The Last of the Mohicans (1992) Michael Mann WK

William Klingbeil

The Last of the Mohicans (1992) Review

The Last of the Mohicans (1992) directed by Michael Mann, is an epic film that has an adventurous soundtrack, a lot of long pan shots and epic battle sense. The soundtrack has an immediately catching tone to it. It reminds me of Gladiator (1992) or The Lord of the Rings(2003) soundtrack. Both of which are extremely heroic. The main theme comes one at times when Daniel Day-Lewis saves someone or a major event occurs. This helps to put the viewer in the mood.

The long shots accompanied by panning of the camera gave me the feeling that the characters were out in the wilderness. For example the opening scene was an extremely long shot of the forest from a high angle, followed by long shots of Daniel Day Lewis running through the forest. This scene set the tone for the film, which, showed that the film would take place on the frontier. This also gave me the feeling that the character was alone and far from civilization.

I loved how they gave a brief description of the time and setting of the film at the very beginning. This is a technique that Riddley Scott often uses to give the viewer a sense of the setting. This technique seems to be used a lot in historical films such as Gladiator(2000) and Blackhawk Down(2001) as an affective way to focus the viewer’s attention. For me personally the description at the beginning tells me that the film is going to be an epic adventure.

Like almost all heroic stories there is a love between the hero and a women who is often linked to royalty. For example in the film Aladdin (1992) the hero Aladdin loves Jasmine who is a princess. In The Last of the Mohicans Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis) falls in love with Cora who is the daughter of Col. Munro the leader of the British regimen. Also like many war love stories the hero is captured and charged for criminal actions. For example when Hawkeye is charged for helping his friends desert the regimen. This is a common reoccurrence in many hero stories and it is clear that there is a trend in cinematic storytelling.

Overall I found the film to be action packed and everything that a heroic story should have. I believe that the director is trying to portray a historical event with a love story tied into it, like the Jack and Rose in the Titanic (1998). By doing this the audience immediately becomes more interested in the event because the fate of two lovers depends on the out come of history. During one scene Hawkeye is tied up and Indians attack his regimen, this scene was extremely suspenseful because I wasn’t sure if Hakeye was going to be able to free himself and save Cora in time. In my mind I always rooted for the two lovers, which is exactly what the director expects the audience to do. It is by using this kind of suspense that kept my eyes glued to the screen.