In the meanest, wittiest way, Trainspotting said "bollocks" to Britpop - in fact, it said "bollocks" to every fad and fashion going - and so it became immortal.

Welsh's novel is, like many of his works, essentially a series of short stories bound together by a group of amiable, self-centred protagonists who share a common interest in the procurement of a life-affirming experience - in this case heroin. Unfilmable as such, Boyle and Hodge do an astonishing job of wrapping up a majority of the best Edinburgh tales in a tight 90-minute narrative. The misadventures of Renton (Ewan McGregor), Spud (Ewen Bremner) et al is alluring because their lust for life eclipses their need for skag - the physical enjoyment is never denied, and yet neither is our heroes' desire to see above and beyond the depravity and the mundanity. The film-makers are not simply allowing us to relate to these emaciated thieves - they are necessarily ensuring it.

The casting is spot-on. McGregor puts in a signature performance as the amiable Mark Renton; Bremner brings the sensitive Spud hilariously to life; Robert Carlyle is unforgettable as the monstrous Francis Begbie - a man I fear we have all met and to whose jokes we have all felt obliged to laugh. Johnny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, and feature debutant Kelly Macdonald support superbly.

What's the point of it all? you might ask. To say its simply about capturing a moment in British pop culture would be to deny the quality of its storytelling. Trainspotting is more than a zeitgeist because, for all its swagger and the brilliance of its soundtrack, it possesses an intricate, multi-taloned narrative navigated by 3D characters, more than one of whom finds his way to an uplifting and hopeful conclusion. Trainspotting is vital.


Stunning   July 10, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This film is a dark portrayal of the horror of heroin addiction.
Revolving around one guy who is addicted to heroin and his attempts to clean up, with some hope emerging at the end.

The film is excellently acted showing a gritty and shocking life of drugs and violence and shows the life of an addict in all its aspects.

Excellent camerawork is also evident, especially when he goes on a trip and his experience is shown as a wierd fantasy.

Overall this film is masterful and I thoroughly recommend it. This is similiar in filming and style to other films such as L4yer Cake but the plot is very original and will have you fascinated whilst at the same time depressed at times and disgusted at others. It has recieved high praise in reviews from the ctritics and it definately deserves it. Buy it!


Stunning   June 25, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

What can I say that has not been said many times before? This is a stunning film in all senses of the word, from the incredible scene where Renton dives into a toilet, to one of the most disturbing scenes ever filmed, the infamous baby scene.

This film pulls no punches, and people that want an easily viewable film should look elsewhere. From Lou Reed ironically singing "It's such a perfect day" as Renton suffers a massive overdose to his succumbing to haluccinatory visions as he attempts to get clean, this is not intended as light entertainment.

It is, however, IMO one of the best films ever made, and a film deserved of being watched more than enough times to warrant the purchase price of this video. If you have seen it, you already know how good it is, and should already own it! And if you haven't, well get clicking the "Buy It Now" button right away!


Choose This!   December 22, 2002
David Carling (London, United Kingdom)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

Still boasting one of the most spectacular opening sequences of contemporary movie history, Trainspotting remains as one of the more finer pieces of British cinema to grace our screens in recent years. Filmed in an disused Cigarette factory in Glasgow on a 1.5 million budget, Trainspotting is based on the best-selling book by Irvine Welsh, author of other drug-fueled novels such as 'Ecstasy' and 'The Acid House', John Hodge's near faithful, toned down script is one to savor and relish within, as we are taken through the back streets of the human breed.

Starring Ewan McGregor as the young, unemployed junkie Mark Renton, Director Danny Boyles' disturbing vision of a crime-controlled Edinburgh, is ruthlessly displayed with incredible confidence and effortless brutality as we are shown the way before the eyes of Renton. Following the lives of Mark and his disturbing friends Sick Boy, Spud, Begbie and Tommy and their crusades into violence and addictions, and the price their fun will cost. With nothing left to imagination, the film skips from Drug-use to cot death, from sexual frustration to underage sex, but stays alive long enough to tell a very poignant tale of how life can change where return to the norm is no longer an option. Even though the disturbing use of harrowing imagery remains the key player of the films make-up, an agonizing soundtrack which underplays the powerful leads, rests as an odd mixture of golden oldies and modern pop.

A Classic in a new era of film-making