Home
search
more | tips
SHOP ...
Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk Amazon.de Amazon.fr
IMDb > Trainspotting (1996)
Trainspotting
[Add to My Movies]
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglinestrailers and videospostersphoto gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Trainspotting (1996)

advertisement
Register or login to rate this title
User Rating: 8.1/10 (106,328 votes)
Photos (see all 41 | slideshow)

Overview

Director:
Danny Boyle
Writers:
Irvine Welsh (novel)
John Hodge (screenplay)
Release Date:
19 July 1996 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Crime | Drama more
Tagline:
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a starter home. Choose dental insurance, leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose your future. But why would anyone want to do a thing like that? more
Plot:
Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends. full summary | full synopsis (warning! may contain spoilers)
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 18 wins & 13 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(55 articles)
Radcliffe: 'New Potter Is Like Trainspotting' (From WENN. 1 July 2008, 11:49 PM, PDT)
Radcliffe: New 'Potter' has sexual energy (From digitalspy. 1 July 2008, 10:54 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Superb more

Cast

 (Cast overview, first billed only)
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for graphic heroin use and resulting depravity, strong language, sex, nudity and some violence.
Runtime:
94 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.78 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
MOVIEmeter: ?
^ 41% since last week why?

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Ewen Bremner (Spud) had previously played Renton in a stage adaptation of the novel. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The amount of beer on Begbie's shirt after making the heroin deal. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Mark "Rent-boy" Renton: [narrating] Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Saw (2004) more
Soundtrack:
2:1 more

FAQ

Does Renton actually dive into the toilet and swim around underwater?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
What is Sick Boy's actual name?
more
55 out of 71 people found the following comment useful:-
Superb, 6 March 2003
Author: Sean-M (kingofbing@hotmail.com) from Northern Ireland

An extremely competent look at the Scottish drug-Scene, Trainspotting is a perfect example of the potential of the UK industry to tell a story of tragedy, horror and hope in a manner that the American industry has yet to do without drifting into tired Cliche. While the manner and style of delivery are extremely funny and at times appear almost unreal, the fact remains that these characters are real. The clearly psychotic and alcoholic Begbie, played by Robert Carlyle is a supporting role that is actually of immense value to the film. Here we have character who I've met, you've met and we've all met. A man with very little to lose absorbed in a sea of alcohol and prone to violence. I choose him as example because he isnt even involved in the drug-scene in which the main characters are central. In fact his opposition is somewhat humorous when we consider his own vices make him argueably worse off and the incidences of violence he becomes involved in

are most definitely black humour. Considering what is actually happening isnt funny, watching it play out, aside from one major incident, is extremely funny. And that is the tone of the film throughout, as characters continually talk nonsence and sail through the lives they have chosen, making very little progress, but instead drifting downwards until an opportunity presents itself to change their ways, where upon Renton, Ewan McGregor, must make a choice between his own life or his friends. McGregor himself is excellent in the film that made him, as is Jonny Lee Miller, who surprised me in this film by having a more thought-provoking character than the script and time strictly allowed considering his relatively minimal place in the main storyline. Ewen Bremner provided some excellent and often well-needed comic relief and Carlyle as I mentioned, was outstanding. This film is both real and unreal, taking the Humour of "Human Traffic" and the somber tone of "My name is Joe" and blending them together to create an unforgettable experience vividly accompanied by strains of "Perfect day" and other cultural and nostalgic sounds, particularly of the place and period. Trainspotting has been accused of glamourising drug-use but I firmly believe anyone who takes this view hasnt watched it properly. The fun is equally, if not more so, matched by some nasty images and for the time it was released, provided what was a very necessary look at the growing drug industry, the loss it creates and the hope that can arise. Superb.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this title with other users on IMDb message board for Trainspotting (1996)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
What song does she sing to him? chimgirl12
please help with a song cody-boyd
English, Irish, and Scottish joke. moulinrouge125410
Was the book better? moulinrouge125410
best scene in movie EdenGardner
Alternate Ending? Bond3202
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Cidade de Deus Requiem for a Dream Another Day in Paradise Little Fish American Beauty
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb top 250 movies IMDb Comedy section
IMDb UK section Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.