Shallow Grave [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Danny Boyle Danny Boyle

Overview

The feature film debut of Scottish director Danny Boyle was a dark, hip, Generation X comedy about a trio of Edinburgh roommates whose narcissistic greed fuels murder and betrayal. Boisterous journalist Alex (Ewan McGregor), flirtatious doctor Juliet (Kerry Fox), and meek accountant David (Christopher Eccleston) possess very different personalities, but the roommates are bonded in mutual, self-absorbed cynicism. Seeking a fourth boarder to share the rent for their stylish flat, they cruelly dismiss several candidates before settling on Hugo (Keith Allen), whose air of detachment meets the roommates' standard of coolness. Hugo's reserve masks criminal involvement, however, as the roommates discover when they find him dead in bed from a drug overdose, with a valise containing enormous amounts of cash. Their nascent greed overwhelms them, and the trio dismembers and buries Hugo, stealing his money. Only David, who understands finance, seems to realize that someone's eventually going to seek out such a large sum. As both drug dealers and police get closer to figuring out the friends' secret, shy, nerdy David becomes violently paranoid, while Juliet's allegiance switches back and forth between her roommates. Boyle teamed subsequently with producer Andrew Macdonald and screenwriter John Hodge on several high-profile films.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/12/2012
UPC:	0715515094719
Original Release:	1994
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:33:00
Sales rank:	9,650

Special Features

Two Audio Commentaries: One by Director Danny Boyle and the other by Screenwriter John Hodge and Producer Andrew MacDonald; New Interview piece featuring actors Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox, and Ewan McGregor; Digging Your Own Grave, a 1993 Documentary by Director Kevin Macdonald on the making of the film; Andrew Macdonald and Kevin Macdonald's video diary from the 1992 Edinburgh Film Festival, where they shopped around the script for Shallow Grave; Shallow Grave trailer and Trainspotting Teaser; ; Plus: An Essay by critic Philip Kemp

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kerry Fox	Juliet Miller
Christopher Eccleston	David Stephens
Ewan McGregor	Alex Law
Keith Allen	Hugo
Ken Stott	Inspector
John Hodge	Constable
John Bett	Brian McKinley
Kenneth Bryans	Senior Police Officer
Elspeth Cameron	Elderly Woman
Jean Marie Coffey	Goth
Tony Curran	Salesman
Bill Denniston	Master of Cermonies
Paul Doonan	Newspaper Office Boy
Victor Eadie	Freezer Victim
Grant Glendinning	Bath Victim
Colin McRedie	Cameron
Jenny McCrindle	Nurse
Victoria Nairn	Woman Visitor
Leonard O'Malley	Tim
Gregor Powrie	Young Policeman
David Alan MacDonald	Lumsden
Billy Riddoch	Editor
Gary Lewis	Male Visitor
Frances Low	Doctor
Peter Mullen	Andy
David Scoular	Cash Machine Victim
Peter Mullan	Andy
Robert David MacDonald	Lumsden
Colin McCredie	Actor
Simon Boswell	Composer

Technical Credits

John Hodge

Danny Boyle	Director
Clive Curtis	Stunts
Andrew Macdonald	Producer
Allan Scott	Executive Producer
Tony Steers	Special Effects
Sarah Trevis	Casting
John Hodge	Screenwriter
Colin Nicolson	Sound/Sound Designer
Nigel Galt	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

1994's Shallow Grave was often viewed as Britain's answer to Pulp Fiction (also 1994), and it was a significant hit in the United Kingdom. Grave's energetic visual style and humorous treatment of the crime-thriller genre is certainly reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino's work, but the movie actually has more in common with the stylistic gymnastics of Coen brothers films: Blood Simple (1984) is an obvious comparison. It did moderately well on the U.S. art house circuit, paving the way for the greater success two years later of the exhilarating Trainspotting, from the same team of director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald, and screenwriter John Hodge. Though relegated to a supporting role in Grave, Ewan McGregor since became one of the most popular Scottish actors of his generation.

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