- Actors: Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert
- Directors: Bill Forsyth
- Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, French
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Warner Home Video
- Release Date: Sep 21 1999
- Run Time: 111 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (127 customer reviews)
- ASIN: 6305558205
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#12,289 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #64 in DVD > Art House & International > By Country > British Cinema > Comedy
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Product Description
From Amazon.co.uk
Long before The Full Monty there was this lovely fish-out-of-water comedy by deft Scots writer-director Bill Forsyth (Gregory's Girl). Set in the 1980s during a period of controversy over North Sea oil drilling, Local Hero follows a likeable, woolly American junior executive (Peter Riegert) dispatched from Texas by his blustering boss (a high-spirited Burt Lancaster) to a small fishing village on the coast of Scotland for the purpose of swindling the presumably simple-minded locals out of their drilling rights. The surprise isn't that the villagers turn the tables on the American schemers, but that they do so without displaying a hint of malice. They get a kick out of flummoxing the city slickers. Even Lancaster's greed-head Felix Happer eventually has a change of heart. In outline, this may sound more ordinary than it feels as you're watching it. The fine young British actor Denis Lawson, who had a tiny role as one of the fighter pilots in Star Wars plays Riegert's UK contact, Gordon Urquhart, a sad sack with a noble soul. --David Chute
Amazon.com Essential Video
When Mac MacIntyre (played with deadpan perfection by Peter Riegert) is sent by his star-gazing, slightly insane Knox Oil and Gas boss (Burt Lancaster) to Scotland's West Coast to buy the rights to a seaside town slated to be the site of an oil refinery, Mac embarks on his journey reluctantly. "Why do I have to go to all the way to Scotland?" Mac complains to a coworker. "I'm really more of a Telex man." But on the way to closing the deal, a funny thing happens: the place takes root in Mac. The town's eccentric inhabitants, eventful night sky, and stunning scenery soak into his psyche and combine to bring a very different Mac to the surface, a Mac who collects seashells, walks on the beach in his jeans instead of his suit, and throws his calendar watch, beeping "meeting time in Houston," into the sea.
Mac eventually vies to switch places with Gordon Urquhart--accountant, bartender, innkeeper, and community representative in the land deal. After an evening spent drinking 42-year-old scotch ("old enough to be out on its own," Mac chirps, and then laughs smugly at his own joke) and negotiating the real estate deal, Mac tries to negotiate a deal for himself--to trade his high-rise Houston apartment, Porsche, and oil-company job for Urquhart's less traditional, but more fulfilling, life.
The plot runs along almost as if behind the scenes, and the characters are intriguing, but the real appeal here is the incisive yet gentle humor. During a visit to a Knox Oil lab, Mac is shown into a room that contains a miniature of the town he has been sent to purchase. The head of the lab says, "Welcome to our little world," and then gives Mac the plastic replica of the town as a souvenir. "Dream large," he intones. The irony's easy to miss and is just one example of the intelligent presence--in the form of writer and director Bill Forsyth--working behind the scenes here.
Mark Knopfler's delicate, haunting soundtrack complements the sometimes melancholy, sometimes hilarious currents of Local Hero to perfection. --Stefanie Durbin
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but hardly "Essential" - Missing a Plot,
By
This review is from: Local Hero (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
There may be the making of great movie - nice scenery, very good actors, atmospheric soundtrack, whimsy and authenticity -- but it did not come to fruition...
Why not? There is a very thin plot, and it does not really go anywhere... You COULD say, that is part of the point of the movie, and maybe that has some truth, but one could imagine a much better plot that would have worked. Further, the lead, American, actor is fairly flat, hence he is difficult to identify with... In sum, this is one of those quirky movies that is likeable enough, but critics love, elevating its status WAY beyond what it should be. A small enjoyable movie, but without an engaging or interesting story. Comfort food, but not nutrient sparse. If you want eccentric Brit movies, go for Trainspotting or Walking Ned Devine.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Movie!,
By H. Roark (Central Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Local Hero (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
This is my favorite movie because the topics hit home on many levels as someone in an industry driven by deadlines. From the main character who initially would not think twice about exploiting a community's resources for the oil industry but in the end is willing to trade all his material goods for a life of simplicity and community, to a billionaire who seems to have it all except for happiness and sanity who befriends someone who has nothing and no use for money, to the rescue of a pristine landscape for something more sustainable, and all delivered in a humorously understated way. There are some weak spots but they don't get in the way of the message. I watch it once a year and get temporarily inspired to leave it all' and then reality kicks in. Sigh.
5.0 out of 5 stars
25th Anniversary This Year,
By
This review is from: Local Hero (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
2008 marks the 25th anniversary of "Local Hero," so when will we see a special collector's edition with all the bells and whistles this wonderful film deserves? Anyone know who we should petition?
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