The only false note, in my opinion, is one spot where there's a vocal song being sung that sounds more like a modern ballad or love song, and struck me as a little incongruous with the rest of the orchestral instrumental score. That is, IIRC, it's been awhile since I saw the picture.
@@AndrewAMartin That was Clannad's I Will Find You. I ended up buying their album at the time just to get that full track. Personally, I thought it's Celtic tones fit fine in the movie, but if I remember correctly I think the director's cut on DVD omits it completely.
I know the focus of this is supposed to be history, but the last 10 minutes of the film is the best out of any movie I know of in terms of raw emotion, music, acting, and action. There's no lines from the actors and yet it's so emotional, the very definition of "Show, don't Tell"
Regarding the ability to load a flintlock rifle while running through the woods: American frontiersman Simon Kenton taught himself to do it at the age of 16. This skill saved his life several times during indian battles in the Ohio River Valley in the late 1700s. The Shawnee Indians called Kenton "Gun's Always Loaded". Allen W. ECKERT wrote two books about this period that tell Kenton's story.
Simon Kenton was a G!!!! I was a Boy scout, part of the Simon Kenton Council, and I always loved going on weekend backpacking trips around the very areas he walked, reading his stories. Also Blue Jacket
I think sometimes we over analyze movies for realism. Yes loading a flintlock rifle while running through the woods was not common and probably not a realistic portrayal of the time, but the key is that its plausible. Frontiersman and soldiers in the army are common people. So they would only be able to do common actions. I was infantry in the Army. I can rappel and I can shoot. I can't realistically do both. Yet, there are special forces that can. Ideally they don't want to, but just like running for your life in the woods while loading a flintlock rifle, sometimes you got to do the rare, unrealistic thing to safe your life. And of course its a movie. Nobody wants to watch the ordinary. We watch them to see the extraordinary.
@@drachenmagus1604- They’re common people but they were trained to do uncommon things. Things the average person could not do if not properly trained. Also, as you stated if your life depends on it you’d be surprised what the average person can do.
I sent this review to my Step Father, He is former Tribal President of Stock-bridge Munsee. We appreciate the Shout Out as many people don't realize our Tribe is in fact real and still around. Though its not His Favorite Movie, but he is a huge history buff
So many of our families were mislabelled. Of course I have been to the Munsee Reserve on the Thames near London Ontario. Our labels confused everyone. From Praying Indians to Pequod/Pequot Mohegan/Mohican history did us no favors. How many woud know that the name Mohawk was given to the Mag(Q)ua by the Mohegans as meaning Man-Eaters? Or Seneca given their name by Mohegans meaning "Snake-Heads (Crazy) No one called themselves Delaware's, (Lene Lanape) Regular Joes or the Huedaneshone People (5 nations Iroquois) building a Long House.
You are probably well aware of the REAL Last Battle being in the Bronx 1778 (Death of Ninham) It was a trap meant to kill of natives just like King David killed off the husband of Bathsheba. Cannon Fodder. I'm on the Loyalist side of the bed (Mohegan mix) and these people were known to us. Col. Lord Simcoe of the Queens Rangers was the Gove of Upper Canada in 1791 after the war. He declared he would not entertain the post if the Colony entertained the notion of SLAVERY. He effectively ended Slavery in Canada. Was he the bad guys? Washington didn't end slavery.
I really have one serious question that no one can really explain. Why are the natives called Red Indian by them dumb white Europeans? I did have a theory on it but I wud like to hear from the natives perspective.
@@MrAtsyhere Them white colonials are 100% dumb. Hear me out. They even say in historical print that the Malay and Borneo natives in South East Asia are wild and dumb people bcoz the natives live on a tree. They didn't realised them rainforest got the Bengal and Malaya tigers and they hunt at night , not to mention herd of wild elephants that can crush u when u sleep. Comes monsoon season , most part will be flooded and now u got crocodiles to content with. My point is , them white folks been doing this for ages and it's in their DNA.
@@princesssolace4337 The European way was to master nature and in taming the natural elements , not become of victim of it. One could avoid living in trees by damming rivers. One could reduce flooding by keeping foliage that reduced erosion. Natural man lives in harmony but succumbs to his emotions and territorial disputes. What system is better? Well if controlling 1/4 of the nations on Earth is how we measure success, Colonialism is a success. If we measure success by an abundance of family China might be the biggest success. The lens that we measure success by is What is Lasting. Hinduism I guess is the best measure of success I know of being 5,000 years old and abundant.
This comment isn't really related to history, but I just recently went on a History Buffs binge for all of the older videos, and it's crazy to think how much things have changed since I first watched the Gladiator History Buffs video six years ago. And yet as much as the world has changed since 2015, watching this review I can still see the same passion and dedication that has always gone into all of your videos. Thanks for always being one of the few things we could count on Nick and History Buffs team!
Magua is one of the greatest movie villains of all time! He isn't sadistic, cartoonish, or over-the-top in any way. He's cold, quiet and reserved, but that just makes him all the more menacing and a stand-out among big-screen antagonists. Thank you Wes Studi for the great performance!
