Mr. Wood, I’ve heard of him, and you summed him up very nicely. “Gregory’s Girl” (1981) defined part of my childhood, especially the summers in Scotland in the early 1980s. He was an understated talent that made sweet, lyrical comedies, especially “Local Hero”. “That Sinking Feeling” (1980) was warmly funny too.
The breakthrough to the U.S with Christine Lahti in 1987’s “Housekeeping” was well received. He seemed to go to ground after the redundant sequel to “Gregory’s Girl”, “Gregory’s Two Girls” (1999), wiped off a lot of the original’s freshness and just felt fairly pointless- “Gregory’s Girl”, was a beautiful one off, never to be repeated and never could be replicated.
But overall he made evocative, finely detailed and wonderfully observant films about eccentric and quirky characters living in small towns.
Criterion should look to him for a future release, but something tells me that they already have- Time will tell.
i love “gregory’s girl”. i was at my grandmother’s house after school one afternoon watching her cable (back when cable was a novelty) and this came on the movie channel. i was immediately enthralled. i was probably 12 or 13 and it quickly became one of my favorites. my favorite thing about the experience was actually going to school the next day and coincidentally bringing it up with my friends and a guy who i would never have imagined would have given it the time of day had seen it also and loved it as well. i grew up in a very small town – graduating class of 52 kids – and thought i was pretty much the only one like me there. i learned a lot about not underestimating folks with that example. plus i had someone to talk film with in junior high. so i owe that movie a debt of gratitude and affection.
Thanks Andrew and Cole. “Gregory’s Girl” seems to be the consensus favorite so far. And for me, if I had to pick just one, it would be “Local Hero”. Just a gorgeous movie. And this is from a guy that despises sentimentality in film. But, for whatever reason, Forsyth just always seemed to strike that perfect tone that never seemed too sappy or maudlin.
I love LOCAL HERO and HOUSEKEEPING, two of the best films of the 80s, which seem to have fallen almost completely off the map. HOUSEKEEPING isn’t even on DVD.
I’ve seen them all, I think. THAT SINKING FEELING, GREGORY’S GIRL, the wonderful COMFORT AND JOY, I even broke my long-standing avoidance to Robin Williams to see BEING HUMAN because of Forsyth. I haven’t seen GREGORY’S TWO GIRLS, alas.
I miss Bill Forsyth. In a world where Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder are acclaimed as visionaries, we need Forsyth more than ever.
Local Hero is a quietly beautiful movie that I could watch over and over. As much as I enjoy Burt Lancaster’s work in Sweet Smell of Success, Atlantic City and The Train, this one’s a keeper. With a life lesson for all of us, no matter the season or locale.
I love Local Hero and it’s probably one of my all time fav Brit films. ….. the use of Lancaster is inspired… beautiful scene where he’s offered the price of the beach as the grains of sand in Fulton Mackeys hand. Touching and wise. A modest masterpiece.
TOM: Yes, and speaking of talented but overexposed stars (Robin Williams), Burt Reynolds gave his best performance in “Breaking In”, several years before his heralded “comeback” in “Boogie Nights”.
TOM WILSON: Burt Lancaster was magnificent in “Local Hero”. A classic Forsyth touch: Burt Lancaster as a corporate mogul with a star-gazing obsession.
ADAM SURAF: What a beautiful story.
MUSYCKS: And scenes like that one were deepened by well written characters. Forsyth never dumbed-down his characters or condescended to his audience. Oh, and let’s not forget Peter Riegert, and his perfectly subtle comedic timing.
It’s a greast little ensemble… and full of gorgeous touches… the weedy Scots guy who gets obsessed with the beautiful scientist… and then Forsyth gives her webbed feet!
I went to the west coast of Scotland 3 years ago, and the village was a lot like Local Hero…. we used to watch out for the motorbike crossing the street!
M.G. Wood, I’m glad you brought up the subject. Yeah, I think it’s about bloody time Criterion, or Anchor Bay, or Kino or Koch-Lorber put out a nice Bill Forsyth set. I’ve got my beat up WB copy of “Local Hero” with me on deployments played to death. Maybe Peter Riegert can provide the commentaries for the box set ( perhaps he can talk about eating the pet rabbit! ) Once I rented a Canadian copy of "Breaking In’’ and that’s a good one too. Speaking of ’’Gregory’s Girl’’, I spoke to some friends and we all agreed that the dubbed version seems funnier than the original Scottish tracks – it must be the exaggeration on the dub voices. What d’ya think? Also, I tried so hard to find a copy of "That Sinking Feeling’’ on dvd with no success. I love that movie, especially the chase scene with the police. Some of the actors continued on the cast of “Gregory’s Girl” as I remembered. I regretted not buying the laser disc copy when my ’hood’s video rental place cleared them to make room for dvds. Man, if anybody knows where I can score a copy, I’d really appreciate the head’s up. Hey, I’ll even buy you a copy, seriously! Thanks!
