Each week I choose a song from a movie which may be popular or not. The only criteria is that its a great song and it fits the scene in the film perfectly. Let me know if you agree.
Local Hero – Mark Knopfler
“Local Hero“ was written by Mark Knopfler and was the title track used in the 80s classic film “Local Hero”. When watched in conjunction with the fantastic locations in the film the soundtrack dovetails beautifully with the almost mystical landscapes shown throughout the film.
Many believe that the music helped to make the film the success it was.
The film was produced by David Putnam and written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starred Burt Lancaster.
The Story is one of the 80’s Oil Boom in Scotland and how a local village deals with American big business. Lancaster sends his chief negotiator Peter Riegert to the remote Scottish village to secure the property rights for an oil refinery they want to build. However a local hermit and beach scavenger Ben Knox played by Fulton Mackay forces the ill prepared negotiator to negotiate on his terms.
It is a masterpiece full of brilliant performances from a cast which make the characters instantly likeable in a setting that makes you want to visit.
The real star of the Movie is the breathtaking scenery which even when watched on a small screen still makes you want to visit Penrin in Scotland were the film was made.
People who do visit often ask the locals the way to the church on the beach, they smile and then told its about 150 miles on the other coast. Now that is the magic of film making, geography is only relative to the screen.
According to film critic Mark Commode it his his all time favourite film and I can agree it is certainly in my top ten.
Roger Ebert In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film his highest four stars, calling it “a small film to treasure.” He gave particular praise to writer-director Bill Forsyth for his abilities as a storyteller. He added, what makes this film really work is the low-key approach of the writer-director,
Bill Forsyth, who 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 humour.
Forsyth’s big scenes are his little ones, including a heartfelt, whiskey-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.
John d eccles 