Magua wasn't really a villain in my opinion. He was the antihero hellbent on revenge. He was no different from Frank Castle of The Punisher or Hugh Glass from the Revenant. We just didn't see the beginning of Magua's trials. Its not 100% clear but either Munro or the English were responsible for the death of Magua's children & the destruction of his village. Then he was made a slave by the Mohawk, who were Munro's allies. Magua's wife thought he was dead so she remarried. Just like any other revenge movie, his actions were justified in his own eyes. But without context, without seeing on film the forces that created Magua, all we see is a monster.
@@shokmusic_AC I see what you mean and if Magua was only out to get Munro and his soldiers then I’d totally agree and I’d be rooting for Magua. He crosses the line when he wants to murder Munro’s daughters, two individuals who have nothing to do with the terrible things that happened to him. If it wasn’t for that I could see him as a Punisher-like figure.
I know it's fictional, but Chingachgook's eulogy for his son, Uncas, is one of the best ending speeches of any movie: "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 have patience, and ask Death for speed. For they are all there, but one, I, Chingachgook, am the Last of the Mohicans."
The actor who portrayed Chingachgook was our greatest civil rights warrior, he was a hero to Indians at the time. We still look up to him, towards the end of his life, he always wanted to see our Nation being returned so we can protect our way of life
Agreed, this is a nicely worded eulogy. I was equally impressed with the prayer given by Dan George in Little Big Man with Dustin Hoffman. A prayer thanking the lord for failure as well as success
@@frederickboyce9693 Yes, we need our sacred places returned, we need the US Constitution to be upheld by returning the Treatyland. We need our own laws, jails, and police officers
Yet it was proven possible with practice. Men can still do it today, it's just that black powder firearms have become more of a hobby in modern times, so no one practices this anymore... Or very few anyway.
He didnt guve cruticism to humself for not playing Hawkeye even CLOSE TO HOW the actual book describes him as a very tall, skinny as a child, huge adams apple, bright yellow ciat wearing goofball. Its only later we find out thar he has great physical prowess.
@@samuelmarberry4761Possible, yes. But Nick did elaborate that while it is indeed possible, the amount of training that it would take to reach such a level of skill would be seen as a waste of time. It's not simply a matter of realism as much as a matter of authenticity, but maybe it's faithful to the character in the book?
@@eightleggedanarchistEven common soldiers armed with earlier firearms were trained to reload while walking so it would absolutely make sense for a dedicated warrior to be able to do it during a run. But stuff like dual wielding muskets is just silly and fictional. It would make much more sense to shoot them one at the time.
I live where this movie was filmed, and its honestly one of the biggest blessings of my life. Spending my young years running through these very woods you're seeing on screen, exploring the steep cliffs, and swimming in the cold mountain streams. Every time I walk out my door I get a glimpse of these mountains, and it never ceases to make my heart skip a beat. They're not only majestic, they're unyieldingly beautiful and wild.
Not too long ago I moved to the blue ridge mountains from where the movie actually took place and the beauty of this place never ceases to amaze me, especially with all the leaves changing now
I recently took a road trip through some of the southern states and I must say seeing those mountains was absolutely breathtaking! I envy your childhood I would do anything to live there and spend time hiking through the natural beauty with my pup
Is that cliff side path that they used to film the final fight scenes easily accessible to the public? I've always felt that would be a great hiking spot to visit.
One of the three best U.S. films of the 1990s. And you're right, the score has much to do with the movie's success in storytelling and in emotional resonance. During the early 90s, only Vangelis and Carter Burwell were consistently composing such powerful and memorable scores.
The entire movie is one of the best (imo!) ever made! In regards to score ,acting , cinematography and historical accuracy! Wes Studi and Daniel Day Lewis definitely deserved an Oscar for their performances. Incredible movie!
As someone who does colonial reenacting, you could, in theory, load a rifle while on the run. It would be extremely difficult, you’d waste a *ton* of powder, and you’d need a lot of arm strength to ram the ball home (normally you place the butt on the ground and just use your body weight to assist in ramming the ball down), especially with wadding, because after just a few shots muzzleloader (especially rifles) start to foul up (this is also where the term “fouler” comes from in regard to muskets). The hardest part would be priming it. As fast as Hawkeye is running in the movie you’d be spilling powder everywhere. _I_ could not do this, but I do know some reenactors that probably could. TL;DR:it’d be very hard but it’s quite possible. In fact, after writing this I remember something that set continental riflemen apart from their regular counterparts is they could actually move while reloading because they were so familiar with their weapons, which most people couldn’t do.
I heard mountain men in the Rockies could load on the move on horseback. But I would say a bigger issue s not a matter if he could do that but would he do that. Probably better to use your speed to get distance and find cover and use the closing time to load.
Supposedly Simon Kenton (The Frontiersmen; Allan W. Eckert) was able to do this however I don't believe they used cartridges but rather powder horns and loose rounds. From what I have read it does not seem to be a terribly uncommon skill back then however it did require much practice.
Russell Means was my cousin. When I saw him in this movie, I was so proud of him. Though Lakota, playing another tribe in a movie, he displayed the dignity of all Nations that were here long ago. Rest well my cousin and brother...
