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Bill Forsyth

Bill Forsyth

Director and writer · Born July 29, 1946 (80) · Glasgow, Scotland

William David Forsyth (born 29 July 1946) is a Scottish film director and screenwriter known for his films Gregory's Girl (1981), Local Hero (1983) and Comfort and Joy (1984) as well as his adaptation of the Marilynne Robinson novel Housekeeping (1987). Description above from the Wikipedia article Bill Forsyth, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
July 29, 1946 (80)
From
Glasgow, Scotland
Works as
Director and writer
Titles
5 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27

What are Bill Forsyth's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
37%
Self
30%
Society
17%
Morality
6%
Survival
6%
Ideas
4%
Family bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 0 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 2 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 3

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Warm
3
Contemplative
3
Melancholic
2
Absurd
2
Romantic
1
Other
1

How their films linger

Feel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Bill Forsyth's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Roku Channel (2).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Bill Forsyth's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

25 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page; 5 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • The Beast Pageant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Thanks

  • Gregory's Two Girls(1999)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • Being Human(1994)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Breaking In (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • Housekeeping(1987)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Comfort and Joy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Director · Writer

  • Local Hero(1983)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Andrina (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Gregory's Girl(1980)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • That Sinking Feeling (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • The Odd Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Producer

  • The Living Land (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Editor · Producer

  • Polar Power (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Editor

  • Shapes In The Water (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Director

  • Islands of the West (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Director

  • A Place in the Country: Renfrewshire Regional Park (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Editor

  • Highlands (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Editor

  • Glasgow 1980 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Editor

  • Island of the Big Cloth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Editor

  • Mirror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    as Geoff

  • Still Life with Honesty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Director · Editor

  • KH-4 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Editor · as The Artist

  • Mackintosh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Editor

  • Loch Lomond (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Production Assistant

  • The Smiths in Scotland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Production Assistant

Career shape

A full career of 25 titles from 1966 to 2010.

Biggest box office

Local Hero (1983)

$6M worldwide

Highest rated

Local Hero (1983)

Midcredits 90th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 25: 1 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting12 of 25: 3 only directing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score83rdWriting8 of 25: 0 only writing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score83rdProducing3 of 25: 1 only producing, 2 with another roleEditing9 of 25: 6 only editing, 3 with another roleOther crew3 of 25: 3 only other crew, 0 with another role

25 titles, 11 with more than one role — directing and editing overlap on 1 of them.

By decade

1960s4 · 1 acting · 4 crew1970s11 · 1 acting · 10 crew1980s7 · crew1990s2 · crew2010s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Bill Forsyth's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 83rd percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 81st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

76thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 5 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

2 of their 5 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · director, writer

Being Human (1994)

54th percentile spread · 30% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer

Local Hero (1983)

Midcredits 90th · 77% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 72/100 and the pacing 33/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Bill Forsyth work with?

People who share at least 2 of Bill Forsyth's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Michael Gibbs shares the most, 3.

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers