Local Hero

Name: Local Hero
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: February 17, 1983
Duration: 111 min
Rating: 83
Cast: Alex Norton, Burt Lancaster, Denis Lawson, Fulton Mackay, Jennifer Black

1983

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 17 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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Local Hero

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Movie Details & Credits

20th Century Fox | Release Date: February 17, 1983 | PG

Starring: Alex Norton, Burt Lancaster, Denis Lawson, Fulton Mackay, Jennifer Black, Jenny Seagrove, Norman Chancer, Peter Capaldi, Peter Riegert, Rikki Fulton

Summary: 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

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 111 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Roger Ebert

Here is a small film to treasure, a loving, funny, understated portrait of a small Scottish town and its encounter with a giant oil company. Read full review

100

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

Charming, whimsical, and practically perfect, Local Hero reminds us of the great pleasures that British comedy used to routinely provide. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

While modest in intent and gentle in feel, Local Hero is loaded with wry, offbeat humor and is the sort of satisfying, personal picture that is becoming an increasingly rare commodity these days. Read full review

David Ansen

The gift of this charming, low-key excursion is more intangible, yet you may find that its surprisingly complex moods linger with a bittersweet afterglow. [28 Feb 1983, p.79]

Janet Maslin

Local Hero is a funny movie, but it's more apt to induce chuckles than knee-slapping. Like Gregory's Girl, 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. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Local Hero, which concerns the frustrations of a Texas oilman's attempts to buy up an idyllic Scottish village, ranks as a lyrical anti-urban comedy in the great tradition of films like I Know Where I'm Going and Whisky Galore!; and its essential triumph is to prove that comedy can still contain a gentle, almost mystical, aspect without necessarily being old-fashioned. Read full review

Jay Scott

Forsyth's trademark surprises are a little less fresh and a little more predictable than in Gregory's Girl: the entire enterprise, while not stale, is labored. [04 Mar 1983]

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User Reviews

Trailesque

Jul 23, 2022

For me, the charm, freshness, and humor of this quirky tale shine very brightly. Everything comes together, and Forsyth's script is a classic. if only he had done a few more at this level. The set-up is a familiar one in the movies: a couple of outsiders arrive in an insular community toFor me, the charm, freshness, and humor of this quirky tale shine very brightly. Everything comes together, and Forsyth's script is a classic. if only he had done a few more at this level. The set-up is a familiar one in the movies: a couple of outsiders arrive in an insular community to make some big, modern changes, but instead the tables begin to turn, and the community starts changing them. In this, Riegert and his boss Lancaster play oil men who want to buy up a little seaside village in Scotland and replace it with an oil refinery, but things don't go exactly according to plan.… Expand

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