''The Last of the Mohicans'' is a 1992 American epic

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film set in 1757 during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. It was directed by

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ' ...

and was based on the 1826 novel ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' by

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

and the 1936 film adaptation, owing more to the film than the novel. The film stars

Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English retired actor. Often described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation, he received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over four decades, incl ...

and

Madeleine Stowe Madeleine Marie Stowe Mora (born August 18, 1958) is an American actress. She appeared mostly on television before her role in the 1987 crime-comedy film ''Stakeout''. She went on to star in the films ''Revenge'' (1990), ''Unlawful Entry'' (199 ...

, with

Jodhi May Jodhi Tania May (''née'' Hakim-Edwards; 8 May 1975) is a British actress. She remains the youngest recipient of the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, for ''A World Apart'' (1988). Her other film appearances include ''The Last ...

Russell Means Russell Charles Means (November 10, 1939 – October 22, 2012) was an Oglala Lakota activist for the rights of Native Americans, libertarian political activist, actor, musician, and writer. He became a prominent member of the American Ind ...

Wes Studi Wesley Studi ( chr, ᏪᏌ ᏍᏚᏗ; born December 17, 1947) is a Native American (Cherokee Nation) actor and film producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and awards throughout his career, particularly for his portrayal of Native Americans ...

Eric Schweig Eric Schweig (born Ray Dean Thrasher; 19 June 1967) is an Indigenous Canadian actor best known for his role as Chingachgook's son Uncas in ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1992). Early life Schweig was born in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. He is ...

, and

Steven Waddington Steven Waddington (born 30 December 1967) is an English film and television actor. He is best known for his supporting role in Michael Mann's ''The Last of the Mohicans''. Early life Waddington was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

in supporting roles. The soundtrack features music by Trevor Jones and

Randy Edelman Randy Edelman (born June 10, 1947) is an American musician, producer, and composer for film and television. He began his career as a member of Broadway's pit orchestras, and later went on to produce solo albums for songs that were picked up by ...

, and the song "I Will Find You" by

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

. The main theme of the film is taken from the tune "The Gael" by Scottish singer-songwriter

Dougie MacLean Dougie MacLean, OBE (born 27 September 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Described by AllMusic as "one of Scotland's premier singer-songwriters", MacLean has performed both under his ow ...

. Released in the United States on September 25, 1992, ''The Last of the Mohicans'' was met with positive reviews and commercial success during its box-office run. It won the

Academy Award for Best Sound The Academy Award for Best Sound is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most euphonic sound mixing, recording, sound design, and sound editing. The award used to go to the studio sound departments until a rule change in 1969 said it ...

, the only Oscar won so far by a film directed by Mann. Day-Lewis received his second nomination for the

BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film. Superlatives Note: ...

for his performance.

Plot

In 1757,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Major Duncan Heyward arrives in Albany,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, during the

. He is assigned to Colonel Edmund Munro, the commander of

Fort William Henry Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George, in the province of New York. The fort's construction was ordered by Sir William Johnson in September 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a staging ground for ...

in the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...

. 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

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

named

Magua Magua is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1826 novel ''The Last of the Mohicans'' by James Fenimore Cooper. This historical novel is set at the time of the French and Indian War. A Huron Indian chief, he is also known by the F ...

is tasked with guiding Heyward, the two women, and a troop of British soldiers to the fort, but he is actually a

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

who leads them into an ambush that kills most of the soldiers.

Mohican The Mohican ( or , alternate spelling: Mahican) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, who ...

Chingachgook Chingachgook is a fictional character in four of James Fenimore Cooper's five ''Leatherstocking Tales'', including his 1826 novel ''The Last of the Mohicans''. Chingachgook was a lone Mohican chief and companion of the series' hero, Natty Bumppo. ...

, his son

Uncas Uncas () was a ''sachem'' of the Mohegans who made the Mohegans the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut, through his alliance with the New England colonists against other Indian tribes. Early life and family Uncas was born n ...

, 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 another massacre 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 ''Under Siege'' is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis, written by J. F. Lawton, and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones, after they commandeer the ...

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 them sneak away. He is arrested for

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...

and sentenced to hang. However, when he learns that Webb will send no soldiers, Munro is forced to accept French General

Louis-Joseph de Montcalm Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Grozon, Marquis de Montcalm de Saint-Veran (28 February 1712 – 14 September 1759) was a French soldier best known as the commander of the forces in North America during the Seven Years' War (whose North American th ...

