Product Description

From the director of 28 DAYS LATER ... The motion picture sensation that wowed critics and audiences nationwide, TRAINSPOTTING delivers a wild mix of rebellious action and wicked humor! It's the story of four friends as they try to make it in the world on their own terms ... and who end up planning the ultimate scam! Powered by an outstanding cast of stars including Ewan McGregor (BIG FISH, STAR WARS EPISODES I, II & III) Robert Carlyle (THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, THE FULL MONTY) and Jonny Lee Miller (DRACULA 2000, MANSFIELD PARK), and a high-energy soundtrack, TRAINSPOTTING is spectacular, groundbreaking entertainment!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2683 in DVD
• Brand: MCGREGOR,EWAN
• Released on: 2004-06-01
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 94 minutes

Amazon.com
With its hallucinatory visions of crawling dead babies and a grungy plunge into the filthiest toilet in Scotland, you might not think Trainspotting could have been one of the best movies of 1996, but Danny Boyle's film about unrepentant heroin addicts in Edinburgh is all that and more. That doesn't make it everybody's cup of tea (so unsuspecting viewers beware), but the film's blend of hyperkinetic humor and real-life horror is constantly fascinating, and the entire cast (led by Ewan McGregor and Full Monty star Robert Carlyle) bursts off of the screen in a supernova of outrageous energy. Adapted by John Hodge from the acclaimed novel by Irving Welsh, the film was a phenomenal hit in England, Scotland, and (to a lesser extent) the U.S. For all of its comedic vitality and invigorating filmmaking, the movie is no ode to heroin, nor is it a straight-laced cautionary tale. Trainspotting is just a very honest and well-made film about the nature of addiction, and it doesn't pull any punches when it is time to show the alternating pleasure and pain of substance abuse. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
Even though the packaging may state something else, the menus of this two-disc set label it "the definitive edition." New 2003 elements are added to pieces created for the film's release and Criterion laser disc. The Retrospective features are labeled "Then" and "Now" and smartly don't cover the same ground. For example, "The Sound of the Film" explores sound mixing in the "Then" segment and the popular soundtrack in the "Now" bit. Other highlights include new interviews with key behind-the-scenes talent and several worthwhile deleted scenes. The multi-angle presentation on the needle injection scene will test your nerve. Best is how much interest and energy the talents ooze throughout the discs. "The "international cut" restores a few seconds of footage, but the deleted scenes are not incorporated as they were in other versions. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

heroin sitcom, with a liberal dose of horror thrown in
This is a story about a bunch of stupid losers, who have nothing at the center of their lives, so they became addicts, drunks, and thieves. What is amazing about it is how blackly funny they all are, as they dive into toilets, allow babies and friends to die, burst into violent rages, and seek some kind of fantastical out. The acting is so good that you can believe all of their chaotic lives that can go nowhere but down or prison. Will the narrator turn his life around with his latest scan and last chance? You assume so, but don't know.

Recommended. Cult classic. And that young Ian McGregor! First rate.

horribly good
This is a horribly amusing movie full of witty little lessons. I think it works wonders on curious teenagers. I saw this movie at a critical time in my life and after seeing it there is no way in hell I would ever willingly get hooked on anything except life. Some people are disgusted by this movie because of what drugs are shown to do but truly this is just a drop in the ocean. This will be in my top ten for the forseeable future.

Certainly a classical insight into addiction
Having witnessed many forms of addiction throughout my life, I have to say, this film excellently portrays the sorts of lives addicts lead and the challenges they face. It's unusual mix of horror and humor make it difficult to classify, but its storyline and characterizations are heavily engrossing and keep you glued throughout. In a way, you participate in your own "trip" as you identify with the characters and follow their exploits, like a joyride into another life. Certainly this is great film making.