Synopsis:
The film is about Scottish herion-addicts and their lives. Mark Renton makes a decision to quit herion and is joined by his friends. The friends go through a number of events; such as the baby dieing, getting aids, etc, prompting them to go back to their addiction. Mark, clean of heroin, decides to leave his old life behind and go to work in London and is consequently joined by his mates. Tommy dies back in Scotland and they all retreat back home, where they are greeted with the opporunity to sell drugs and make a lot of money. The deal is successful and the guys have a lot of money, however Mark steals the whole lot and runs away, leaving a wad of cash for his friend Stud; an optimistic ending.
The director of Trainspotting is Danny Boyle with Figment production company for Filmfour. Other films that he has done with this company are: The Beach, Slumdog Millionaire, Alien Love Triangle, etc.
The budget for this movie was only £2m/$2.5m; which is an unbelievably small amount, especially as it made the producers a £38m profit.
It was filmed almost entirely in Glasgow, even though it is set in Edinburgh. The initial scene however is filmed in Edinburgh, and there are a few scenes that are filmed in London - West Kensignton and Bayswater.
The Actors
Ewan McGregor [as Mark Renton] who has indeed moved on to an international scale, has also starred in Angels and Demons, Big Fish, Star Wars, Miss Potter, etc.
Ewen Bremner [as Spud] has also starred in Death at a Funeral, Carnival Sun, Rundown. Bremner has appearred in numerous TV shows too, such as My Name is Earl and Queen Elizabeth I.
Jonny Lee Miller [as Sick Boy] has appearred in The Flying Scotsman, Dracula 2000, etc. Miller, like Ewen Bremner starrs in more TV shows than movies e.g. Eli Stone, Emma, Canerbury Tales, etc.
Kevin McKidd [as Tommy] has also acted on an internation scale; e.g. Hannibal Rising, Kingdom of Heaven, 16 Years of Alcohol, etc. McKidd is famous for his appearance in the TV show Grey's Anatomy. As well as these, Kevin McKidd was an icon on the cideo game Call of Duty.
Kelly Macdonald [as Diane] has starred in Nanny McPhee, Finding Neverland, Choke, The Merry Gentleman, etc. She has also worked internationally.
Trainspotting was distributed in Miramax Home Entertainment and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. The filmed was released Worldwide and therefore disctributed in all western countries - The US, Germany, Spain, Russia, etc.
The film is set in Scotland with snips from England, as the actors are a mixture of Scottish and English origin, the film can be seen to be British, not just from Scotland; the film therefore tells us about England as well as Scotland.
Trainspotting has either won or been nominated in over 20 awards, including winning the BAFTA film award, the Bodil award, a Brit award, an Empire award, etc. It was also nominated for an oscar in 1997.
The controversy surrounding the film was that the film is not afraid to say "drugs are good at first"; a factor taht caused a few criticisms. However, the film goes on to saying "but it's not worth it because the side effects will screw you up forever", and thus portrays the message of the film in a very poignant manner.
Task 2: Marketing
Analysing the Poster
This poster has been contructed for one main purpose: to promote the film, using text, images, themes, target audience, etc.
It tells us straightaway that this is a British film about attitudes to life. The word 'choose' is bold and repetitive, establishing that the characters in the film are going to have to make choices, which could also be used to proote the film - the viewers should 'choose' to watch this film. Mark Renton's chilly body language shows that perhaps some of the choices he's made were wrong. The hand-gun gesture is a small hint at violence and crime in the film. The slogan at the top is a direct quote from the first lines of the film which also reveals the narrative of the film; making choices and realising the consequences of your actions. This theme also sets the target audience; young adults choosing careers and ways of life - this film hence is an 18, which also compresses the target audience.
One of the methods used to sell the film are the tagline of "Britain's smash hit is coming to America"; it automatically presents the film as having an amazing reputation in Britain as being a highly successful 'smash hit' and therefore would persuade other countries to watch it. The image makes it seem like a fun movie to watch, e.g. the smiles on the character's faces, the playful hand-gun and ridiculous glasses. However each of these also hint at the deep-rooted themes of life, drugs, crime, friendships.
I think that this poster is successful in making me want to see the film. The use of colour is very effective; the bright orange makes the name of the film memorable and dominant. The movie looks like a fun film to watch and thus, it is a successful poster in promoting the movie.
Analysing the Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAHI3bH0rbc
The trailer is almost 2 minutes long and thus more informative and interesting than the poster. It tells us a lot more about the film in an engaging manner and doesn't spoil the plot or the ending. The trailer narrates the entire passage of Mark's "choices" speech from the beginning of the film throughout the trailer. This is a constant reminder that the film is going to be about making choices in life. There were clips of nudity which revealed that the movie may have sexual references, there were also humourous snips which showed that the film is not going to be all serious and depressing; a key feature is the promotion of this movie.
The adventurous music used throughout the trailer mixed with the non-diegetic narrator, creates a sense of chaos and excitement; the movie wants to appear exciting and crazy to attract an audience. The target audience established within the trailer is one similar to the poster; people at an age of making choices in their lives.
I think that the trailer is even more successful in promoting the film than the poster; it is exciting and makes the movie fun to watch with serious underlying themes.
It is also evident that neither the poster nor the trailer focus on the main theme of drugs, this comes as a surprise to the viewer when watching the film. However the marketing material is still engaging and effective.
The music used in the film is also helpful to the marketing of the film; Iggy Pop were big in the 90's and their music would have boosted the popularity of the film and made the soundtrack of it successfull.
Task 3: You
The main message of the film is alerting viewers not to take drugs which is established in some of the horrific imagery and experiencesused. Trainspotting also helps viewers understand why people do drugs and then why drug abuse is wrong. The film also shows that you have one shot at life, that you should make the right choices and realise the consequences of your actions.
As a British film, I think that is says many things about our society. On the surface, it shows that the country is full of druggies and scumbags that don't really care for anything other than getting high; it also shows their disregard for all other matters that don't involve drugs or money. However the film tries to show a lighter view of this stereotype by showing drug-addicts trying to solve their addiction and focusing on deeper things in life such as relationships. Therefore I think that the film shows Britain as a laid back country that has serious issues which the individuals of the society are aware of and try to solve.
I think that the film was succsefful because of the excellent portrayal of drug use. It's vivid realistic events are deep-rooted and make the viewer think, however it also contains some light-hearted humorous moments and it is this combination of the serousness and the comic attributes that make the film so fantastic.
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