Shallow Grave (1994)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writer:

John Hodge (written by)

Release Date:

10 February 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The award winning thriller that'll bury you with laughs.

Plot:

Three friends discover their new flatmate dead but loaded with cash.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Interview | Transvestite | Car | Corpse

Awards:

14 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Kerry Fox	...	Juliet Miller
Christopher Eccleston	...	David Stephens
Ewan McGregor	...	Alex Law
Ken Stott	...	Detective Inspector McCall
Keith Allen	...	Hugo
Colin McCredie	...	Cameron
Victoria Nairn	...	Visitor
Gary Lewis	...	Visitor
Jean Marie Coffey	...	Goth
Peter Mullan	...	Andy
Leonard O'Malley	...	Tim
David Scoular	...	Cash Machine Victim
Grant Glendinning	...	Bath Victim
Victor Eadie	...	Freezer victim
Robert David MacDonald	...	Lumsden
Frances Low	...	Doctor
Bill Denistoun	...	Master of Ceremonies
John Bett	...	Brian McKinley
Tony Curran	...	Travel Agent
Elspeth Cameron	...	Elderly Woman
Paul Doonan	...	Newspaper Office Boy
Billy Riddoch	...	Newspaper Editor
Kenneth Bryans	...	Police Officer
John Hodge	...	Detective Constable Mitchell
John Carmichael	...	Bandleader
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gordon Cree	...	Danceband Pianist (uncredited)
Carol McGregor	...	Prospective roommate (uncredited)

Directed by
Danny Boyle

Writing credits
John Hodge		(written by)

Produced by
Andrew Macdonald	....	producer
Allan Scott	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Simon Boswell

Cinematography by
Brian Tufano		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Masahiro Hirakubo

Casting by
Sarah Trevis

Production Design by
Kave Quinn

Art Direction by
Zoe MacLeod

Set Decoration by
Karen Wakefield

Costume Design by
Kate Carin

Makeup Department
Carmel Jackson	....	assistant makeup artist
Graham Johnston	....	makeup designer
Grant Mason	....	special makeup effects

Production Management
Steve Barker	....	post-production supervisor
Sara Barr	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stephen Docherty	....	third assistant director
Alison Goring	....	second assistant director
Gina Lee	....	trainee assistant director
Ian Madden	....	first assistant director
Simon Downes	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Brian Adams	....	stand-by carpenter
John Amabile	....	storyboard artist
Stuart Clarke	....	scenic artist
Stephen Conroy	....	paintings
Stewart Cunningham	....	dressing props
Paul Curren	....	painter
Sam Curren	....	painter
Gordon Fitzgerald	....	property master
Colin H. Fraser	....	construction manager
Derek Fraser	....	construction chargehand
Tracey Gallacher	....	assistant art director
Pat Harkins	....	stand-by props
Richard Hassall	....	carpenter
Peter Knotts	....	carpenter
Iain Macaulay	....	art department assistant
Jim Patrick	....	stand-by painter
Danny Sumsion	....	stand-by carpenter
Karen Wakefield	....	production buyer
John Watts	....	carpenter

Sound Department
Paul Conway	....	digital sound editor
Tony Cook	....	boom operator
Richard Fettes	....	footsteps editor
Nigel Galt	....	sound editor
Ray Merrin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Colin Nicolson	....	sound mixer
Brian Saunders	....	sound re-recording mixer
Iain Eyre	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Grant Mason	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Tony Steers	....	special visual effects

Stunts
Clive Curtis	....	stunt arranger

Camera and Electrical Department
Lewis Buchan	....	camera loader
Willie Cadden	....	gaffer
Arthur Donnelly	....	electrician
Paul Gavin	....	epk camera operator
Ian Jackson	....	focus puller
Kenny Richards	....	stand-by rigger
Derrick Ritchie	....	generator operator
Mark Ritchie	....	best boy
Nigel Robertson	....	still photographer
Roy Russel	....	grip
Dominic Turner	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
John Norster	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Anuree De Silva	....	first assistant editor
Neil Williams	....	second assistant editor

Music Department
Gemma Dempsey	....	music supervisor
Leftfield	....	composer: title music

Transportation Department
John Booth	....	vehicle spfx
Scott Kerry	....	driver: props

