Local Hero poster

Local Hero

A BEAUTIFUL COASTLINE... A RICH OIL MAN WANTS TO DEVELOP IT. A POOR BEACH BUM WANTS TO LIVE ON IT. AN ENTIRE TOWN WANTS TO PROFIT BY IT. AND A REAL-LIVE MERMAID WANTS TO SAVE IT... ONLY ONE OF THEM WILL GET THEIR WAY.

6.8(424)19831h 51m5

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.

Share WhatsApp Telegram
Status
Released
Budget
$4.2M
Box office
$5.9M
Language
Russian
  • small town
  • petrol
  • scotland
  • village life
  • village
  • folk music
  • houston, texas
  • oil
  • rabbit
  • millionaire
  • black gold
  • seaside town

Top billed cast

Behind the camera

Director

Bill Forsyth

Produced in

United Kingdom

Gallery

Still from Local HeroStill from Local HeroStill from Local HeroStill from Local HeroStill from Local HeroStill from Local HeroStill from Local HeroStill from Local HeroStill from Local HeroStill from Local HeroStill from Local HeroStill from Local Hero

Videos

Release dates

  • United StatesUS

    • TheatricalPG17 Feb 1983
  • United KingdomGB

    • Theatrical17 Mar 1983
    • PhysicalPGVHS1 Oct 1999
    • PhysicalPGDVD19 Feb 2001
  • AustraliaAU

    • TheatricalPG28 Apr 1983
  • BrazilBR

    • TVLFox Film mj.gov.br26 Nov 1998
  • DenmarkDK

    • TheatricalA26 Dec 1983
  • GermanyDE

    • Theatrical122 Dec 1983
  • IrelandIE

    • TheatricalPG29 Apr 1983
  • JapanJP

    • TheatricalG19 Apr 1986
  • NetherlandsNL

    • TheatricalAL18 Aug 1983
    • PhysicalALDVD14 Mar 2008
  • PortugalPT

    • PremiereM/12TV Premiere30 Dec 1987
  • SpainES

    • TheatricalAPTA20 Jul 1983

Frequently asked questions

Local Hero was released on 17 February 1983.

Audience reviews

3
  • C

    CinemaSerf

    6/8/2023

    7/10

    Burt Lancaster is the multi-millionaire oil magnate "Felix Happer" who despatches one of his minions (Peter Riegert) to Scotland to buy up a village to turn it into an oil refinery. Once he arrives, he is taken for a bit of a ride by the canny locals as they try to milk him for as much cash as they can. In the days before cell phones; he has to call his boss from the phone box reporting his lack of progress and some …

  • F

    Filipe Manuel Neto

    6/20/2023

    3/10

    **Slow, with boring characters and dialogues and a disjointed script, this film does not justify the “hype” around it.** This is one of those indie films that has won over a legion of self-confessed admirers. It's a film that everyone speaks highly of, as if it were a solid masterpiece. I didn't know that when I saw it for the first time, so I saw it without a lot of expectations. I'm glad I did it: despite recogn…

  • B

    badelf

    2/5/2026

    9/10

    Bill Forsyth's Local Hero sends an American oil company executive (Peter Riegert) to a remote Scottish coastal village to buy it up for a refinery. What he finds instead is a community that can't quite be bought, locals who negotiate on their own eccentric terms, and a way of life that makes his corporate ambitions seem hollow and absurd. This is gentle, quirky, humanistic filmmaking at its finest. There's no heav…

Member reviews

Sign in to rate and review. Browsing stays free and open.

Sign in

Member comments

0

Sign in to post a comment. Browsing stays free and open.

Sign in

More like this