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.

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Plot Keywords:

kiss | oil | beach | shack | village | 

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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.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Russian Japanese

Release Date:

18 February 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

A kisvárosi hõs

Filming Locations:

The Ship Inn, Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,567, 21 February 1983, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,895,761

Company Credits

Production Co:

Enigma Productions,Goldcrest Films International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The village used is called Pennan but it is on the East coast unlike the one in the film. The beach used is called Camusdarach and is on the West coast.

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Goofs

When they hit the rabbit, Oldsen says "Why don't we kill it? Hit it with something hard", to which Mac replies "You've already done that with a 2 ton automobile!" They are in a Mark 5 Ford Cortina (and a lower spec model with a 1.6 litre engine) which only weighs a little over 1 ton.

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Quotes

Oldsen: [referring to the grey seals] Sailors used to think they were mermaids, yeah?
Marina: [gives him a sharp look] Aye, they did. They were wrong.

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Alternate Versions

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

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Connections

Featured in Talking Pictures: Barry Norman (2017)

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Soundtracks

The Ceilidh: Louis' Favourite/Billy's Tune
Written by Mark Knopfler
Performed by the Acetones

User Reviews

Nobody does it better than the Brits.

This cinematic piece of enchantment has been aptly praised in the other reviews preceding this one. I really didn't know what to expect when I saw this on cable, but it became an instant favorite. It is so true, so touching, that I felt pangs of sadness when it came to an end. A hopeful end, to be sure. I used to wonder about the casting of Peter Riegert in the lead (I think Dennis Leary would have been perfect in this role). But after several viewings, I have grown to like and appreciate Riegert's performance very much. (I'm one of those superficial twits who perfer good-looking leading men like Sam Neill and Brad Pitt.) And Riegert's non-Scottish appearance is taken care of in the script. Any movie that can raise the consciousness of its audience without preaching is a rarity, and this beautiful film manages to do just that. Certainly one of the best films ever made.