The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Three trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

James Fenimore Cooper (novel), John L. Balderston (adaptation)

Stars:

Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means

Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 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

Storyline

The last members of a dying Native American tribe, the Mohicans -- Uncas, his father Chingachgook, and his adopted half-white brother Hawkeye -- live in peace alongside British colonists. But when the daughters of a British colonel are kidnapped by a traitorous scout, Hawkeye and Uncas must rescue them in the crossfire of a gruesome military conflict of which they wanted no part: the French and Indian War.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | colonial america | french and indian war | colonel | american history | 

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Taglines:

The first American hero.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Mohawk

Release Date:

25 September 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

El último de los mohicanos

Filming Locations:

DuPont State Forest, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,976,661, 27 September 1992

Gross USA:

$75,505,856

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 117 min (DVD extended cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jodhi May's mother was on set and wouldn't let there be a real "love scene" between Jodhi and Eric Schweig due to her age.

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Goofs

When explaining that they are heading to Kentucky for the winter, in telling Major Hayward how they plan to get there, Hawkeye says they "face to the north, and all of a sudden turn left." Which is fine if you're in North Carolina where there movie was filmed, but terribly off if you're supposed to be in upstate New York where the novel and movie take place.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: 1757 / The American colonies. / It is the 3rd year of the war between England and France for the possession of the continent. / Three men, the last of a vanishing people, are on the frontier west of the Hudson River.

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Alternate Versions

A new sequence, which was shown on the CBS version in 1996, shows the previously talked about but never shown, Major Heyward's diversion. It shows the British Army in perfect formation shooting French soldiers and Huron Indians.

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Connections

Version of The Leatherstocking Tales: Der letzte Mohikaner (1969)

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Soundtracks

THE GAEL
Written by Dougie Maclean
Arranged and adapted by Trevor Jones

User Reviews

A great American tragedy

I have not read Cooper's original novel, I will freely admit, nor do I ever really see myself working up the interest to actually do so. But I absolutely love this version of "Last of the Mohicans". It was the first movie I ever saw in the widescreen format of video tapes and, after watching it again after about three years of not seeing it, everything I loved about it then still holds true.

The film is no more anti-British than it is anti-Indian. Everybody gets a more or less fair shake. Granted, Day-Lewis and his adopted family (as well as the Munro sisters) get have more to like about them than some of the others, but even the "bad guys" are understandable. Think about it: Maghoa is, without a doubt, a bloodthirsty, hate-driven b*****d, yet considering all he's lost in his life thanks to the Yanquis (particularly Colonel Munro), can you blame him for wanting to take his revenge? I can't. Colonel Munro is a loving father who cares very deeply about his daughters and a commander who cares about his men. Still, the atrocities he's committed in the name of the Crown against Maghoa are disconcerting, to say the least. Horrible though his death is, can one truly say whether or not it is unjustified? I can't. Major Duncan Heyward is an arrogant snob of an English officer, looking down his nose at colonials and Indians alike. But he is no fop in combat, as his reaction to the George Road ambush proved, and, as he proved with his death, under that arrogant exterior is a very brave man. Can anyone say that he truly deserved his fate? I can't.

The thing, to me, that makes this a great film is that, when all's said and done, nobody wins. NOBODY. Of all the eight major characters (Hawkeye, Chingachook, Uncas, Cora Munro, Alice Munro, Colonel Munro, Maghoa, Maj. Heyward), half of them are dead by film's end and everyone has lost at one person they very deeply care about. There's no overarcing evil responsible for these horrors, just human nature, culture clashs, and the insanity that is war. As America today is still very much a country of clashing cultures fighting for supremacy, therein lies the great tragedy of "Last of The Mohicans". 243 years later, we still haven't learned a thing...and we'd better.