Š-DR-LE DERNIER DES MOHICANS de Michael Mann (1992) p18

07/12/2013 07:13 par tellurikwaves

One Of The Greatest Adventure Films Ever

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States
7 January 2006

This was one of those movies I didn't expect that much when I first saw it so I was pleasantly surprised. Since then, it has skyrocketed to nearly the top on my list of all-time favorite films. I can't think of too many other adventure films that are better. Just a great, great movie.

It boasts an interesting story filled with intense characters, beautiful scenery, a fantastic score, good action and a nice romance. So....there is a lot to like about this Michael Mann-directed film.The action scenes are quite realistic, and border on being almost too prevalent, to be fair. However, even if it may be a little too intense or frequent, the action is always interesting and varied, from all-out assaults to individual battles.

The story takes place in Eastern New York State but, in reality, was filmed in beautiful Smokey Mountain areas in Asheville, N.C. This movie looks spectacular and with an epic, sweeping soundtrack is quite a feast for the eyes and ears.The eye candy includes a handsome leading couple: Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeline Stowe. Wes Studi is mesmerizing as the "bad guy." If you liked him in "Geronimo: An American Legend," you'll like his work here.

If you are fairly young and only know Michael Mann through his crime movies like "Heat" or "Collateral," please check this earlier film out. It could be Mann's best, which is saying a lot.

Š-DR-LE DERNIER DES MOHICANS de Michael Mann (1992) p17

07/12/2013 07:09 par tellurikwaves

Absolutely thrilling. One of my most fav...

Author: Hamish Joy from India
21 July 2004

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.

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.

Š-DR-LE DERNIER DES MOHICANS de Michael Mann (1992) p16

07/12/2013 07:03 par tellurikwaves

Will make you forget that wimpy TV Hawkeye.

Author: jckruize from North Hemis
24 November 2003

Policier specialist Michael Mann steps way off his usual beaten path with this adaptation of that hoary old James Fenimore Cooper tale of frontiersmen, Indians, Redcoats and the French -- the latter back when they knew how to fight.

Chameleonic actor Daniel Day Lewis is totally convincing as Hawkeye, tracker, warrior, and adopted white son of Chingagchook, last of the Mohicans tribe. Along with adoptive brother, Uncas, the three are swept into the French and Indian war of 1757, treading lightly between the antagonists: French and Hurons on one side, British and colonials on the other, each faction potentially treacherous and deadly.

Mann doesn't waste time on exposition or character development; he just hurls us into the fast-paced, brutal action and the effect is like snagging the tail of a galloping racehorse and trying to hang on to the finish line. Madeline Stowe and Jodhi May, as sisters of the British major Munro, provide love interest for Hawkeye and Uncas, respectively. Steven Waddington is another Redcoat officer infatuated with Stowe, and he too shines as a 'bad guy' who's more complex than he at first seems. But the movie's almost stolen by Wes Studi as Magua, a Huron warrior who's allied himself with the French solely as a means to avenge himself on the white man. He's as mesmerizing and lethal as a cobra.

Technical qualities are exemplary,with special mention to the magnificent scenery of old-growth forestlands and mountains in North Carolina,and a superb score by Trevor Jones,with an assist by Randy Edelman.Mann might not be the first guy you'd think of to stage an 18th-century period action adventure romance.But after seeing what he does here, I've got to admit he's one helluva filmmaker.This is a must-own.

Š-DR-LE DERNIER DES MOHICANS de Michael Mann (1992) p15

07/12/2013 06:51 par tellurikwaves

Overlooked masterpiece bucked trends of the time

Author: pete-246 from Santa Monica, CA
11 December 2003

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

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:

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.

Š-DR-LE DERNIER DES MOHICANS de Michael Mann (1992) p14

07/12/2013 06:19 par tellurikwaves

Pure cinematic excitement...

Author: Righty-Sock (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico
14 July 2002

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The year is 1757... The principal occupants of the region are Native Americans and a great diversity of wild life...

It is the third year of the war between French and British, for the possession of the continent, somewhere on the frontier west of the Hudson River... The Mohicans are allied with the British while their old enemies the Hurons side with the French... There, three men roam the forest making their living as frontier trappers and scouts... The first is Hawkeye, a superb frontiersman raised by the Mohawk, who can reload and fire a flintlock at full run; the second is his adopted father Chingachgook, the last of the Mohicans, and the third, his brother Uncas, 'a warrior swift and straight as an arrow shot in the sun.'

