Three Mohican trappers agree to protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.Three Mohican trappers agree to protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.Three Mohican trappers agree to protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 7 wins & 17 nominations total
Dennis Banks
- Ongewasgone
- (as Dennis J. Banks)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWes Studi claimed in a 1996 interview that he and several of the other Native American actors spoke their lines in their own native languages. When Magua argues with the Huron Sachem in the Huron village, Studi speaks his native Cherokee, which is mostly unintelligible to Mike Phillips, a native Mohawk speaker. When Chingachgook talks with his son Uncas, Russell Means speaks Lakota Sioux to Inuit Eric Schweig.
- GoofsAs the British are leaving Fort William Henry, two buses are visible in the background as the British General rides by.
- Alternate versionsReleased on DVD in 2001, the Director's Expanded Cut of the film features roughly seven minutes of additional material and has roughly two minutes of content removed, running just under five minutes longer than the Theatrical Cut. In this version,
- During the opening credits, the Morgan Creek logo has been replaced by the Twentieth Century Fox logo, and "Morgan Creek International Presents" has been replaced with "Twentieth Century Fox Presents".
- After the opening hunting sequence, the sequence where Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), Uncas (Eric Schweig), and Chingachgook (Russell Means) approach John Cameron's (Terry Kinney) cabin is edited differently. In the Theatrical Cut, there is an exterior shot of the cabin, followed by an interior shot of Cameron and Jack Winthrop (Edward Blatchford) hearing the men approach, and off screen, Hawkeye shouts out, "Hello, John Cameron". This is followed by an exterior shot of Hawkeye walking across the field. Cameron and Winthrop then emerge from the cabin. In the Expanded Cut, however, the interior shot is longer, showing Cameron and Winthrop reacting to the sound outside, and then grabbing their guns. Hawkeye's off-camera greeting is absent, as is the shot of him walking across the field, with the film cutting straight to Cameron and Winthrop emerging from within, ready for combat. Hawkeye's greeting is then heard, prompting the duo to lower their weapons, with Cameron telling his wife Alexandra (Tracey Ellis) to "set three more places" (00:22).
- In the same scene, there is an alternate angle of Chingachgook and Winthrop shaking hands. There is no time differentiation.
- As Major Duncan Heyward (Steven Waddington) rides towards Albany, there are two additional shots of the horses and carriage (00:07).
- During the scene where Winthrop negotiates for terms with General Webb (Mac Andrews), there is an alternate version of Winthrop saying, "if they are not allowed leave to defend their families and homes if the French attack the settlements, then no colonial militia is going to Fort William Henry". In the Theatrical Cut, the shot starts out in profile, before cutting to in front of Winthrop. In the Expanded Cut, the line is delivered in a single profile shot. There is no time differentiation.
- Immediately after the above, there is some additional dialogue. A colonist points out, "Any of the boys worth havin' can disappear", to which the British Lieutenant (Jared Harris) says, "They will be found." The colonist asks, "And where does that leave you?" to which the lieutenant replies, more forcefully, "Those men will be found." During this exchange, there is also a cutaway revealing Magua (Wes Studi) in the background (00:12).
- Also in this scene, when Webb is explaining why the French are not to be feared because "they haven't the nature for war", there is some additional dialogue, where he states, "their Latinate voluptuousness combines with their Gallic laziness and the result is". This line is followed by "they'd rather eat and make love with their faces than fight", which is also found in the Theatrical Cut (00:09).
- In the first scene between Heyward and Cora Monro (Madeleine Stowe), after Cora says, "I don't know what to say Duncan", there is an additional line of dialogue where she says, "Alice and I have depended upon you and respected you since we were all children" (00:06).
- Also in this scene, after Alice (Jodhi May) arrives, there is some additional dialogue. After she says, "it's so exciting," Heyward replies, "It can be dangerous", to which Alice says, "Nonsense. Papa wouldn't have sent for us." Cora then asks Alice, "Would you like some tea?" to which Alice says, "Yes, thank you" (00:10).
