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The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
In Michael Mann's historical romance epic - based
mostly on director George Seitz's 1936 film (starring Randolph Scott)
with screenplay by Philip Dunne - of James Fenimore Cooper's early
19th century novel about the battles between British and French forces
in the American colonies during the French and Indian War - the lead
heroic character was Nathaniel "Hawkeye"
Poe, the European-born adopted son of Mohican scout Chingachgook (literally,
the last of the Mohicans):
- the visually stunning opening scene of the pursuit-tracking
of a deer
- the scene of British troops, led by Army Major Duncan
Heyward (Steven Waddington) and guided by villainous Huron warrior
Magua (Wes Studi), being unwitting led into an ambush - and the violent
hand-to-hand combat during the Huron attack - including scalpings,
stabbings, throat slashings
- the sequence of heroic adopted Mohican Hawkeye's (Daniel
Day-Lewis) ultimate rescue of the group of attacked Britons, including
Redcoat Colonel Edmund Munro's (Maurice Roëves) headstrong daughter
Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe) and her younger sister, Alice (Jodhi
May); during the midst of battle, Cora point-blank shot a charging
Indian
- the sequence of the besieged Fort William Henry (commanded
by Colonel Munro), surrounded by French troops and the Hurons, while
there was growing romance, kisses and passion in a golden light between
Hawkeye and Cora, causing extreme jealousy in Major Heyward
- the evacuation of the surrounded Fort William Henry,
and the sequence of Hawkeye's famous romantic instructions and farewell
scene in a cave behind a cascading waterfall to Cora as they were
pursued by a Huron war party; she begged for him to save himself:
("You've done everything you can do. Save yourself. If the worst
happens, and only one of us survives, something of the other does
too"), but he promised to come back and find her later, before
jumping into the waterfall to escape: ("No. You stay alive.
If they don't kill you, they'll take you north, up to Huron land.
Submit, do you hear? You're strong, you survive. You stay alive,
no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes,
no matter how far, I will find you!")
- and the chilling, quietly vitriolic promise of revenge
against Cora's father Colonel Munro - who was nicknamed "Grey
Hair" by Huron warrior Magua: ("The Grey Hair's children
were under Magua's knife. They escaped...When the Grey Hair is dead,
Magua will eat his heart. Before he dies, Magua will put his children
under the knife, so the Grey Hair will know his seed is wiped out
forever")
- the chilling scene of hostage Alice's decision to
commit suicide by jumping off a cliff, rather than submitting to
Magua
- the dialogueless 15-minute sequence featuring the
climactic one-on-one fights on a cliff-side path between Magua and
Chingachgook's (Russell Means) son Uncas (Eric Schweig) - ending
in Uncas' death when he was stabbed and thrown off a mountain, and
then another one-on-one fight between Chingachgook and Magua, ending
with Magua's death
Chingachgook's Duel to the Death Against Magua
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- the scene of Chingachgook's final prayer (with Hawkeye
at his side) as the "Last of the Mohicans" to honor Uncas:
("Great Spirit, Maker of All Life. A warrior goes to you swift
and straight as an arrow shot into the sun. Welcome him and let
him take his place at the council fire of my people. He is Uncas,
my son. Tell them to be patient and ask death for speed; for they
are all there but one - I, Chingachgook - Last of the Mohicans");
after Chingachgook finished his speech, he gave a tortured look
to his adoptive European-born white son Hawkeye as they looked
out to the New York wilderness
Honoring Uncas With Prayer
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Huron Ambush on British Troops
Cora's Point-Blank Shooting
Romance Between Hawkeye and Cora
Hawkeye's Farewell Scene at Waterfall: "I will find you"
Uncas' Killing by Magua
Alice's Suicide
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