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IMDb > Trainspotting (1996)
Trainspotting
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Trainspotting (1996)

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User Rating: 8.1/10 (111,327 votes)
Photos (see all 44 | slideshow)

Overview

Director:
Danny Boyle
Writers:
Irvine Welsh (novel)
John Hodge (screenplay)
Release Date:
19 July 1996 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Crime | Drama more
Tagline:
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a starter home. Choose dental insurance, leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose your future. But why would anyone want to do a thing like that? more
Plot:
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. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 18 wins & 13 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(60 articles)
Rockwell Enjoyed Kissing Scenes With MacDonald (From WENN. 1 September 2008, 6:22 PM, PDT)
First Look: Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (From FirstShowing.net. 29 August 2008, 1:29 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
The Greatest British Movie of All Time more

Cast

 (Cast overview, first billed only)
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Ferrovipathes (Canada: French title) [fr]
Sin límites (Mexico) (video box title) [es]
Trainspotting (Spain) [es]
Trainspotting (Portugal) [pt]
Trainspotting (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Trainspotting (Czech Republic) [cs]
Trainspotting (Denmark) [da]
Trainspotting (Slovenia) [sl]
Trainspotting (France) [fr]
Trainspotting (Poland) [pl]
Trainspotting (Slovakia) [sk]
Trainspotting - Neue Helden (Germany) [de]
Trainspotting - Sem Limites (Brazil) [pt]
Vida en el abismo, La (Mexico) [es]
more
MPAA:
Rated R for graphic heroin use and resulting depravity, strong language, sex, nudity and some violence.
Runtime:
94 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.78 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
MOVIEmeter: ?
V 9% since last week why?

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The scene where Sick-Boy and Renton lie in the park and take potshots with their air-rifle was originally going to be set to the theme from "Mission: Impossible" (1966). Unfortunately Brian De Palma was setting up the film version of the TV show at the time so getting to the rights to the music simply proved to be too expensive - approximately three times the film's budget. Both actors were very hungover for the scene in question. more
Goofs:
Errors in geography: When Diane meets Spud lying comatose on the street, a bus passes by in the background. The bus is orange, which is the colour of Glasgow City buses, but the movie is set in Edinburgh where the buses are maroon and cream. more
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 suite 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?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Match Point (2005) more
Soundtrack:
Sing more

FAQ

Does Renton actually dive into the toilet and swim around underwater?
What happened to the baby?
Why is it called "Trainspotting"?
more
131 out of 156 people found the following comment useful:-
The Greatest British Movie of All Time, 28 February 2004
Author: RobertF87 from Scotland

This film became almost a cultural phenomenon as soon as it was released in Britain in February 1996.

Adapted from the first (and best) book by Irvine Welsh, the film shows the lives of a group of Edinburgh heroin addicts.

The film is a black comedy, at times hilarious, tragic, surreal, brutal and uplifting. The film is full of memorable moments such as the chase down Edinburgh's Princes Street which opens the film (I happened to be there when they were filming that scene) and Ewan McGregor diving down the "Worst Toilet in Scotland" headfirst.

The film doesn't condemn drug addicts, but it is probably more effective then any amount of preachy moralising as it depicts the devastating consequences that can happen to drug users.

The film is well acted by a cast who have (mostly) become pretty famous since. Especially memorable is Robert Carlyle as the violent Begbie.

I have seen this film many times. It is an instant classic. Go check it out.

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Message Boards

Discuss this title with other users on IMDb message board for Trainspotting (1996)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
best scene in movie EdenGardner
On film4 now.... emisla78122
How did Spud... the_han_solo
the baby hellokittyspeedboat
please help with a song cody-boyd
Iwould have liked to see Begbie get his ass kicked zzbudzz
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