- During the scene where the 60th Regiment is marching towards Fort William Henry with Heyward, Cora, and Alice, immediately before the first shot within the woods, there is an additional shot of the troops exiting the plains and entering the periphery of the forest (00:10).
- After Hawkeye tells Heyward, "I ain't your scout, and I sure ain't in no damn militia," his line "clear it up any?" has been removed from the audio track.
- The shot from behind Hawkeye, Chingachgook, Uncas, Cora, Alice, and Heyward as they walk away from the ransacked Cameron cabin and head up a hill is slightly longer (00:04).
- As they shelter at night, the conversation between Hawkeye and Cora has been shortened. After Hawkeye tells Cora that Chingachgook warned him about people like her, and she replies, "Oh, he did?", the Expanded Cut cuts directly to the arrival of the Huron scouts and the coureur de bois, omitting several lines of dialogue; Hawkeye explains, "He said, 'Do not try to understand them'," to which Cora replies, "What?" Hawkeye then says, "Yes and 'do not try to make them understand you.' That is because they are a breed apart and make no sense." The scene of the Huron refusing to disturb the burial ground is identical in both versions, but immediately afterwards, the continuation of the conversation has also been removed from the Expanded Cut, with Cora asking, "A breed apart, we make no sense?" to which Hawkeye says, "In your particular case, miss, I'd make an allowance." She then sarcastically replies, "Thank you so much" (-00:28).
- In the same scene, after Cora asks Hawkeye about his family, and Hawkeye explains that Chingachgook "sent Uncas and I to Reverend Wheelock's school when I was 10", an additional line has been added to the audio track; "so we would know both worlds."
- There are several additional shots during the siege of Fort William Henry. Right at the start of the sequence, immediately after the close-up of the canon being fired, there is a shot of a group of French soldiers moving a canon towards the fort as another group carries a stretcher away from it. Immediately after the long crane shot across the battlefield, there is a brief shot of a British mortar strike killing a French soldier. Additionally, the sequence of the French soldiers moving canons into position has several additional shots showing the canons taking aim and firing (00:18).
- Immediately after the above edition, in the Theatrical Cut, the film cuts from the canons firing to Hawkeye and the others using the river to approach the fort. In the Expanded Cut, this shot has been moved to later in the scene, with the film instead cutting to a sequence of the French soldiers beginning to get their mortars into position. This is followed by a tracking shot within the trench the French are digging, and then several additional shots of the exterior of the fort being hammered with canon fire (00:25).
- After the river shot in the Theatrical Cut and the mortar/trench sequence in the Expanded Cut, the next sequence shows a British officer studying the battlefield as a flare lights up the night sky. The Expanded Cut omits a shot from behind the officer as he and his men try to aim at the French trench (-00:02).
- After the British officer and his men are hit by canon fire, the Expanded Cut features several additional shots of the fort taking damage (00:03).
- Immediately after the above, the Theatrical Cut shows Hawkeye and the others reaching the shore. In the Expanded Cut, the shot on the river that was omitted from earlier in the scene is inserted at this point, thus positioning it as part of a single sequence of them approaching by river and reaching the shore (00:05).
- Inside the fort, after Ian (Tim Hopper) greets Uncas and says, "I thought you and Nathaniel weren't joining up", in the Theatrical Cut, Hawkeye says, "we didn't, we just dropped in to see how you boys were doing." The Expanded Cut omits "we just dropped in to see how you boys were doing" (-00:04).
- During the scene in the tent where General Marquis de Montcalm (Patrice Chéreau) and the Abenaki Chief (Gregory Zaragoza) listen to the children singing, there is an additional line of dialogue, with Montcalm telling the chief, "For my children are the children of the true faith. My friendship and esteem is boundless" (00:12).
- In the same scene, the shot where Montcalm says, "I will give you three oxen for a feast" is shown from a different angle (in the Theatrical Cut, it's from behind the men; in the Expanded Cut it's from in front, focusing on the Chief's face).
