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IMDbPro

Trainspotting

  • 1996
  • R
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
701K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
403
58
Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, and Kelly Macdonald in Trainspotting (1996)
Trailer for Trainspotting
Play trailer1:55
3 Videos
99+ Photos
Drama

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.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.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.

  • Director
    • Danny Boyle
  • Writers
    • Irvine Welsh
    • John Hodge
  • Stars
    • Ewan McGregor
    • Ewen Bremner
    • Jonny Lee Miller
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.1/10
    701K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    403
    58
    • Director
      • Danny Boyle
    • Writers
      • Irvine Welsh
      • John Hodge
    • Stars
      • Ewan McGregor
      • Ewen Bremner
      • Jonny Lee Miller
    • 710User reviews
    • 159Critic reviews
    • 83Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #167
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 23 wins & 35 nominations total

    Videos3

    Trainspotting: Blu-Ray
    Trailer 1:55
    Watch Trainspotting: Blu-Ray
    Trainspotting
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch Trainspotting
    'Trainspotting' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:21
    Watch 'Trainspotting' | Anniversary Mashup

    Photos155

    Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting (1996)
    Ewen Bremner in Trainspotting (1996)
    Danny Boyle in Trainspotting (1996)
    Kelly Macdonald in Trainspotting (1996)
    Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller in Trainspotting (1996)
    Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting (1996)
    Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, and Kevin McKidd in Trainspotting (1996)
    Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, and Kelly Macdonald in Trainspotting (1996)
    Ewan McGregor and Kelly Macdonald in Trainspotting (1996)
    Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting (1996)
    Kevin McKidd in Trainspotting (1996)
    Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ewan McGregor
    Ewan McGregor
    • Renton
    Ewen Bremner
    Ewen Bremner
    • Spud
    Jonny Lee Miller
    Jonny Lee Miller
    • Sick Boy
    Kevin McKidd
    Kevin McKidd
    • Tommy
    Robert Carlyle
    Robert Carlyle
    • Begbie
    Kelly Macdonald
    Kelly Macdonald
    • Diane
    Peter Mullan
    Peter Mullan
    • Swanney
    James Cosmo
    James Cosmo
    • Mr. Renton
    Eileen Nicholas
    • Mrs. Renton
    Susan Vidler
    Susan Vidler
    • Allison
    Pauline Lynch
    Pauline Lynch
    • Lizzy
    Shirley Henderson
    Shirley Henderson
    • Gail
    Stuart McQuarrie
    Stuart McQuarrie
    • Gavin…
    Irvine Welsh
    Irvine Welsh
    • Mikey Forrester
    Dale Winton
    Dale Winton
    • Game Show Host
    Keith Allen
    Keith Allen
    • Dealer
    Kevin Allen
    Kevin Allen
    • Andreas
    Annie Louise Ross
    • Gail's Mother
    • (as Ann-Louise Ross)
    • Director
      • Danny Boyle
    • Writers
      • Irvine Welsh
      • John Hodge
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Although it looks thoroughly off-putting, the feces in the Worst Toilet in Scotland scene was actually made from chocolate and smelled quite pleasant.
    • Goofs
      After Renton has sex with Diane, he has nothing on his penis, but once he gets kicked out into the hallway, he pulls a condom off.
    • 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 suit 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?

    • Crazy credits
      The voice-over during the end of the end credits cites the seven movies in which Sean Connery played "James Bond".
    • Alternate versions
      The Special Edition did not feature the trailer and video. These were available in the Green Edition. UK 'Green Edition' video release is in widescreen format and includes the nine extra scenes featured in the box set special edition, the original theatrical trailer (which doesn't use any of the film's footage) and the complete promotional video of Underworld's Born Slippy, the hit song spawned from the soundtrack.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Courage Under Fire/Walking and Talking/Trainspotting/Harriet the Spy (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      Lust for Life
      Performed by Iggy Pop

      Words and Music by Iggy Pop / David Bowie

      Published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd/EMI Virgin Music Ltd/Tintoretto Music

      Administered by RZO Music

      Courtesy of Virgin Records America Inc

    User reviews710

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A triumphant masterpiece
    Danny Boyle's "Trainspotting" is a film in which everything goes the right way. Few films are fortunate to 'be' at the right time and right place and take the world by storm as "Trainspotting" did, but the ultimate proof of this film's greatness is that if you watched it alone or with a large group of people, in 2008 or in 1996, it has the same effect- absolute power. This film is nothing more- or less- than one of the most effective and perfect artistic works ever committed to celluloid.

    The film follows the lives of a group of drug attics in Scotland in the late 1980's but is constructed less as a conventional narrative and more as a series of vignettes connected by characters and set to the film's dazzling soundtrack (the fact that I mention the scenes being 'set' to the soundtrack is proof of its importance in this particular film). Almost every scene is as powerful as the next, with three montages in particular being possibly the definitive examples of how to do a memorable cinematic montage.

    Pop culture has been kind to "Trainspotting", remembering it as a unique and great film, especially in Britain. I certainly do not disagree with this consensus, but I feel the film has been hurt by familiarity, with even television series like "Family Guy" parodying the film's well-known scenes (and badly). This doesn't mean that the film's popularity is being hurt, but that it doesn't feel as fresh and original to people now as it did back in 1996. This is hardly the thing the film's reputation suffers most from however, with the significantly large number of people who claim the film supports and promotes drug use. I have to ask, and forgive my rudeness, how stupid can you possibly be? No, drug addicts in this film are not vilified, but they are consistently shown in a brutally realistic and horrifically tragic context, and just because the film doesn't go out of its way to emotionally manipulate you into completely hating its characters doesn't mean that it promotes drug use, it means that it's a knowing film careful enough not to become a sappy, melodramatic Hollywood product.

    The acting is phenomenal, the music is terrific, the film is a pitch-perfect example of energizing editing and brilliant use of montage, and its script is one of the best ever written, alternately hilarious, horrifying, tragic, and benefiting from a rare level of depth and resonance. A British classic is what Trainspotting is recognized as, and a British classic is what it is.

    10/10
    helpful•116
    24
    • ametaphysicalshark
    • Mar 12, 2008

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    FAQ16

    • Is 'Trainspotting' based on a book?
    • Why is it called "Trainspotting"?
    • What is Sick Boy's actual name?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 9, 1996 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Lối Sống Đồi Trụy
    • Filming locations
      • Corrour Railway Station, Highland, Scotland, UK(on location)
    • Production companies
      • Channel Four Films
      • Figment Films
      • The Noel Gay Motion Picture Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • £1,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $16,491,080
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $262,673
      • Jul 21, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $16,767,475
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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