The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film)

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The Last of the Mohicans
theatrical poster
Directed by	Michael Mann
Produced by	Michael Mann Hunt Lowry
Written by	Michael Mann Christopher Crowe
Starring	Daniel Day-Lewis Madeleine Stowe Wes Studi Russell Means Eric Schweig Jodhi May Steven Waddington Patrice Cheréau Maurice Roëves
Music by	Randy Edelman Trevor Jones Daniel Lanois
Cinematography	Dante Spinotti
Editing by	Dov Hoenig Arthur Schmidt
Distributed by	20th Century Fox (USA) Warner Bros. (UK, Germany, France, Brazil, Argentina)
Release date(s)	September 25, 1992
Running time	112 min
Language	French English Mohawk
Budget	$40,000,000 USD
IMDb profile

The Last of the Mohicans is a 1992 historical epic film set in 1757 during the French and Indian War. It was directed by Michael Mann and based on James Fenimore Cooper's classic novel, although it owes more to George B. Seitz's 1936 film adaptation than the source novel.

The main cast includes Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Wes Studi, Eric Schweig and Jodhi May.

The film is set in upstate New York but was shot in the mountains of Western North Carolina near Asheville. Locations used include Chimney Rock Park and The Biltmore Estate. The soundtrack features music by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman, and a song by Clannad.

The film won an Academy Award for Sound. (Credited to Chris Jenkins, Doug Hemphill, Mark Smith & Simon Kaye.)

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Director's cut 3 Differences from the novel 4 Historical Accuracy 5 Reception 5.1 Box Office 6 Trivia 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Synopsis

The film is set in 1757 during the French and Indian War, in which the British and French battle for control of the North American colonies. Though they are bound by law to aid the British Armies, many colonial settlers are reluctant to leave their homes along the frontier for fear of attacks by Huron Indians.

The film opens with Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), Chingachgook (Russel Means), and Uncas (Eric Shweig), the last of an ancient tribe called the Mohicans, as they hunt down and kill a young buck in the forest. They then take the slain animal to the Cameron house, and join the Cameron family in their meal. Jack, a colonial militiaman, tells Hawkeye that he is gathering volunteers for the British army. The next morning, Jack and a group of other potential recruits decide to go to Albany to obtain terms from General Webb, who agrees to grant them leave if their homes are attacked. Satisfied with the terms, the volunteers travel to Fort William Henry.

As Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe) and her sister, Alice (Jodhi May) are traveling to Fort William Henry, north of Albany. They have received word from their father, Colonel Edmund Monro, to meet him there. A native guide, Magua, has been sent to escort them safely, along with a detachment of British soldiers, commanded by Major Duncan Heyward (Steven Waddington). On the trail they are attacked by a small Huron band. Magua himself initiates the attack and is aiming his rifle at Cora and Alice when the caravan is rescued by Hawkeye and his companions. The Mohicans agree to escort the survivors to Ft. William Henry. Along the way, they discover that the homestead belonging to the Camerons has been razed and burned and everyone has been killed.

When they arrive at William Henry they find that the fort is under heavy attack by French forces. They manage to sneak inside and Munro scolds his daughters for joining him. They also surmise that the note Munro supposedly sent to Alice and Cora was a fake, intended to make them targets for Magua. Munro gravely tells Heyward that the French are quickly approaching mortar range and that the fort will ultimately fall. Their only hope is to get a messenger through to General Webb and ask for reinforcements. Hawkeye and Uncas create cover for the messenger as he makes his way through the French picket line, shooting down Indians and Frenchman at distances of over 500 yards.

Munro is confronted by Hawkeye, who tells the Colonel that settlements are being attacked by Huron war parties. Hawkeye demands that Munro let the colonials aiding in defending the fort return to their homes. Munro refuses and Hawkeye agrees to cover for Jack and his other friends so they can leave the fort. Hawkeye is arrested.

The fort falls to the French and Munro and his army are forced to leave. As they march back to Albany, they are attacked by Hurons, lead by Magua. Munro himself is killed by Magua, who, just before cutting out the Colonel’s heart, promises to kill his daughters so his family line will not continue. Magua’s motivation for personally killing Munro is revenge; Munro is responsible for decimating Magua’s village and family years before.

Hawkeye, Cora, Alice, Uncas, and Chingachgook, and two British soldiers, escape with Heyward to a cave behind a nearby waterfall with Magua close behind. With all their gunpowder wet from their escape down the river, Hawkeye leaves after telling Cora that she’ll be taken north to Huron country. He also tells her to stay alive at all costs and that he will find her. Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook make a dramatic leap into the waterfall.

Alice, Cora and Heyward are captured and taken to a Huron village. Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachgook track them there. Magua demands recognition from the Sachem in exchange for Heyward and the Munroe sisters. The meeting is interrupted when an unarmed Hawkeye approaches, running the gauntlet in order to earn safe passage. With Heyward translating into French, Hawkeye convinces the Sachem that Magua is acting according to his own selfish plans rather than following Huron tradition. The Sachem agrees and decrees that Cora will be burned alive, Alice will be given back to Magua and Heyward will be returned to the British. Hawkeye demands that he be sacrificed in Cora’s place, however, in his translation, Heyward offers himself instead. The Sachem agrees and Magua curses him and leaves, with Uncas following to rescue Alice, whom he has fallen in love with. Cora is given to Hawkeye and Heyward is tied up to be burned. After leaving the village, Hawkeye delivers a mercy shot to Heywood, ending his suffering in the fire.

