A few days ago, the movie “Local Hero” showed up on my Facebook feed, reminding me that this charming little chestnut — which I saw three or four times in theaters and countless times thereafter — is now exactly 40 years old.
Wondering what other 1983 worthies might be celebrating four decades, I dug around and came up with several under-the-radar titles for you to try before the summer-movie season bursts into local cinemas:
“The Dead Zone” – More than 60 big- and small-screen movies have been made from works by Stephen King; but this early effort from director David Cronenberg (“Videodrome,” “A History of Violence”) remains my favorite. A stellar cast pulls viewers headlong into the sad and scary saga of Johnny Smith — who, having emerged from a coma with the ability to foretell the future, one day meets the man who will start World War III. Starring Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Martin Sheen, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe, Tom Skerritt and Colleen Dewhurst, “The Dead Zone” also offers one of the most satisfying endings in film history — I’m not kidding.
“Under Fire” – This was the first time I’d seen Ed Harris, and I stepped out of the theater determined to keep an eye on this galvanizing actor. But as so often with Harris, he has only a supporting role here. Leads Gene Hackman, Nick Nolte and Joanna Cassidy star in this actioner that’s part love triangle and part political thriller, with Nolte a supposedly neutral photo-journalist covering the Nicaraguan Revolution; but Nolte’s Price will find that objectivity is not so simple in such a political hotspot. With strong direction by action veteran Roger Spottiswoode (“48 Hours”), fine photography by John Alcott and an Oscar-nominated score by the accomplished Jerry Goldsmith, here featuring guitar work from a then-unknown Pat Metheny.
“Psycho II” – Having seen Hitchcock’s original more than 100 times — having also read every word on the film and written my own 2009 book about it — I might be expected to detest any sequel; but this is one terrific thriller. It has a smart, twisty plot; an empathetic and nuanced lead performance from Anthony Perkins; and yet another peerless score from Goldsmith, here keying on an elegiac, melancholy theme that carries a surprising emotional undertow. The film features Robert Loggia, Meg Tilly and original “Psycho” actress Vera Miles, plus a cool, quick cameo from Hitchcock, whose profiled shadow appears briefly on a bedroom wall. Best of all, it actually looks like an Alfred Hitchcock film, with moody, brooding shadows and nostalgic matte backgrounds by Albert Whitlock, who had actually worked with the Master.
“Local Hero” – Utterly enchanting gem from offbeat specialist Bill Forsyth (“Housekeeping,” “Gregory’s Girl,” “Comfort and Joy”). Peter Riegert stars as a corporate underling sent to a tiny coastal village in Scotland, which his Houston conglomerate wants to buy and raze for an oceanside refinery. But Riegert’s MacIntyre is surprised to find the locals very willing to sell, while he himself falls completely under the spell of this seaside hamlet and its quirky inhabitants. Burt Lancaster makes a late-career triumph as Mac’s boss, who flies in later for negotiations — with rather unexpected results. Beautifully filmed and acted, “Local Hero” also offers a dazzling Celtic soundtrack — the first from Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler, who went on to score several other films (including “Princess Bride”). Knopfler also used this movie’s rousing theme on subsequent tours for his band, which was then at the height of its fame. And that soaring tune was likewise key in the musical play which Forsyth and Knopfler adapted from “Local Hero” for the London stage in 2019. In a show of nearly perfect timing, 2019 also saw Criterion’s long-overdue deluxe DVD release of this accomplished and deserving charmer.
