Trainspotting

Rating:
Summary: brilliant
Review: I worked on this movie and was really proud to be a part if it. It tells the story like it is, no pussyfooting. DON'T MISS IT. END

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!Makes people reconsider certain things.
Review: I for one consider it an excelent movie.People must realise life isn`t always like B.H.90210. Trainspotting shows you the ugly reality of drugs addicts in order for you to avoid it in the future. END

Rating:
Summary: Excellent is an understatement for this milestone movie.
Review: Forget "Four Weddings and A Funeral", this faithful film Adaptation of Irvine Welsh's modern classic tackles issues like drugs, sex and booze, like no film has to date. From "the worst toilet in Scotland" to the cold turkey baby Dawn, we follow our "hero" Mark Renton, from junkie to redemption and back again (and again), culminating in one last Drug Deal to get him on the straight and narrow - for good. All that's stopping him are his band of "So-called friends". A clever plot, superb acting and contempory issues make this one you really shouldn't miss:- so don't. END

Rating:
Summary: Still holds up after all these years...
Review: When Trainspotting was released in 1996, it took the world by storm and caused a sensation not only in its homeland of England, but in the United States as well. Audiences couldn't get enough of this gritty, funny tale of Scottish heroin addicts. The Criterion Collection originally released an extras-packed laserdisc. Miramax subsequently released a bare bones edition on DVD and have now, finally, gone back to the well with a new "Definitive Version."

The first disc features an audio commentary that first appeared on the Criterion laserdisc with actor Ewan McGregor, director Danny Boyle, screenwriter John Hodge and producer Andrew Macdonald. This is a very informative track with excellent insights by everyone as one would expect from Criterion.

There are also nine deleted scenes with optional commentary from the Criterion laserdisc. Most of it is extra footage that unnecessarily explained things and provided more information than needed.

The second disc contains the bulk of the extra material. "Retrospective" examines various aspects of the film with interviews done at the time of production and brand new ones conducted last year with Boyle, Hodge and Macdonald.

"Behind the Needle" shows a scene where Renton shoots up from three different angles with video commentary from Danny Boyle.

There is also vintage footage from the movie's screening at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. A camera crew interviews Martin Landau, Oasis' Noel Gallagher, Blur's Damon Albarn and Ewan McGregor as they exit the screening and offer their impressions of what they saw. Nothing too substantial here but it is a nice snapshot of the times.

There is also a teaser and theatrical trailers.

"The Making of Trainspotting" featurette was done at the time of the production. It is pretty standard electronic press kit material but still well made.

There are biographies of the cast and crew.

And finally, a gallery of production Polaroids mainly of extras from the movie with some cast included as well.

Trainspotting has aged surprisingly well considering it was one of those zeitgeist-defining movies. It also set the tone and style of later British exports like Snatch. Miramax has assembled an excellent DVD with a crystal clear transfer and a decent collection of extras that fans of this film will enjoy for hours.

Rating:
Summary: Disturbed Scots
Review: Trainspotting glorifies heroin use while it gets preachy about friendships. It appears that the Scots of Braveheart have deteriorated in a socialist country. If these teens and young adults have nothing to live for in the public housing block grayness, then escaping into a heroin fog seems enticing. Alienation of youth has been with us for a while, but it seems to flourish only in relatively benign societies subsidized by social programs. Even in capitalist America, heroin is a favorite in the Urban Pockets of Social Welfare. Ewan McGregor is a fine looking young man and he has a choice,live or stick a needle. He chooses the needle. Special effects stretch the addicts bodies like rubber and there are hallucinations of a doomed baby, a fat baby for a heroin mother. Well it reminded me of those Acid Trip, movies from the 60s. Groovy Dude and the Blue Meanies are so hip, man. Trainspotting is ranked in top ten British movies ever made by some ranking services. I think David Lean would object.

Rating:
Summary: Love it
Review: I love this. At first it's shocking, and yes a little difficult to understand but concentrate for a little while and you'll pick it up, it is in English afterall. I've also read the book (absolutely amazing) and I have to say that I think the adaptation was done really well considering the length and depth of the story line and all the characters.

