This is a complete set of A* Trainspotting (1996) and Shaun of The Dead (2004) revision notes for WJEC Eduqas Film Studies A Level. The document is organised into:
-TRAINSPOTTING GENERAL NOTES
- SOTD + TRAINSPOTTING NARRATIVE NOTES
- GENDER NOTES
- IDEOLOGY NOTES
- THE GOLD THAT SAVED ME TWO ...
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, TRAINSPOTTING
Director - Danny Boyle
Production Company - Figment Films
Producer - Andrew Macdonald
Screenplay - John Hodge
From the novel by - Irvine Welsh
Cinematography - Brian Tufano
MARK RENTON - EWAN MCGREGOR
SICK BOY - JONNY LEE MILLER
TOMMY - KEVIN MCKIDD
SPUD - EWEN BREMNER
BEGBIE - ROBERT CARLYLE
Themes
- Boredom
- Alcoholism and Drug use
- Hedonism
- Hopelessness/ Fatalism/Apathy
- Violence
- Death/Life
- Truth Morality
- Politics/ Nationalism
- Domestic Violence
- HIV
Narrative
Linear, using flashbacks to disrupt this
Edinburgh was the Heroin capital
Style
- Written almost entirely from a white working-class male
perspective
- The narrative switches between different characters, changing
time and location but they always seem to interconnect and meet
back
- Written in Scottish dialects and uses colloquial language
, - Dark and Cynical tone throughout the text
Symbols
- Feces is shown repeatedly in the film, and symbolizes the
biological decay that heroin leads to.
- Youth/Pop Culture Danny Boyle uses popular punk rock from
the time period to bring energy to an otherwise-depressing
subject. The soundtrack and pop images of the film also reflect
the characters’ interests—the film opens with "Lust for Life" by
Iggy Pop, and features several other tracks by him, while the
characters repeatedly refer to him as one of their favorite artists.
- The color red represents drugs and danger — anything that
threatens the character's life. The apartment where Swanney
(Peter Mullan), the drug dealer who's also referred to as “Mother
Superior,” lives and any areas where drugs are taken are always
red.
FILM GRAB
The point-of-view shot of a This highlights the protagonist’s role The anthemic non-diegetic
driver who has been stopped as a rebel with a heroin addiction soundtrack is of a punk icon Iggy
by a running shoplifter who will do anything to score the Pop singing ‘Lust For Life’ as
anti-hero Renton giving the next high: the live fast, die young Renton’s voiceover narration
direct address. The intertitle ethos in motion. Spud and Renton dictates a nihilistic poem with a
Renton appears. This occurs are shoplifting. The use of freeze series of imperatives called ‘Choose
as the Exposition (Stage 1) or frames echoes Sergio Leone Life’. This statement of intent
Equilibrium of the narrative. Westerns (Renton as outlaw). announces the film’s iconoclastic
tone.
The medium shot of Renton Director Danny Boyle wishes to However, oppositional readings of
diving into a faeces-ridden represent the grotesque life of the text suggest that the film
toiletin‘The WorstToiletin heroin addiction in Scotland which glamorizes drug culture with its
Scotland’ before it cuts to an highlights drug use as a cautionary banter and pop culture references.
underwatersequence as he tale. The film is toldfromh a Scottish
searches for his suppository. white male perspective. The film
has been criticised for its focus on
the male gaze.
,The minuteRentonn sets eyes This focuses on her and shows that Music is external, so is she, these
on Diane the soundtrack she is important, and changes are changing his feelings and mood
changes something within him as he was which adds to the theme of drugs
craving sex before as when he isn’t using drugs he
wants other external things
The extreme close up of the ...highlights a core theme A similar focus on the intake of hard
heroin baking process with a inTrainspotting: hardcore drug use drugs is also present in the
spoon of powder heated... and drug addiction. The fact that the postmodern Tarantino film Pulp
spoon is grubby, which illustrates Fiction (1994, US).
their grimy lifestyle.
The long shot of Diane in ...reveals that she is underage. This This theme in connection with
school uniform as Renton is is particularly disturbing as Renton heroin addiction is meant to
eating breakfast at the dinner met her at a club the night before highlight how extreme both things
table with her parents (his and they had sex. The middle-class may be: being a ‘skag’ addict and a
orgasm during sex is intercut interior depicts the conformist paedophile. This scene is Stage 3 of
with a goal in football)... normality Renton is trying to escape the narrative(Recognition) .
from.
Renton looks in the mirror Renton wearing yellow is The visual metaphor of crossroads,
before he decides to come off constantly matched with his asRentonn is filmed in a mirror and
of heroin. attempts to come off of heroin. we can see his reflection. Before he
decides to steal money, the last
thing he does is looks in the mirror.