Uncas is able to head off Magua and his band. The two fight briefly, with Magua the victor. Alice, not wanting to become a slave to Magua, throws herself from a nearby cliff. Hawkeye and Chingachgook catch up, killing several of Magua’s scouts. While Hawkeye holds the last man at bay, Chingachgook engages Magua in hand-to-hand combat. Chingachgook wins the fight, killing Magua.

The last scene of the film shows Chingachgook and Hawkeye engaging in a spiritual ritual.

[edit] Director's cut

A "director's cut" was released in which Michael Mann has deleted some material and added some extra, thereby increasing the movie by 3 minutes.

[edit] Differences from the novel

As the case was with all the film adaptations of The Last of the Mohicans, several changes and cuts had to be made from the original material for a feasible movie. Other than a markedly more concise story, the major change to the story was that Alice and Cora Munro's roles were partly swapped: the main romantic plot features Cora and Hawkeye falling in love with each other, rather than Alice and Uncas. In the novel, Alice attracts the attention of Major Heyward, which is transferred to Cora in the movie; conversely, Magua in the novel shows an interest in Cora, which is transferred to Alice in the movie. Consequently, other changes included Alice and Uncas playing out the roles that Uncas shared with Cora in the novel—with Alice, prisoner of Magua, dying in response to Uncas' death, and Cora surviving along with Hawkeye. Magua was killed by Hawkeye, not Chingachgook, and the characters of Colonel Munro and David Gamut largely removed from the main storyline. (Colonel Munro appears briefly, although his death at the hands of Magua does not occur in the novel - he in fact survives the entire narrative; David was cut entirely.) The film also had considerably more focus on the romantic relationship (of Cora and Hawkeye), than the novel, which was mostly action-based. Heyward's character is also significantly different in the novel - in particular, he possesses an integrity not seen in the film, especially during the scene where he testifies against Hawkeye's reports of the Huron attacks on settlements to Munro, in turn leading to a subplot, entirely absent from the novel, in which the colonial militia serving at the fort feel betrayed by the British for being refused permission to leave to defend their homes and attempt to desert.

[edit] Historical Accuracy

While the film, like the novel, is more of a historical romance, much care was taken with recreating accurate costumes and props and the film features a Fort William Henry reconstructed based on historical documents and the siege of the fort is a good representation of the siege warfare of the 18th century epitomized by General Montcalm's investment of Fort William Henry and the large scale military actions that marked the latter phase of the French and Indian War. One might notice the apparent lack of British competency while fighting; British soldiers are seldom seen to do anything but slap their opponents and receive an axe through the head for their trouble. There is however one scene in the Directors Cut that features Duncan and a group of British Grenadiers use the classic rank and file advance to decimate a group of French Regulars and enemy natives. This is a more accurate portrayal of how British soldiers would have behaved in the theatre and how effective they actually were in winning the war. However, the battle at Fort William Henry went the opposite direction of this scene and the rest of the war, as the British fort was heavily damaged by, and ultimately surrendered to, the French.

[edit] Reception

The Last of the Mohicans opened to wide acclaim, with critics praising the film for its cinematography and music. Well-known critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "...quite an improvement on Cooper's all but unreadable book, and a worthy successor to the Randolph Scott version," going on to say that "The Last of the Mohicans is not as authentic and uncompromised as it claims to be — more of a matinee fantasy than it wants to admit — but it is probably more entertaining as a result."^[1] However, some reviewers panned the film, such as The Washington Post's Desson Howe, who called the movie "glam-opera" and "the MTV version of gothic romance". However, Howe added that, while "Day-Lewis doesn't act so much as bare himself, fire flintlocks, and pose in picturesque positions," the film was "stirring".^[2] Another reviewer, The Washington Post's Rita Kempley, recognized the heavy drama, writing that the film "sets new standards when it comes to pent-up passion", but commented positively on the "spectacular scenery".^[3]

The Last of the Mohicans is certified "Fresh" at the film site Rotten Tomatoes, with a positive rating of 97% (28 reviews out of 29 counted fresh).^[4]The film has received a weighted average rating of 7.6 at Internet Movie Database.^[5]

[edit] Box Office

The film opened in the United States on September 25, 1992 in 1,856 theaters. By the end of its first weekend The last of the Mohicans had generated $10,976,661, and by the end of its domestic run the film had made $75,505,856.^[6]

[edit] Trivia

• The character of Hawkeye was renamed Nathaniel Poe in the film since producers thought they might get laughter from audiences from the name Cooper gave him - Natty Bumppo.

[edit] See also

• The Last of the Mohicans (album)
• Battle of Fort William Henry

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Last of the Mohicans at the Internet Movie Database
• On the Trail of The Last of the Mohicans
• Roger Ebert's review
• Rita Kempley's review
• Desson Howe's review
• Entertainment Weekly profile

Films directed by Michael Mann
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