Now just a correction... this film is set in SCOTLAND not Ireland... as it states that Renton goes into "the worst bathroom in SCOTLAND" not to mention the references to Scottish cities and of course Renton's tirade about how horrible it is to be Scottish.... but i suppose if some people weren't so busy reading the subtitles they might have actually gotten the chance to watch the film....

But seriously it is definitely worth seeing, it's dark, funny, raw and very NOT hollywood infested.. :o)

Rating:
Summary: Choose Trainspotting
Review: "Trainspotting", a classic movie that spawned a classic soundtrack, hit the big screen in 1996 and is based on Irvine Welsh's debut novel. Starring, among others, a pre-Jedi Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle, the film is mostly set in Edinburgh and London. The film is narrated by Mark Renton - known to some as Rent Boy and played by McGregor. It tells the story of our 'hero' and his friends : a group of junkies and / or criminals.

As the film opens, Renton is already a heroin addict - though, as it progresses, he tries several times to get off the drug. Most of his friends are also addicts - the most notable exception is Begbie, played by Carlyle. Franco (as he is occasionally known) is an ignorant, obnoxious, violent, hard-drinking bully, who likes nothing better than being at the center of a brawl. Sick Boy - played by Miller - is as much a rival to Renton as a friend. He is also something of an expert on Sean Connery, particularly in his 007 days. (Miller's grandfather, funnily enough, played "M" in the Bond movies until 1979). For some reason, I found Spud (played by Ewen Bremmer) to be the most likeable character - or, at least, the one I had the most sympathy for - I'm not entirely sure why, when it was Tommy who had the worst luck of all. (Bremmer was also in the running for the part of Renton - he'd played that part on stage in Edinburgh and London). The gang's dealer is known as Mother Superior - it's not that he's particularly religious, it's more to do with the length of his habit.

The soundtrack is superb - New Order feature, while Primal Scream begged to be allowed to write a song after seeing a rough cut of the movie. I now find it hard not to think of the film's opening scene when I hear Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life", while Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" inclusion is not entirely unexpected, but thoroughly welcome.

Anyone who tells you that "Trainspotting" glamorises drug-taking in general, and heroin use in particular, simply can't have watched it. While there is a great deal of humor, many of the scenes and situations do not present addiction as an appealing option. Renton and his friends see a great deal of action : constipation when hooked, impressive bouts of diarrhoea when coming off the drug, the risk of catching HIV / AIDS, the sickness brought on by going cold turkey and the potentially fatal effects of too big a hit. As a result, it's not for the easily offended or the squeamish - while it's one of my favorite movies, I wouldn't recommend watching it with your grandparents !


Rating:
Summary: Gritty, realistic protrayal of junkies in a fun way.
Review: One of Ewen MacGregors first big films, I find this one of the most realistic, gritty and at times, digusting films to come out in a long time.
Not for the faint hearted, there are some gross scenes in the movie- the public toilet scene for one.
A very dark movie, with the most accurate potrayal of junkies perhaps ever seen in a major movie, this movie is also sad, funny, and full of hope in some places, and the depths of woe in others.
You find yourself sympathasising with the main character, hoping he can overcome his addiction and move on to a better life.
Very hard genre to describe, except to say definitely black humour, with some drama, tension and action thrown in for good measure
Well worth a look!!


Rating:
Summary: Trainspotting is the real deal
Review: I watched this movie for the first time last night and I had no idea this movie would be as good as it is. Ewan McGregor is a very underrated actor and he's brilliant as a junkie in this film. This movie really hit me hard showing the despair of addiction. Some people survive it and some don't. This movie is a great depiction of the struggles each character goes through in their fight with addiction. Heroine was already something i would never do but after this movie it shows that its one of the most dangerous things you can mess with. Anyway I was pleasantly surprised at how good this movie is. I enjoyed it more then any Tarantino movie I've seen and those are all excellent films. Trainspotting is definately a winner so go out and see it if you haven't already.

Rating:
Summary: Pure Brilliance
Review: I'm sorry it has taken me so long to write a review for this movie. If you are reading this and do not own it buy it now. The look, the genius, the color, the music, the best. A whimsical world of heroine is traced in this Scottish-speaking masterpiece. I hold it up there with classics such as "Pulp Fiction." It is by far my most favorite film in my collection.