The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

25 September 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Romance | War

Tagline:

The first American hero.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Mohican | Settler | Battle | Native American | Fort

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 10 nominations

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 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

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

112 min | USA:117 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Mohawk

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #31878) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | France:Unrated | Brazil:12 | UK:15 (video rating) (1993) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (edited version)

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

The drummer during the march just before the attack by the Huron war party has "Nec Aspera Terrant" embroidered on his hat, which means "Difficulties be damned" (other meanings or translations are often used for this motto it must be noted.)

Goofs:

Continuity: Maj. Duncan delivers a dispatch to Gen. Web. After he reads it, Gen. Web puts it completely rolled up and straight ahead in front of him. Subsequently it appears placed crosswise and a little open.

Quotes:

Magua: When the Grey Hair is dead, Magua will eat his heart. Before he dies, Magua will put his children under the knife, so the Grey Hair will know his seed is wiped out forever.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Directors: The Films of Michael Mann (#2.1)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

I WILL FIND YOU

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