Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeline Stowe, Jodhi May, Steven Waddington, Wes Studi, Pete Postlethwaite, Colm Meaney, Maurice Roeves, Russell Means, Russell Means

Director: Michael Mann

Summary: Based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper, this is the story of a Mohican and the daughter of a British Army officer who fall in love amidst the battle for the American colonies.

Cora (Madeleine Stowe) and her younger sister, Alice (Jodhi May), both recent arrivals to the colonies, are being escorted to their father, Colonel Munro (Maurice Roeves), by a troop of British soldiers. Along the way they are ambushed by a Huron war party led by Magua (Wes Studi), a sinister warrior with a blood vendetta against Munro. Munro's soldiers are wiped out and Cora herself is nearly killed by Magua but is saved at the last moment by Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), a white trapper raised by the Mohican tribe. Hawkeye promises to take Cora and her sister safely to their father, and along the way Cora and the intense Hawkeye fall in love. Together they must survive wilderness, war, and the relentless pursuit of Magua.
Returning to the theme of a great love threatened by overwhelming circumstances, director Michael Mann hits the mark with an adaptation that captures the essence of the book and its historical details perfectly. Day-Lewis and Stowe are beautiful to watch, delivering moving performances as two people trying to hold on to each other in times of war. In addition, the Native American political activist Russell Means makes an oustanding film debut as Chingachgook, Hawkeye's adopted father and last of the Mohicans.

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Reviewed by: philreyn
Posted on September 22, 2005 12:17 PM

Faithful remake of the original film, and of the book. Great cast with Danial Day Lewis in for me still his best role to date. The film has stunning scenery, backgrounds, and colour . This would also be catagorised as a love story, so should have a genuine appeal for the ladies. For the the men, there are some very good battle scenes, and you get a good feel of how these times were. I would not have wanted to be a settler in this place during these times. Good value for money at todays price.

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The Last of the Mohicansis a large-scale adventure set during the colonial conflicts between Britain and France 20 years before the American War of Independence. Based loosely on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper, but actually inspired by director Michael (Manhunter, Heat) Mann's boyhood love of the 1936 film of the same name, this is rousing, romantic stuff. As "Hawkeye", a white raised by the last of the Mohican tribe, Daniel Day-Lewis delivers a performance which, had he followed it up, could have established him as an action hero for the 1990s and beyond. Despite an under-written role Madeline Stowe convinces as the heroine. The remaining cast are uniformly excellent. Filmed amid the spectacular mountains, rivers and forests of North Carolina by Mann's regular cinematographer, Dante Spinotti, the film is a visual joy, while Trevor Jones' majestic, spine-tingling score (with additional music by Randy Edleman) is one of the finest of the decade. Taking time to establish the motives of British and French colonists and the various native tribes, as well as the varying opinions and characters within these groupings, Mann offers much greater balance and complexity than The Patriot(2000), yet never looses sight of the object here: telling a stirring yarn laced with bold action set pieces and passionate romance.

On the DVD:The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is a massive improvement over VHS, but still shows considerable grain in many scenes, possibly a result of the film being shot in low, natural light and containing many very dark sequences. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is very powerful, though little use is made of the rear channels, and in some scenes the sound effects all but drown out the dialogue. Isolated scores are usually only found on feature-packed special editions, so the inclusion here is a welcome surprise--and testament its popularity. The only other extra is an anamorphic 2.35:1 presentation of the immensely stirring theatrical trailer. --Gary S Dalkin

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive Menus, Scene Access, Trailer
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Romanian, Spanish
Year:	1992
Release Date:	October 1, 2001
Runtime:	107 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 012619
Keywords:	Last, Action, General, Wide, Screen, Mohicans, Romantic, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure