What’s Aged the Best?
Choose Life, the marketing, surreal flourishes, Scottish humor and specificity, the soundtrack, quotable dialogue, and gender-fluidity prediction
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:44:06Read transcript
- Choose Life remains a culturally recognizable monologue and is compared with Fight Club’s first-rule catchphrase. — Chris Ryan
- The poster and marketing translated rebellious counterculture into a college-dorm visual icon. — Andy Greenwald
- Surreal images such as the toilet swim and sinking through the floor relieve pressure after grim events. — Chris Ryan
- The dark Scottish humor turns desperate material into comedy. — Andy Greenwald
- Renton’s speech rejecting pride in Scotland remains one of the movie’s most quotable and culturally specific moments. — Andy Greenwald
- The soundtrack joins older artists with contemporary UK bands and club music, providing a map through several generations of music. — Andy Greenwald
- Oasis reportedly declined to contribute after mistaking the title for a film about train hobbyists. — Andy Greenwald
- Lust for Life and Born Slippy create two of the movie’s defining entrances. — Chris Ryan
- Perfect Day and Temptation gain new emotional meaning through their placement in the film. — Andy Greenwald
- Danny Boyle is described as personally instrumental in choosing the songs rather than relying on market testing. — Andy Greenwald
- The party exchange about football and shopping remains a personally durable quote. — Andy Greenwald
- Renton’s prediction that gender categories will disappear is judged to have aged well. — Andy Greenwald