Trainspotting blew my mind when I saw it in the summer of 1996. At the time, the local movie theater where I worked was just starting to dabble in indie movies. I wasn’t aware of this movie but walked by the theater when Ewan McGregor was crawling into the toilet so had to see what it was about.
Even then it didn’t look quite as brilliant as the new Criterion Collection 4K UHD. Renton (McGregor) and the gang run through the bright streets of Scotland, and later walk through the sights of London. You still see the grain of that 35mm film print I first saw.
Those needle closeups are especially triggering in 4K. The 4K also highlights shadows in the drug hovels, but also in Renton’s dining room as his parents judge him. The overflowing toilet poo, the slick night streets and dark halls of Diane (Kelly MacDonald)’s flat are also deep. For contrast, red light glows through the windows.
The first audio track buries the dialogue in the mix. I tried it on two different players so it could be a bad track. It worked a little better on TV speakers but then that defeats the purpose of a 5.1 track. Fortunately, the second track is balanced and the third is the 1996 commentary with Danny Boyle, McGregor, producer Andrew Macdonald and screenwriter John Hodge.
On the included Blu-ray Disc are archival features but also new ones. The costume and production designers speak for 20 minutes. Each character is so unique that there were different influences for each wardrobe. Kaye Quinn also relates the sets to her work with Boyle on Shallow Grave.
I’m not sure when the piece on the soundtrack musicians was recorded, but Iggy Pop is quoted in text and others speak via audio about the influence of the book. Noel Gallagher and Underworld give text quotes too. Oasis wasn’t even on the soundtrack but he was a fan.
The 2008 retrospective is archival now too and the 10 minutes of VHS quality deleted scenes are also included.