Local Hero

Its not a high concept movie, theres actually no story there really. Its what happens in between the story thats 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 Scotlands most beloved, and most misunderstood, films.

When Bill Forsyths incredible success with the low-budget That Sinking Feeling and Gregorys Girl found him collaborating with Britains best-known film producer, David Puttnam, he soon found his independent ethos clashing with Hollywoods desire for superstar actors and a happy ending.

Jonathan Melville checks into the MacAskill Arms and looks back at Bill Forsyths 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Local Hero script (including hand-written notes) that reveal more about Mac and mermaids, excerpts from a previously unpublished interview in which Bill Forsyth explains why he refuses to call his film feel-good, and a look at long-lost deleted scenes with exclusive commentary from those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 Forsyths quirky disarming Local Hero is both . . . it demonstrates Mr. Forsyths uncanny ability for making an audience sense that something magical is going on, even if that something isnt easily explained – Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Local Hero is kind of transcendent. Its poetic in a way that most films cant hope to be – Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Local Hero is one my favourite films of all time . . . A timeless masterpiece – Mark Kermode