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	117 min
Language	French English Mohawk
Budget	$40,000,000 USD
Allmovie profile
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 soundtrack features music by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman, and a song by Clannad. The film won an Academy Award for Sound. The main theme of the movie is taken from the tune "The Gael" by Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean.

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

[edit] Plot

In 1757 during the French and Indian War, the British and French are battling for control of North America. Though they are bound by law to join the militia to aid the British, many settlers are reluctant to leave their frontier homes and families defenseless against Huron Indians allied with the French.

Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), Chingachgook (Russell Means), and Uncas (Eric Schweig), the last of the Mohican tribe, visit the Cameron household. Jack Winthrop joins them and tells Hawkeye that he is gathering volunteers for the British army. The next morning, Jack and a group of others go to Albany to obtain terms from General Webb, who agrees to grant them leave if their homes are attacked. Satisfied, the volunteers join the British forces at Fort William Henry, north of Albany.

Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe) and her sister Alice (Jodhi May) have received word from their father, Colonel Edmund Munro (Maurice Roëves), the commander of the British garrison at the fort, to meet him there. A native guide named Magua (Wes Studi) and a detachment of British soldiers commanded by Major Duncan Heyward (Steven Waddington) escort the women on the trail. However, they are ambushed by Hurons led by Magua himself. All of the soldiers except Heyward are quickly killed. He, Cora and Alice are rescued by Hawkeye and his companions, who have been tracking the war band. Magua prepares to shoot Cora, but Hawkeye distracts him, and he is forced to escape into the forest. The rescuers reluctantly agree to escort the survivors to Fort William Henry. Along the way, they discover that the Cameron homestead has been razed and everyone killed, though nothing has been stolen, a sure sign of a war party.

When they arrive at Fort William Henry, they find it under siege by the French. They manage to sneak inside. When Munro scolds his daughters for joining him, they realize that Magua has misled them for unknown reasons. Munro tells Heyward that the fort can only hold out for three more days. Their only hope is to get a messenger through to General Webb at nearby Fort Edward for reinforcements.

Hawkeye tells the colonel about the attack on the Camerons and demands that he release the colonials to defend their homes, as agreed. Munro refuses, so Hawkeye covers for Jack and his friends so they can desert. Hawkeye, who stays behind to be with Cora, is arrested for sedition and sentenced to hang.

Several days pass. As the fort is on the verge of falling, the French commander, General Montcalm (Patrice Chéreau) offers Munro surrender terms. The garrison and their families are offered safe passage to Albany, on condition they return to England and no longer fight in the war. Munro reluctantly accepts, after Montcalm shows him an intercepted message that Webb has refused to send aid.

As the British march away, they are ambushed by a much larger force of Hurons led by Magua. Before Magua kills Munro, he tells him he will kill Munro's daughters so that his family will be extinguished; he then cuts out Munro's heart. Earlier, it is revealed that Magua’s village had been destroyed years ago by British soldiers led by Munro, resulting in the death of his children and his wife marrying another man when she thought Magua was dead. Magua was made a slave.

Hawkeye, Cora, Alice, Uncas, Chingachgook, Heyward and two other soldiers escape and hide in a cave behind a waterfall, but Magua is close behind. With their gunpowder wet, Hawkeye and the other Mohicans jump into the falls, knowing their presence would precipitate a hopeless fight. Heyward and the two women are captured.

The prisoners are taken to a Huron village, with Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachgook in pursuit. Magua is bargaining with the sachem when they are interrupted by the arrival of an unarmed Hawkeye running the gauntlet of hostile warriors. With Heyward translating, Hawkeye convinces the chief that Magua is acting for his own selfish aims, rather than the Hurons' best interests and traditions. The chief agrees and makes his judgment: Cora is to be burned alive (to atone for Magua's dead children), Magua is given Alice to be his wife (allowing both bloodlines to continue) and Heyward is to be returned to the British (in the hope of avoiding reprisals). Hawkeye is given safe passage in recognition of his bravery. Desperate, he demands they take him in Cora’s place. Heyward, out of love for Cora and newfound respect for Hawkeye, deliberately mistranslates, offering himself instead. When the chief accepts, Magua curses him and leaves with Alice and his men.

Uncas immediately follows the war band, while Chingachgook waits for Hawkeye. From a safe distance, Hawkeye shoots Heyward, ending his suffering. They then pursue Magua.

Uncas catches up with Magua's band alone. He kills several men before engaging Magua in single combat. Magua kills Uncas, dropping his body off a cliff. Alice then throws herself to her death. A devastated Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Cora witness their deaths from a distance. Finally catching up, the two men slay several warriors. As Hawkeye holds the rest at bay, Chingachgook fights Magua and avenges his son.

