Local Hero (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Bill Forsyth put Scottish cinema on the map with this delightfully eccentric culture clash comedy. Riffing on popular representations of Scottish life and folklore, Local Hero follows the Texas oil executive Mac (Peter Riegert), who is dispatched by his crackpot boss (Burt Lancaster) to a remote seaside village in Scotland with orders to buy out the town and develop the region for an oil refinery. But as business mixes with pleasure, Mac finds himself enchanted by both the picturesque community and its oddball denizens—and Texas starts to feel awfully far away. Packed with a near nonstop stream of droll one liners and deadpan gags, this enchanting cult hit finds Forsyth surveying the idiosyncrasies of small town life with the satirical verve of a latter day Preston Sturges, arriving at a sly commentary on conservation, corporate greed, and the legacies we leave behind. DIRECTOR APPROVED BLU RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • New conversation between Forsyth and film critic David Cairns • Shooting from the Heart, a 1985 documentary about the work of cinematographer Chris Menges • Episode of The South Bank Show from 1983 about the production of the film • The Making of “Local Hero,” a documentary made during the film’s production, featuring interviews with actors Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert • I Thought Maybe I’d Get to Meet Alan Whicker, a 1983 interview with Forsyth on his early career in documentaries, his first narrative features, and the success of Local Hero • PLUS: An essay by film scholar Jonny Murray