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, Laura Fraser, Brian Cox

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 | underdog | scot | courier | bi polar | 

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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:

El escocés volador

Filming Locations:

Galston, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$78,337, 6 May 2007

Gross USA:

$171,817

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,260,553

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

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Connections

Referenced in La noche de...: El escocés volador (2017)

User Reviews

Obree is a hero

I saw it in Aberdeen on Sat night, I wasn't really expecting much as sporting films are usually bordering on rubbish but it was very entertaining. Everyone quotes the bike "built from washing machine parts" but very seldom is Graeme Obree acknowledged as the superb (drug-free) athlete that he was. I would recommend it, although it does over simplify events, as cinema usually does, but it was 90 mins well spent. I hope Graeme benefits from its release. Her indoors also thoroughly enjoyed it even if it was very much, my choice of film. I would recommend it if you just enjoy a good story. In fact it is such a good tale that sometimes it is easy to forget that it is a true story and just how heroic Graeme Obree 's feats were.