'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. Once Munro, his soldiers and civilians leave the fort, Huron warriors attack and massacre them. Munro is captured alive, but mortally wounded, and Magua personally promises him that he'll kill his daughters, then cuts out his heart. Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook fight their way out, taking Cora, Alice, Heyward, and a few British soldiers. They hide in a cave behind a waterfall, but Magua finds 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 Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...

, Hawkeye walks in unarmed as a

parley A parley (from french: link=no, parler – "to speak") refers to a discussion or conference, especially one designed to end an argument or hostilities between two groups of people. The term can be used in both past and present tense; in prese ...

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 ''Burned Alive: A Victim of the Law of Men'' is a best-selling book, ostensibly a first-person account of an attempted honor killing. The author, Souad, is described as a Palestinian woman now living in Europe who survived an attempted murder ...

. 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 life for Cora's. After Hawkeye leaves the village with Cora he shoots Heyward, who is being burned alive, as a final 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 in a duel 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 slay 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 The Great Spirit is the concept of a life force, a Supreme Being or god known more specifically as Wakan Tanka in Lakota,Ostler, Jeffry. ''The Plains Sioux and U.S. Colonialism from Lewis and Clark to Wounded Knee''. Cambridge University Press, ...

to receive Uncas, proclaiming himself "the last of the Mohicans."

Cast

as Nathaniel "Hawkeye" Poe *

as Cora Munro *

as Uncas *

as Alice Munro *

as Major Duncan Heyward *

Maurice Roëves John Maurice Roëves (; 19 March 1937 – 14 July 2020) was a British actor. He appeared in over 120 film and television roles, in both the United Kingdom and the United States. His breakthrough performance was as Stephen Dedalus in the 1967 ...

as Colonel Edmund Munro *

Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ...

as General

Edward Blatchford Edward Blatchford (born September 1, 1955) is an American actor best known for his role as Peter Collins from 1998 to 2000 in the sitcom ''Malibu, CA (TV series), Malibu, CA'', produced by Peter Engel. He also worked with Engel on three other te ...

as Jack Winthrop *

Terry Kinney Terry Kinney (born January 29, 1954) is an American actor and theater director, and is a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, with John Malkovich, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Sinise, and Jeff Perry. Kinney is best known for his role as ...

as John Cameron *

Tracey Ellis Tracey Ellis is a Canadian actress, known for ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1992), ''This Boy's Life'' (1993) and ''The Age of Innocence'' (1993). Filmography Film Television External links * Living people Canadian television actr ...

as Alexandra Cameron *

Dennis Banks Dennis Banks (April 12, 1937, in Ojibwe – October 29, 2017) was a Native American activist, teacher, and author. He was a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement, which he co-founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968 to represent urb ...

as Ongewasgone *

Pete Postlethwaite Peter William Postlethwaite, (7 February 1946 – 2 January 2011) was an English character actor. After minor television appearances, including in '' The Professionals'', his first major success arose through the British autobiographical fil ...

as Captain Beams *

Colm Meaney Colm J. Meaney (; ga, Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor known for playing Miles O'Brien in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He has guest-starred on many T ...

as Major Ambrose * Mac Andrews as General

Webb Webb most often refers to James Webb Space Telescope which is named after James E. Webb, second Administrator of NASA. It may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Webb Glacier (South Georgia) * Webb Glacier (Victoria Land) *Webb Névé, Victoria ...

Malcolm Storry Malcolm Storry (born 13 January 1948) is an English actor with extensive experience on stage, television, and film. Amongst many roles, he is perhaps best known for 'Yellin' in ''The Princess Bride'', HM Customs Chief Bill Adams on '' The Knock' ...

as Phelps * David Schofield as Sergeant Major * Eric D. Sandgren as

Coureur de Bois A coureur des bois (; ) or coureur de bois (; plural: coureurs de(s) bois) was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian trader who travelled in New France and the interior of North America, usually to trade with First Nations peoples by ...