In the final scene, Chingachgook and Hawkeye engage in a spiritual ritual to send Uncas' spirit to his ancestors. With the death of Uncas, his last blood relative, Chingachgook names himself 'the last of the Mohicans'.

[edit] Differences from the novel

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As the case 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. In addition to a markedly more concise story, the major changes to the story involved swapping the relationships between certain characters; minimizing, excluding or changing roles of others and changing the order of some of the scenes.

In the novel, Hawkeye and Chingachgook are close friends about the same age; in the film, Hawkeye is Chingachgook's adopted son and thus Uncas' adoptive brother.

In the novel, it is Alice (not Cora) who attracts the attention of Major Heyward, and a quiet interest develops between the young Uncas and the brunette Cora. Hawkeye/Natty Bumppo is not romantically involved with anyone. Another character, David Gamut, who is present in the novel, was entirely omitted from the film.

Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachgook meet the British travelers on the road, and become suspicious of their scout Magua. Magua escapes into the night. Before they reach the fort (not after), Magua ambushes the party at the cave by the waterfalls, capturing Cora, Alice, Gamut, and Hayward, while the frontiersmen escape down the river. On the long journey, Magua tells Cora of his anger over being turned out of his tribe after the white man taught him to drink firewater. Later while working as a scout for Colonel Munro, he was publicly whipped for being drunk. He feels wronged, demanding, is it "justice to make evil, and then punish for it?" Wanting revenge, he reasons that Munro took from him, so he will take from Munro. He proposes to let Alice go if Cora will come with him as his wife. (Colonel Munro did not kill Magua's family). Cora's refusal brings an attack upon the captives, who are then saved yet again by the sudden arrival of the three woodsmen.

The film version regains parallel with the novel here. The protagonists then make their way to the fort, which is besieged for many days (rather than brief period shown in the film). Heyward discusses his wish to marry Alice with her father's permission, and also learns that Cora is a mixed race child, she and Alice are half-sisters by different mothers. The fort is surrendered, and Magua massacres the withdrawing British forces, and once again captures the two girls and Gamut (not Heyward). Hawkeye, Uncas, Chingachgook, Heyward and Colonel Munro (who was not killed in the massacre) pursue them (parting ways with the film storyline yet again), weaving their way through a complex maze of captures, escapes, Indian spirituality and politics in their quest to reunite their little group... that ultimately culminate in the main party presented before the Delaware (not Huron) chief Tamenund. Magua is demanding the return of his captives from the chief, who deems Cora his only rightful prisoner (no one is burned alive). The men offer Magua a prisoner trade, however he refuses and departs with Cora and his Huron warriors. The chase and two battles ensue, during which Uncas and his beloved Cora are killed. Magua is also killed, but by Hawkeye (not Chingachgook). At the end of the movie, the death of Uncas causes Alice to jump off of a cliff, which does not happen in the novel.

The film also had considerably more focus on the romantic relationships than the novel, which was mostly action-based. Heyward's character is also significantly different - in particular, he possesses an integrity not seen in the film. In the novel, Heyward and Hawkeye are comrades (not rivals), and the scene where he testifies against Hawkeye's report to Colonel Munro never occurs. Nor does the subsequent sub-plot, 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

This section does not cite any references or sources. (June 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

While the film, like the novel, is more of a historical romance, much care was taken with recreating accurate costumes and props. The film features a Fort William Henry reconstructed based on historical documents. 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 scene in the Director's Cut features Heyward and a group of British Grenadiers using the classic rank and file advance to decimate a group of French Regulars and enemy natives. This scene fairly accurately portrays how British soldiers would have behaved in the theater and how effective they were in winning the war.

[edit] Locations

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While the film is set in upstate New York, it was shot in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina near Asheville. Locations used include Lake James, Chimney Rock Park and The Biltmore Estate. Some of the waterfalls that were used in the movie include Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and High Falls located in the DuPont State Forest. Another of these falls were Linville Falls, in the mountains of North Carolina.

[edit] Reception

The Last of the Mohicans opened to wide acclaim, with critics praising the film for its cinematography and music. 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". 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]

[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.^[5]#

[edit] Director's Expanded Edition

A "Director's Expanded Edition" was released in which Michael Mann trimmed or removed material and some additional footage was inserted, increasing overall run time by 3 minutes. The new material was often intercut within the original theatrical sequences. The violence is slightly occluded, although more detail is given to battle scenes, and the characters of Uncas and Alice are expanded. Many unexplained details and continuity issues within the theatrical release are resolved. A small amount of the added footage was included in a 1996 CBS network television airing.

[edit] See also

• 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
• Entertainment Weekly profile
• Films Made in North Carolina - PDF
• Movie stills

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