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.
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.
Local Hero (1983) is a comedy and drama film directed by Bill Forsyth, released on February 17, 1983 with a runtime of 1h 51m. It stars Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson and Fulton Mackay. Viewers rate it 6.8 out of 10 across 417 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for Local Hero before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for Local Hero.
Trailer
Trailer
Featurette
Behind the Scenes
Burt Lancaster
as Felix Happer
Peter Riegert
as "Mac" MacIntyre
Denis Lawson
as Gordon Urquhart
Fulton Mackay
as Ben Knox
Peter Capaldi
as Danny Oldsen
Jennifer Black
as Stella Urquhart
Jenny Seagrove
as Marina
Norman Chancer
as Moritz
Rikki Fulton
as Geddes
Alex Norton
as Watt
Christopher Rozycki
as Victor
Gyearbuor Asante
as Rev Macpherson
Directed by Bill Forsyth, written by Bill Forsyth, produced by David Puttnam.
Average viewer score of 6.8/10 from 417 ratings.
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…
Reviewed on June 8, 2023
**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…
Reviewed on June 20, 2023
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…
Reviewed on February 5, 2026
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Local Hero (1983) is available to stream on Howdy Amazon Channel, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube and Fandango At Home. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of Local Hero (1983) includes Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson, Fulton Mackay and Peter Capaldi. The film was directed by Bill Forsyth. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Local Hero was released on February 17, 1983 and runs for 1h 51m.
Local Hero (1983) holds an average rating of 6.8 out of 10 from 417 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy comedy and drama films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official Local Hero trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
