Local Hero [DVD]

This is a gentle comedy from the great Bill Forsythe. Set in a coastal village in Scotland with a great cast including Burt Lancaster as the oil magnet. I won't spill the plot but you will thoroughly enjoy a laugh.

Excellent re digitised version with outstanding soundtrack.

Entertaining, good scenery and story line

One of the best films and brilliant musi

We've probably all had the experience - going back to a film we watched and really enjoyed back in 1980s and being disappointed or dissatisfied. Well "Local Hero" isn't one of those films. Having watched it again I probably enjoyed it even more than before; it is good on so many levels.It's the early 1980s and the North Sea oil boom is getting under way. An American company has identified a section of the coast of the Scottish Highlands that's ideal for a tanker terminal and oil refinery - the only trouble is, it's already occupied by a fishing village. Someone must be sent to buy the place up, with a suitable cover story of course because there will be trouble or price hikes if people learn what's going on. The eccentric boss selects one of his rising young executives, MacIntyre, for the job, on the grounds that's he's Scottish and therefore best equipped to deal with the villagers.Mac doesn't dare tell the boss he has no connection at all with Scotland (his family were Hungarian, they changed their name to MacIntyre when they immigrated because they thought it sounded suitably American) and so heads off on his mission. Soon we more on to the two plot twists that underpin the rest of the film. The first, predictably, is that Mac is so overcome with the beauty and charm of the village he doesn't want his mission to succeed and starts to wonder how to make it fail without losing his job. The second is that the villagers, who have to live in the place and eke out quite a hard living, really want to sell and are just interested in making sure they get the best price. How are things resolved? That's the story."Local Hero" has many strengths - the characterisation, the acting, the storylines and scripting, the quirkiness, and above all the gorgeous beauty of the location and a sound-track to match. It's not perfect - the tedious sub-plot involving the company boss and his therapist could have been dropped, and we get the joke about the Kirk minister of the village as soon as we set eyes on him, he doesn't need to keep reminding us he's from Africa. But these are minor drawbacks in what is otherwise a really good film. The DVD extra features are also worth watching.

Great film really enjoyed it

My favourite film of all time. I saw this for the first time in the mid 80's when still a child, I was captivated by its warmth, British & Scottish eccentricity and humour. Many call it whimsical to me it continues to be a perfect antidote to the speed of modern life and our demand for equally modern high paced films. That's not to say this film hasn't aged well because apart from some of the cheesy corporate 'Knox oil & Gas' scenes this film has not aged at all....especially if you are familiar with the Scottish film locations. Fine performances from all involved including Denis Lawson, Fulton Macay, Jenny Seagrove but an intriguing young Peter Capaldi.The plot of the film surrounds 'Mac' a thrusting Texas oil executive is of Polish born parents who adopted the name Macintyre in order to fit in the US. However Mac's eccentric boss believes he is Scot so sends the reluctant but ambitious negotiator to the remote West Coast of Scotland to purchase a fishing village for conversion to an oil refinery....."Surely I don't need to go there, I am more of a Telex Man".As someone who spends time in corporate America and the West Coast of Scotland...I feel Macintyre's aching nostalgia as he returns to his empty City apartment....the sea shells pulled from his pocket instantly take him back to the place and the people who he was supposed to 'purchase' but instead ends up falling in love with. He opens the door to the balcony and the sirens and traffic noise of the city fill the room contrasting heavily with the peace and character of the rest of the film and 'Mac' knows his life is changed forever.....The full melody of Knopfler's eponymous theme tune rises to its crescendo and you know no matter what.....things will be OK.Strange times Archie, strange times

In the "extra" - an interview with the filmmaker, Bill Forsyth - the charge is repeated that the natural world and the society threatened by the big Texas oil company's development is too "made up" and idealised - a beautiful mermaid, a sort of "Balamory" atmosphere (but with the hoteliers at it like knives all the time), and the natural beauty of the hills, the sea and the Northern Lights.However, anyone mesmerised by having to earn tens of thousands and have the flashiest Porsche should watch as the American "Mac" gradually loses the suit, adopts a sweater, and lets his digital watch drown in the sea.It would be his BlackBerry today - though to use a "British Telecom" "payphone" he would surely need a lot more tens - if it hadn't been removed...Conversely, the villagers smell big money like the characters in Dürrenmatt's "Visit"...(though we don't get to see if it ruins their lives...)This is a charming film that prompts us to ask what we want from life, and why.Although "Mac" (Peter Riegert) and his boss "Hopper" (Burt Lancaster) are American, they do not appear to be sort of Sellotaped in to appeal to a wider audience, as so often happens. Their roles are part of the fabric of the film.The DVD has neither subtitles, nor alternative soundtracks. The German version doesn't even have English! However, this beautifully digitally-remastered version is perfect if you never bought the video...

Watch it a couple of times to get the layers. Funny. Good story. One of my all time favorites!

Alles bestens!

Bello il paesaggio, carina la storia: un gioiellino

This DVD is fine and functions well

Un des meilleurs films britanniques jamais réalisés. Un jeune Peter Capaldi (Dr Who), qui joue un de ses premiers rôles. Des scènes de rêve filmées en Ecosse.J'ai commandé le DVD en fin d'aprés-midi jeudi 6 octobre. Livraison prévue lundi 10 octobre. Reception ce matin samedi 8 octobre. Cérise sur le gateau: je suis Ecossais qui vis en France et le colis a été envoyé par Amazon Ecosse, basé dans ma ville natale, Dunfermline. Merci Amazon, c'est mon anniversaire et Noël le même jour.