A Reel 30: THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS

“You stay alive!”

This month marks the 30^th anniversary of Michael Mann’s THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 

 

Based on the 1826 novel by James Fenimore Cooper and the 1936 film adaptation, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS detailed the 1757 adventures of the daughters of a British general and their native American companions during the hostilities of the French-Indian War. 

 

Serving as a drama, love story, and a slice of early American history, the production took great care in recreating accurate costumes and props, ranging from the long-rifles to the tomahawks. Although the story took place in upstate colonial New York, filming mostly took place in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. 

 

The directing reins were handed to Michael Mann, who was steering his first film since the crime drama MANHUNTER in 1986. The script was written by Christopher Crowe. The cast was led by Daniel Day-Lewis, who was fresh off his first Oscar win for MY LEFT FOOT (1989).  Lewis, playing the pivotal role of Hawkeye, went into deep character research by doing rigorous weight training, and learned to live off the land by hunting and skinning animals, along with carving canoes, and carried his long-rifle with him at all times. The rest of the cast would include Madeline Stowe, Russell Means, Eric Schweig, and Steven Waddington. The score was provided by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman, with the main theme taken from The Gael by Scottish songwriter Dougie MacLean. 

 

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS opened at No. 1 at the box office in September of 1992 while receiving critical acclaim, and would win an Oscar for Best Sound. 

 

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Six years after THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, Michael Mann would direct his crime-thriller HEAT (1995), which most cinephiles consider to be Mann’s best film. But for this Blogger, that top-ranking will always belong to MOHICANS. Beautifully shot, acted, scored, and directed…MOHICANS captures an overlooked part of American history while bringing the drama, action, emotion, and memorable scenes that have lingered in our memories to this day; from Hawkeye’s powerful monologue behind a waterfall, to the heart-pounding climactic chase up a mountain. It is an exploration of the vanished frontier while also considering all that America would lose while gaining territory. A perfect American film. 

“And one day there will be no frontier…”