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Amazon.co.uk Review
The film that effectively launched the star careers of Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed with abandon by Danny Boyle, Trainspotting conspires to be at once a hip youth flick and a grim cautionary fable. Released on an unsuspecting public in 1996, the picture struck a chord with audiences worldwide and became adopted as an instant symbol of a booming British rave culture (an irony, given the characters' main drug of choice is heroin not ecstasy).
McGregor, Lee Miller and Ewen Bremner play a slouching trio of Scottish junkies; Carlyle their narcotic-eschewing but hard-drinking and generally psychotic mate Begbie. In Boyle's hands, their lives unfold in a rush of euphoric highs, blow-out overdoses and agonising withdrawals (all cued to a vogueish pop soundtrack). Throughout it all, John Hodge's screenplay strikes a delicate balance between acknowledging the inherent pleasures of drug use and spotlighting its eventual consequences. In Trainspotting's world view, it all comes down to a question of choices--between the dangerous Day-Glo highs of the addict and the grey, grinding consumerism of the everyday Joe. "Choose life", quips the film's narrator (McGregor) in a monologue that was to become a mantra. "Choose a job, choose a starter home... But why would anyone want to do a thing like that?" Ultimately, Trainspotting's wised-up, dead-beat inhabitants reject mainstream society in favour of a headlong rush to destruction. It makes for an exhilarating, energised and frequently terrifying trip that blazes with more energy and passion than a thousand more ostensibly life-embracing movies. --Xan Brooks
Special Features
This new release includes a brand new 40 minute feature with interviews from director Danny Boyle, screenwriter John Hodge and stars Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Ewan Bremner and Kelly MacDonald.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Atomic!,
By
This review is from: Trainspotting: The Definitive Edition [DTS] [DVD] [1996] (DVD)
Having bought the original DVD away back in 1999 (in the old-style transparent plastic case and everything), I have to say I was aprehensive about paying the extra money for the extra scenes and interviews. However, it was well worth it.To recap, Trainspotting follows the lives of three junkies (Renton, Sick Boy and Spud) and a psychopath (Begbie) in Edinburgh (although quite a lot of the film is actually shot in my home town of Glasgow). Having recieved a mixture of acclaim and controversy when it was released, those who make the effort to watch it will realise it is not about glamorising drugs. It is essentially about the break up of friendships between men who have been pals since school and whose lives decay in a furore of drink, violence, sex, and drugs. It also makes an important statement of how mundane junkies' lives are. The most disturbing aspect of this film is actually the amount of humour: from the bookmaker's toilet to the psychopath Begbie, quite simply a nutter, to use a nice vernacular phrase. Also look out for Sick Boy's great impressions of Sean Connery. The extras on the DVD are great and a perfect length. Various missing scenes are included on the first disc. On the second disc, there is a mixture of interviews (including one with the author of the book, Irvine Welsh), and good behind-the-scenes material, including some nice multi-angle material. Admirers of Trainspotting will have already appreciated its pulsating and eclectic soundtrack: from Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' to Sleeper's cover of 'Atomic'; from Iggy Pop's 'Lust For Life' to 'Habanera' from Carmen. This DVD explains the choice of sound, as well as other aspects such as visuals and colour, and was interested to find out the music is designed to move the audience from the 1980s where the story begins to the 1990s. Indeed, Renton, the hero (?) of the film begins as a person with his mind stuck in the era of Iggy Pop, before eventually waking up to the 1990s with Pulp and Damon Albarn. Incidentally, also look out for the vox-pops of Albarn at the Cannes film festival on the second disc, as well as the likes of Oasis and Ewan McGregor himself. This a film which deals with a controversial subject in a perfect manner with an excellent cast, great visuals, and a racing sountrack. ***** Five Stars! *****
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A high octane thrill without the needle,
By A Customer
This review is from: Trainspotting W/S [VHS] [1996] (VHS Tape)
A highly energetic adaption of the Irvine Welsh bestseller, following the misadventures of a group of Edinburgh drug addicts whose dependency and downward spiral is offset by a pumping soundtrack and visually stunning photography. Lauded as counter-culture and following hot on the heels of director Danny Boyle's hit Shallow Grave, this is in fact a very traditional and very funny story, told by lead character Renton (Ewan McGregor) of a rites-of-passage tale aided and abetted by a junkie's needle. Four of the main characters are all heroin addicts, with the exception of Robert Carlyle's wonderfully psychotic Begbie, who is so completely barking no drugs are needed to send him wildly off his tree. Renton (as the film's main focus and narrator) is determined to kick the habit and does cold turkey, only to find the temptations from his friends too near at hand as he is sucked back into their world with both horrific and hilarious consequences. Pulling the rug of sympathy from under Renton's feet however, the film shifts confusingly from our hero searching for his next desperate heroin fix halfway through the film to a suddenly transformed young suit popping up in London as an estate agent. Such an action belies his apparent mental frailty and begs the obvious question Why on earth take the drug if life is as easy as this? From early on the script adopts a commercial crowd-pleasing tone (there are endless references to Sean Connery and Iggy Pop, a la Tarantino) thus enabling most of the cast to at least become coherent to a large section of the audience (a feat that seemed to escape the novel). Violent and hugely entertaining in its approach, this is a film that, despite its reputation, avoids the underbelly of the drug world, neatly side-stepping the more painful aspects in favour of a glossy sheen on the media's favourite theme: twentysomething angst, a move that promises handsome returns at the box office. This is a film with intelligence, wit and a notable debut from the very, very promising Kelly McDonald; talent and beauty in equal measure. Proof that Britain, or should that be Scotland, has more than enough bite at the box office.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Go see this......NOW!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Trainspotting: The Definitive Edition [DTS] [DVD] [1996] (DVD)
This is an absolute must-see film. Gritty, funny, serious, harrowing - the film includes all these elements. Excellent cast, excellent soundtrack and excellent film. Ewan McGregor gives a very good performance as main character/narrator Mark Renton. Although he is not a model citizen, he is likeable. Spud is a bit goofy and also likeable. Robert Carlye perfectly plays physco Begby who in the words of Renton 'Begby doesn't do drugs, he just does people'. The film follows Renton and his so called mates. The situations the characters find themselves in can be scary, funny and interesting. Throughout the film, we see the tension between friends and the battle Renton has with drugs. The film also shows the bad effects drugs can have on peoples life in a hard-hitting way. When people think of Trainspotting they think 'oh it's a film about heroin addicts'. But when you see the film you realise there is more to it than that. Dig deeper and you realise the film is mainly about choices and friendships. Renton chose to do drugs rather than live a life working 9-5 with a family to look after. Although i don't agree with drug-taking at all, in a way his reasons are understandable. This film can be watched over and over again. There is so much to take in as there is a lot more in it than meets the eye. Enjoyable, entertaining and highly interesting. I get engrossed in the film every time i see it.
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