An American oil company sends a man to Scotland to buy up an entire village where they want to build a refinery. But things don't go as expected.
Burt Lancaster Peter Riegert Denis Lawson Fulton Mackay Peter Capaldi Jennifer Black Jenny Seagrove Norman Chancer Rikki Fulton Alex Norton Christopher Rozycki Gyearbuor Asante John M. Jackson Dan Ammerman Tam Dean Burn John Gordon Sinclair Caroline Guthrie Jimmy Yuill Karen Douglas Kenny Ireland Sandra Voe Harlan Jordan Charles Kearney David Mowat John Poland Ann Scott-Jones Ian Stewart Jonathan Watson Dave Anderson Show All…
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Somehow I missed this gem of a film back in the day. Came out in 1983, the same year I was filming Dune. I loved it! Sweet story, a little kooky with a very young Peter Riegert along with Burt Lancaster.
Love the way director Bill Forsyth lets the story unfold and the characters develop. 👍
under our christmas tree, i found a red envelope with my father’s all caps handwriting on it: TAYLOR (THIS IS A PRESENT.)
inside, my father detailed over both sides of the card, and onto the back, that he couldn’t find my gift. at least, not a physical copy of it. he had wanted to get me some DVDs of Bill Forsyth’s work. my father wrote a lot about how he discovered Forsyth’s work when he was in college; about how although Forsyth isn’t necessarily a staple in our contemporary canon, you can still see his influence over Wes Anderson and Richard Linklater. my father listed three films in particular he thought had reoccuring & apparent themes, naming Local Hero the best.…
thought fondly of my parents, former 1980s capitalists slowly (and only somewhat) radicalized by getting really into finding seashells on random beaches. Burt Lancaster is amazing, obviously.
I asked twitter what their most “perfect” movie was — not best, but perfect. Lots of folks said LOCAL HERO, and it was one I’d never seen. So i watched it. Just so, so beautiful. And yes, perfect. Thanks, twitter.
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
American yuppie gets glimpse of a better way of life in a charming Scottish town he has to buy for an oil company, but ultimately has to go home. A delightful, romantic and bittersweet comedy that wears its unassuming humanism lightly.
I've always loved Peter Riegert, probably because he reminds me of my dad. Also GOD Burt Lancaster is great as the somewhat batty oil tycoon obsessed with the constellations and finding a comet, plus Peter Capaldi shows up as a young executive who gets beguiled by a selkie.
all business should be conducted in knitwear
Man suffering from capital disease gets a taste of overwhelming world. It could be trite if the filmmaking wasn't so taken by warmth and awe. Every bit in the village is lovely and the way Forsyth sets its contrasts between magical and practical essential for the film's success. That final move from Riegert alone to the booth always gets to me.
Local Hero is a quiet storm that, instead of relying on gags, disarms you with its soothing, melancholy touch that simply works wonders, while providing its statement on materialism and environmental protection that still rings true almost 30 years later.
Chronicling an American employee's quirky journey to a Scottish town for property acquisition, Local Hero is every bit as charming as its premise suggests. With an array of different personalities, local customs and cultural shock, it's guaranteed to be a breezing experience filled with breathtaking scenery and goofy ideas. It's rather dry delivery of comedic elements makes this a unique comedy that stands out for its rather meditative nature.
Local Hero ultimately deals with the inherent human connection with nature…
there won’t be blood
the best representation of what it feels like to return from something – whatever that may be. i do think maybe we don’t notice that our hearts are always expanding & making room & then it almost feels stretched out when you return to a feeling or place you know. nooks are built and we do our best to keep them occupied, to hear the clatter, to brush against all the sides of our new vessels.
This is like wholesome and funny There Will Be Blood version.
In this cynical age, where image counts for everything and increasingly small-minded audiences are baffled by anything approaching subtlety, Local Hero represents a much-needed haven for the more cerebral viewer. Its pitch-perfect lampooning of the massive gulf between supposedly similar cultures is a joy to behold again and again. The fact that not much really happens is, in fact, the whole point. It’s a modern comedy of manners, with the humor lying in how characters react to alien situations.
The humor is extremely subtle, leaning into the quirkiness of human behavior rather than relying on prefabricated belly laughs. For instance, there’s the scene where two farmers argue over which is the better vehicle for transporting winter lambs — a Maserati…