In 1757, British Army Major Duncan Heyward arrives in Albany, New York, during the French and Indian War. He is assigned to Colonel Edmund Munro, the commander of Fort William Henry in the Adirondack Mountains. Heyward is tasked with escorting Munro's two daughters, Cora and Alice, to their father. Before they leave, Heyward asks Cora to marry him, but she asks for more time before giving her answer.
A Huron named Magua, masquerading as a Mohawk ally, is tasked with guiding Heyward, the two women, and a troop of British soldiers to the fort, but instead leads them into an ambush that kills most of the soldiers. MohicanChingachgook, his son, Uncas and his white adopted son, "Hawkeye", arrive and kill all of the Hurons except Magua, who escapes. The trio agrees to take the women and Heyward to the fort. During the trek, they find some of their friends massacred at a farm, but do not stop to bury the victims so as not to alert the Hurons to their presence. Cora and Hawkeye are attracted to each other, as are Uncas and Alice.
They find the fort under siege by the French and their Huron allies, but manage to sneak in. Colonel Munro is surprised to see his daughters, as he had sent a letter warning them to stay away, but it never reached them. Heyward becomes jealous of Hawkeye when Cora tells Heyward she will not accept his marriage proposal. A militiaman sets out at night to try to reach General Webb at Fort Edward for reinforcements, with Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Uncas providing covering fire from the fort.
After Munro refuses to honor an agreement made by Webb that the militiamen could leave to protect their homesteads if they were threatened, Hawkeye helps the men sneak away. He is arrested for sedition and sentenced to hang. But when Munro learns that Webb will send no soldiers, he is forced to accept French general Louis-Joseph de Montcalm's terms of surrender; the British can leave the fort honorably with their arms. Magua is furious because he bears a personal grudge against Munro, whom he blames for the murder of his family.
Once Munro, his soldiers and civilians leave the fort, Huron warriors led by Magua attack and massacre them. Munro is mortally wounded by Magua, who promises him that he will kill his daughters and then cuts out his heart. Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook fight their way out of the massacre, taking Cora, Alice, and Heyward. They hide in a cave behind a waterfall, but Magua and the Hurons find them. Before Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook escape by leaping from the waterfall, Hawkeye tells Cora to stay alive and swears that he will find her.
Magua takes his three prisoners to a Huron settlement. While he is addressing a sachem, Hawkeye walks in unarmed as a parley to plead for their lives. The sachem rules that Heyward is to be returned to the British, Alice be given to Magua for the wrongs done to him by Munro, and Cora be burned alive. Although Hawkeye is told he may leave in peace for his bravery, he offers to take Cora's place. Heyward, who is acting as interpreter, instead tells the Hurons to take his own life for Cora's. As Hawkeye is leaving the village with Cora, he shoots Heyward, who is being burned alive, as an act of mercy.
Chingachgook, Uncas and Hawkeye then pursue Magua's party to rescue Alice. Uncas races ahead and kills several of the Hurons in combat, but is killed by Magua and thrown off the cliff's edge. Devastated to see Uncas' demise, Alice refuses to remain with Magua and commits suicide by jumping off the same cliff. Enraged, Hawkeye and Chingachgook catch up to the Hurons and kill many of them. Hawkeye then holds the rest at gunpoint, allowing Chingachgook to fight and kill Magua, avenging Uncas' death. Afterward, Chingachgook prays to the Great Spirit to receive Uncas, proclaiming himself "the last of the Mohicans".
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In preparation for his role, Daniel Day-Lewis took part in weeks of wilderness training with US Army Special Forces personnel, learning to use period weapons, start fires, and hunt and skin game.[7]
Russell Means made his film acting debut as Chingachgook.[7] During filming, he lobbied for the 175 Native American extras to receive better pay and improved lodging conditions.[7]
The musical score was composed by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman, with additional cues written by Daniel Lanois. The film features the song "I Will Find You" by Clannad. The main theme of the film is taken from the tune "The Gael" by Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean.
Release
The film opened in the United States on September 25, 1992, in 1,856 theaters. It was the number one movie on its opening weekend.[11][12] By the end of its first weekend, The Last of the Mohicans had generated $10,976,661, and by the end of its domestic run, the film had made $75,505,856 in the United States and Canada.[4] It was ranked the 17th highest-grossing film of 1992 in the United States.[13] Internationally, the film grossed more than $67 million[14] for a worldwide total of over $143 million.
Alternate versions
When the film was released theatrically in the United States, its running time was 112 minutes. This version of the film was released on VHS in the U.S. on June 23, 1993. The film was later re-edited to a length of 117 minutes,[15] for its U.S. DVD release on November 23, 1999,[16] which was billed as the "Director's Expanded Edition". The film was again re-edited for its U.S. Blu-ray release on October 5, 2010,[17] this time billed as the "Director's Definitive Cut", with a length of 114 mins.[18]
Reception
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 88% based on reviews from 127 critics, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's consensus states: "The Last of the Mohicans is a breathless romantic adventure that plays loose with James Fenimore Cooper's novel – and comes out with a richer action movie for it."[19] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 based on 18 critics.[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[21]
The Last of the Mohicans opened with critics praising the film for its cinematography and music. Critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars and called it "quite an improvement on Cooper's all but unreadable book, and a worthy successor to the Randolph Scottversion", going on to say that "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."[22]
Desson Howe of The Washington Post classified the film as "glam-opera" and "the MTV version of gothic romance".[23] Rita Kempley of the Post recognized the "heavy drama", writing that the film "sets new standards when it comes to pent-up passion", but commented positively on the "spectacular scenery".[24]
^"The Last of the Mohicans (1992)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved December 28, 2022. A 26 Sep 1991 DV article announced distribution rights to foreign territories outside the U. S. and Canada were sold for $17 million to Morgan Creek International (MCI), in a deal that marked MCI's "first acquisition of a third-party film."
^Howe, Desson (September 25, 1992). "The Last of The Mohicans". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2007.
^Kempley, Rita (September 25, 1992). "The Last of The Mohicans". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2007.
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