In this episode of the Seventh Row podcast, we discuss two recently restored Scottish classic gentle comedies directed by Bill Forsyth, Gregory’s Girl (1981) and Local Hero (1983).
Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste), Associate Editor Brett Pardy (@antiqueipod), Editor at Large Mary Angela Rowe (@lapsedvictorian), and special guest Scott Wilson (@scottaawilson) discuss Forysth’s kindness towards his characters, the film’s cultural context, tackling serious subjects in a gentle way, the special features on the new Criterion disc, and why these films are endlessly rewatchable.
About Bill Forsyth’s Gregory’s Girl and Local Hero
As we discuss in the podcast, capturing these films in a summary is difficult. Gregory’s Girl (1981) is (spoiler) not a movie where awkward teenager Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair) ends up with barrier breaking high school football [soccer] star Dorothy (Dee Hepburn). Instead, it’s a pleasant teenage hangout movie as we meet the various people in Gregory’s social orbit. Watch the trailer.
A 2K restoration of Gregory’s Girl is available from Film Movement and will screen in New York October 4th – 10th.
Local Hero (1983) has more of a plot, as American oil executive Mac (Peter Riegert) is sent to convince the inhabits of a small Scottish seaside village to sell their property rights so the company can build an oil refinery. While Mac has little difficulty convincing the town’s inhabitants, he begins to doubt what he’s doing… Watch the [cheesy 80s] trailer.
Local Hero will be released on Blu-ray and DVD by Criterion on September 24th.
Show Notes and Recommended Reading
As mentioned on the episode:
Check out Alex Heeney’s interview with Falls Around Her director Darlene Naponse in our latest ebook, The 2019 Canadian Cinema Yearbook.
Listen to our prior podcast episode, which featured a film with a similar tone, Sergio and Sergei.
Read Brandon Nowalk’s essay “Keeping a straight face: How CMBYN‘s queer characters get misread” as a free preview of our Call Me By Name ebook.
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