I remember him in pocahontas he was part of my childhood just that one film but he was great and he's superb in this I saw it for the first time 2 month ago and its excellent I've always been interested in native american history it's fascinating
Well sometimes the less said the better and that scene is a classical example of it. Unless we are talking a blind person, anyone else can see it in their faces what is going on. These days of course they would no doubt have dialogue there to hit you over the head with it and it wouldn't be nearly as powerful.
honestly the fact that Wes Studi had just gotten his oscar, the first Native American actor to recieve one, in 2019. There have been several Native Actors worthy of such nominations, including Adam Beach. But I was proud to see a hardworking Tsalagi man get his fair recognition by the acadamy he worked hard and earned every bit of it.
I just saw Wes being interviewed. Me said Magua was a very sympathetic character!!! Magua, to me is the quintessence of evil. I love the outfits, body paintings and weapons of the Indians in this film.
That Oscar win for best sound mixing was SO well earned. That wet scraping of metal across bone, when Magua kills Uncas... Somewhere Christopher Lee nods in approval.
Agree sound mixing was great , but let us face it, the Oscar really snob this epic movie, no original score nomination??? wow, no screenplay nomination??, none of the great acting was nominated also, please give a break, I have seen this movie from beginning to end more than 10 times. When I see the movies nominated that year makes feel sad, the only movie I have seen as much as this from 1992 is "A Few Good Men", ( well I have to admit I have seen "under siege" several times too lol)
@@Lauren080508 The overlook of the score by the Oscars was pretty bad. Beauty and the Beast took it but none of the others were really notable. To be fair the Best Picture winner was Silence of the Lambs and I have seen that MANY times.
Last of the Mohicans still has one of the best movie soundtracks. The smooth orchestra combined with the upbeat guitar and bass is still relatively unique among soundtracks.
Completely agree. Our first child was born 3 months ago, and the soundtrack has been one of my go-to's for rocking her to sleep. And the jig is great when I'm walking and swaying her to calm her.
I remember my mom humming "on top of the world" to me as a kid. Such a beautiful movie. It was cool too that she grew up in south Carolina and she loved the blue ridge mountains.
I remember listening to, and watching the movie with my first wife in the early 90's. I still listen to the soundtrack, with my third wife. Still one of my favorite soundtracks. My eyes are already watering up. I'm a softy. The theme is actually from a Scottish song. I actually didn't know that until about a year ago.
So is the Book. I love reading old historical fiction, not because it's accurate, but because it tells you what people at that point in time thought happened. Given the lack of research they could actually do, it is going to be wrong. But it is going to be what they believe happened or could have happened.
The thought of George Washington leading the Continental Army because he felt underapreciated by his boss is oddly enough the most American thing I've ever heard. That's fucking amazing
I’m happy to hear that this film isn’t an historical abomination. I think it’s smart to rename the characters bc soo many people tend to think historical fiction is accurate. It’s a nice subtle reminder that it’s inspired by true events, not a reenactment.
I find it interesting that Cooper was actually being GENEROUS to the Hurons in the retelling of the British civilian massacre, giving them a deeper motivation beyond mere opportunistic greed, and allowing the soldiers to keep some gunpowder. The reality was so much WORSE. A modern director, writing his own story from scratch, might have done that to not come across as too prejudicial to Natives, but that Cooper did so (and the director merely stuck with the book) strikes me as fascinating, when doing the opposite was the norm in such fiction, making such incidents worse than reality.
@@eldermillennial8330 You have a great point. I hadn't really thought about that, but yeah, this was written back when anti-native prejudice was popular. It was a time when the bad guys in films were usually nonwhite. For his time he was really bucking the norms.
If you study the Mohawk culture you'd know this story would likely never have happened. Mohicans were notoriously savage and cannibalistic. Nathaniel was more likely to have been dinner than adopted. They were so feared that a 3-person hunting party would cause entire. villages to flee instead of sending out their warriors. The Mohawk were brought into the Iroquois League under terms that they wouldn't eat their allies.
Wes Studi was absolutely snubbed for an Oscar for playing Magua in this. That aside, it's great to see this nigh-forgotten film getting so much appreciation. It *feels* so much more authentic than most other historical films, not just because of the lavish attention to detail, but for a kind of... un-self-consciousness, maybe, about depicting the past. I'm not sure I know any other way to describe it. Maybe it's specifically because the action is centered on fictional characters, which allows the historical figures and scenes to gain some authenticity by just being allowed to be what they are. Michael Mann didn't have to inflate the importance of any real people, giving them credit for things they didn't do, or making them more villainous than they really were (Montcalm aside, arguably, though this twist was at least done with subtlety and for valid plot reasons), when he had Cooper's characters to do all of that sort of grandstanding. The history can just happen around them, which means it can afford a level of accuracy that being under the Hollywood microscope might not normally allow. I hope I've clearly conveyed some of my feelings about this film and why it is so effective at capturing something of the atmosphere of the time. Thanks for your video, History Buffs!