* Mark Edrys as Captain Bougainville *

Tim Hopper Tim Hopper is an American actor known for his appearances in movies like '' Tenderness'' and ''To Die For''. He has been an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois since 1988 and acted in various stage product ...

as Ian *

Jared Harris Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Serie ...

as British Lieutenant *

Sebastian Roché Sebastian Roché (born 4 August 1964) is a French-American actor. He is known for his roles as Kurt Mendel in ''Odyssey 5'', Jerry Jacks in '' General Hospital'', Thomas Jerome Newton in ''Fringe'', Balthazar in '' Supernatural'', Mikael in bot ...

as Martin

Production

Development

Much care was taken with recreating accurate costumes and props. Daniel Winkler made the

tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...

s used in the film and knifemaker Randall King made the knives. Wayne Watson is the maker of Hawkeye's "Killdeer" rifle used in the film. The

gunstock war club The gunstock club or gun stock war club is an indigenous weapon used by many Native American groupings, named for its similar appearance to the wooden stocks of muskets and rifles of the time.James Acheson James Acheson (born 13 March 1946) is a British costume designer. He was educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School and studied at Wimbledon School of Art. He has designed costumes and sets for television, theatre, opera, ballet and film, work ...

, but he left the film and had his name removed because of artistic differences with Mann. Designer Elsa Zamparelli was brought in to finish.

Casting

Through the making of this film, actors

and Maurice Roeves became lifelong friends.

Locations

Although the story takes place in upstate colonial

, filming was done mostly in the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Locations used include

Lake James Lake James is a large reservoir in the mountains of Western North Carolina which straddles the border between Burke and McDowell Counties. It is named for tobacco tycoon and benefactor of Duke University James Buchanan Duke. The lake, with su ...

Chimney Rock Park Chimney Rock State Park is a North Carolina state park in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina in the United States. The park is located southeast of Asheville, North Carolina, and is owned and managed by the state of North Carolin ...

and The Biltmore Estate. Some of the waterfalls that were used in the movie include Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and High Falls, all located in the

DuPont State Recreational Forest DuPont State Recreational Forest, commonly known as DuPont Forest, is a state forest, located in Henderson and Transylvania counties of North Carolina. The name originates from the fact that the DuPont company arranged the sale of the original t ...

. Another of these falls was Linville Falls, in the mountains of North Carolina. Also, Hickory Nut Falls at Chimney Rock was in the movie near the end. Scenes of Albany were shot in

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

, North Carolina at The Manor on Charlotte Street. The set of

was constructed at a reported cost of US$6 million on felled forestry land () adjacent to

in North Carolina. Highway 126, which ran between the set and the lake, had to be closed for the duration of the filming.

Soundtrack

Release

The film opened in the United States on September 25, 1992, in 1,856 theaters. It was the number 1 movie on its opening weekend. 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. It was ranked the 17th highest-grossing film of 1992 in the United States. Internationally, the film grossed more than $67 million 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, for its U.S.

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

release on November 23, 1999, which was billed as the "Director's Expanded Edition". The film was again re-edited for its U.S.

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

release on October 5, 2010, this time billed as the "Director's Definitive Cut", with a length of 114 mins. At Mann's insistence, all home video releases of the film, including in its original VHS releases, have been presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio.

Reception

At review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has a "Certified Fresh" rating of 93% based on reviews from 45 critics, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's consensus states: "''The Last of the Mohicans'' is a breathless romantic adventure that plays loose with history -- and comes out with a richer action movie for it." ''The Last of the Mohicans'' opened with critics praising the film for its cinematography and music. Critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' 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 Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...

," 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." Desson Howe of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' classified the film as "glam-opera" and "the MTV version of gothic romance". 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".

Awards and nominations

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

recognition: * AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: ** Hawkeye - Nominated Hero

References

External links

*Kristopher Tapley
''Michael Mann looks back on 'The Last of the Mohicans' 20 years later''
at uproxx.com * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Of The Mohicans (1992 film), The 1992 films 1992 action films 1992 drama films 1992 multilingual films 1990s action drama films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1990s French-language films 1990s historical drama films 1990s war drama films 20th Century Fox films American action drama films American epic films American historical drama films American multilingual films American war drama films BAFTA winners (films) Films set in 1757 Films about Native Americans Films about the British Army Films based on adaptations Films based on The Last of the Mohicans Films directed by Michael Mann Films produced by Michael Mann Films scored by Randy Edelman Films scored by Trevor Jones Films set in Albany, New York Films set in forests Films shot in North Carolina Films that won the Best Sound Mixing Academy Award Films with screenplays by Christopher Crowe (screenwriter) Films with screenplays by Michael Mann Historical epic films Mohawk-language films Morgan Creek Productions films Murder in films Native American action films Native American drama films Remakes of American films War epic films Warner Bros. films Films with screenplays by John L. Balderston