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Trainspotting

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90% Tomatometer 98 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Heroin addict Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends -- Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Begbie (Robert Carlyle), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Tommy (Kevin McKidd). He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane (Kelly Macdonald), along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind when Begbie shows up at his front door on the lam, and a scheming Sick Boy follows.
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Trainspotting

Trainspotting

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Critics Consensus

A brutal, often times funny, other times terrifying portrayal of drug addiction in Edinburgh. Not for the faint of heart, but well worth viewing as a realistic and entertaining reminder of the horrors of drug use.

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Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher The Times (UK) 05/29/2024
5/5
Easy to start, all-consuming, impossible to quit. Go to Full Review Jay Carr Boston Globe 05/01/2024
The unsinkable vigor coursing through the veins of Trainspotting leaves no doubt that it intends to come down on the side of life. In its chance-taking, its virtuosity and its ultimate morality, it's an exhilarating film. Go to Full Review Eleanor Ringel Cater Atlanta Journal-Constitution 05/01/2024
3.5/4
Choose Trainspotting... if you think you can take it. Go to Full Review Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl Aug 16
8/10
Rewatching Trainspotting after almost 30 years, it’s as funny and awful as I remember... Go to Full Review Nicolás Medina Peliplat 05/10/2025
10/10
The addictions of each of the characters are nothing more than a kind of desperate cry in the face of the uniformity of a decade that, although its montage seems prosperous and pleasant, is nothing more than theatrical and hollow. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week 01/22/2025
Unlike most generational touchstones about alienated young people, Trainspotting has its cake and eats it, too. It gets to be ruthlessly clever about the emptiness of workaday jobs and lifestyle creep while finding the rebellion far more self-destructive. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Rob G @Googanaba Apr 1 Ugh, this movie was hard to watch. Can't believe I missed it in the 90s with all the hype but this was not a good movie. The characters were all horrible people and they went through disgusting things. The only redeeming quality is it will prevent anyone watching from ever doing heroin. Oh, and it did introduce Kelly Macdonald to the world (best voice in Hollywood). See more Movie M @MovieMinds_ENG Mar 27 Trainspotting and how its not about spottings trains at all: Trainspotting is a film whose title means more than just "watching trains" — it likely refers to "track marks," the needle scars from heroin use. It’s based on the 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh, written in Scottish dialect, which makes it challenging but very authentic. Directed by Danny Boyle, the 1996 film follows Mark Renton and his friends in a bleak 1980s Edinburgh, shaped by drugs, alcohol, and violence. Begbie stands out as a particularly aggressive antagonist. The film’s strengths include its energetic soundtrack (featuring Blur, Pulp, and Underworld) and its striking, sometimes surreal visuals. Despite its dark humor, it offers a powerful portrayal of addiction’s destructive nature — making it both entertaining and a strong warning against heroin use. See more Steven F. @SteveGotScored Feb 23 Literally one of my favorite movies ever! See more Christian F. @thefalcon11 Feb 16 Danny Boyle’s masterpiece. Beautifully shot. Mixing the grim reality and darkness of drug addiction with comedic gold. Well paced and wildly entertaining. See more James H. @420Drive-in Jan 23 This movie hits the ground running through friendship, addiction, crime and absolute despair. This isn't just a movie, this is an experience and meant to be seen. Danny Boyle's as director is firing on all cylinders providing you with a truly groundbreaking film experience. See more Kevin M. @kevostyle Nov 24 Such a realistic, version of the toxic lives some of us have experienced. Classic. See more Read all reviews
Trainspotting

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Cast & Crew

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Danny Boyle

Director

Ewan McGregor

Mark "Rent-boy" Renton

Ewen Bremner

Daniel "Spud" Murphy

Jonny Lee Miller

Simon David "Sick Boy" Williamson

Kevin McKidd

Tommy MacKenzie

Robert Carlyle

Francis (Franco) Begbie

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Trainspotting

Trainspotting: 30th Anniversary 4K Restoration Trailer Trainspotting: 30th Anniversary 4K Restoration Trailer 2:12 View more videos
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Trainspotting

Trainspotting (1996) Trainspotting (1996) Trainspotting (1996) From Left to right, Jonny Lee Miller (Sick Boy), Ewan McGregor (Renton), Kevin McKidd (Tommy) and Ewen Bremner (Spud). Kevin McKidd as Tommy (1) and Ewen Bremner as Spud (r). Ewan McGregor (l) and Jonny Lee Miller (r). Ewan McGregor as Renton. Ewan McGregor as Renton. View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Heroin addict Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends -- Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Begbie (Robert Carlyle), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Tommy (Kevin McKidd). He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane (Kelly Macdonald), along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind when Begbie shows up at his front door on the lam, and a scheming Sick Boy follows.
Director
Danny Boyle
Producer
Andrew Macdonald
Screenwriter
John Hodge
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Figment Films, Noel Gay Motion Picture Company, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Rating
R (Nudity|Graphic Heroin Use|Sex|Some Violence|Strong Language)
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 19, 1996, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 19, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$16.6M
Runtime
1h 34m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, Stereo, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)