Other crew
Campbell Atkinson	....	stage
Mat Bergel	....	runner
Hilda Booth	....	production accountant
Jenifer Booth	....	accounts assistant
Bryan Boyne	....	stand-by stage
Anne Coulter	....	script supervisor
Guy Cowan	....	caterer
Brendan Diver	....	caterer
Pauline Hume	....	graphic artist: titles
Dianne Jamieson	....	trainee
Niki Longmuir	....	floor runner
Niki Longmuir	....	location assistant
Kirstin McMahon	....	trainee
Yvonne McParland	....	production coordinator
John McVeigh	....	caterer
Nicky McVeigh	....	caterer
Saul Metzstein	....	production runner
Morag Myerscough	....	title designer
Fran Robertson	....	location manager
Eric Smith	....	runner
Jamie Spencer	....	runner
James Stewart	....	runner

Production Companies

• Channel Four Films
• The Glasgow Film Fund (in association with)
• Figment Films

Distributors

• PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (1994) (UK) (theatrical)
• Gramercy Pictures (I) (1995) (USA) (theatrical)
• MFA Filmdistribution (1995) (Germany) (theatrical)
• PolyGram Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• AVU-Video-Vertriebs-GmbH (1996) (Germany) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (1996) (Germany) (VHS)
• PolyGram Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• EuroVideo (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Alta Films (Spain)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (Argentina)
• Filmes Castello Lopes (Portugal)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (video)
• Pinema (1994) (Turkey) (all media)
• Pinema (2004) (Turkey) (all media)
• PolyGram Video

Other Companies

• ARRI Media  camera equipment provided by
• Bloom Camillin  solicitors
• Delta Sound Services  sound re-recorded at
• Film Finance  completion bond
• General Screen Enterprises  titles and opticals
• Grip House  grip equipment
• Lee Lighting  lighting
• Lovatt Antiques  special furniture
• Nithsdale Antiques  special furniture
• RHH/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services  insurance
• Reel Foods  catering
• Salon  editing facilities
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Sound Design Company, The  sound post-production

MPAA:

Rated R for scenes of strong grisly violence, and for some language and nudity.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 | UK:18 | USA:R | South Korea:18 | France:-12 | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

The films French title "Petits meurtres entre amis" translates to "Small Murders Between Friends" in English.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the three of them have dinner in the flat, Juliet pours two glasses of wine, and leaves the third empty. In the next shot, all three glasses are filled.

Quotes:

Alex Law: And if you see I'm dying up there you'll call the police and tell them everything, right?
Juliet Miller: Everything.
Alex Law: Except that maybe it was his idea in the first place. Now that's important to me. I need to die misunderstood.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 100 Mile Rule (2002)

Soundtrack:

My Baby Just Cares for Me

House Of Straw, Ton Of Bricks

See, there's these three little piggies (Ewan McGregor, Kerry Fox and Christopher Eccleston) who live together as flatmates in Glasgow. The one thing that ties them together more than the genial contempt they have for one another, is the DOUBLE amount of contempt they have for everyone else. To take in extra rent money, they decide to let a spare room in their place. After having a lot of fun at the expense of many 'unsuitable' candidates, they decide to award the spot to a very dodgy looking character named Hugo, (Keith Allen), who has a shady demeanor and a rather large suitcase.

This situation is ripe for betrayal, deceit, coercion and oh, let's not leave out murder, shall we? It's dynamite with an unlit fuse, just missing a match. And that 'match' is finally struck when the three roommates find a nude Hugo dead the next morning in his room, and that in his mysterious suitcase is more cash than the three of them combined will make in a year.

Anybody hear a sizzling noise in the background? That's nothing. The explosion is coming, and it is a DOOZY! Director Danny Boyle and writer John Hodge certainly know their noir thrillers, and they skilfully weave the strands of this twisted story together like a Hitchcock chamber piece, filtered through the gimlet-eyed gaze of the Coen Brothers. With a Glaswegan accent, of course.

The acting is top notch, especially Ewan in his first major movie role. The realistic outcome of each nerve-wracking situation ratchets up the suspense and the tension without a single false note, as the 'straw' friendships of these three not-so-likable characters goes up in a puff of spontaneous combustion...all for, as the O'Jays put it so aptly, "the love of money."

And speaking of classic songs, a great director knows how to infuse a scene with just the right touch of irony, comedy or even downright horror, such as what Quentin Tarantino did with the confectionery pop standard from Stealer's Wheel, "Stuck In The Middle With You." I could tell from the word 'go' that Danny Boyle would be one artist to watch, just through the way he took a gooey retro classic like Andy Williams' "Happy Heart," and infused it with chillingly fitting gallows humor for GRAVE'S jaw-dropping ending, that will stay with you long after you've seen it...even after the second or third time! No matter how many times I watch it, it still hits me like a ton of...well, you know...

Highly recommended, with great scoring work from artists like Simon Boswell, Leftfield and Tomandandy.