The truth about dubbing
(and other rumors about the U.S. release)
For several months, rumors have been flying as to the changes made
by Miramax to Trainspotting for its United States release (I
do not know of any changes to the Canadian release). Here are the
facts, as far as I can tell:
- The opening monologue by Renton (Ewan McGregor) was re-dubbed by the
actor because the Scottish brogue was thought too thick for Americans
unfamiliar with the accent.
- Two shots were voluntarily cut from the film by Danny Boyle at the
request of the Motion Picture Association of America, who would not give
the film a much-desired "R" rating with those scenes intact. They were
shots of a woman "having too much fun" during sex, and a needle's-eye
view of an injection.
Contrary to popular belief, no other parts of the film were dubbed by
other actors except for the opening bits.
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