Local Hero [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Overview

Bill Forsyth's whimsical tale of sweet-natured corporate rapacity features standout performances by Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert. Lancaster plays Texas billionaire Felix Happer, who would rather gaze at the stars than worry about his multi-national oil company. Happer dispatches Mac MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) and Danny Oldsen (Peter Capaldi) to the small Scottish fishing village of Ferness to negotiate buying the entire town so Happer can drill for oil in the North Sea. Much to Mac's surprise, the entire town is happy to sell itself for big money, and the local innkeeper, Gordon Urquhart (Denis Lawson) -- who is also the town's accountant and mayor -- works with Mac on the negotiations. But a wrinkle appears in the deal when Ben Knox (Fulton Mackay), an old man who lives in a shack on the beach which has been owned by his family for centuries, refuses to sell. His reasons? "Who'd look after the beach then? It would go to pieces in a short manner of time." The deal stalls so seriously that Happer travels to Ferness to oversee negotiations as Mac and Danny are seduced by the charm of the Scottish town.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/24/2019
UPC:	0715515234610
Original Release:	1983
Rating:	PG
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	1:51:00
Sales rank:	8,761

Special Features

New 2k digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack; Audio Commentary from 2018 featuring Director Bill Forsyth and film critic Mark Kermode; New conversation between Forsyth and film critic David Cairns; Shooting from the Heart, a 1985 documentary about the work of Cinematographer Chris Menges; Episode of The Smith 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 Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster; I Thought Maybe I'd Get to Meet Alan Whicker, a 1983 interview with Forsyth; Trailer; Plus: An essay by film scholar Jonathan Murray

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Burt Lancaster	Felix Happer
Peter Riegert	Maclntyre
Fulton Mackay	Ben
Denis Lawson	Gordon Urquhart
Norman Chancer	Moritz
Peter Capaldi	Oldsen
Rikki Fulton	Geddes
Alex Norton	Watt
Jenny Seagrove	Marina
Jennifer Black	Stella
Christopher Rozycki	Victor
Christopher Asante	Rev. MacPherson
John Jackson	Cal
Dan Ammerman	Donaldson
Tam Dean Burn	Roddy
Luke Coulter	Baby
Karen Douglas	Mrs. Wyatt
Kenny Ireland	Skipper
Harlan Jordan	Fountain
Charles Kearney	Peter
David Mowat	Gideon
John Poland	Anderson
Anne Scott Jones	Linda
Ian Stewart	Bulloch
Tanya Ticktin	Russian
Jonathan Watson	Jonathan
Dave Anderson	Fraser
Mark Winchester	Ace Tone,Ace Tone
Alan Clark	Ace Tone
Alal Darby	Ace Tone
Roddy Murray	Ace Tone
Brian Rowan	Ace Tone
Caroline Guthrie	Pauline
Ray Jeffries	Andrew
Willie Joss	Sandy
James Kennedy	Edward
Buddy Quaid	Crabbe
Edith Ruddick	Old Lady
John Gordon Sinclair	Ricky
Sandra Voe	Mrs. Fraser
Jimmy Yuill	Iain
Betty Macey	Switchboard Operator
Michele McCarel	Switchboard Operator
Anne Thompson	Switchboard Operator
Mark Knopfler	Composer

Technical Credits

Bill Forsyth

Bill Forsyth	Director,Screenwriter
David Puttnam	Producer
Wally Veevers	Special Effects
Louis Kramer	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

This warm-hearted fish-out-of-water tale highlights the cultural differences (and underlying similarities) between a big city American capitalist and small town Scottish villagers. Just as Mac falls in love with the country and its people, the villagers are equally seduced by his promises of instant, immense wealth. Rather than exploiting the cliché of an evil American oil company battling plucky Scottish townfolk, writer/director Bill Forsyth pursues a quirkier and more intriguing theme of the seduction of the Old World by the New, an idea that has animated such dissimilar works as Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Forsyth's use of "magical realism" is equally understated and restrained. This Scotsman's deadpan, self-deprecating satire of his countrymen is more indebted to Alexander Pope than to the more savage Jonathan Swift. The whimsical characters may be oddballs, but they are not gullible hicks: they want the Americans to show them the money. Forsyth's gags rarely occur at the expense of people's dignity, instead highlighting our basic human frailty. Chris Menges gives us many panoramic shots of the surprisingly beautiful Scottish landscape, while Mark Knopfler's plaintive soundtrack perfectly accents the proceedings. The performances of Burt Lancaster as the eccentric and ambitious oil tycoon is a constant delight, while Peter Riegert's Mac is appropriately (and alternately) flustered and smitten.

All Movie Guide - Dan Jardine