Trainspotting

There was no doubt after Shallow Grave that the arrival of director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald and doctor-turned-writer John Hodge on the British film scene was a major cause for celebration. However, it was the trio's follow-up - this devastatingly comic and tragic look at youth culture and its recreational habits - that put them firmly on the international map. Unapologetic and hard-hitting, Irvine Welsh's controversial bestseller is brought to the screen as a dazzling assault on the senses. Fiercely original and provocative, this shocker focuses on the disintegrating friendship of four Edinburgh lads as they embark on an endless drugs and petty-crime bender. In a true masterstroke, the harrowing and bleak subject matter is presented as a hilariously funny walk on the wild side, with no moral stance taken or punches pulled. Ewan McGregor is absolutely brilliant as smart-aleck junkie Renton, and Robert Carlyle gives a stunning performance as the violent Begbie. This is a savagely sophisticated work and a landmark British classic.