MUSYCKS: I love the ending with Peter Riegert looking down from his high rise in Houston, calling the pay phone in Scottish village.
NOEL DANSECO: Believe me, as a video store owner who has selfishly used the business to build my own personal super-collection of dvds, I have tried to get my hands on those titles. But, then again, IF Criterion were to ever do a Bill Forsyth set, the wait would be worth it.
Um—All props to Local Hero, but has everyone but Tom forgotten the film he did after that? Comfort and Joy, which is not even close to being out on DVD anywhere—that’s the one with the morning DJ who gets mixed up in a war between two rival ice cream companies? It has one of my favorite movie lines of all time when Trevor, who owns one of the rival ice cream distributors (Mr. Bunny) tells the DJ to remind the competition that he’s “Formerly Mister Softee.” It’s a Christmas film, and it came out in December ’84, as I recall. Completely out of left field, but sweet in all the best senses of the word. No Burt Lancaster, but some memorable character performances and a great Knopfler soundtrack. Hunt it down.
JOSH CABAT, I included “Comfort and Joy” in my original post. You’re right, it’s a great Christmas movie. “Comfort and Joy” is currently only available on VHS and Region 2 DVD. As a matter of fact, if Criterion could only choose two Forsyth films, “Local Hero” would be one, “Comfort and Joy” would be the other.
Yes, I’d love to have Housekeeping on DVD or better yet Blu ray. It is a gem of a film that you can find anywhere or even on cable.
Yes, I’d love to have Housekeeping on DVD or better yet Blu ray. It is a gem of a film that you can find anywhere or even on cable.
The dubbed version of Gregory’s Girl is extremely distracting. For new viewers, seek out one with the original Scottish soundtrack and just absorb the thick accents. Or use the subtitles. A really lovely film, haven’t seen it in years.
GREGORY’S GIRL!!!!
Now that’s a happy blast from the past!
My god, M.G., I can’t believe someone started a Forsyth thread!
So mad am I for Forsyth, that once, at a book-signing event for Sir David Puttnam @ MOMA in NYC (promoting his book Movies and Money), I found myself not telling him how much I’d loved his work as a producer, but rather asking him about Forsyth. He shook his head – dolefully, and with a touch of disgust – and said something about the man being difficult, etc.
I would love to see a Being Human release w/o Theresa Russell…
>not even close to being out on DVD anywhere
But I own this one (so crazy about it, I even have the movie poster!). Bought it, and also Gregory’s Two Girls, @Amazon.co.uk.
Like Gregory’s Girl alot. wasn’t too into Local Hero. Haven’t seen the rest.
Love Gregory’s girl & Local Hero. I was about 11 when I saw Gregory’s girl for the first time on video, and thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. It was weird for me to hear West of Scotland-ish accents in a film, too – my accent’s similar – and I don’t think I’d actually ever heard or seen contemporary Scottish people in a movie before. So it was a big deal in my life, and I’m very very fond of it.
Bump, just to put BIll Forsyth’s name out there. Seek out LOCAL HERO if you haven’t seen it.
Random and useless piece of trivia: Robin Williams based his Mrs. Doubtfire voice on Forsyth’s.
Only just found out that Forsyth did an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2009 , and there made mention of a new project. (As I’m in the U.S., I can’t see the video…Oh, well…)
And here is one writer’s reminiscence on Comfort and Joy…He makes a by-the-way mention of a recent release of That Sinking Feeling on DVD – though, unfortunately, this transfer bears dubbed accents, not the originals …
Ha! Searching this board for a topic on Local Hero to see a Forsyth thread bumped today. What a strange little world. Local Hero may just be the best feel-good movie ever. Absolutely pitch perfect. I can’t wait to see his other films, there’s a VHS rip of Housekeeping floating around the internet if you’re interested.
I can’t say I am a fan but I enjoyed Local Hero and Comfort and Joy
Thanks for linking that article, Witkacy. If you make it to the screening, please give us a report. I love Forsyth (at least his 80s films).
Bump again, to get the name of a real genius out there again.
Why is Housekeeping not in print? I believe Comfort and Joy is also unavailable.
He deserves better
Gary Wood
Anybody here heard of Bill Forsyth?
If not, that’s a real shame. Because Scottish film maker Bill Forsyth wrote and directed some of the best comedies of the 1980’s: Gregory’s Girl (1981), Local Hero (1983), Comfort and Joy (1984), and Breaking In (1989). A brilliant streak unequaled, except by maybe John Hughes. I love this guy’s sweet, understated comedies so much, that I believe from now on, anytime someone hosts a Forum about “What Film Should Criterion Do Next”, I will just repeat entries from Mr. Forsyth’s criminally overlooked canon. For starters, I would give the Criterion treatment to Local Hero and Comfort and Joy.