This Day in Theaters: Sept 25, 1992

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Who can’t forget the French & Indian War? Practically everyone accept history teachers. And even some of them probably couldn’t tell you if it was the French Fighting the Indians, the Indians and French fighting the British, the Indians and British fighting the French, or the British and French fighting the Indians. All I know is that Daniel Day-Lewis fiercely fought to defend his dwindling tribe from the encroaching Europeans using any means necessary. If you enjoy historical movies that try to stay true to times this is a great flick for you; or you could just read the book but that takes more effort.

From Entertainment Weekly:

“Michael Mann's fierce and beautifuladaptation of the James Fenimore Cooper novel, has scenes of brutal physicalpower that hold you in thrall. Mann doesn't distance Cooper's episodic tale ofwar and adventure on the American frontier; he plunges you into 18th-centurycombat as surely as Francis Coppola placed you in the Vietnam jungles in Apocalypse Now.”

Desson Howe from the Washington Post:

“Mann wasn't thinking story,he was thinking scheme. Keep the eyes and ears dazzled, he reasons, and thesubstance will follow.”

These reviews, and many others, bring out the same thing I always thought when watching this film; it really feels like you are there. He made you feel as though you were trudging through the forest with Hawkeye. But that is all I can remember; in fact other than Daniel Day-Lewis I don’t remember too much from the other leads. It could be that he is such a known entity and he tends to command a heavy presence that can drown out the other performers. Or it could be down to the fact that our focus should be more on the story overall and not too much the individual characters. For someone like me who loves American Indian history this movie had me enthralled the entire time and I suggest you check it out.

IMDb Score: 7.8

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%