The Flying Scotsman (2006)

The true story of Graeme Obree, the Champion cyclist who built his bicycle from old bits of washing machines who won his championship only to have his title stripped from him and his mental health problems which he has suffered since.

Director:

Douglas Mackinnon

Writers:

John Brown, Simon Rose,

Stars:

Jonny Lee Miller, Sean Brown, Laura Fraser

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonny Lee Miller	...	Graeme Obree
Sean Brown	...	Young Graeme Obree
Joseph Carney	...	Child Gang Leader
Crawford McInally-Kier	...	First Child Bully
Jan Plazalski	...	Second Child Bully
Niall Macgregor	...	Graeme's Father
Julie Austin	...	Graeme's Mother
Morag Calder	...	First Office Receptionist
Billy Boyd	...	Malky
Laura Fraser	...	Anne Obree
Jean Marie Coffey	...	Woman at Finish Line
Christopher Anderson	...	Baby Ewan
Brian Cox	...	Douglas Baxter
Ron Donachie	...	Scobie
Morven Christie	...	Katie

Storyline

The Flying Scotsman is a feature film based on the remarkable true story of Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree. In 1993, and as an unemployed amateur, Obree broke the world one-hour record on a bike of his own revolutionary design, which he constructed out of scrap metal and parts of a washing machine.

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Plot Keywords:

bicycle | bi polar | courier | scot | based on true story

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Taglines:

If you loved THE WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN you'll love THE FLYING SCOTSMAN

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some mature thematic elements and strong language

Details

Country:

Germany UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 2007 (UK)

Also Known As:

A skót kerékpáros

Filming Locations:

Galston, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£60,754 (UK) (29 June 2007)

Gross:

£129,819 (UK) (6 July 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ContentFilm International, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Scion Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Tennant was cast in this film but had to drop out because of changed dates.

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Goofs

In March 2010, Graeme Obree was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame to honor his achievements as one of Scotland's greatest cyclists (reported in the Daily Record of 16th March 2010). Although born in England, he has spent most of his life in Scotland, currently lives there and has a Scottish accent, therefore he is Scottish.

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Quotes

Anne Obree: [Graeme is stretching] No you're bum does not look big in those cycling shorts

User Reviews

Possibly the best Sports Movie I have ever seen

Were this to have been a sports movie, it would have still been very much worth the ticket. However, the personal story and the battles he had to fight turned this into something so much more. I took my wife, my son and his girlfriend to see this and we all came away feeling the same. 3 of us knew so much about Graeme Obree, but my son's girlfriend had never heard of him, and has no interest in most sport, especially not cycling. That we all loved it says they got that balance right. The cast were excellent with Jonny Lee Miller playing Obree to perfection. Ably supported by Billy Boyd and Brian Cox and Laura Fraser as his wife. This film may do something to raise the profile of amateur cycling. However, even more importantly, it may highlight the issues associated with mental illness. Try to see it, you will not regret it.