- After Magua enters Montcalm's tent and Montcalm asks him, "how are things with your English friends", there is some additional dialogue, with Montcalm saying to one of his men, "We are as one. Join us. Hear what he has to tell us." The officer is then seen walking across the shot and sitting down (00:10).
- The sequence in which the runner leaves the fort and escapes through the forest is longer. In the Theatrical Cut, the scene shows Hawkeye and Uncas sharpshooting from the fort and the runner moving through the trees. In the Expanded Cut, however, these shots are inter-cut with Heyward's military diversion on the other side of the fort, in which he engages the Huron and the French. This diversion was mentioned earlier in the film by Colonel Edmund Monro (Maurice Roëves), but it is entirely absent from the Theatrical Cut (01:21).
- During the scene where the colonials and Hawkeye attempt to convince Monro to allow the militia to return home so they may defend their families, Heyward threatens Hawkeye by telling him, "I'll have you beaten from this fort." The Expanded Cut omits Hawkeye's reply, "Someday, I think you and I are going to have a serious disagreement" (-00:04).
- In the scene after Cora rejects Heyward, there is an additional tracking shot moving through the courtyard, showing the wounded, as a woman (Sheila Adams Barnhill) hums a lament and strokes the head of a badly injured soldier (00:30).
- After the colonials make plans to leave, there is an additional shot of Hawkeye walking across the courtyard, followed immediately by an extended version of the scene where Cora closes a dead man's eyes (00:12).
- During the surrender scene between Montcalm and Monro, in the Theatrical Cut, after Montcalm says he is happy to make Monro's acquaintance as a friend, and Monro says the same, Montcalm points out that Monro has "already done everything that is necessary for the honor of your prince." In the Expanded Cut, however, he says, "Please accept my compliments for the strong and skillful defense of your fortress. Under the command of a lesser man, it would have fallen long ago, given the superior numbers and materials. Chance has allowed me to array against you." Monro responds with, "Monsieur Le Marquis, I am a soldier, not a diplomat. You called this parlay for a better reason than an exchange of compliments." Montcalm then says that Monro has done everything necessary (00:32).
- Also in this scene, after learning that Webb will not be sending reinforcements, when Monro goes to consult with Heyward and Cpt. Beams (Pete Postlethwaite), his line, "I've lived to see something which I've never expected; a British officer afraid to support another" has been removed (-00:07).
- After Monro has discussed the situation with his men, the Theatrical Cut cuts to the next scene, showing Montcalm emerging from his tent at night. In the Expanded Cut, however, there is more dialogue, with Monro turning back to Montcalm and saying, "Monsieur Le Marquis, I am deeply touched by such unusual and unexpected generosity. My fort is yours, under the condition that I be given till dawn to bury my dead, to prepare my men and women for the long journey ahead, and to hand my wounded over to your surgeons." Montcalm responds "Granted monsieur" and he and Monro bow to one another (00:28).
- During the scene between Montcalm and Magua in the forest, after Magua says his heart "will be whole again on the day the Grey-hair and all his seed are dead", there is an additional line of dialogue, with Montcalm saying, "My son Magua's pain is my pain". Also in this scene, there is an alternate angle of Montcalm saying, "I fear I will only fight the same men again when I drive towards Albany" (in the Theatrical Cut the camera is behind him focusing on Magua; in the Expanded Cut, it's from in front of him). Immediately after this, the Expanded Cut features an additional line of dialogue, with Montcalm explaining, "I cannot break the terms of the surrender and sully the lilies of France" (00:16).
- After the British have surrendered the fort and left the area, there is a shot of French soldiers marching towards the building and cheering (00:08).
- Immediately after this, there is a slight extension to a single shot as the convoy moves through a field; in the Theatrical Cut, the shot starts on Cora and Alice, but in the Expanded Cut, the shot starts on Monro and pans over to Cora and Alice (00:05).
