Scotland Movie List

In preparation of my impending trip to Scotland in March my Netflix queue was bubbling over with movies that relate to Scotland.

There were historical epics: Rob Roy, Braveheart, The Master of Ballentrae (I’m not certain one can count an Errol Flynn film as an epic, but what the hey.)

Films featuring Scottish actors: Finding Forrester

And based on true stories: The Flying Scotsman

And documentaries: History’s Mysteries: The True Story of Braveheart, Globe Trekker Scotland

And set in Scotland: American Cousins, The Winter Tale, My Life So Far

Or featuring the Forth Rail Bridge: The 39 Steps (in 1935 original but more in 1959 remake), Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown, 1980 (Linus points out the Forth Bridge as the approach Heathrow, disregarding the fact that it’s 273 nautical miles away, unfortunately for all of you Peanuts fans the only film not available on NetFlix)

Then there’s those based upon Scottish books: Young Adam, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

And, well, just trust me that there’s a connection somehow…

Below is my list so you too can patronize your local video store or fill your Netflix queue with all things Scotland, complete list with links to Netflix descriptions.

If you’re only going to watch one film about Scotland make it Braveheart. It’s filled with inaccuracies and overly melodramatic but William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and references to the film come up again and again.

Braveheart

Gregory's Girl

Rob Roy

Trainspotting: Collector's Edition

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

The 39 Steps

The Master of Ballantrae

Young Adam

The Wicker Man

Brigadoon

Chariots of Fire

Local Hero

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary of Scotland

A Musical Journey: Scotland

Ring of Bright Water

Lassie Come Home

Visions of Scotland

Restless Natives

A Fond Kiss

Sweet Sixteen

Shallow Grave

Highlander

Loch Ness

The Castles of Scotland (2-Disc Series)

Finding Forrester

The Flying Scotsman

American Cousins

My Life So Far

The Winter's Tale

Globe Trekker: Scotland

The True Story of Braveheart


I’m a huge fan of NetFlix. Others love different DVD services but I say stick with what works for you. I was very excited to watch Gregory’s Girl a few weeks ago and was dismayed to insert the disc and what started playing but a STUPID #*%#%$ Dog Training DVD. I don’t even have a dog! Well, I promptly returned it NetFlix and they correspondingly sent it right back to me “It appears that you accidently returned one of your personal DVDs or CDs in a Netflix envelope. Rest assured, we will send your disc right back to you.” AUUGGHH!

There’s no option for resolution for a problem like this on their website so I called. I quickly reached a real person who very helpfully instructed me on what steps to take to clear this up. OK, I send it back to them anonymously and two days later what happens? You guessed it. Right back to me. Another phone call (again pleasant and helpful) and I think we’ve sorted it. So somewhere out there somebody’s dog is going untrained and maybe eventually I’ll get to watch Gregory’s Girl.

Always an adventure isn’t it?