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Select media
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Film details
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Featuring
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Director
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Country
United Kingdom
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Year
1983
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Genres
Comedy Drama
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Type
Film
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Category
Fiction
Introduction
“A small film to treasure ... What could have been a standard plot about conglomerates and ecology turns instead into a wicked study of human nature.”
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, 1983
Conceived by producer David Putnam as a blend of Ealing and Frank Capra – and starring Hollywood legend Burt Lancaster – this comedy about a Texan oil company’s attempt to purchase a remote Scottish community to make way for a refinery marked a huge leap in scale for writer-director Bill Forsyth, following his breakthrough hit Gregory’s Girl (1980).
Happily, Forsyth’s gentle pacing and taste for surreal running gags survived the transition. The director is less concerned with plot than with incidental sketches celebrating the lovable traits of his gallery of dreamers and eccentrics, from Lancaster’s astronomy-obsessed tycoon to Peter Capaldi’s lovelorn linguist and Jenny Seagrove’s web-footed marine biologist. Dire Straits star Mark Knopfler made his film-composing debut with the synth-heavy score.
Powell and Pressburger’s I Know Where I’m Going (1945) similarly depicts a careerist’s surrender to the charms of the west coast of Scotland, complete with exuberant ceilidh.
Cast & Credits
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Cast
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'Mac' MacIntyre
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Gordon Urquhart
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Ben Knox
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Danny Oldsen
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Stella Urquhart
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Marina
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Felix Happer
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Moritz
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Geddes
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Watt
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Victor Pinochkin
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Reverend MacPherson
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Cal
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Donaldson
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Roddy
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baby
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Mrs Wyatt
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Skipper
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Fountain
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Peter
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switchboard operator
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Gideon
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Anderson
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Ace Tone
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Linda Frazer
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Mr Bulloch
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Russian girl
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Jonathan
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Ace Tone
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Fraser
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Ace Tone
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Ace Tone
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Pauline
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Andrew
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Sandy
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Edward
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switchboard operator
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Ace Tone
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Crabbe
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old lady
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Ricky
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switchboard operator
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Mrs Fraser
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Ace Tone
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Iain
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Credits
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Direction:
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Directed by
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1st Assistant Director
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Assistant Director
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Assistant Director
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US Assistant Director
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Continuity
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US Continuity
Production:
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©
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Filmed by
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Production Company
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Production Company
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Produced by
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Associate Producer
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UK Production Manager
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US Production Manager
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Production Accountant
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Assistant Accountant
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Assistant Accountant
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Location Manager
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US Location Manager
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Production Secretary
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Producer's Secretary
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Producer's US Secretary
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Director's Secretary
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Runner
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Runner
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National Film School Attachment
Casting:
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Casting
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US Casting
Writing:
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Written by
Photography:
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Lighting Cameraman
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Camera Operator
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Focus Puller
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Clapper Loader
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Gaffer Electrician
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Chargehand Electrician
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Electrician
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Electrician
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Electrician
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Electrician
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Camera Grip
Stills:
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Unit Stillsman
Special Effects:
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Special Effects
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Special Effects
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Special Effects
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Special Effects
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Special Effects
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Special Effects
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Modeller
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Graphics by
Editing:
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Editor
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1st Assistant Editor
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2nd Assistant Editor
Design:
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Production Designer
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Art Director
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Art Director
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Art Director
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[US Art Director]
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Production Buyer
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Property Master
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Dressing Props
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Dressing Props
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Drape
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Props
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Props
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Construction Manager
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Chargehand Carpenter
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Carpenter
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Carpenter
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Carpenter
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Standby Carpenter
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Chargehand Rigger
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Special Effects Rigger
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Special Effects Rigger
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Standby Rigger
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Chargehand Painter
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Painter
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Standby Painter
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Stagehand
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Standby Stagehand
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Plasterer
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Plasterer
Costumes:
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Costumes
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Costumes
Make-up:
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Make-up Supervisor
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Make-up Assistant
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Hairdresser
Titles:
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Titles and Opticals by
Film processing:
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Kay Laboratories Liaison
Music:
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Music by
Sound:
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Sound Mixer
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Sound Assistant
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Boom Operator
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Dubbing Mixer
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Assistant Dubbing Mixer
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Re-recorded at
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Dubbing Editor
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Assistant Dubbing Editor
Consultant:
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Location Catering
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[Soundtrack] Album available on
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Novel Published by
Publicity:
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Unit Publicist
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The Greatest Films of All Time 2012
Voted for by 1 critic and 1 director.