- In the Theatrical Cut, as they escape the massacre, when Hawkeye first sees Heyward in the canoes, he smiles and says, "nothing better to do on the lake today Major?" This has been removed in the Expanded Cut (-00:02).
- During the scene behind the waterfall, after Heyward calls Hawkeye a coward, in the Theatrical Cut, Cora pulls Hawkeye aside and says, "You've done everything you can do. Save yourself. If the worst happens and only one of us survives, something of the other does, too." Hawkeye then gives his "I will find you" speech. In the Expanded Cut, after Heyward calls Hawkeye a coward, Cora pulls Hawkeye aside, but he immediately gives the "I will find you" speech - all of her dialogue has been removed (-00:13).
- The montage scene after Hawkeye and Uncas save Chingachgook from the river has been altered in several ways. In the Theatrical Cut, the whole montage is scored by music from Clannad (a song called "I Will Find You"). For the Expanded Cut, director Michael Mann removed the song, replacing it with a slow variation of the film's main theme. According to Mann, he did this because he felt "the music was taking some of the emotional power away [from the story] because it was a little too sentimental." This change, however, proved extremely unpopular with fans. Visually, there are also several changes to the scene. The Theatrical Cut features a shot of Uncas running up the hill, followed by a shot of Hawkeye. In the Expanded Cut, the shots are reversed, we see Hawkeye first, then Uncas, then an additional shot of Chingachgook. Immediately after this, the Theatrical Cut features a shot of Magua and his prisoners walking across a rocky passage on a mountain side. In the Expanded Cut, the shot is from a tighter angle and starts earlier, panning down from the tree line as the group enters the area. After a second shot of Hawkeye running up the hill (identical in both versions), the Theatrical Cut cuts to the discovery of the branches that Cora purposely broke so as to make a trail. In the Expanded Cut, there is a fade to the setting sun as Magua and his prisoners continue on their way. There are then two additional shots of Hawkeye running up the hill. The scene where he finds the broken branches is edited the same way in both versions, but in the Theatrical Cut, it takes place in daytime, whereas in the Expanded Cut, it has been color graded to take place at dusk (00:50).
- Immediately prior to Heyward being hoisted into the fire, there are several additional shots showing Hawkeye and Cora leaving the Huron village (00:24).
- During the second shot of Heyward on the fire, his screams have been removed from the audio track.
- When Magua slits Uncas's throat, the sound of his skin cutting has been added to the audio track.
- When Chingachgook rolls under Magua's first swing, the sound of the tomahawk swinging is slightly different from the Theatrical Cut.
- In the final fight between Chingachgook and Magua, the shot of Chingachgook's weapon piercing through Magua's back has been removed (-00:01).
- Immediately after Magua's death, the shots of Cora and Hawkeye embracing on the mountainside have been removed (-00:24).
- In the final scene, after Chingachgook's eulogy for Uncas and after Cora and Hawkeye embrace, the Theatrical Cut cuts to a brief profile shot of the trio, and then cuts to behind them, with the end credits rolling. In the Expanded Cut, the profile shot is longer and features additional dialogue, with Chingachgook lamenting, "The frontier moves with the sun, and pushes the Red Man of these wilderness forests in front of it until one day there will be nowhere left. Then our race will be no more, or be not us." Hawkeye replies, "That is my father's sadness talking", to which Chingachgook says, "No, it is true. The frontier place is for people like my white son and his woman and their children. And one day there will be no more frontier. And men like you will go, too, like the Mohicans. And new people will come, work, struggle. Some will make their life. But once we were here." The camera then cuts to behind them and the end credits roll (00:49).
- SoundtracksI Will Find You
Written and Produced by Ciaran Brennan
Performed by Clannad (lead vocals by Maire Brennan)
Courtesy of Atlantic Records
Featured review
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.
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.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- El último de los mohicanos
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $75,505,856
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,976,661
- Sep 27, 1992
- Gross worldwide
- $75,506,530
- Runtime1 hour 52 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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