No doubt. Wes Studi made this film. All the acting was superb. His ability to translate his character's hatred, vengeance, savagery, and unyielding focus was incredible. The only other time I think his acting was equal to this film was in *Hostiles* also starring Rosamund Pike and Christian Bale, both of whom did a truly _astounding job_ in their roles too. If you haven't seen it, watch it! It's worth it!
I agree, historical movies too often are self-aware of the important story they are telling, and so the events and dialogue feels like the producers are trying to captivate the audience. The art of subtly appealing to the audience without forcing it is rarely found in Hollywood.
@@GlassArtist07 That's a rather snobbish comment to make Gerry considering this film was, and still is, largely unknown. I'd say his vocabulary is fine, yours needs work.
I know the adaptation of the massacre isn't 100% accurate, but honestly, from a cinematic perspective, the sound of the natives whistling out of the trees, the sight of them surrounding and falling on the British column, is just one of those genuinely chilling, extremely memorable moments for me. Not accurate, perhaps, but very effectively directed.
I agree. I love that the camera just lingers on the troops, as we hear the Native war cries grow louder in numbers. And we start seeing the shots fired from both sides. Fantastic filmmaking!
I don't know if the filmmakers had this in mind or not, but keeping to history here would have been a very bad look on the Native Americans. Even Magua as the villain of the film has a sympathetic backstory.
I know that the original is a love story too. But I would've preferred it without a quickie and French kisses. They could've portrayed their love without such physical depiction between them. Not that I'm prudish. But Romance also works with instantly getting physical. But I don't know the book...
Wes Studi doesn't get enough recognition as an actor. This was perhaps his coldest role and he plays it off so perfectly. Mogwa may have been an evil character but that one scene where he just motions Cora's sister from the ledge, that one little showing of his humanity, that speaks volumes.
I read that scene differently - he doesn’t look bothered at all when she falls. He’s, like, *shrug*, better find someone else to do the cooking and cleaning. Oh, well.
He has a great bit part in the new series Reservation Dogs on FX if you want to see what he’s up to lately. Him and especially the equally under appreciated Zahn McClarnon get a chance to shine on that show.
Andersonville '96 was much better than Gods and Generals, it was the second in Ted Turner's production of Civil War stories, a made for TV(TNT) Movie in between the two Hollywood "big-budget" movies. Worth the watch if you're interested in a historically accurate Civil War pow story, though nothing really mind-blowing where the script is concerned. The extras were Civil War reenactors for example, the prison was built to spec; Ted didn't half ass it like he could've is what I guess I'm getting at.
@@Seven_Leaf ok interesting I've never heard of this one. Im of the opinion there's really no good civil war movies, Ride With the Devil is ok and outlaw Josie Wales, assassination of Jesse James have a vibe sorta but nothing great. Personally I'd LOVE to see something like Ambrose Bierce's stuff combined with "Come and See". Maybe with Sherman's march to the sea. Just showing how insane and brutal conflict was
My American History professor had the class come over to him house to come see this movie as extra credit to finish off our French and Indian war section. He was a true history buff and we discussed everything plus some covered here. He also collected artifacts from early American history so we got to see those. Easily my favorite professor because he loved his subject and wanted to share that with us.
It's been documented in 18th century American military history that there have in fact been a few frontiersmen like Simon Girty and Daniel Boone who could in fact reload, run, and fire simultaneously. Their trick was to use lead balls that were slightly smaller than the caliber of their firearms so that they could drop them down through their muzzles without having to use their ramrods. Sometimes, they also dropped multiple balls into the barrels to give them a "shotgun" effect to make up for the poor accuracy. In close quarters wilderness warfare, it was good enough to get the job done!
A rifle could also be loaded much more quickly without its leather patch around the bullet, but then the rifled grooves inside the barrel would no longer spin the bullet to improve its accuracy. Firing a rifle like this would be the equivalent of firing a musket.
@@kurington.blogspot7876 Indeed, Wetzel was a controversial figure even in his own day, with some considering him a hero and others considering him a homicidal maniac.
The soundtrack to this film is a masterpiece, especially 'Promentory' during the final confrontation. For years, I assumed it was an adaptation of an Native American song - so imagine my surprise when I heard a bagpiper playing it in Edinburgh! Baffled, I spoke to the piper about the tune. Turns out it is an adaptation, but of Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean's 'The Gael'. As a child, I hummed this tune on my way to school (I was a weird kid) - now, I listen to it as I stand in ruined castles and walk through Highland glens. It never, ever loses its capacity to bring me to (happy) tears.
THANK YOU for giving the song that has haunted me a name! I saw this movie when I was very young and always remembered "the sad fiddle scene" where the one girl throws herself off the cliff during a chase sequence. The scene and that music, were all I ever could recall about this movie. I love Celtic/folk music. I guess I better go look up the soundtrack now...and maybe consider rewatching the movie after watching this video.
There's a video clip on this site of a violinist named Jenny O'Connor playing The Gael at a medieval renaissance fair. I highly recommend it, she's amazing.
I really appreciate the props he gave to the score, it's vast and mesmerizing and had no ear-splitting notes. Even the battle scenes didn't have sounds that made me recoil in pain. Really weary of the countless movies that have whisper-quiet dialogue followed by a max decibel scream or explosion.
