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)

Brilliant lemonade with everything that it encompasses – phenomenal music by Trevor Jones (the title motif is heroically arched like the stairs to Valhalla), beautiful exteriors, excellent actors, simply written characters, a very simple construct and a beautiful romantic component. Given that I don't like romantic storylines, Mann has masterfully brought his to the screen thanks to the sparks between Stowe and Lewis. The Last of the Mohicans may be surprisingly abbreviated and not very flowing, yet it is able to slow down at the right moment and conjure a beautiful shot and impressive slow-motion. Hollywood may have committed a crime against the book, but that sweet-hearted romance is exactly what I felt when I was a teenager reading “The Deer Hunter". A wonderful reminder of years gone by and at the same time a film that always gets to me each and every time. And surprisingly, more and more. (30/01/2004)

Although they murder the original story, luckily The Last of the Mohicans works primarily as a romantic adventure movie in itself. And very well at that. Plus, all negative impressions are pushed out of the mind by the unforgettable final sequence. If the whole movie had been like that, I wouldn’t have lost for words. Just forget about seeing anything that resembles the book. ♫ OST score: 4/5 (07/08/2007)

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. (29/05/2004)

The Last of the Mohicans goes against established customs of adventure films, whether it concerns the development of the plot or its culmination. Of course, I won't reveal it, but when it comes to the character development and the story, it does not alternate, as is usually customary, between purely thrilling and action-packed sequences and the slow ones. Instead, it carefully adds depth to its characters for almost an hour and a half, subtly sowing the seeds of omnipresent tension, only to unleash all the fate, romance, and action in a straightforward and brilliantly executed final section. Cooper's adaptation is by no means perfect, but, in the end, Mann might deserve some award because it is mainly thanks to him that most viewers feel like they just watched a flawless film. If there is something perfect in this movie, it is definitely the soundtrack, one of the best music compositions in history. (01/08/2006)