Local Hero (1983)

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.

Director:

Bill Forsyth

Writer:

Bill Forsyth

Stars:

Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, Fulton Mackay

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Lancaster	...	Felix Happer
Peter Riegert	...	Mac
Fulton Mackay	...	Ben
Denis Lawson	...	Urquhart
Norman Chancer	...	Moritz
Peter Capaldi	...	Oldsen
Rikki Fulton	...	Geddes
Alex Norton	...	Watt
Jenny Seagrove	...	Marina
Jennifer Black	...	Stella
Christopher Rozycki	...	Victor
Gyearbuor Asante	...	Rev Macpherson (as Christopher Asante)
John M. Jackson	...	Cal (as John Jackson)
Dan Ammerman	...	Donaldson
Tam Dean Burn	...	Roddy

Storyline

Oil billionaire Happer sends Mac to a remote Scottish village to secure the property rights for an oil refinery they want to build. Mac teams up with Danny and starts the negotiations, the locals are keen to get their hands on the 'Silver Dollar' and can't believe their luck. However, a local hermit and beach scavenger, Ben Knox, lives in a shack on the crucial beach which he also owns. Happer is more interested in the Northern Lights and Danny in a surreal girl with webbed feet, Marina. Mac is used to a Houston office with fax machines but is forced to negotiate on Bens terms.

---

Plot Keywords:

planetarium | helicopter | kiss | seal the animal | stargazing | 

---

Taglines:

A beautiful coastline... A rich oil man wants to develop it. A poor beach bum wants to live on it. An entire town wants to profit by it. And a real-live mermaid wants to save it... Only one of them will get their way.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 'Scottish Sun' newspaper once reported that the Warner Bros. studio wanted actor Henry Winkler for the lead role of Mac which was rejected by director Bill Forsyth. Mac was cast with Peter Riegert.

---

Goofs

While Mac is on the plane to Aberdeen, arrival time is announced as 1.45 local time. Shortly after arrival, he goes to the laboratory and the clock shows 12.30. Marina going to lunch reinforces the clock time.

---

Quotes

Happer: That'll be all for now, MacIntyre.

---

Alternate Versions

CBS edited 14 minutes from this film for its 1987 network television premiere.

---

Connections

Featured in You've Been Trumped (2011)

---

Soundtracks

Stargazer
Written by Mark Knopfler
Performed by Alan Clark

User Reviews

nothing else like it

There's the great movies with a capital "M" (Casablanca, Strangelove, Kane) and then there's the great movies which feel like they've been made for the deepest, quietest, quirkiest parts of you and you alone - the small gems. And this one, in my view, is the sparkliest of these gems - a little masterpiece of a rumination on just how beautiful things can be when disparate paths in life intercept each other just the tiniest bit out of phase, never perfectly according to plan, and on how the deepest transformations seem to proceed from the smallest disjoints of orientation and expectation. It is a beautiful dollhouse of a film, whose success lies in its excruciating attention to and understatement of detail. Beautiful Mark Knopler strains suffuse the film's quieter moments, while subtle performances and simply lovely dialogue provide the backbone.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Russian Japanese

Release Date:

17 March 1983 (UK)

Also Known As:

Local Hero

Filming Locations:

The Ship Inn, Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,567, 21 February 1983

Gross USA:

$5,895,761

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,895,761

Company Credits

Production Co:

Enigma Productions, Goldcrest Films International, Celandine Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1