I’m glad that they allowed Wes Studi (Magwa) to speak his dialogue in the actor’s natural voice rather than some stereotypical “Pigeon-English” that other films portray native Americans using. It makes him even more of a frightening character.
Magua always sent shivers up my spine with his cold, quiet and reserved way to make him seem so menacing. Wes Studi is such an amazing actor and he gave the best performance of the character of Magua. Daniel Day Lewis is also an amazing actor. I was blown away with his performance of Hawkeye.
I never get tired of this movie. Every scene is epic, the music unbelievable. There is a violinist that covers this song, I coached her husbands soccer team when he was 12.
I rank this as one of the five greatest war movies ever. Depending on your def of a war movie, Platoon, Schindler’s ListLast of Mohicans, Full Metal Jacket, Band of Brothers 11 part TV miniseries. I my not so humble opinion.
I can forgive a little bit of straying off history's path for a move this beautiful. That ending chase scene is so well done. I'm always touched by Alice's final scene when Magua pulls back the hatchet and reaches out with his hand stained with Uncas' - Alice's new love's - blood.
Yes, the movie version of the Cooper novel was great. But was it bloodshed, bloodshed, bloodshed every day? Or did the Director just focus on the sensational and the romantic? Cooper's writing style was quite archaic, and difficult for the average TV-viewer to read. . PS. Didn't the reg British troops ever learn anything from their encounters with the Indians' guerrilla tactics? (Cut to the 20th C.--didn't the modern US Army ever learn anything from their encounters with the VietCong?).
@@halwag I'm pretty sure the British did learn. Cut to the Revolution and there were still open field battles with volley fire skirmishes, but they also had rangers, snipers, and ambush units. Though most on the side of the British were not themselves "British military units" but often militia and hired guns. As for Vietnam that was a failure by politicians and generals to understand what sort of war they were fighting. Leading up to then all wars in recent history had been "modern" in the fact that standing armies fought over territory. The VC were fine with fighting to a point, inflicting damage, then retreating Only to have the American, Australian etc soldiers then leave that area once the battle had been won. Then the VC would go reoccupy the area anyways. Still you would see "indian tactics" from LLRP, SEAL's, Green Berets etc.
The guy who knows how to load a musket on the run like that is the historical technical advisor and weapons expert, Mark Baker. He lives here in TN and teaches this kind of stuff regularly. He also was the advisor on The Patriot, teaching Mel Gibson how to use the tomahawk. The line “aim small, miss small”, was his quote to Mel that got added into the movie. Mark Baker is awesome. Google him; you’ll dig it.
No spolier but the ending of this movie is phenomenal. The back drop, the choreography, the music. All brilliant...except for the one shot reload of an historical weapon of slow proportions in several seconds.
Totally agree. There's also a very quick "oopsie" moment where Daniel Day-Lewis bumps into a fake rock, but I can't complain because the last 20 minutes are such a freaking masterpiece.
I've hunted with a modern muzzle loading rifle and even that is a pain in the butt to load. I couldn't imagine someone trying to load a Long Rifle while running. Would it be possible? Maybe but you would have to practice a whole lot just to be able to do it period much less in just a few seconds. What was more accurate in that scene was Hawkeye picking up a musket and using it.
Fully agreed, Wes Study really made Magua one of the great cinematic villains in this film. He can just sell any role with that wonderful, striking face of his.
He doesn't make Magua sympathetic (that's a bit far), but he does make him relatable. We understand why he hates Munro, but also why he's fed up with the Huron leadership.
This was the first time I saw Wes Studie and he was great. I thought at the time that he stole the whole movie. A wonderful actor who we see too little of.
Not very, Good cinematic story telling but devolved into KBG bad guy, This guy bad that guy bad, this guy good. You also need someone that understands radiation to help with the video. Biorobots was pretty legit though.
@@thesandman2435 100% disagree. About as accurate as such a complex technical subject can get. The good guy-bad guy stuff...part of it was real, and part of it is the problem of looking at a bizarre system from the perspective of a - comparatively - sane one. The series mostly avoided falling into that stereotype when it communicated the incredible morass of lies that the Soviet Union was built on, the world of alternative facts people lived in. If you see good guy-bad guy stuff in that it's your problem.
@@squamish4244 the show is just wrong on so much of the actual story and the people of Chernobyl that it is mainly fiction. Very few people are depicted as they were and much of the story is taken from books that are known to be inaccurate. The science and the actual events are just wrong and if you view it as accurate, you should pick up some books and look at the stories of the people that worked at the plant.
