The Last of the Mohicans

So that's where that music comes from! The Last of the Mohicans doesn't deny its age-old premise, especially in the romantic storyline. Almost every scene sweats pathos until it flows off the screen, and if by chance someone doesn't feel that way, the soundtrack pushes it in your face every five minutes until it's just funny. But once again you can rely on Mann, his perfectionism making some scenes breathtaking spectacle, further aided by the knowledge that this is the kind of "honest filmmaking (TM)" that involves hundreds of extras in real sets and everyone knows what to do (unlike Braveheart, where if you look beyond the foreground in the battles, there are some gentlemen jokingly wielding their swords and looking like boys playing knights). The convoy ambush scene is incredible. The Hurons running out of the woods on either side of the road, the initial confusion among the soldiers, then the first gunshots enveloping the entire clearing in white smoke, all in one slow rising shot where it's obvious that even the biggest newbie of a stuntman has been individually briefed on what he's supposed to be doing in the scene. Rarrr! (26/07/2018)

The second strongest, most honest and soulful historical romance after Braveheart. The music is absolutely brilliant, with a central motif that is used in every other trailer. Madeleine Stowe is fantastic, not so much with her acting, but with her facial expressions. Daniel Day Lewis is a great actor and watching him in one of his best roles is an experience. Michael Mann brilliantly combines a strong romantic storyline with the bloody clash between two powers of the time, in a whole that is smooth, compact, and cohesive. Dante Spinotti's cinematography is superb and Mann's aggressive and mature direction was clearly the right choice for this story. (30/05/2004)

Cooper is a different category of writer than, for example, Karl May, whom I read when I was ten years old, and the films based on his novels can at best evoke a condescending smile from me. Nevertheless, he is still burdened with adventurous romance, which is closer to a different age category than the one I find myself in, and the same can be said of the film based on his source material. A classic scheme with a series of genre clichés, where you can already calculate in advance without knowing the book how everything will turn out and who will survive. On the other hand, The Last of the Mohicans is very well-made, so it doesn't offend me in any way, and even though it's not a genre that appeals to me, I have no problem giving it three stars. Overall impression: 60%. (09/02/2012)

After many years I enjoyed The Last of the Mohicans again, finally on Blu-ray and in the original version. And it is still an amazing film, what else can I say. Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Uncas are great heroes just as Magua is one of the best bad guys I've seen in a film. Mann's direction cuddles with the breathtaking scenery, he manages to build tension before the action and then draw you in perfectly, the romantic subplot doesn't get in the way at all because it simply belongs to such adventure stories. And then, of course, there's the riveting finale, which, thanks to Jones and Edelman's music, makes you feel like everything is at stake. As I’ve already said, amazing film. Probably not essential to the history of cinema, but amazing nonetheless. (20/03/2023)

I saw Villeneuve's Dune yesterday and the majestic shots left me cold and emotionally detached, so I put on The Last of the Mohicans after a long time and my heart suddenly rejoices – this is how you make a film that lets its amazing visuals tell the story of its heroes without forgetting the touching, almost Shakespearean tale. Thanks mainly to the iconic music and Mann's dynamic direction, it's a goosebump-inducing ride from the start. And the final half-hour is a blast that brings me to my knees every time. Magua is an incredible and thoroughbred motherfucker, you don't see many bad guys like that anymore. 90 % (23/10/2021)