Local Hero [DVD]

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Though Puttnam turned down the opportunity, busy as he was trying to put his own film Chariots of Fire into production, he did help secure distribution for That Sinking Feeling and introduced Forsyth to his new agent. Awards for 1983". National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012 . Retrieved 11 July 2012.

a b Eberts, Jake; Illott, Terry (1990). My indecision is final. Faber and Faber. p.116. ISBN 9780571148899.British director Michael Powell and Hungarian writer and producer Emeric Pressburger were a two-man creative powerhouse in the mid-20th Century. ‘The Archers’ (as they styled themselves) unleashed a sequence of classic films onto the world that has a unique place in cinema history. Huge box office and critical hits upon first release, their work was latterly (and incorrectly) dismissed as quaint, twee and whimsical fare for several years, until directors like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola re-educated the critical consensus. Twee? Quaint? According to Scorsese, P&P’s run of movies through the 1930s and 40s was ‘the longest period of subversive film-making in a major studio, ever.’

Monica says fans of the film often want to recreate that scene for themselves and she’ll often hear the phone ringing when she and her husband are sitting on the bench nearby having a cup of tea. She always answers the phone although usually the person hangs up - perhaps they’ve had their moment and all they needed was to make the connection; sometimes it’ll be someone from the other side of the world: Australia, America. “It’s because the film still inspires people,” says Monika. “I know people who watch it once a week and sometimes more.” Schmadel, Lutz D.; International Astronomical Union (2003). Dictionary of minor planet names. Berlin; New York: Springer-Verlag. p.592. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3 . Retrieved 29 July 2012. Although the last feature offered a very thorough look into the making of the film, Criterion still sees fit to add another program made for Scottish Television in 1983, The Making of “Local Hero.” Though some of the same ground is covered this one expands on things by providing production footage from the portion of the film that takes place in Texas, along with a detailed look into the film’s sets (a few of which caught me by surprise because the whole film feels to have been shot on location). This feature also runs 52-minutes. Denied access to expensive, Technicolor film, Powell & Pressburger used stark monochrome photography to capture the full extent of nature’s magical hold on man. The relationship between nature and man is a theme they returned to several times, but never more effectively than in this classic romance. It is nature herself that ruins the set-in-concrete plans of Wendy Hiller as she travels up to Scotland to marry a millionaire that she hasn’t even met. At the final stretch, the elements gang up on her, stranding her upon cinema’s most charming island where she falls (against her will) in love with its laird, Torquil MacNeill (Roger Livesey). A stage musical adaptation received its world premiere in 2019. In the same year a Criterion Collection DVD/Blu-ray was released in September. [5] Plot [ edit ]

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I got some of the inspiration while in Orkney,” he said. “I saw the effect it has on outsiders who go there. It happed to Mary June, the wardrobe lady. She left the BBC to live there. I was able to steal a lot of things because it was happening in front of my eyes.” Those fond of the film will be beyond thrilled with this edition from Criterion, which delivers on all fronts: a sharp and stunning A/V presentation and rich collection of supplements. Highly recommended. Seagrove recognises something else important about Local Hero too, which is that, in the subtle way that Bill Forsyth does things in his films, it was one of the first movies to raise the subject of environmentalism and the damage industry can do to the planet.

It’s easy to forget 40 years on just what was happening in the early 1980s with the oil industry in Scotland. It was a big thing with the Americans coming in and doing their thing in Shetland, which is where the inspiration for the film came from. Never a dull moment, full of mirth, down to ear th wisdom, will make you question your values, and the music by Dire Straits (Going home) is haunting...This film is not to be missed Read full review What makes this material really work is the low-key approach of the writer-director, Bill Forsyth, who also made the charming Gregory's Girl and has the patience to let his characters gradually reveal themselves to the camera. He never hurries, and as a result, Local Hero never drags: Nothing is more absorbing than human personalities, developed with love and humor. Some of the payoffs in this film are sly and subtle, and others generate big laughs. Forsyth's big scenes are his little ones, including a heartfelt, whisky-soaked talk between the American and the innkeeper, and a scene where the visitors walk on the beach and talk about the meaning of life. By the time Burt Lancaster reappears at the end of the film, to personally handle the negotiations with old Ben, Local Hero could hardly have anything but a happy ending. [10] Forty years on there’s all this stuff going on again in Shetland with Cambo. So I think Local Hero is as relevant as it was. That’s really interesting for modern viewers who are just discovering the film for the first time in 2023.”Raising his tiny budget from local businesses and working with crew such as production manager Paddy Higson and a young cast, Forsyth’s first feature as writer-director was 1978’s That Sinking Feeling. A Meeting of Minds