The Last of the Mohicans

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The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Rate: 10
Viewed: 9/04, 3/05, 4/05, 7/07, 7/11, 2/17, 4/19, 6/21

4/05: I consider The Last of the Mohicans to be one of the all-time great films.

When I saw the picture at a theatre in 1992, it was just brilliant, and I hadn't seen anything like it before or since then. Hence, Michael Mann is one of the best directors in the history of motion pictures. All he does is make visual masterpieces.

The Last of the Mohicans should've received a boatload of Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (at least two), Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.

It's impossible to deny how good Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeline Stowe, Wes Studi, Russell Means, Steven Waddington, Maurice Roëves, Patrice Chéreau, and Eric Schweig are. As Magua, Wes Studi turns in the best performance of 1992, and it's not even close. If anyone remembers The Last of the Mohicans, it's both him and Daniel Day-Lewis.

Additionally, Wes Studi spoke three different languages: French, Cherokee, and English. During the scene on the cliff, he twisted his knee, tearing a cartilage which forced him to have an orthoscopic surgery before returning to the set a week later. That's why he's seen wearing a brace, or rather a legging, over it. Some of my favorite lines of the film are:

"Well, we kind of face to the north, and real sudden-like, turn left."

"l, Chingachgook, the last of the Mohicans."

"It is more deeply stirring to my blood than any imagining could possibly have been."

"I do not call myself subject to much at all."

"In case your aim's any better than your judgment."

"I ain't your scout. And we sure ain't no damn militia."

In response to "What are you looking at, sir?," "I'm looking at you, miss."

"Yes, and, 'do not try to make them understand you. That is because they are a breed apart and make no sense.'"

"Magua's heart is twisted."

"We're sorry to kill you, brother. We do honor to your courage and speed, your strength."

In Huron, "Magua understands that the white man is a dog to his women. When they are tired, he puts down his tomahawk to feed their laziness."

"Magua said, 'Understand English very well.'"

"Some day, I think, you and I will have a serious disagreement."

"A breed apart, we make no sense?"

"When the Grey Hair is dead, Magua will eat his heart. Before he dies, Magua will put his children under the knife, so the Grey Hair will know his seed is wiped out forever."

By the way, the DVD version of The Last of the Mohicans is an eek. Because certain lines and shots are cut out and new ones have been added along with unnecessary shots, the spirit isn't the same as the theatrical version. The battle scenes are long and boring. That's why I still have the VHS copy (in fact, two).

All in all, there's nothing like The Last of the Mohicans.

7/07: I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Last of the Mohicans is a unique masterpiece.

Wes Studi was snubbed big time for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. If not for him, I don't think The Last of the Mohicans would've been half of the film as it is. Daniel Day-Lewis is at his sexiest, who's complemented well by Madeleine Stowe. They have some of the best romantic scenes in any film. Initially unremarkable, she comes alive during the first night with Daniel Day-Lewis.

All in all, The Last of the Mohicans might be the best picture Michael Mann has ever directed.

7/11: Wes Studi was clearly robbed of the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

All in all, The Last of the Mohicans is a masterpiece.

2/17: It's still a great film.

4/19: Comparing the DVD version with the VHS copy of The Last of the Mohicans, the differences are now becoming tolerable.

However, I don't understand why Michael Mann chose to keep "I cannot be an invalid schoolgirl," which is so random, while taking out "Someday, I think you and I are going to have a serious disagreement" and several exchanges between Cora and Hawkeye during the first night.

Although The Last of the Mohicans is the best Daniel Day-Lewis movie, the best Michael Mann movie, the best American Indian movie, and the best Colonial movie, nothing is more impressive than Wes Studi's performance as Magua. It's simply so good that he was sadly robbed of an Oscar.

All in all, as I hear there's a third version out in Blu-ray, Michael Mann needs to stop fucking with The Last of the Mohicans and just release the original theatrical version in DVD.

6/21: The Last of the Mohicans is still a thrilling motion picture.