Justifying himself in the mirror
“we’d outgrown each other”
“i writ my so called friends
off”
The slow panning shot to ...which is made more tragic because Boyle’s cautionary tale remains that
reveal Tommy dead in a Tommy only found heroin due to his heroin destroys lives. There is an
squalid apartment after a friends, and was fairly ‘straight edge’ intertextual reference of an Iggy
heroin overdose with a sweet beforehand. The shabby brown Pop poster in the background as
cat wandering around... dilapidated room is typical of a one prop in a sparse and
junkie drug den. unfurnished room. This could
suggest that the rock’n roll dreamis
dying.
A close-up of antagonist ...emphasises his psychopathic Boyle positions Begbie as the
Begbie screaming violently nature: the need to live life antagonist of the narrative. He is an
after his football team wins... aggressively which in turn alcoholic rather than a heroin
intimidates his friends, particularly addict, which suggests that
Renton. commentary which simply
villainises heroin addicts in
inaccurate, as there are many anti-
social alcoholics as well.
The long shot of all Sick Boy, ...gives the impression that they are This shot acts as an intertextual
Renton, Spud and Begbie gangsters about to land a serious reference (homage) to the Beatles’
walking across a street in drug deal. They come across as ‘Abbey Road’ vinyl cover. This scene
, Central London all suited and rock’n roll rebels when in reality, is the ‘Repair’ (Stage 4) of the
booted... they are just naïve fools. narrative.
The medium shot of Renton This shows that he has a way out of This is Stage 5 of the narrative: the
taking money out of his safe. situation. The feeling is optimistic. New Equilibrium. The mirroring
Renton leaves Begbie, Spud He’s quitting drugs and is going effect of the cinematography
and Sick Boy behind and runs straight. He’s leaving his echoes a postmodern trope known
off with the money they got violent,nihilistic friends behind and as the mise- en-abyme effect.
from a drug deal. moving on. He is literally crossing a
bridge (London Bridge) to a new life
that he’s chosen.
Plague spraypainted, tommy
appears like a zombie, very
apocylipcitc, just ebfroe we
saw other spraypainted walls
saying aids junkie scum
Circle room, colour red Book end structure, his life goes Symbolising the constant back to
(similar to apartment from round in circles the beginning and the cycle of
first scene) addiction
QUOTES
Renton “I quite enjoyed the sound of it all. Profit, loss, margins,
takeovers, lending, letting, subletting, subdividing, cheating, scamming,
fragmenting, breaking away. There was no such thing as society and
even if there was, I most certainly had nothing to do with it. For the first
time in my adult life I was almost content.” this is foreshadowing that
he is going to break away from the gang
Margeret Thatcher “There is no such thing as society. Only family and
individuals”
Renton “There was no such thing as society and if even there was I
most certainly had nothing to do with it.” - comment on Thatcherism
Renton introduced Begbie “Begbie didn’t do drugs, Begbie just did
people. It was my own sensory addiction.” This establishes him as a
violent psychopath
SCREENGRAB NOTES
,Repetition aids the narreaitr
A bunch of diuspirate indivudklal
Freeze frame intoducitons
Begbie "tackling the man not the ball"
Number of times we see a red traffic light, happens too many times to be a coincedence
Mirror before coming off drugs, passport in sadetly box, before taking money
SQUAT USING
Brown and green reocurring colour theme, red later comes in
Baby drawn framed in isolation - green carpet suggests sickness, red foreshadows danger,
discared alcohol bottles
Alison - the only female using heroin in film, dangers of heroin, implying an attempt to seize
heroin
Mother superior - long gown called a habbet
RELINGUISHING JUNK SEQUENCE
Renton goes through all the preperation
Props, tomato soup, mushroom soup (consumption cold) milk, mouth wash, paracetomol,
lucoade, pornography, and ofc three buckets, and ofcourse a room which he wont leave
(barricaded)
yellow tshirt - coming off heroin renton?
when he looks in the mirror, it is a moment of decision and choice
WORST TOILET IN SCOTLAND SEQUENCE
hyper realism, surrealism element
tropical music
crawling out of the toilet, brown brown brown
Slice of working class life, they may not have a formal education but they are not
unintelligent
SHOOT SKINHEADS DOGS
"for a vegetarian you're a mean fucking shot rents"
SPUD INTERVIEW
lacks coherence or coordination
, reference to the government starting to crack down on people with unemployment benefits
and mandate them to go to job interviews
TOMMYS FLAT
very domesticated, very clean, tommy doing weights on a bench press
Renton notices tape "Tommy and Lizzy Volume 1" and steals the tape and repalces it with
100 greatest goals
Watches the video with Tommy and Lizzy
CLUB
Tommy and Spud talking about sex, lack of sex, relationship
What are you talking about footbal and shopping
Mise en scene - intertextual, the writing style A Clockwork Orange
Dominated by 80s music
Renton meets Dianne (Kelly Macdonald)
Cuts between them having sex (Renton Dianne + football commentart) "What a penetrating
goal."
