Local hero

Author

Bill Forsyth

Call Number

• DVD COMEDY (CEN)

Edition

Director-approved two-DVD special edition.

Languages

English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Performers

Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson, Fulton Mackay, Burt Lancaster.

Publication Information

[Irvington, NY] : Criterion Collection, [2019]

Physical Description

2 videodiscs (111 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 folded sheet (color illustrations ; 19 cm)

Audience

MPAA rating: PG.

Summary

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, who is dispatched by his crackpot boss 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.

Notes

Title from container.

Originally released as a motion picture in 1983.

Special features: New 2K digital restoration ; audio commentary from 2018 featuring director Bill Forsyth and film critic Mark Kermode ; new conversation between Forsyth and film critic David Cairns ; Shooting from heart, a 1985 documentary about the work of cinematographer 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 Peter Riefert and Burt Lancaster ; I thought maybe I'd get to meet Alan Whicker, a 1983 interview with Forsyth ; trailer.