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Summary: Capitvating, heart-warming, and lovely film.
Review: This is a captivating, heart-warming, quirky, and lovely film that is achieving cult status. Set in Scotland, it deals with the interaction between a workaholic oil company executive sent to buy a tiny village on the coast for oil exploration. He is won over by the town and doesn't want to see it changed, while the town wants the money the oil company will provide. Burt Lancaster is terrific as the erratic boss who flies in to make the final deal -- and ends up won over too. Absolutely wonderful film.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT!!!!!!
Review: This is a great movie. One of the best I have ever seen. About the only way to sum it up is to say that this teriffic, funny, touching, beautiful film is unlike anything else I have ever viewed. Completely unique!!!!!!!
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Summary: Magical and utterly irresistible!
Review: I'm convinced this film inspired Northern Exposure! It tells the tale of a Houston oil executive sent to a tiny, remote Scottish fishing village to purchase their land for oil development. As the film's magic plays out (it would be a shame to spoil it) the viewer is left wondering who are the wheeler-dealers. A delicious host of wonderful characters people the film--a shrewd and lusty Scottish entrepreneur, an eccentric Houston oil magnate, a mysterious human mermaid with webbed feet, a vibrant Russian merchant sailor, a hermit in possession of priceless real estate--everyone in this film is memorable and vividly drawn. It is a deserved cult favorite, a film you'll want to see again and again. END
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Summary: Sheer magic -- one of the best films of the 1980s.
Review: Sheer magic -- widely considered one of the best films of the 1980s. Bill Forsythe's whimsical tale takes a Houston-based oil corporation employee to a tiny Scottish village where the people are all too-willing to sell out and move away. But the employee (Pete Reigert) soon falls in love with the place. So will you. END
Rating: 
Summary: difference of opinion
Review: This is one of those movies that you watch and finally when the credits roll you kick yourself for wasting the time and effort to do so.
The bomb dropping jets? The guy on the motorcycle? The briefly hit on relationship between Mac and the other guy's wife? The marine biologist turning into a mermaid? Please, some one explain the relivance.
The ending seemed as though the writer needed a quick way out of a poorly written movie. I'll bet Burt Lancaster turns in his grave (is he dead?-if he isn't he should be after making this dud) every time some one waist their time trying to watch this movie.
The main reason I watched the movie was because of the soundtrack that was written by Marc Knopfler-great music, terrible movie.
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Summary: As close to a perfect film as you'll ever see.
Review: A young Houston oil company exec is sent to Scotland to negotiate, and finds himself totally out of his depth in dealing with the "naive" locals. Hardly sounds interesting, does it? Well, chances are that you, too, will find yourself trapped by this charming, sly, unsentimental film. I don't know how the director, Bill Forsyth, did it (he's missed the mark so many times), but it's like a perfect game in baseball - somehow, everything came together, perfectly, and to see it is to recognize its perfection. And it did not go unnoticed - "Northern Exposure" took the basic premise and even whole scenes, and did a decent homage to "Local Hero". Nevertheless, this is NOT "Northern Exposure in Scotland, With Oil" - it's "Local Hero", and it's a movie that almost everyone who sees it, loves. Read the other 67 reviews - they are all correct. Then see this movie - but, save yourself the rental fee, as the chances that you will want to own it are overwhelming. This film will sneak up behind you and bop you on the head, leaving you feeling happy, wise, foolish, and sad, and wishing you were back in Scotland.
Rating:
Summary: Deceptively Simple
Review: This seemingly simple and charming film merits repeated viewing for its surprising depth. We've all heard the expression "He knows the price of everything and the value of nothing". The difference between the two is the theme of this gentle comedy. It is on its face an amusing clash between the modern and the traditional; in its heart, an ecological allegory involving earth, sea, and sky. Elementals, seekers, and a wise steward inhabit the plot, which, while easy enough to follow, is worthy of a Shakespearean comedy in its peculiar twists. The film is one of those rarities that is as deep as the viewer. Incidentally, if this movie makes you want to visit Scotland (and it will), Camusdaroch Beach (Ben's Beach) south of Mallaig is a lovely place; but for real West Highland charm, skip Pennan, where the town scenes were filmed, and try Plockton, Ullapool, and the rest of the wild west and north coasts instead.
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Summary: What a gorgeous, gorgeous film!
Review: Local Hero is my favourite film of all time. Simply put, it's the sort of film that touches you. It's so utterly non-Hollywood. I agree with the reviewer who said it's the most non-sentimental 'sentimental' film. The fact that the villagers are in fact delighted at the thought of selling everything to be rich, only adds to the poignancy. The director plays his hand with such subtlessness and craft it is a joy to watch.
It's also a really funny film in so many places. The scene where the willagers are running across the field by the church just has me in stitches! The humour is 'dead-pan' and below the surface which means you can watch the film several times and still laugh at things you missed the last time.
The scenery is breathtaking and the background music by Mark Knopfler is superb. It's a delightful, charming and wonderful film that will leave you saying "they sure don't make them like this anymore".
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: This film is pure delight. From the beautiful rolling scenery of Scotland to the haunting soundtrack by Mark Knopfler - this film has it all. Very few films achieve the quaintness and subtle delight that this film presents. My only disappointment is with the DVD - it only comes with a mono soundtrack. A minor quibble really when one considers how good the music is and the emotions of escapism that it produces. Timeless.
Rating: 
Summary: didn't have to be this dull...
Review: I am a complete sucker for this type of movie. I love quirky, intellectual, and subtle humor. I love interesting, odd characters in small towns. I love gorgeous scenery and movies where the city dweller is first annoyed but then embraces the slow, meaningful pace of life in the countryside. Reading all the glowing reviews, this sounded exactly like the type of movie that I would go crazy for.
But I hated it. The acting was nowhere near excellent: it was stilted and awkward. The early "set up the plot" scenes in America were especially poorly written and acted, reminiscent of derivative, slapped-together comedies from the 1970s, except without the humor. There was very little in the way of character development throughout the movie, and instead of seeming quirky, most of the characters just seemed... well, like actors who weren't sure what their characters were supposed to be like.
The ending was disappointing, with no true denoument to help the viewer come to terms with the sad ending: did any of the characters really grow or change or learn anything from this experience? This bothered me throughout the movie. For instance, we see that the main character loses his expensive watch, which has a timer that reminds him of appointments he's missing back at the office. Symbolically, leaving this watch behind is an important turning point in the movie. But the watch under the waves is left to speak for itself. We never see the man react to this pivotal moment. Did he leave it there on purpose or forget it? How much time goes by before he notices that the watch is gone, and when he notices, does he feel relief, regret, anxiety... what? I don't need to be hit over the head with the exposition stick, but I couldn't tell whether the important things about the characters were supposed to be happening off-stage, or if they're so shallow that they don't, in fact, think much about such things.
The plot had potential, the scenery was gorgeous, and many of the smaller parts were played with the appropriate level of off-beat humor. With the right casting and directing, this movie could have been great. I give it a couple of points for the scenery, the goofy side-kick, the guy on the motorcycle who always zips by just as you step into the street, and for at least trying to make this kind of movie. But that's all I can give it.
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