Trainspotting (1996)

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The Rewatchables' awards

From ‘Trainspotting’ With Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald (2021-09-28):

Most rewatchable scene

  1. pick The Choose Life monologue, especially Renton's closing line about choosing something else, which also covers the five-a-side match and the Bond monologue.
    “my 1st rewatchable scene is the Choose Life monologue”
    Andy Greenwald · 0:36:29
  2. pick Renton's first attempt to get off junk: the voiceover, the stacked cans and the barricade, ahead of the toilet.
    “I like I like the 1st trying to get off junk scene.”
    Andy Greenwald · 0:38:24
  3. floated Spud's job interview.
    “I would also nominate Spud's job interview.”
    unknown · 0:38:48
  4. pick Begbie's story and Tommy's version of it: the freeze frames, the cutaways, and the pub brawl.
    “So I'm going to go Begbie's story Tommy's version as the best, most rewatchable scene because I actually have like just fired that up on YouTube from time to time.”
    Chris Ryan · 0:44:13
  5. floated Begbie showing up in London and knocking away the pot of noodles.
    “I would also say, um, later in the film, when Begbie shows up in London, uh, I always really love that when he's like knocks the pot of noodles away”
    Andy Greenwald · 0:43:00
  6. floated The final scag deal with Keith Allen.
    “And the final one would just be the scag deal with Keith Allen.”
    Andy Greenwald · 0:43:24
  7. floated The whole opening rush.
    “For me, the whole just opening rush bleeds into one.”
    Chris Ryan · 0:43:31
  8. floated The nightclub sex montage.
    “I think the entire nightclub sex business montage.”
    Chris Ryan · 0:43:37

Ebert review · Reading Roger Ebert's review of the film.

  1. pick Trainspotting: Ebert gives it 3 stars and says it goes nowhere on purpose; the hosts laugh that movies don't have to say something.
    “Does it lead anywhere? Say anything, not really. That's the point. 3 stars.”
    Chris Ryan · 0:31:49

What aged best · What about the film has held up best.

  1. pick The Choose Life monologue: Even people who hadn't seen the movie knew the monologue.
    “So what's age the best? Obviously, I just said to choose live speech.”
    Chris Ryan · 0:44:21
  2. pick The poster: The poster, with the monologue on it, was in every dorm room.
    “and this leads into the other one's age, the best, which is the poster, which Andy and I also talked about.”
    Chris Ryan · 0:44:47
  3. pick The surreal flourishes (the toilet, the overdose): They work as a pressure valve after the darker moments.
    “I think that the flourishes of surreality really help, which I would also add is one of my things that have aged the best”
    Chris Ryan · 0:46:07
  4. pick The humor: Dry Scottish humor takes the edge off and makes the hard moments hit harder.
    “I think the humor has aged the best.”
    Andy Greenwald · 0:47:10
  5. pick Renton's 'It's shite being Scottish' speech: The specific Scottishness is what has aged best, shown in the speech.
    “the specific Scottishness of it has also aged the best, and I would say that's encapsulated in, in Renton's, its shite being Scottish speech”
    unknown · 0:48:44
  6. pick The soundtrack: Calls it pretty definitive; the music curated the history of cool and the nightlife of the moment.
    “I think I do have a wet's age the best, though, maybe pretty definitive, and that's the soundtrack.”
    Chris Ryan · 0:50:47
  7. pick The soundtrack: Agrees with Chris and adds that Danny Boyle's own taste is all over it.
    “So I'll probably say soundtrack is what age the best”
    Andy Greenwald · 0:56:26
  8. pick Renton's view of gender fluidity: The line about no guys and no girls, just wankers, has aged very well.
    “But I do think that it's worth noting that Renton's view of gender fluidity has aged very well”
    Andy Greenwald · 0:57:03

What aged worst · What about the film has held up worst.

  1. pick Dead babies, feces, and drug withdrawal: His big three; he adds that the two feces scenes were reportedly melted chocolate.
    “This might be the greatest big 3 in the history of what age the worst for movies. Dead babies, feces, and drug withdrawal.”
    Chris Ryan · 0:57:19
  2. pick Underage sex (Diane): Offered as the fourth face of the Mount Rushmore; in the book, Diane is 14.
    “What's the fourth? Underage sex?”
    unknown · 0:57:31
  3. pick The single-gender point of view: Wishes there were more of the women in the group, though it was the 90s.
    “I liked the women in the group.”
    Andy Greenwald · 0:59:23

Casting what-ifs · Almost-castings and recasts.

