The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film)

Infobox Film | name = The Last of the Mohicans

---

caption = theatrical poster
director = Michael Mann
producer = Michael Mann
Hunt Lowry
writer = 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 = Randy Edelman
Trevor Jones
Daniel Lanois
cinematography = Dante Spinotti
editing = Dov Hoenig
Arthur Schmidt
distributor = 20th Century Fox (USA)
Warner Bros. (UK, Germany, France, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey)
released = September 25, 1992
runtime = 117 min
language = French
English
Mohawk
budget = $40,000,000 USD
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:28430
imdb_id = 0104691

"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.

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.

Chingachgook (Russell Means) (a Mohican elder), Uncas (Eric Schweig) (his natural son), and Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis) (his adopted white son), 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, New York.

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 Major 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. With the rest of his men dead, Magua flees into the forest. Uncas releases the horses the Major and the Munro sisters used to ride, which causes Alice to shout at him. Duncan asks Hawkeye why Uncas released the horses, assuming that he is the only one who can speak English. Uncas replies that the horses are easy to track by the surviving Hurons. 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 deceived 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 and the colonials about the attack on the Camerons and the colonials demand that he release them to defend their homes, as General Webb 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 the colonel'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 himself 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 and his men are close behind. With their gunpowder wet, Hawkeye and his two companions jump into the falls, knowing their presence would precipitate a hopeless fight. Heyward and the two women are captured while the remaining soldiers are quickly dispatched. 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 himself, rather than the Hurons' best interests and traditions. The chief agrees and renders his judgment: Cora is to be burned alive to atone for Magua's dead children; Magua is given Alice to be his wife so that both bloodlines can continue, although as Magua stated early in the story, he means to kill the bloodline of Munro. 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 to rescue Alice, while Chingachgook waits for Hawkeye. From a safe distance, Hawkeye shoots Heyward, ending his suffering. They then set off in pursuit of 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. Though the two as yet have only exchanged glances, Alice reveals that she loves Uncas by throwing herself off the cliff after him. 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 engages Magua, quickly killing him, avenging 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'.

Cast

*Daniel Day-Lewis - Hawkeye/Nathaniel Poe
*Madeleine Stowe - Cora Munro
*Russell Means - Chingachgook
*Eric Schweig - Uncas
*Jodhi May - Alice Munro
*Steven Waddington - Maj. Duncan Heyward
*Wes Studi - Magua
*Maurice Roëves - Col. Edmund Munro
*Patrice Chéreau - Gen. Louis-Joseph de Montcalm
*Edward Blatchford - Jack Winthrop
*Terry Kinney - John Cameron
*Tracey Ellis - Alexandra Cameron
*Justin M. Rice - James Cameron
*Dennis Banks - Ongewasgone
*Pete Postlethwaite - Capt. Beams
*Colm Meaney - Maj. Ambrose
*Mac Andrews - Gen. Daniel Webb

Historical Accuracy

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 theatre and how effective they were in winning the war.

However, Col. Munro's name was George, not Edmund, and he did not die in the massacre but in Albany three months later.

Montcalm did not encourage the massacre as portrayed and was said to have been disgusted by it, but he did however cause it by not allowing his Indian allies to take the spoils of war from the defeated English.

Locations

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.

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." [ cite web | author= Roger Ebert | date= September 25, 1992 | title= The Last of The Mohicans | format= | work= Chicago Sun-Times | url= http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19920925/REVIEWS/209250302/1023
accessdate=2007-03-18] 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". [ cite web | author= Desson Howe | date= September 25, 1992 | title= The Last of The Mohicans | format= | work= The Washington Post | url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/thelastofthemohicansrhowe_a0af0a.htm
accessdate=2007-03-18] 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". [ cite web | author= Rita Kempley | date= September 25, 1992 | title= The Last of The Mohicans | format= | work= The Washington Post | url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/thelastofthemohicansrkempley_a0a32a.htm
accessdate=2007-03-18]

"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). [ cite web | author= Rotten Tomatoes | date= March 18, 2007 | title= Freshness count | format= | work= Rotten Tomatoes| url= http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1040678-last_of_the_mohicans/ | accessdate=2007-03-18]

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. [ cite web | author= Box Office Mojo | date= March 18, 2007 | title= The Last of The Mohicans | format= | work= Box Office Mojo | url= http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lastofthemohicans.htm
accessdate=2007-03-18]

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. The Clannad song was removed from the film altogether, but still listed in the song credits. A small amount of the added footage was included in a 1996 CBS network [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104691/alternateversions television airing.]

ee also

* Battle of Fort William Henry

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0104691|title=The Last of the Mohicans
* [http://www.mohicanpress.com/ On the Trail of The Last of the Mohicans]
* [http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,311546_7|14879||0_0_,00.html Entertainment Weekly profile]
* [http://www.ncfilm.com/_usdfdfdsfadsferfiles/File/Made%20in%20NC%20--%20List%20of%20Films/Made%20in%20North%20Carolina%2004-02-07%20UPDATE.pdf Films Made in North Carolina - PDF]
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/film.php?filmid=7636 Movie stills]