#994: FORSYTH, Bill: Local Hero (1983)

FORSYTH, Bill (United Kingdom)
Local Hero [1983]
Spine #994
Blu-ray


Bill Forsyth put Scottish cinema on the map with this delightfully eccentric culture-clash comedy. Riffing on popular representations of Scottish life and folklore, Local Hero follows the Texas oil executive Mac (Peter Riegert), who is dispatched by his crackpot boss (Burt Lancaster) to a remote seaside village in Scotland with orders to buy out the town and develop the region for an oil refinery. But as business mixes with pleasure, Mac finds himself enchanted by both the picturesque community and its oddball denizens — and Texas starts to feel awfully far away. Packed with a near nonstop stream of droll one-liners and deadpan gags, this enchanting cult hit finds Forsyth surveying the idiosyncrasies of small-town life with the satirical verve of a latter-day Preston Sturges, arriving at a sly commentary on conservation, corporate greed, and the legacies we leave behind.

111 minutes
Color
Monaural
1:78:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2019
Director/Writer


Bill Forsyth was 37 when he wrote and directed Local Hero.

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by film scholar Jonathan Murray.

Commentary

From 2018 featuring director Forsyth and film critic Mark Kermode.

Conversation

Between Forsyth and film critic David Cairns.

Shooting from the Heart

A 1985 documentary about the work of DP Chris Menges.

Episode

Of The South Bank Show from 1983 about the production of the film.

The Making of “Local Hero”

A documentary made during the film’s production, featuring interviews with actors Riegert and Lancaster.

I Thought Maybe I’d Get to Meet Alan Whicker

A 1983 interview with Forsyth.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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