  1. pick Ewen Bremner as Renton: Bremner played Renton in the stage version before playing Spud in the film.
    “Obviously, I mentioned you and Brunmer was played Renton in the play version in the theatrical version of the movie or of the screenplay.”
    Chris Ryan · 0:59:51
  2. pick Christopher Eccleston as Begbie: Was originally supposed to play Begbie, and Boyle saw him in the role; the hosts muse about both actors' careers.
    “Christopher Eccleston, who had appeared in Shallow Grave, and would go on to be Doctor Who, and has had a very story career, was originally up for Begby, or was originally supposed to play Begby,”
    Chris Ryan · 1:00:00
  3. pick Robert Carlyle as Begbie: Carlyle blew the Shallow Grave audition, then won Begbie after Boyle told him small psychos are the best.
    “So, uh, Carlisle had auditioned for Shallow Grave for the, um, Ewan McGregor role.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:00:39

Dion Waiters Award · Doing the most with the least amount of time.

  1. nominee Keith Allen as the drug dealer: One scene as the dealer at the end.
    “I have Keith Allen as the drug dealer. He gets one scene, the guy who makes the buy at the end of the movie.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:02:58
  2. winner Peter Mullan: Calls his scene with Renton the epitome of the award: confident, quiet, and he owns the scene doing very little.
    “He, that whole scene is incredible because this is, I think, this is epitome of Dion Waiter's”
    Chris Ryan · 1:04:39
  3. nominee Irvine Welsh as Mikey Forrester: The author's cameo as Mikey Forrester.
    “The only other thing I had for Dion Waiter is Berservine Welsh, just Mikey Forrester.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:05:57

Apex Mountain · Where a performer's or filmmaker's career peaks.

  1. pick Jonny Lee Miller as Sick Boy: This is probably his peak.
    “Johnny Lee Miller, I'd probably say this is his Apex Mountain”
    Chris Ryan · 1:08:02
  2. pick Ewen Bremner as Spud: This is probably his peak.
    “you and Brenmer, I would probably say this is his Apex Mountain.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:08:02
  3. nominee Robert Carlyle as Begbie: A phenomenal career, though Chris points out T2 also gives him a great showing.
    “One is Robert Carlisle.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:09:57
  4. winner Born Slippy: His bending of the rules: the best needle drop of all time; Chris agrees and they settle on it as Apex Mountain for needle drops.
    “that Bourne Slippy in train spotting is the greatest needle drop of all time.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:10:20

Joey Pants Award · Best that guy.

  1. nominee James Cosmo as Renton's dad: Basically James Cosmo in every movie with Scottish people.
    “For Joey Pants, I have James Cosmo as Renton's dad.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:12:20
  2. nominee Shirley Henderson: Small part; Andy raves about her career.
    “And then I also had Shirley Henderson, who is an actress.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:12:37

Vincent Hanna Award · The give-me-all-you-got overacting award.

  1. nominee Robert Carlyle as Begbie: He screams for the entire movie, meant as a compliment.
    “I guess that you could go, you know, for Begbie.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:13:53
  2. nominee Irvine Welsh as Mikey Forrester: The only real nominee, though he is the best author-as-actor and does not break the movie.
    “Unfairly, I think the only real nominee is Irvine Welsh himself”
    Chris Ryan · 1:14:14

Picking Nits · Nitpicks of a film they love.

  1. pick The condom he never had on: Renton is naked with Diane, then removes a condom in the hall that was not on him; Andy notes the UK and American versions differ.
    “is naked with Diane in the bedroom and then goes in the hall and removes the condom that was not on him.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:18:20
  2. pick The bus locker key and Renton's passport: How did Renton get Spud the key if he needed it for his passport? Andy suggests he relocked it and mailed it.
    “the only thing I was like, kind of like, how did Renton get Spud the bus locker key if he needed”
    Chris Ryan · 1:20:01
  3. pick AIDS suddenly appearing in the story: Says it feels true to the book but comes out of nowhere in the film.
    “the way AIDS suddenly shows up as a thing in the movie, like 50 minutes in when suddenly after like his 5th go round, his parents are like, we should find out if you have HIV or not.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:20:49
  4. pick Sick Boy: Got much shorter shrift than he remembered, though his arc is compelling.
    “I would say that Sick Boy. Got much shorter shrift than I realized in the movie.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:21:39
  5. pick Begbie as a fugitive: Begbie's vigilante status seems murky; he goes to Scotland for a drug deal while on the run.
    “Begbie's vigilante status seems a little murky because he's just like, I'm on the run, but let's go back to Scotland to do a drug deal and then let's take the bus back.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:24:19

Unanswered questions · Questions the film leaves open.

