Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Lines uttered by Ewan McGregor in the iconic opening to Danny Boyle’s 1996 Trainspotting, which gets a theatrical re-release 28 years on with a 4K restoration.

It was to be a film that would make stars of many of its young cast, including McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle and Peter Mullan, as well as see Kelly Macdonald make her big screen debut.

Edinburgh, Scotland, is where you’ll find Renton (McGregor), a heroin addict, and his band of drug-addicted misfits, who are all looking for the next fix.

Renton decides that he’s had enough, and it’s time to get clean, but the social pressures around him, especially his mates, is going to make the process far from easy, especially with temptation around every corner.

Trainspotting was only Boyle’s second feature, after his 1994 debut Shallow Grave, that also starred a young McGregor, and was based on the 1993 debut novel of the same name by Scottish author Irvine Walsh, who makes a cameo in the film.

Boyle would have no idea of the cultural impact the film would have on its release, with its dark humour as well as its impressive soundtrack, and even its iconic poster, that would see it become the film of a generation.

It also played its part in a renaissance in British cinema, that had films such as The Full Monty (1997), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Notting Hill (1999) that all followed it, that all no doubt benefitted from its success in some way.

28 years on and the film still manages to be relevant, from everything from highlighting a severe drug problem, to even Trans gender issues. Much of it is down to the words of Welsh, and Boyle not shy to maintain the film’s extreme Scottishness, in particular the use of language, which is both authentic and colourful.

Of course it helped many of its stars go on to forge impressive careers for themselves, as well as see Boyle become one of the best directors this country has ever seen. It also had a sequel in 2017 T2 Trainspotting, set 20 years later, but it didn’t quite have the energy and fervour of the original.

It remains a cultural classic that still maintains that impact even 28 years on, so much so that if you need a fix of nostalgia that really hits the spot, it’s an easy choice to make.