The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Three trappers protect a British Colonel's daughters 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 | revenge | long haired male | trench | trench warfare | 

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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 Group

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

Some of the cast and crew spent a month in the North Carolina wilderness together before shooting began.

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Goofs

As the British Army is retreating from Fort William-Henry, Magua ambushes the British. At one point in the battle, Major Duncan Heyward is commanding a small group of British soldiers. Most of them get killed, and he begins to run away. The bayonet on his rifle disappears soon after he shoots one of the Indians.

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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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Connections

Referenced in HBO First Look: Miami Vice: Undercover (2006)

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Soundtracks

I WILL FIND YOU
Written and Produced by Ciarán Brennan
Performed by Clannad
Courtesy of Atlantic Records

User Reviews

Restoration of Dignity to Native Americans, Long Overdue

James Fenimore Cooper's trusty old nineteenth century novel 'The Last of the Mohicans' has provided a surprisingly sound springboard for a film that tries and succeeds in restoring a profound respect for the Native Americans. Yes, it is a story about the Indians and their culture desecrated by the arrival of European entrepreneurs and colonists all relating to Hawkeye/Nathaniel Poe (Daniel Day-Lewis), who as a child was taken by the Mohawk tribe and raised by wise Chingachgook (Russell Means) with the graceful skills and philosophy of the Native Americans. And it is through his eyes that we are brought into the universe through the eyes of the Indians.

The story is well known and needn't be elaborated once again. Suffice it say that Hawkeye becomes the scout who leads British family Munro including Colonel (Maurice Roëves) and his daughters Cora (Madeleine Stowe) and Alice (Jodhi May) into upstate New York and along the way find altercations with the French and with the Huron Indians, especially one Magua (Wes Studi) whose loathing for Munro's devastation of his village drives him to vengeance against the entire Munro family. Hawkeye and his ally Uncas (Eric Schweig) protect their lieges while steadfastly holding to the honor of their heritage. And of course during the harrowing events Hawkeye and Cora fall in love and Hawkeye takes great risks against his own life to ultimately defend Cora and her family.

Yes, there are many battle scenes, great reenactment of the scenery of the novel, and villains in all camps that provide the stormy progress of the novel. But it is in the quiet moments where Chingachgook speaks about the Great Spirit, the sanctity of nature, and his waiting to join the Great Council in the sky as the last of the Mohicans that the film's power is best communicated. The acting is very fine and the cinematography is splendid. This is a film worth seeing, one whose 117 minutes fly by leaving the viewer with a renewed respect for Native American philosophy. Grady Harp