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Renton is facing away from group
corstic commentary on capitalist consumerism
USING AGAIN
"we made a healthy, demoncratic, informed decision to go back on heroin."
The black suit on the wall foreshacows the death and funeral
Alison and screaming cos baby dawn is dead
It felt like we were all in it together...but that sort of feeling doesnt last long...not liek 16000
pounds
Understanding a ideological critical approach and using it to analyse is very important
to fully comprehend a film and what the director is trying to imply, this is especially
true in the cases of both Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996), Shaun of the Dead
(Edgar Wright, 2004) as understanding a Marxist ideology would be very useful to
,
, STORY NARRATIVE PLOT
All things both seen and The how, the process; the Refers to what we see and
inferred from the world plots way of distributing hear in the lm. All of the
of the lm information. story. The structure of story events that are
actually depicted
events.
Time
LINEAR NARRATIVE
FOLLOWS EVENTS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
NON-LINEAR NARRATIVE
STORY EVENTS OUT OF CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
FLASH-BACK
A TRANSITION TO FUTURE EVENTS
PARALELL EVENTS
CAN EXIST IN REAL TIME OR CAN SUGGEST REAL TIME AND MAY ALLLUDE TO
TOHER STORY SPACE
ELIPSIS
A GAP IN THE NARRATIVE
REPETITION
EVENTS MAY BE REPEATED
→ NARRATIVE REPETITION
sometimes story events will be repeated which can provide us with additional/ conflicting
information
TRAINSPOTTING REPETITION - FILM STARTS WITH RENTONS MONOLOGUE AND
ENDS WITH A MONOLOGUE, CREATING A CONTRAST AND SHOWS HOW HE HAS
CHANGED
SHAUN OF THE DEAD REPETITION - SHOP SEQUENCE IS REPEATED. SHAUN
MIMICKS BEING SHOT IN THE HEAD AT THE START AND DURING A FINAL SCENE HE
MIMES THE SHOT GOING IN HIS FACE AND BLOOD SPURTING OUT THE BACK, “YOU
GOT RED ON YOU” IS REPEATED A LOT. BOY IN SHOP, ED, STEPFATHER. DUKE BOX
PLAYS “DON’T STOP ME NOW, QUEEN” AFTER SHAUN HAS BEEN DUMPED AND
WHEN HE IS FIGHTING ZOMBIES. BEGINNING PLAYING VIDEO GAMES IN THE
HOUSE BUT THIS TIME THEY ARE IN THE SHED.
, RESTRICTED NARRATION
WE CAN ONLY SEE AND HEAR WHAT THE CHARACTER CAN SEE OR HEAR. THIS
CREATES CURIOSITY OR SUSPENSE
UNRESTRICTED NARRATION
THE VIEWER KNOWS MORE, SEES AND HEARS MORE THAN THE CHARACTERS CAN
SHAUN OF THE DEAD - WE FIND OUT ABOUT THE ZOMBIES
BEFORE SHAUN, LIZ IS IN HER APPARTMENT WE HEAR
WHAT SHAUN DOESN’T HEAR.
VERTIGO - CHANGES FROM RESTRICTED TO UNRESTRICTED
WHEN MADELINE/JUDY WRITES A LETTER TO SCOTTIE
EXPLAINING WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING
PANS LABYRINTH - SCENES HAPPEN FROM DIFFERENT
CHARACTERS POINTS OF VIEW
TRAINSPOTTING - STARTS DISJOINTED, SPUDS JOB INTERVIEW
WITHOUT RENTON. FLASHBACK OF TOMMY. HOWEVER AS
THE FILM GOES ALONG, IT FOCUSES MORE ON RENTON
OBJECTIVE NARRATION
PLOT IS CONFINED TO WHAT THE CHARACTERS SAY AND DO
SUBJECTIVE NARRATION
POV SHOT, SOUND PERSPECTIVE, MENTAL SUBJECTIVITY: INTERNAL VOICE,
DREAMS, HALLUCINATIONS.
Filmmakers may shift between restricted and unrestricted ranges of
knowledge (restricted or unrestricted narration) and varying degrees
of objectivity and subjectivity.
SHAUN OF THE DEAD - OBJECTIVE NARRATION, NO ACCESS TO
SHAUNS INNER WORLD OR HIS DREAMS. POV SHOTS
DON’T DOMINATE THE FILM
TRAINSPOTTING - INTERNAL VOICE ACCESS,
MONOLOGUE SOWS WHAT HE IS THINKING, RED CARPET
SCENE FROM HIS POINT OF VIEW SHOWING US
WHAT HE IS FEELING, DREAM SEQUENCE IN TOILET,
HALLUCINATIONS BABY FALLING FROM THE CEILING
ALLIGNMENT
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