Rating: PG
Movie Release Date: February 17, 1983
DVD Release Date: September 21, 1999
Plot 411: A Texas oil company exec goes to a small Scottish fishing village to negotiate the purchase of their land.
Review: This movie is definitely from the '80s. The first obvious fact is multiple references to a telex. What exacty is a telex? LOL Anyway, the film was about a Knox exec named Mac (Peter Riegert), who is sent to Scotland by his boss (Burt Lancaster). His mission is to buy up all the land so an oil refinery can be built. Mac is all about the money and power, which I suppose is a typical '80s attitude. He's thrilled to be climbing the corporate ladder, and this land negotiation is his ticket to the top. However, when he arrives in Scotland, he falls in love with the slower pace and simple lifestyle. His yuppy mentality soon changes as he begins to enjoy the eccentric townspeople. Mac comes to a crossroad as the deal nears its conclusion because he's torn between preserving the quaint town and stomping upon it in the name of progress. Interestingly enough, the people who live there are not opposed to the buyout. They shrewdly try to out-negotiate the negotiator in order to squeeze the most money out of the American company. The movie forces you to question if natural beauty is worth preserving or if development of society is always the way to go. It takes a look at the wonders of technology and the wonders of nature. It's actually quite appalling to see capitalism in all its glory.
Movie Release Date: February 17, 1983
DVD Release Date: September 21, 1999
Plot 411: A Texas oil company exec goes to a small Scottish fishing village to negotiate the purchase of their land.
Review: This movie is definitely from the '80s. The first obvious fact is multiple references to a telex. What exacty is a telex? LOL Anyway, the film was about a Knox exec named Mac (Peter Riegert), who is sent to Scotland by his boss (Burt Lancaster). His mission is to buy up all the land so an oil refinery can be built. Mac is all about the money and power, which I suppose is a typical '80s attitude. He's thrilled to be climbing the corporate ladder, and this land negotiation is his ticket to the top. However, when he arrives in Scotland, he falls in love with the slower pace and simple lifestyle. His yuppy mentality soon changes as he begins to enjoy the eccentric townspeople. Mac comes to a crossroad as the deal nears its conclusion because he's torn between preserving the quaint town and stomping upon it in the name of progress. Interestingly enough, the people who live there are not opposed to the buyout. They shrewdly try to out-negotiate the negotiator in order to squeeze the most money out of the American company. The movie forces you to question if natural beauty is worth preserving or if development of society is always the way to go. It takes a look at the wonders of technology and the wonders of nature. It's actually quite appalling to see capitalism in all its glory.
Watch It: For a whimsical tale about a big fish in a small pond.
Skip It: If you always back the little guy and always oppose "The Man."
3 comments:
sky.. what a pleasant surprise, thanks..
This is an interesting spin I hadn't considered. For me, it's a complete send-up of industrial America and the celebration of local culture. The give-away to some extent is when one of the locals says, "i thought the money would make me happy, but i don't feel any different. well, edward, you're just going to have to buck up and face the fact, yer stinkin rich"... (maybe he already is happy)..
You make me pause and consider what it is about this movie that makes it so special for me. I like to go "somewhere previously not seen". For me, the first hint is when Happer retracts the ceiling and tells Mac to keep an eye on the stars. The next is the subtle transition when they get fogged in, and emerge amid a beautiful, sunny day on the other side. This tells me we're going somplace magical.
Then when Gordon Urquhart start jumping on his chair. Then, then, then, and finally when Happer arrives on the scene like an alien visitor and he and Ben conspire to do in the "refinery caper".. and of course, the visit to the Scottish beachlands.. for me, it's the perfect film, a complete getaway, geographically, culturally, and spiritually.. it's a film that not only reminds me to believe in miracles... it's a film that reminds me that my own life is a miracle.. truth be told, someday, i too, may be a Local Hero.. (a story for another day)..
Thanks sky for watching and reviewing my favorite film.. now, Forrest Gump and Johnny Got His Gun.. (which was on TCM recently)..
aloha..
I, too, enjoyed the Scottish landscape, especially the beautiful sunsets. The fog scene was really nice as well.
I thought eating the bunny was funny in a completely gross way LOL
Your view of the film is really interesting, like it is a modern fairy tale. I guess Scotland is a good place to loosen your grip on reality. My friends and I are planning a trip to Europe and Scotland is one of many countries up for grab.
I saw it more as a political statement and could only think of the hazards of encroaching developments (Kinda like the bumper sticker "Keep the Country Country" that I see around here) and the money-grubbiness of the '80s.
I'll definitely get to both those film in due time haha
the "bunny scene"..
Olson: "it had a name, two names!"..
well, probably a quick stop in London, with a sojourn to Ireland or Scotland makes a lot of sense, esp. since half the hapa-haoles in HI are either one or the other..
yes, a modern fairy tale.. i also found the Happer scenes with the psych he has to pay to give him crap as hysterically funny..
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