This trio seems have nothing to do with the early Colonial wars, until they come upon the vengeful Magwa and his Huron war party as they attempt to slaughter the Munro sisters, Cora and Alice, heading with a small regiment of redcoats to meet up with their father, Colonel Munro, at Fort William Henry...Eventually, the compassionate Mohican family comes to the rescue with a spectacular style of fighting... The film takes full advantage of their graphic capabilities with incredibly fast and fluid fighting action and mind-blowing attack moves... Shortly thereafter, two love stories take place...

The three men lead the survivors to the English fort besieged by French forces and their Huron allies... The siege is a grand affair of roaring nighttime cannon and mortar attacks...Michael Mann's historical romance film gives a realistic picture of the frontier life, and a vivid impression of the horrors of warfare in the wilderness at the time where the combatants often had time for one shot before being overpowered and reduced to hand-to-hand fierce combat... The movie is filled with scenes of incredible, brutal violence... It's warfare at a primal level...

Academy Award Winner Daniel Day Lewis also known as "The long rifle" is splendid as Hawkeye, the legendary warrior who encourages the Colonial militia to desert... He agrees to surrender in exchange for the life of two sisters and one British officer... He vows romantically to Cora that he will find her no matter how long it takes, no matter how far...Madeleine Stowe manages to find in Cora's fiery character a balance between sensitivity and strength... War and tragedy swirl around her as she struggles to protect her man... Cora's attraction grows for the soft-spoken warrior, who shows marked differences when compared to Major Heyward...

Jodhi May is the blonde Alice, Cora's younger timid sister... By that long shot of her innocent face - a portrait of extreme torment and despair - we are all aware of her sufferings... We sense more pain than she can cope with... May has almost no lines, but her eyes, brimming with tears, are saying everything... No matter how much she wants to remain standing, she was retreating further and further from the ugly face of Magua... Her heart was crying out in anger... We all know that she will do anything than surrender... Her breakdown turns the scene into a willpower for revenge..

Russell Means is powerful as the Mohican elder Chingachgook... His running battle along that majestic ridge is some of the finest film-making we've seen in terms of action and intensity... There is no dialog in these moments but the scene leaves us certainly breathless.. Wes Studi is Magua, the infamous Huron Indian who always speaks of himself in the third person... He is fluent in English, French, and Huron... Magua is a strong, vibrant villain consumed with hatred... Magua plots the massacre of the retreating troops, their women and children...

Eric Schweig is Hawkeye's gentle and valiant brother Uncas... His quiet tenderness for Alice adds emotional weight to what could be passionate and unique... He asserts his mythic stature in a battle on a mountain top with Magua, not only to determine the winner in a struggle between good and evil, but also to decide the destiny of a race...Steven Waddington is the last survivor of a troop of English soldiers caught by France's Indian allies... He is a jealous and snobbish officer who wants the radiant Cora at any price...

Heyward brings some realistic touches of duality, showing his courage with one life-saving act...Maurice Roëves seems impotent as Munroe... His blindness to the realities of "honor" brings destruction... Patrice Chéreau is the French General Montcalm who gives Magua the go ahead to attack Munro's retreating army... He begs Munrow not to sign the death warrant of so many, and promises safe passage for the English so long as they return to England and fight no more on the continent...

The real inspiration of 'The Last of the Mohicans' is the extraordinary action sequences, the intensity of its music, and the exotic romanticism of such 1930's adventures as 'Charge of the Light Brigade', 'Gunga Din', and 'The Lives of a Bengal Lancer', where unshaken heroes never hesitate in the face of savage adversaries Michael Mann's camera exploits the beauty of the North Carolina mysterious Smoky Mountains, its verdant forests, and its white-water rapids and waterfalls... The opening shot of the fog misting through the Smokies are enough to take your breath away...

Š-DR-LE DERNIER DES MOHICANS de Michael Mann (1992) p13

07/12/2013 06:14 par tellurikwaves

Š-DR-LE DERNIER DES MOHICANS de Michael Mann (1992) p12

07/12/2013 05:41 par tellurikwaves

Restoration of Dignity to Native Americans, Long Overdue

Author: gradyharp from United States
18 October 2005

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

Š-DR-LE DERNIER DES MOHICANS de Michael Mann (1992) p11

07/12/2013 05:36 par tellurikwaves

The ultimate early Western romance.

Author: Al (ajchappell) from London, England
16 November 2004

This film, for reasons that are not completely obvious to me, struck a chord. It was in part the amazing location shots, partly the characters, partly the music and the action sequences.

