The Last of the Mohicans

dee.reid wrote on IMDB:

"The Last of the Mohicans" was one of the most popular and acclaimed films of 1992. Its vision of early America, as it was during the French and Indian War, is captured in its utter brutality and beauty, complete with the many driving ambitions and clashing cultures of everyone involved.

This movie has a bit of everything, including action, romance, war, and passionate drama. The director, Michael Mann, knows the story well and does all but completely discard James Fenimore Cooper's source material, which some have dubbed as being racist and totally unfair in its portrait of Native Americans.

The story (and what a story) is all over the place, with three frontier scouts - Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), Chingachgook (Russell Means), and Uncas (Eric Schweig) - escorting a British colonel's daughters - Cora and Alice Munro (Madeleine Stowe and Jodhi May respectively) - to safety at the besieged Fort William Henry. Major Duncan Heyward (Steven Waddington) rivals Hawkeye for Cora's affections and a vengeance-driven Huron named Magua (Wes Studi) seeks to have both daughters killed in retribution for the loss of his own children.   [ show more ]

This is by far Mann's best film yet (it ranks #15 on my all-time favorite movies list) and he uses the lush wilderness settings to great effect. He also makes good use of the editing, which actually comes in handy when showcasing the brutal violence that dominates much of the film's action sequences. The film's last 20 minutes are a definite stunner that can only be described as classic and vicious.

This is a great movie that shows America in its infancy, complete with the rivalries, intrigue, and violence that I'm sure was an everyday part of life during this hectic time period.

10/10 [ show less ]

pete-246 wrote on IMDB:

It used to baffle me why this film hasn't been held in greater esteem. I was blown away by this film when I first saw it, and knew quite a few people who snuck back to the theater several times for more. The beautiful and harsh scenery, dreamlike photography, sudden explosions of bloody violence, and raging, over-the-top passion amid a collapsing world create a pure emotional rush. This is melodrama at its best, which means that it can really stir your emotions if you let it.

After reading a recent review of Ron Howard's "The Missing" by Steve Sailer (Washington Times) I think I know why "Last of the Mohicans" was overlooked. No matter how good this film was, it bucked the dominant trend in pop-culture perceptions of Native Americans at the time - a trend, according to Sailer, that might be reversing. Here's a historical breakdown of trends in similar films:   [ show more ]

1. 1950-1970 - Native Americans are one-dimensional, easily killed, comic-book villians. No religious elements appear. There are only a few exceptions to this rule (e.g. John Ford's "The Searchers").

2. 1970s - Native American violence becomes brutal and real - but we also get rising sensitivity to Native Anericans without much sappy-ness. To quote Sailer:

"'The Missing' resembles 'Ulzana's Raid,' the 1972 Burt Lancaster film that was one of several brutal but realistic films (such as 1970's 'A Man Called Horse') made during a brief period of balance in the depiction of Native Americans, falling between the earlier era's anti-Indian prejudice and the present day's happy-clappy New Age nonsense."

In other words, if "Last of the Mohicans" had been released in 1970 it might have been hailed as "progressive."

3. 1980s and 1990s - Religious/spiritual interpretations of Native Americans become dominant but are just as comic-book as the old 1950s violence. Native Americans are cute New Age "Dances With Wolves" icons that sit around and act wise. "Native American" becames an always-good point of reference in the Culture Wars. Classic example from South Park: an old hippie screams in front of a new Starbuck's

"...how many Native Americans did you slaughter to make that coffee shop?"

Michael Mann's "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992) clearly ran counter to the 1990s trend - it was trashed by critics at the time but I've always felt it was a much better film than it is given credit for, even a classic. But it bucks the New Age image of Native Americans so popular in 1992. For example, the old chief at the end uses his spiritual authority to make a brutal, violent decision for death so that justice is served. The Native American father Chingagchook kills the revenge and power-mad Magua without pity. And as for Magua's own behavior...nobody on either side is asking "...can't we all just get along?"

In other words, Mann picked the exact wrong time to make this film. In the 1970s it might have been properly recognized, but by 1992 it was out of step with the touchy-feely image of Native Americans. Coupled with its obvious melodrama and action-film hype, the film became too much of a "guilty pleasure" to win praise (but don't let that stop you now).

