Movies That Make You Want To Vacation #3: Local Hero

Filmmaker Bill Forsyth's 1983 movie about a big-city oilman sent to bully a tiny Scottish village into signing over their beach to drill for oil is a classic of our times. Burt Lancaster has never been better as the mad-as-a-hatter oil tycoon with a passion for stargazing and the Northern Lights. The whole movie is a call to find peace in the simple things in life, or to see the open sky at night anywhere far enough north to witness nature's most splendid light show this time of year. Or if that sounds too cold, just rent an old copy of Local Hero and get cozy on the sofa.

Filmmaker Bill Forsyth's 1983 movie about a big-city oilman sent to bully a tiny Scottish village into signing over their beach to drill for oil is a classic of our times. Burt Lancaster has never been better as the mad-as-a-hatter oil tycoon with a passion for stargazing and the Northern Lights. The whole movie is a call to find peace in the simple things in life, or to see the open sky at night anywhere far enough north to witness nature's most splendid light show this time of year. Or if that sounds too cold, just rent an old copy of Local Hero and get cozy on the sofa.