Trainspotting (The Criterion Collection) [4K UHD]

Too many people spend their time reviewing the movie itself, and not the quality of the disc. This movie (and the book) is one of my favorites, that’s why I bought it. I’ve seen it many times from VHS, to streaming to DVD and now Blu Ray. This is a fantastic copy. The quality of the picture and sound are great. This is a very music & narration driven movie, all of which sound perfect on my (cheap) surround sound system. It says it’s a 4k transfer from the film stock, but nowhere on the box or disc did I see “4kUHD” so I cannot verify the actual quality at this time. But to my informed eyes, it looks fantastic. None of that waxy skin that comes from AI upscaling that some of the 4k movies now have. I also appreciate that it comes in a hard plastic case that’s similar to other bluray cases. Sometimes criterion movies come in some awful cardboard cases with the discs shoved into the flaps and they’re hard to get out without getting your fingerprints all over the bottom. This isn’t a movie for everyone, it’s about 4 friends who are heroin addicts in Scotland. It’s a comedy drama, and a masterpiece. Danny Boyle is a great director (28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire) and he did an amazing job with this. There’s some dark themes, and gross moments in this. But it’s all artistically done. The sequel is also really good. Choose life. Choose buying and watching this blue ray disc in the comfort of your own home and enjoying a fantastic movie.

This is an incredible movie that I would recommend to almost anyone (I still remember the first time I saw Renton diving into the worst toilet in Scotland to fish out his suppositories… I was eating pizza at the time…quite an awful experience in a really great way), but I’m not writing this review to sing it’s well deserved praises I’m writing it to scold the other reviews that complain about the packaging being bad. No, it’s not bad. It’s cool. And the fact that you bought this movie and can’t see that is extremely puzzling to me. Because if you’re buying this movie I would think you might have a bit of imagination and an openness to creativity. Like creative and cool packaging. But somehow that seems to be lacking. Anyway. If you like this movie and you are creative and like cool stuff then I highly recommend this Criterion version. If on the other hand you lack those attributes maybe skip it.

This looks extra amazing, colors are so much brighter with so much clarity and detail over pervious blu-ray and DVD versions. Does have some slight film grain so it does look like you are watching a film it has not been scrubbed free from any film grain. The 5.1 mix is also just the best with all the fantastic original music you remember. I am not crazy about the packaging but it playful and fun and was not made into a standardized version for mass consumption. I could see this glossy paper version selling out. The Disc menu + music is just the best and will have you humming along in no time! This is one for cinephiles, movie collectors and as well fans of the Criterion movie catalog. This is the 90s version equal to the cultural zeigest as much as Easy Rider was to the 60's counter culture. I love it!

An absolutely heartbreaking film, but one that’s worth watching.

tl;dr - Film quality is amazing. Packaging is disappointing. I would say don't buy it if it is over $30-$35 in price. So right off the bat I just wanna say the transfer of the film itself is amazing. The movie itself is where this remaster shines. Criterion's team did a top notch job as always as far as the scan of the film itself. I can see what they we're going for in terms of the look and styling of the packaging (very similar to the presentation and packaging of a vinyl record.) I do see the validity of the comments for this movie in that during shipping it could be VERY easy for the disc to be damaged in transit. Fortunately, this was not the case for me. The biggest issue with me concerning the packaging it the TREMENDOUSLY flawed dimensions for the packaging. As someone who collects pretty much only Blu Ray movies and who just recently bought a nice, new shelving explicitly for blu-rays, this movie just BARELY fits in that shelving as there is just enough wiggle room in the dimensions of the shelves. I don't think the packaging itself is rotten to the core, but the execution was seriously fumbled. I pre-ordered their upcoming 4K remaster of Blue Velvet (at full price) and it is my hope Criterion will see the feedback for this release and learn from it.

Criterion usually does a very good job, on all their release, but at times, their packaging in an embarrassment, as it is with this title. They call it a Digi-Pak and it's BIG claim in that part of it, glows in the dark, so like, WHO CARES? Anyone paying the prices they charge isn't worried about crap like that, they are collectors, as am I, and they want these items sent in pristine condition, and in a format that is suitable. As they did with their "Citizen Kane" debacle..(which I never bought because of it's disgraceful packing) this film is presented in a super CHEAP, flimsy, outrageously bad, cardboard, thin box, which barely holds this disc inside. I didn't even open mine, and both discs were extruding from the ends, which will obviously lead to damage. RETURNING AT ONCE!! For the prices Criterion charges they should have more respect form themselves and their customers who expect better. Many say home media is dying out, I hope it isn't true, but if Criterion continues to go this cheap a** way, I can guarantee they'll lose my business, and many of those whom I recommend them to. You should be ashamed. If you're not, it truly shows who you are. This film deserved a LOT better. An EMBARRASSMENT!!

If you're like me, this is the first time you've ever seen a good looking version of this movie. Since my childhood I've always wished this got the release it deserved. Even the standard release Blu-Ray was a low quality transfer with poor audio. Watching this version was like seeing this movie for the first time again. So many details in these scenes that I've missed over all these years watching 720p DVD rips. The soundtrack finally shines. On top of that, I have to say I like the packaging. I have a lot of Criterion stuff, and some people might complain about the slip case on this one. I actually quite like it. It's very well designed and definitely goes great with the movie and the art. The booklet is a great read about the soundtrack and the creation of the film. This is the version of Trainspotting to own.

I was really looking forward to playing this film and disc. But 30 mins in and great picture there was a whole section of picture break ups. Despite the disc surface being pristine and my top of the range Panasonic player 100% not at fault. I could not continue playing. I strongly believe that this disc has some mastering problems in a batch of them. As I went onto Reddit and saw people complaining of the exact same image break ups from this Criterion disc. So unless you want to play Russian roulette with a bad or good disc I would totally avoid. I have sent back for a full refund.