Movies are changing again, and that might be a good reason to go out and rent "Last of the Mohicans." According to Sailer, "the dark side of Native American spiritualism" is now being seen in "Missing". Like "Mohicans", Howard's new film loses the New Age stuff for a dreamlike action/horror state. The scenes below have their obvious parallels in "Mohicans":

Blanchett finds her boyfriend's charred corpse strung up over a campfire where the Indians slowly roasted him to death. Later, when a photographer snaps the Apache leader's picture, the shaman gets his soul back by tearing out the man's heart.

The other problem with "Mohicans" was that it is too "manly." There's a very strong female lead, but the men are also real, lusty, nasty men. By including this brand of passion, "Mohicans" conflicted directly with the "girl power" pop culture trend of the mid-1990s. Admitting you liked the film made you anti-woman as well as anti Native American.

In this light, consider Sailer's comments on "Missing" - they apply equally to "Mohicans:"

"Still, I have to admire Howard for ignoring the bogus and condescending fantasies about American Indian culture rampant in our society today. Native Americans have suffered enough without having the memory of their warriors emasculated by self-absorbed eco-feminists into sappy symbols. Geronimo was a cruel man, but he was every inch a man."

We may be on the edge of a revival of films which are capable of mixing Native Americans, violence, and romance in a good way. If so, the underappreciated "Last of the Mohicans" is a place to start. [ show less ]

Hamish Joy wrote on IMDB:

The Last Of The Mohicans

This is turning out to be one of my most favourite romantic epics of all time. I know most people do not see this as romantic as it is a classic battle movie. As a matter of fact, seeing the trailer and the posters left me with the impression that this is indeed a war movie, what with the battle scenes and all; something along the lines of `Braveheart'. But upon seeing the movie, I was awed by the unexpected change in genre. The movie is a masterpiece, and all the actors and actresses certainly do amazing jobs. Daniel Day Lewis is simply amazing as Hawkeye. Though I usually try to read some of the more interesting books based on which movies are made, I haven't read the book in this case. But I sincerely doubt whether the book can be as good. Plus, I am told that the movie and the book have little in common.   [ show more ]

Madeline Stowe is stunning as Cora Munro, and Jodhi May was certainly impressive as the frail dependent younger sister. Nathaniel, or ‘Hawkeye', is the adopted son of Chingachgook, played by Russell Means, whose real and lone son Uncas contributes to the team's claim of being the last of the Mohican clan. The British recruitment of Militia from its colonies during a time of war against France brings about a certain unrest. And it is further deepened by the character of Magua, who is a Huron warrior bent on a personal vendetta against British Colonel Munro, and his family. Magua is bent on the utter destruction of Colonel Munro and his two daughters, hence ‘wiping his seed from the earth'. Chingachgook and his two sons become entwined in between all this. To top that, Nathaniel falls in love with Cora and their love story takes the show from there. It is sensually and emotionally stimulating, and we as the audience feels engulfed in the mastery.

The love story I liked better was the one played in the background, an story that is absent, yet strongly felt throughout the movie. I am referring to the love story between Eric Schweig's character, Uncas and Alice Munro, played by Jodhi May. It is the subtleness and the overtone-nature of the love that builds in us a sense of involvement. To the best of my memory, they never spoke a word to each other, but the passion is strongly felt. And the climax really takes us to another level of appreciation.

Wes Studi is probably the fiercest villain I have seen on screen. His mere presence builds an acute level of intimidation. The character portrayal is flawless, and the casting done is excellent. I do not believe that anybody…, anybody at all, could have replaced Wes in this movie. The fierceness, the anger, the viciousness, the… the everything required to build up the character… He has done all that. Probably his best performance yet.

The music is sort of unconventional. Usually, the pace of the music is in sync with the pace of the action on screen. But in this case, the same slow music floods the scenes whether the pace on-screen is fast or slow. If I had heard somebody else say that, I certainly would have thought that it would not be effective. But amazingly, this unconventional approach works. And how! The music is probably the most addictive feature about the movie. After the first time I saw it, the music lingered in my mind for a month. All my waking moments, my mind was echoing that brilliant piece of work. I am a very very huge fan of Hans Zimmer, but I doubt if even he could have done a better job.

I have seen the movie eight times to date. And I will definitely see it again. The climactic scene is so moving that I have lost count how many times I've seen that. [ show less ]