3. Trainspotting
'It's SH**E being Scottish! We're the lowest of the low. The scum of the f*****g Earth! The most wretched, miserable, servile, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilization. Some hate the English. I don't. They're just wankers. We, on the other hand, are COLONIZED by wankers. Can't even find a decent culture to be colonized BY. We're ruled by effete assholes. It's a S**E state of affairs to be in, Tommy, and ALL the fresh air in the world won't make any f*****g difference!' Well, it isnt all that bad surely? There are lots to be proud of being a Scot - Great heritage, fantastic literature, incredible history, Andy Murray and of course, Irvine Welsh. Welsh changed the face of Britain with his skag head novel that burned its way onto the scene in the early 90's - This was counter culture at its peak, and was emulated by Danny Boyle some 3 years later with the film of the same name; Trainspotting. Don't get me wrong, Trainspotting is an entertaining film, it has humour brimming from every orifice and is easily one of the best films to come out of the UK, but its underlying theme is the use of a drug that destroys the life of its user. Unlike The Football Factory, it doesn't shy away from the worse side of it's subject. Heroin is a drug that supposedly hooks you with your first hit and no matter how good that may be ('take your best orgasm, multiply it by a thousand and you're still nowhere near it'), the pain and suffering it eventually causes is nowhere near worth it. Glasgow has one of the highest heroin usage and fatality rates in the whole of Europe, a fact alone that is only punctuated by the pizzazz and grimy glamour of this film. A notable mention goes to the character Begbie, a man who thrives on and looks for a fight everywhere he goes - A character that you all know could be lurking in any pub, in any city across the British Isles.