"Well, to be quite honest, Sarge I'd rather be at home with the wife and kids." On a way more serious note, I very recently watched the whole Chief series on Curiosity and the Ottawa/ Pontiac Rebellion episode especially moved me. Freaking smallpox. So glad to see you back, always on point, especially with such a great but tricky peace of movie! Merci et à bientôt j'espère
26:12 - Gunners drape the touch holes of their cannons to stop air being expelled when the powder charge is rammed. The draught could otherwise revive any burnt out powder embers inside the barrel, which would ignite the powder charge. The loader’s best friend was the guy whose job it was to keep the touch hole covered. I’m not sure whether a fleece was ever used.. ordinarily the touch hole would be covered by a leather patch that fitted over the gunners gloves. Cooling was sorted by swabbing the barrel with a wet ramrod before the powder charge was loaded.. although the guns would only fire once every 2-3 minutes as the crew tired. Unlike the movies the gun would recoil about 6 feet when fired and the whole crew had to dig it out of the mud and manhandle it back into position before it could be set and reloaded. Cooling the barrel wa not the biggest problem of the day.
watching master and commander i noticed the cannons are tied up and if i remember correct the wheels are off?obviously cant have cannons recoiling 6 feet on a warship.
The line in this movie that has stuck with me is when the Mohicans are escorting Munro’s daughters to the Fort and they come across the burned out farm and bodies of their friends. Recognizing that patrols of the enemy will probably come by so if they move anything that it will be noticed and put them in greater danger. So when the oldest daughter complains that “even though they are strangers they deserve a Christian Burial” Hawkeye responds “THEY ARE NOT STRANGERS and they stay where they lay”. It really demonstrated for me the complexity and emotions of fighting wars among your friends and families which, of course, was a prevailing issue with pretty much all the wars in North America.
I grew up 20 mins outside of Albany and the shots in this movie bring back nostalgic memories of camping up north near Lake George in the Adirondacks. I can personally attest to the thick underbrush and dense forests sweeping over the hills/mountains. Even today, the state park is one of my favorite places to visit for the majestic/natural landscape.
Born and raised on Long Island but went to Lake George as a kid and drove my family through the Adirondacks to Tupper Lake, Lake Placid, and Lake George, along with the fort, a couple years ago. It is amazing territory and for someone from Long Island astounding to be in the same state.
Interesting. I always thought that the forests of Upper New York, where the historical actions took place were different to the Appalachian, Blue Ridge mountains and forests of NC.
The performances by the actors/actresses in this movie is phenomenal - Particularly Magua played by Wes Studi, Chinganchook played by Russell Means, and Hawkeye played by the legendary Daniel Day Lewis
I want to say Mr Studi was particularly happy with playing Magua as it was the first time he was able to actually speak his people language on screen. Might be remembering wrong, might have been a different movie.
When it comes to those with rifles loading their rifles on the run I recall something I read in a guide to the Battle of Cowpens when the American riflemen fought the British forces. It made a reference to the riflemen being able to load and run at the same time. Granted it isn't easy, but they did have some shortcuts to doing it. Keep in mind prior to the American Revolution these men would have been hunters and would have had experience loading on the move. They also had ways of cutting down the loading time. They knew how to pre-measure their powder and had wooden blocks that held their patch and shot so all they had to do was ram it down the barrel. All these items would be tethered to their gear so they wouldn't lose them. While it isn't easy or hard to believe it should be kept in mind they did this on a regular basis so it is possible.
It also wasn’t uncommon for rifleman of the day to use an undersized ball if speed was the main concern. It doesn’t take as much effort to ram down and would thus be faster, albeit less accurate than a tight fitting ball.
I remember when I first learned that and noticed it In the books, shows, and movies I watched they mentioned "a man's romance" and I was like oh they mean adventure and such and not finding love
@@jerrygu5316 That is mostly to do with filmmakers (and especially studios) wanting to broaden the audience appeal so that as wide a demographic as possible will find something they like in the movie. The earliest Science-Fiction stories, like Jules Verne and HG Wells, were originally called Scientific Romance, and later stories like the John Carter of Mars books were called Planetary Romance.
I loved this movie. Fantastic cinematography, cool actors in cool roles, epic music, great fight scenes, what's not to love? Anyone who has fired a black-powder weapon knows how vile that smoke smells. I cannot imagine the clouds of acrid smoke - the fog of war, indeed - and trying to function in it.
18:20: Some of the American state militias did, in fact, "piss off" when they wanted to during the War of 1812. They refused to march into Canada because they believed their duty extended only to the borders of their states.
@SAT_Holmes The agreement that militia could return to their farms for harvest is historically accurate. I’m reading The Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America 1754-1766 by Fred Anderson which argues the issues that the colonies went to war for independence actually stem from the French and Indian War.
@@CMartMatross Yes Chris part of the reasoning for new Taxes was to help pay the cost of the War . Protecting the Colony they should help with the Cost ? Cost of War leading to Revolution . The French backed the Rebels against England During the War For Independence , That cost a lot of Money . Financial Stress , Famine Crop Failure and uncaring Aristocrats led to the French Revolution ? It might actually be Part of the Reasons for what happened Decades later .
@@mikegould6590 Most Americans frontiersmen knew full well they had no business in Canada. As usual, it was a pretentious toff in a whig who headed off the fiasco
@@CMartMatross It was the same with French Canadian militias at the time - Montcalm had to let them go after Fort William Henry so they could go back to Quebec for the fall harvest. One of the reasons (not the only one of course) he had to stop any more advances south and fall back to Canada for a more defensive war.
