It's not a high concept movie, there's actually no story there really.
It's what happens in between the story that's important' - Bill
Forsyth
The story of an American businessman sent to buy the Scottish village of
Ferness with the aim of turning it into an oil refinery, Local Hero is
one of Scotland's most beloved, and most misunderstood, films.
When Bill Forsyth's incredible success with the low-budget That Sinking
Feeling and Gregory's Girl found him collaborating with Britain's
best-known film producer, David Puttnam, he soon found his independent
ethos clashing with Hollywood's desire for superstar actors and a happy
ending.
Jonathan Melville checks into the MacAskill Arms and looks back at Bill
Forsyth's career with the help of new and archive interviews, before
spending time with the cast and crew, including stars Peter Riegert and
Denis Lawson, who made Local Hero on location in Houston and Scotland in
1982.
With access to early drafts of the Local Hero script (including
hand-written notes) that reveal more about Mac and mermaids, excerpts
from a previously unpublished interview in which Bill Forsyth explains
why he refuses to call his film 'feel-good', and a look at long-lost
deleted scenes with exclusive commentary from those involved, this is
the definitive history of the Scottish classic.
'Genuine fairy tales are rare; so is film-making that is thoroughly
original in an unobtrusive way. Bill Forsyth's quirky disarming Local
Hero is both . . . it demonstrates Mr. Forsyth's uncanny ability for
making an audience sense that something magical is going on, even if
that something isn't easily explained' - Janet Maslin, The New York
Times
'Local Hero is kind of transcendent. It's poetic in a way that most
films can't hope to be' - Frank Cottrell-Boyce
'Local Hero is one my favourite films of all time . . . A timeless
masterpiece' - Mark Kermode
