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Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2026

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2026

Retrospectives

Programme

5 films · 5 reviews

Jump to a film

Hamlet

Review preview for Hamlet

By this point in his career, Ken Branagh had found his voice and a set of skills to match his confidence.

James Benefield · 4 out of 5
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.

(Year: 1996; Director: Kenneth Branagh; Writer: William Shakespeare, Kenneth Branagh; Stars: Riz Abbasi, Richard Attenborough, David Blair, Brian Blessed, Kenneth Branagh, Richard Briers, Michael Bryant, Peter Bygott, Julie Christie, Billy Crystal, Charles Daish, Judi Dench, Gérard Depardieu, Reece Dinsdale, Ken Dodd)

Little Miss Sunshine

Review preview for Little Miss Sunshine

Writer Michael Arndt has cleverly captured the bribery and corruption which lie at the heart of most families.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A dysfunctional family's road trip to a beauty pageant.

(Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris; Writer: Michael Arndt; Stars: Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Marc Turtletaub, Beth Grant, Jill Talley, Brenda Canela)

The Rock

Review preview for The Rock

There are so many distractions and superfluous plot points that the only way Bay can compensate is to turn every scene into an MTV blur.

Gator MacReady · 2.5 out of 5
FBI boffin Nicolas Cage and grizzled lifer Sean Connery save Alcatraz from wacko army general.

(Country: US; Year: 1996; Director: Michael Bay; Writer: David Weisberg, Douglas Cook. Mark Rosner; Stars: Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, Ed Harris, David Morse, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn, John Spencer, John C McGinley, Tony Todd, Claire Forlani, Philip Baker Hall)

Sexy Beast

Review preview for Sexy Beast

Kingsley gives a chilling performance.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3 out of 5
A gangster finds his retirement in Spain cut short when a brutal bloke from the past comes to call.

(Country: UK; Year: 2000; Director: Jonathan Glazer; Writer: Louis Mellis, David Scinto; Stars: Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Amanda Redman, Cavan Kendall, Julianne White, James Fox)

Trainspotting

Review preview for Trainspotting

Its comedy leaps barricades.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 5 out of 5
Black comic drama about the Edinburgh drugs scene. On re-release.

(Country: UK; Year: 1996; Director: Danny Boyle; Writer: Irvine Welsh, John Hodge; Stars: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald, Peter Mullan, James Cosmo, Eileen Nicholas, Susan Vidler, Pauline Lynch)