As a native North Carolinian, when you mentioned how few places look as they did centuries ago, our beloved Blue Ridge and Smokies immediately came to mind. I've spent a great deal of my life in these mountains near where this was filmed. Thirty years on, it still looks pretty much the same.
it was filmed partly in Chimney Rock State Park near Hickory, North Carolina and you can walk on the trail along the cliffside. At the visitor center they have some of the original costumes and props from the film on display.
I really did love this movie, and the music, long before I wondered how accurate it was. There is so much emotion in it, something modern movies seem to have lost. Long live the 'Last of the Mohicans'!
I tried reading the actual novel written by James Fennimore Cooper. It was, to me, totally unreadable. The literary conventions of the 1820’s are very different from today’s.
@@AndriaBieberDesigns John Adam's is great too. I thought it was Laura Linney's finest work. I felt Paul Giamatti started off a little clumsy attempting to channel Anthony Hopkins at first. But some of my favorite work by David Morse and Tom Wilkinson. It was the first time I had noticed how great Stephen Dillane was too before he became Stannis Baratheon.
@@gerritpeacock8949 I disagree on Giamatti, but agree on everything else. Morse was SO good as Washington, and I absolutely cannot say enough about how amazing Dillane is. Seriously, he's just superb.
@@paramitch if you watch it again, just remember what I said. Giamatti kind of mumbles to himself in the first couple of episodes as if he is doing an anthony Hopkins impression. He is still great. I just think he took a turn whether he would admit it or not.
I'm happy to report that mountain lions, though rare, are back in New York State. A friend of mine in rural Western NY got video of one in his backyard!
I know that you guys want to see mountain lions back in NY state but if you're itching to see mountain lions so much then visit either Utah or Idaho or even western Montana!
Mountain lions were never extinct in NY, the state government has them “officially” classified as extinct to deter poachers from trying to find them. Our government in Pennsylvania does the same thing, mountain lions are officially considered extinct despite the fact that people have been getting them on trail cams for decades now
"... that they can piss off whenever they want to." I'm guessing you know know about what a headache US militias were for the 19th Century. That's actually a dead serious thing and would haunt the US Army for decades to come. A famous example was in 1812 when the US launched its first offensive into Canada. Half of the army flat out said "no" about the invasion leaving only the regulars to carry it off. That didn't go so well. Also, native soldiers were just as bad with the US and UK never knowing how many militia/irregulars they would have at any given battle. You Brits were REALLY DISGUSTED in the 1812 War with native troops showing up, eating up rations, and then bugging out. So as outrageous as it sounds, it really wasn't unheard of at this time in North America- the volunteer militia that could just leave whenever they want. Honestly, it's one of the reasons that the US Army was looked down upon as an army of amateurs by so many European powers.
The funny bit about that is that it is still a volunteer army, in a way. Nobody is drafted into the US Military anymore (Vietnam was the last draft-worthy war the US fought in). But the US pours so much funding into their military that life as a soldier is advertised as completely doable, as a type of CAREER. Sure, you might die in an unexpected war (faced that myself, when 9/11 went down while I was in boot camp), but the benefits are so generous that it's rather easy to volunteer, and for some people, frankly pretty preferable to most civilian careers. Also, when you're fighting overseas, tens of thousands of miles from home, where exactly is one to defect to, if that's what he or she wants to do? So from a practical standpoint, it just makes a metric ton more sense to stay with the army that is paying you to fight, than it is to abandon the front lines. Especially since your family and friends back home, in the states, are pretty damn safe where they are, so there is no worry there.
I remember during the Civil War, some Prussian officers come in to learn some new tactics they might find. Only to find that they weren't really any interesting happening. Reporting stating the American army was just a bunch of amateurs that are not very professional.
@@jacob4920 A volunteer army isn't the same as one where soldiers can just up and leave whenever they hecking felt like it. If you tried to leave your post in the modern US Army randomly, that would be desertion, a criminal offense.
What is now Canada was only defended by mostly militia and natives and some of the native tribes used to be in what is now the US and were pushed out and ran to Canada. British regular reinforcement came in 1813 where the tide of war shifted against the US. How ever much you can hate militia for not sticking to a regular army. irregular troops and militia was the reason Canada did not fall. The US officially attacked Quebec city twice and was repelled twice by militia. The Idea of having a loyal army is less frequent in our timeline then expecting your men to leave mid campaign. Back in the medieval periods when the idea of nations started, whole war would grind to a halt as the soldiers just up and left to go back home for harvest and sleep the winter in. Alexander the great himself fell victim to his army leaving. Only recently have people grown coward enough to actually capture a fellow man and execute him for not wanting to fight the political war of the few. Don't get me wrong, killing for desertion always existed, But you could not place one brain dead man with a MG to cut down his fellow men so if the moral was low enough in your army, it would disband itself and theirs nothing you could do about it or be killed by them. Now all it takes is one brain dead man to commit manslaughter for you.
@@erichvondonitz5325 pretty sure the use of telegraph as a tactical, operational, and strategic communication medium , combined with the construction & use of railroads was beyond professional understanding of those Prussians.
The French besieging Fort William Henry is still one of my favorite historical scenes of all time. Also, the music makes this film special, that and the scenery which is simply stunning. Simply a very well done movie, even if it takes its liberties with the history.