As for the (relatively) under-developed romance between the hero and heroine - all I can say is that the line that Hawkeye delivers when Cora Munro challenges this rough colonial who has the temerity to gaze upon her (a colonel's daughter) and says (essentially): 'Who are you looking at?' Hawkeye answers: 'You, Ma'am. I'm looking at you.' Priceless.

Interestingly, archeologists have recently excavated the site of Fort William Henry and discovered many interesting things, none of which contradict the events described by Fenimore Cooper. The attack on the defeated column in the woods also appears to be historically accurate.This film, though imperfect, ranks with me as one of the best action movies of all time.

Š-DR-LE DERNIER DES MOHICANS de Michael Mann (1992) p10

07/12/2013 04:48 par tellurikwaves

La critique de Roger Ebert
September 25, 1992  

Much has been made about how authentic "The Last of the Mohicans" is, about how the cast learned wilderness survival skills and how every bow, arrow, canoe and moccasin was constructed according to the ancient ways. That's the kind of publicity Cecil B. DeMille used to churn out, as if he had created a brand new world from scratch, like God.

I am the first to confess I know little about how people really lived in the first decades of the European settlement of North America, but while I was watching "The Last of the Mohicans," I was haunted by memories of another movie -- "Black Robe" (1991), set in the earliest days of the French settlement of Quebec. This was a long and depressing film by Bruce Beresford, who went to great pains to recreate the actual living conditions in North America at the time of his story: the architectural details of the Indian dwellings, their methods of hunting and food procurement, the way they used absolute cooperation and trust of each other as a weapon against the deadly climate.

"Black Robe" did not involve me in its story, but its visual picture of life in those days has stayed with me. Watching "The Last of the Mohicans," I could not get it out of my mind. As the handsome frontiersman Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis) decides whether to join the troops being raised by the British to fight the French, as he falls in love with the daughter of a British officer (Madeleine Stowe in a fetching performance), as he sides with the Mohicans who have adopted him and they face the threat of the Huron tribe which opposes them, I was acutely conscious of the Saturday matinee traditions being exploited.

I was also aware that I was enjoying the movie more than "Black Robe." Michael Mann, who directed "The Last of the Mohicans," says that his first conscious movie memory was of the 1936 film version of the same story, starring Randolph Scott, and indeed Philip Dunne's screenplay for that movie is cited as a source for this one.It is also inspired, of course, by the novel by James Fenimore Cooper, whose frontier fantasies were completely demolished in an hilarious essay by Mark Twain, who noted that whenever the plot required a twig to be stepped on, a Cooper character was able to find a twig and step on it, no matter what the difficulty.

Mann's film is quite an improvement on Cooper's all but unreadable book, and a worthy successor to the Randolph Scott version. In Daniel Day-Lewis he has found the right actor to play Hawkeye, even though no other role ever played by Day-Lewis ("My Left Foot", "A Room with a View", "My Beautiful Laundrette" ") would remotely suggest that. There are just enough historical and political details; the movie touches quickly on the fine points of British-French-Indian-settler conflicts, so that they can get on to the story we're really interested in, about the hero who wins the heart of the girl."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.

The scenes of forest-fighting follow all the usual Hollywood rules: the hero rarely misses, and the villains rarely hit anyone needed later in the story. Remembering the sickening thuds of weapon against bone in "Black Robe," I realized I was looking at a sanitized entertainment, but I didn't care.I was also not much disturbed by the movie's pre-digested history (how many people, even after seeing this movie, could correctly report that the French and Indian Wars were not between the French and the Indians?).

We live in an age of pop images, in which these are the parts that get remembered: Hawkeye, a white man, adopted by Indians, standing between the two civilizations at a time when the Indians were richer and more powerful than the settlers; his decision to escort the British officer's daughter and her sister to the fort where their father awaits them; their adventures along the way, leading to death, bloodshed, and a stirring final shot of the couple gazing out toward the horizon -- toward all those millions of unspoiled square miles to be turned into shopping malls by the issue of their loins.

Š-DR-LE DERNIER DES MOHICANS de Michael Mann (1992) p9

07/12/2013 04:43 par tellurikwaves

Impressive, But Overlooked Masterpiece From 1992

Author: tfrizzell from United States
15 September 2000

"The Last of the Mohicans" is a very good film that was basically ignored by everyone in 1992. Based on James Fenimore Cooper's novel of the same name, the movie is impressive in every way imaginable. Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe are best in the ensemble cast. Michael Mann's direction has rarely been better. 4.5 out of 5 stars.