The Last of the Mohicans (1992, R)

The Last of the Mohicans is in many ways a Hollywood film.   But it’s a beautiful, marvelous Hollywood film, a very entertaining and effortless mix of action/adventure, war, drama and romance.  It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Eric Schweig, Jodhi May and Wes Studi, and is directed by Michael Mann, who operates well behind the camera in this pic.

The film opens in the middle of the French and Indian War.  The French and their Native American allies are at war with Britain and the American colonists for possession of North America, in 1757.  It focuses on a father and two sons: Chingachgook and his son Uncas, and adopted white son Hawkeye, who has been raised by Chingachgook since he was a kid, who gets caught up in the mess and end up defending Fort William Henry against overwhelming French and Indian forces.   Hawkeye becomes attracted the daughter of the British commander General Edmund Munro, Cora.  Nevertheless, the fort falls to the French, but the French commander generously allows the British soldiers and families to leave the fort unharmed. 

The Huron war chief Magua, who despises General Munro (he killed his children), leads a large war party that wipes out the British forces, kills Munro, and captures Cora, her sister Alice, and the British officer Duncan Heyward, prompting the father and his two sons to rescue their loved one.        

I honestly haven’t seen too many movies that can so masterfully blend in excellent cinematography and great music.  The film was shot in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, and are given excellent shots of the scenery, the land, the mountains and the forests.  The battle sequences are exceptionally well staged, at times gruesome, and Mann never allows the battles to deviate from the main story.  Therefore, there aren’t too many battles overtaking the plot or the characters.

The Last of the Mohicans is based off of the book of the same name by James Feminore Cooper, written in the early 1800s.  The movie is not a near faithful adaptation, but it’s still definitely easier to understand, making it better for the audience.

Even so, the Last of the Mohicans isn’t perfect.  There’s the romantic subplot that never really gains much traction, but director Mann nevertheless keeps us involved with the characters and the story.

The acting is good and satisfying though not exhilarating, the way the camera operates is excellent, the music is nearly perfect, it’s not too drawn out, and even though it’s a historical picture, the Last of the Mohicans scores high.  The musical soundtrack used in the movie itself brings the pic up to a whole new level.

The Last of the Mohicans is a cinematically beautiful film, a movie that reminds us what cinema really is all about.  All in all, there aren't too many pure Hollywood entertainment pictures that get any better than this one.    
                                           **** ½ /5