Glasgow on film: From Scarlett Johansson to Begbie

World War Z

The 2013 post-apocalyptic horror film World War Z put Glasgow on the world stage as the city centre was transformed into Philadelphia under zombie attack – complete with yellow taxis, overturned cars and corpse dummies strewn everywhere. Brad Pitt filmed in the city for 17 days, causing a frenzy as hundreds of locals waited on location to catch a glimpse of the star. Glasgow was chosen over Philadelphia because it draws similarities with the city due to its grid road system and art deco buildings – and also because it was cheaper to film.

Under the Skin
 

Disguised in a black wig, red lipstick and a fake fur coat, Scarlett Johansson went unrecognised in Glasgow as an alien seductress as she drove about, trying to lure unsuspecting men into her white transit van. Many parts of the film were shot undercover to capture a jarring, uncomfortable authenticity which has earned director Jonathan Glazer legendary status in the film world. In one scene, Scarlett’s nameless character falls on Buchanan Street, and walked on in a dreamlike trance without acknowledging passers-by who helped her up. She was also filmed wandering through Buchanan Galleries shopping centre and driving through crowds of disappointed Celtic fans leaving a 0-0 draw with Hibernian in Parkhead.
 
 

That Sinking Feeling

Scottish director Bill Forsyth’s debut film lends new meaning to the term ‘kitchen sink realism’ with this low-budget portrayal of 1970s youth culture. Jobless and fed up with life in rainy Glasgow, four teenage boys spend their time coming up with bizarre ways of killing themselves or ways of making money, settling on a steel sink heist after discovering how much money they are worth. Scenes were filmed in Kelvingrove Park,Dennistoun, the train stations in Springburn, Bishopbriggs, Cowcaddens, Sighthill and in Maryhill.

Ratcatcher
 

Lynne Ramsay’s 1999 debut film is a bleak insight into poverty in Glasgow in the 1970s. It follows the life of a young boy living in a squalid housing estate during the binmen strike, who is coming to terms with the death of his friend who drowned in a canal while they were playing together. The film was mostly shot in Govan on Kintra Street, with Govan Town Hall featuring in a film for the first time.

Cloud Atlas
 

With its steep hills, Glasgow was deemed a suitable double location for both San Francisco and London in the 1970s when filming the sci-fi drama, as Halle Berry roamed Montrose Street and the area surrounding the University of Strathclyde in the city centre. Cloud Atlas spans five centuries as it explores how the lives and actions of different people can impact on the future. The film was one of the most expensive independent movies made of all time, with a budget of over £65 million.
 

Red Road
 

Voted as one of the best British films in the past 25 years in an Observer poll with film critics and directors, Red Road focuses on the life of a CCTV operator who develops an obsession with an ex-convict living in one of the flats who was connected to a traumatic event from her past. The blocks were the tallest buildings in Western Europe when they were built in the early Sixties, but became a symbol for urban decay, gangs and antisocial crime over the years. They also feature in a key scene in The Legend of Barney Thomson.

Trainspotting

Despite that it was famously set in Edinburgh, Trainspotting was mostly filmed in Glasgow at a number of locations. The pub where Begbie throws a pint glass is the Crosslands pub on Queen Margaret Drive in Glasgow, which is still a popular drinking spot for locals, especially for karaoke and watching football at the weekend. The scene where Renton and Sickboy discuss Ewan McGregor before shooting the dog with the air rifle was shot at Rouken Glen Park in Giffnock. Towards the end of the film, they stage a drug deal in a London hotel; the interior scenes were filmed in the old George Hotel at the top of Buchanan Street, where JD Sports and the old HMV now stand. Jordanhill High School, Possil Park, Firhill Stadium, Canniesburn Hospital and the old Volcano nightclub near Partick Cross also made an appearance in the hit film.
 

Late Night Shopping
 

Four young friends meet in a cafe each night after they finish nightshift to talk about life and get out of their boring jobs – all with very different personalities. It’s rather like a dreary Glaswegian Breakfast Club with English actors. The cafe exterior is the Variety Bar on Sauchiehall Street, but the interior was a constructed set in a disused factory in Paisley. The film featured scenes in Saltcoats, Ardrossan and also the Clyde Tunnel at the end of the film. 


Small Faces

Set in the sixties, this coming-of-age gangster drama centred around an ongoing rivalry between two youth mobs, the Glens and the Tongs, and it went on to win Best British Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1996. Scenes were filmed in Darnley, Sighthill, Partick, Merrylee, Mount Florida, Bishopbriggs and the Glasgow School of Art.
 
 
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself

This Danish-Scottish black comedy centres around a suicidal man named Wilbur and his infatuation with his brother’s new wife after they take on their deceased father’s bookshop in Glasgow. Despite that it deals with harrowing issues like death, depression and infidelity, there are upliftingly beautiful shots of the Necropolis, overviews of Glasgow and a scene in the taxidermied animals exhibit at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery.

Death Watch
 

This morbid sci-fi has become something of a cult classic in the 35 years since its release. A man has a camera implanted into his brain so that he can film a reality show centred around a woman with a terminal illness, without her knowledge. Glasgow Necropolis, Glasgow Cathedral, the former Queen's Dock on theRiver Clyde and the Glasgow City Chambers were shown in scenes throughout the film.