Rating: Summary: The first one of a new era of epics... Review: Picture yourself in the year 1992: three years before Mel Gibson's 'Braveheart' and 'Scarlet Letter', and two years before Daniel Day-Lewis jumped to world fame with his brilliant Oscar-winning performance in 'My Left Foot'. What we're talking about is 'The Last of the Mohicans,' the first of the 90s such epic movies, brilliantly directed by Michael Mann.If you're used to his more recent works, such as 'Heat' (with Pacino and De Niro), or 'The Insider' (Pacino/Rusell Crowe), you'd find this one very different. It's about a different time, a time of war between the English and the French for control over the American colonies; and it's about a love story that goes on between Hawkeye (the adopted son of Mohican Chingachgook, played by Daniel Day-Lewis) and Madeleine Stowe, who plays the role of Cora, one of the courageous daughters of a British general. Ironically enough, given that the movie would make out of Day-Lewis a super-star, this has not been his most brilliant performance, although he's impressing with his ability to be running all through the movie, and with the ease with which he switches from English to Mohican and back. The best performance, it has to be said, was Wes Studi's. He played Magua, a Huron filled with hatred toward the English and their allies. As for the photography and the score, impeccable and largely responsible for serving as a very good frame to the epic story. The audio of the DVD, though, had some issues such as important differences between the intensity of the dialog and the sound effects, which made the viewing a bit annoying at times such as battle scenes.
Rating: Summary: How was the "R" rated? Review: There's absolutely no action in this film! The fight sequences looked like something Walt Disney and friends could have slapped together! I sat through the whole thing, awake, which, by the way is not easy, because not only does this thing have no action, the story's not very interesting, either. The acting is overly melodramatic and the film itself is entirely to LONG. For a good movie set in the same era that's also a lot cheaper, pick up The Patriot.
Rating: Summary: Almost the Best Review: No film is perfect, but Michael Mann has managed to create a *nearly* perfect one. Despite a few flaws, the movie is romantic without being sappy, action-packed without being mindless, and moving without being contrived. In short, it has cinematic elements for just about everybody. The characters are very real life, although hardly resemble the characters found in the book (which is a good thing, I thought the book was horendous). Daniel Day-Lewis does such a good job as Nathaniel Poe, or Hawkeye, he should have gotten much more recognition. I though Madeleine Stow was very good, although a little wooden (if you watch her other movies, she's like that in all of them, so it just must be her style. Nothing wrong with that!). The best characters, however, were the very three dimensional Uncas and Alice. Their "almost romance" was a little silly, and plays out almost as an afterthough of the producers. Kinda like they all sat around and watched the film and felt sorry for those two backseat characters, and decided to give them some action. Too bad the only other characters of consenting age were each other, because it seems like they're just mimicking Hawkeye and Cora. Well done. Also check out the soundtrack (some people don't like it because bits of it are very Celtic - despite the lack of authentic "Indian" music, I think the Celtic sound adds a lot to the film.) A must see!!
Rating: Summary: Absolutely Wonderful!!! Review: Excitement, adventure, sexy guys, and romance-This movie had them all. It also had great battle scenes. The only thing as good as the movie is its' music. Definately a must see!
Rating: Summary: A Classic Film of A Classic Novel Review: With acting that is superb by Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe the history of the French and Indian war comes to life. There is foreshadowing of the American Revolution to come. As a boy I read this great adventure novel, but was in awe at the way it was brought to life! One film that you can go back to time and again...
Rating: Summary: Wait for a better edition... Review: I was very disappointed by this DVD - this is the first time I've ever felt strongly enough to write a negative review of an item. My main complaint is the abysmal sound quality: with DTS sound it should have been ideal, but, as stated by others, one can hardly hear the dialogue or even the beautiful music score. It would also be nice to have a choice of theatrical and director's cut - this doesn't seem to be a problem for other sets. This great movie deserves much better treatment than it received here. (And so do the fans willing to pay this kind of money for it!!)
Rating: Summary: Disappointing DVD (Director's Cut) Review: Great picture quality and sound, terrible editing. They edited out the intensity the original film in theaters and VHS gave to the plot. The battle scenes that were added made the film boring. The soundtrack that was edited away took away from the intensity of the love between Nathaniel and Cora. I went searching for the VHS version and bought that version. Fortunately, I didn't get rid of my video player when DVD technology came out. I definately would NOT recommend the DVD unless they release a version of the original film that was released to theaters or at least a DVD version that is identical to the VHS.
Rating: Summary: Avoid the Directors Cut DVD Edition Review: If you've previously seen the original video release or theater release of this movie and enjoyed it greatly (as I did), then the chances are good that you will NOT like this "directors cut" edition. It's very hard to pin down what exactly is wrong with the changes--mostly it's a matter of breaking down the emotional intensity of the original film into a sort-of-boring revision. Also, even if you've not seen this movie before, you are probably going to be disappointed in the absolutely minimal "special features" on this disc. I also found that the sound quality was pretty bad--in several places I had some difficulty hearing the dialog. What I recommend is to rent the movie on VHS if you haven't already, and wait to see if they ever release the correct version on DVD (I'm not holding my breath). Personally, I regret buying this disc.
Rating: Summary: The Directors Cut Sucks Review: I like this movie, but not the directors cut. That fool should have left it alone. In this version they've deleted scenes, removed dialog, altered the soundtrack, and added some very unneccesary and tedious extra footage that really just doesn't mesh well with the rest of the movie (IMHO). I was disgusted when I saw the changes. This is a great movie, it should not have been tampered with. The original version is available on VHS. LONG STORY SHORT: Great movie, but the directors cut bites.
Rating: Summary: fantastic Review: This fantasic movie with unbelivable camera-work, superb acting, and a stellar music score, make this movie one of the best out there. It is historicy accurate and the fight scenes will blow you away.
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