  1. pick The young man in the bathroom after the final deal: The kid who tests the drugs never emerges and is never mentioned again; he wants it left a mystery or answered in T2.
    “The young gentleman on the nod never is spoken of again and does not emerge from that bathroom.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:25:26
  2. pick Would the sequel have landed differently if made earlier: Wonders about a different cultural moment for T2.
    “I do wonder what would have happened if the sequel had been made earlier”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:28:07
  3. pick Kevin McKidd: What would his career be like if he had not been on vacation the day the promo photos were shot.
    “What would Kevin McKidd's career be like if he hadn't gone on vacation the day that they shot the promo photos?”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:28:36

Best quote · Favorite line from the film.

  1. pick The streets are awash with drugs line: The line about injecting vitamin C if only it had been made illegal.
    “I always loved, the streets are awashed with drugs you could have for unhappiness and pain, and we took them all. Fuck it, we would have injected vitamin C if they had only made it illegal.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:25:44
  2. pick The football versus shopping exchange: Calls it his most quotable line; he thinks of it at every gathering where men and women separate.
    “Football. What are you talking about? Shopping.”
    Andy Greenwald · 0:56:39
  3. pick The way the cast says things like 'the Academy Award': The delivery, not one line, rings in his head 25 years later.
    “I hear the way they said things, like, I don't, that's at all, or like, the Academy Award.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:26:06

Remade as a Netflix series · Could it be a prestige TV series.

  1. pick Trainspotting: No: it works as a 93-minute firecracker and its limited budget gives it a handmade feel.
    “No. I mean, well, look, yes, in the sense that it's vibey and vignettes and anecdotal”
    Chris Ryan · 1:26:26

Who won the movie · Who came out ahead from the film.

  1. nominee Ewan McGregor as Renton: Captured the moment, funny and sexy, and made an unrelatable story relatable.
    “So this is tough because I don't even know if we've really done McGregor justice throughout this podcast.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:29:10
  2. winner Danny Boyle: His vision and ability to unlock the story creatively.
    “I just think it's boils vision of the movie and his ability to kind of creatively unlock certain doors that I don't think many other filmmakers could have thought of.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:30:08
  3. nominee Ewan McGregor as Renton: Revelatory then and now: if the movie is heroin, he is cocaine.
    “I mean, he is, if the movie's about heroin, he is cocaine.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:30:30
  4. nominee The soundtrack: One of his three other nominees.
    “Um, one, the soundtrack, you could make the case in one movie for the movie.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:31:12
  5. nominee The marketing team: The orange and gray color scheme and the posters.
    “Similarly, the marketing team, Bravo, everything they did was brilliant.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:31:18
  6. winner People who were 19 in 1996: Joking nod to mushrooms: they caught a movie that gave them a whole culture.
    “People who were 19 in 1996 won the movie.”
    Andy Greenwald · 1:32:13

Who talked about it

The Big Picture

Came from

What the speakers say it drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

No line says it drew on another film or person.

Led to

What the speakers say drew on it, marked the same way.

T2 Trainspotting: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Trainspotting ⇒ T2 Trainspotting (the host's read). T2 is about the Trainspotting guys as middle-aged men reckoning with their mistakes.
    “This is about the guys who were in train spotting kind of being middle-aged men now.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:29:56 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)

Connected to

T2 Trainspotting: 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): T2 Trainspotting → Trainspotting. T2 is about the Trainspotting guys as middle-aged men reckoning with their mistakes.
    “This is about the guys who were in train spotting kind of being middle-aged men now.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:29:56 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)

Where it came up

What was said about it, by kind

lineage (1)

  1. lineage (lineage): T2 Trainspotting → Trainspotting. T2 is about the Trainspotting guys as middle-aged men reckoning with their mistakes.
    “This is about the guys who were in train spotting kind of being middle-aged men now.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:29:56 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)

Fun items about it

None.

Who the speakers said made it

As said on the shows, not checked against the real credits.