Let’s jump back into our DeLorean, and where we’re going, we don’t need roads - just a stable internet connection.
To borrow from one of the greatest scientists of our lifetime, Doc Brown.
Before Trainspotting put Scotland on the global cinema map in the mid-90s, the 1980s laid the essential groundwork. This was the decade of the quiet revolution, where humanist director Bill Forsyth charmed the world with gentle comedies like Local Hero, while a grittier school of filmmakers captured the reality of life on the streets of Glasgow.
From the misty, epic sweep of the Highlands to the working-class warmth of the Clydeside, these 15 films defined a generation and remain some of the most iconic movies ever shot in Scotland.
Did you catch any of them when they first came out, or could you be inspired to check one of them out over your colder Autumn months?
5. Local Hero (Pennan/Morar)
Bill Forsyth’s masterpiece is about a slick Texas oil executive sent to buy a picturesque Scottish fishing village to make way for a refinery. Instead of corporate conquest, he finds himself enchanted by the eccentric locals, the dazzling scenery, and the slow pace of life. A charming, gentle fantasy that turned the village of Pennan and the beaches of Morar into cinematic legends. | Enigma Productions/Goldcrest Films International/Celandine Films
6. Another Time, Another Place (Black Isle)
A powerful, atmospheric drama set in 1944. It tells the story of Janie, a young Highlands woman whose monotonous life on a remote farm is shattered when a group of Italian prisoners of war arrives to work the land. The film beautifully captures the desolation and quiet passion found amidst the rugged landscape of the Black Isle. | Associated-Rediffusion Television/Channel Four Films/The Scottish Arts Council
7. Comfort and Joy (Glasgow)
A quirky and uniquely Glaswegian comedy, also from Bill Forsyth. After being dumped by his girlfriend during the Christmas season, depressed radio DJ Alan Bird witnesses an attack on an ice cream van and finds himself embroiled in a hilarious, escalating turf war between two rival Italian ice cream families across the streets of Glasgow. | Kings Road Entertainment/Lake (Comfort and Joy/)Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment
8. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (Scottish Borders)
This epic reimagining of the Tarzan myth focuses heavily on the protagonist’s noble lineage, the Earl of Greystoke. The grand, aristocratic world he is pulled back to is visually represented by the imposing exterior of Floors Castle in the Scottish Borders, providing a stately, windswept counterpoint to the African jungle. | Warner Bros./Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc./WEA Records