I love Michael Mann's Last of the Mohicans. It is the only film adaptation I have seen that improves the story from the book. All of the elements from the book are there in the film but reorganized to make the pacing much better than the book. Also, the film disregarding a silly chapter from the book where Hawkeye (I think it was Hawkeye) dresses as a bear to scare off a village. I think they also switched the characters of Cora and her sister.
Daniel Day-Lewis is absolutely one of the greatest actors of our time. He always amazes me with his performances. I actually thought he was an American for a couple years until I seen an interview of him.. I watch this movie on VHS for the first time I could only imagine how good in the theater on the big screen must have been. My brother had loaned me the movie I had never heard of it until the night I watched it. It something I must have watched it seven or eight times in a three-month and at least once a year afterwards. For me it's classic
I remember as a teen in the early 2000s visiting Chimney Rock Park in North Carolina, where the final scene was filmed, and my family and I listening to the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack in the car. That was an amazing trip. It's surreal walking on the actual cliffside trail where the final scene was filmed and the view is incredible. The year before we visited the actual Fort William Henry and there was a Last of the Mohicans exhibit inside where my dad told me about the movie. It's been one of my favorite movies ever since!
Yes indeed, going to Chimney Rock is a cool experience, especially for fans of the movie. We did a pic at the "Duncan's BBQ" restaurant sign outside the park. That's good dark humor marketing.
I was like, "Oh great, a 'video essay' about the 'indian' film 'Last of the Mohicans'", then I realized I was in my subs and it was actually THIS channel. As an Indigenous person, I'm so here for this.
The Revenant would be kinda lame since much of what's in the movie is "Hollywoodized". The real story just isn't as intense, even down to the locations being way less epic (and not nearly as far as it seems in the movie) and him actually forgiving the dude in the end, not having a mixed race son or native wife, etc
@@tonywords6713 Glass didn’t kill Fitzgerald because latter had enlisted the army. I don’t remember reading that Glass forgave him, but I could be wrong.
"I love this idea, like really think about it, the possibility that America, the greatest superpower in history came to be because a man was snubbed a promotion." *It's like a man who rose to power and started the bloodiest conflict in history because he was denied entry into art school*
The principal difference, of course, was that Washington fought for the freedom and independence of his infant nation, not to conquer and oppress others. No small thing. And Washington was not the driving force behind the onset of American Revolution -- he was only given command when the revolution was already underway. And we don't really need to get into the radically different character traits of the two leaders, do we?
The "Hitler started WW2" thing works for that joke but isn't really true. Stalin, Hitler and the collective Polish allies played their thirds in it. Hitler and Stalin both invaded poland to fight each other. If Hitler never existed, WW2 would still happen as Stalin wanted to annex/invade Europe to spread communism much like he did to half of it after WW2. WW2 would have been a weak democratic germany and other capitalist powers fighting the USSR
@@egosumhomovespertilionem "The principal difference, of course, was that Washington fought for the freedom and independence of his infant nation, not to conquer and oppress others"-Tell that to the Native Americans he butchered and the black slaves-some of which him and the other founding fathers owned and never set free. Hitler himself got his idea of "Lebensraum" (living space by wiping out the slavic race from existance so that Germans can have land to occupy) from the American conquest and how they treated the Native Americans. Even his idea of concentration camps was inspired by Indian reservations. You know you're doing something wrong in life when Hitler himself mentions you in his book as a source of insperation and an example to follow.
May I suggest that you research a fellow named Lewis Westzel who lived in the Ohio Valley in the late 18th/early 19th century? A fascinating character, he actually trained himself to load and fire his Pennsylvania rifle at a full run. It saved his life at least once. Pursued by hostile Indians, he loaded and fired his weapon several times, prompting the Indians to break off their pursuit because they were convinced he had some sort of repeating rifle. James Fenimore Cooper was probably aware of Wetzel and his exploits, but I cannot swear that the film's director was. In short, loading and firing on the run certainly wasn't common, but it wasn't impossible.
No one on the frontier would be stupid as to even try that nonsense. Particularly an experienced one. I've made and shot flintlocks for 50 years. Tall tables for the gullible romantics.
I have heard of him! A friend of mine who is a cartoonist told me once that he's been entertaining the idea of doing a graphic novel about him at some point. How neat would that be if he ever gets around to it? Some of the most amazing people in history are ones you seldom if ever hear about. Jack Hinson from the Civil War era is another one that comes to mind. There's some pretty incredible stories about some of his feats with his .50 musket.
Pavel Slama Ok, fool. Go ahead and try it. Just be ire you are far out in the woods or desert all alone so when the rifle blows, you are the only one hurt or killed.
This is absolutely correct and well enough documented by family letters, interviews, accounts and other author's research. Simon Kenton was another of very few known for the same. There is factual and romanticized fiction based on Wetzel, but this feat of reloading on the run is basic accepted fact he is known for, and has been discussed as one potential inspiration for Cooper's amalgamation of Bumppo. Lots more to Wetzel's story that is not well enough known. Very interesting and perhaps influential figure of his time and area. Certainly controversial if you want to get to the heart of his life and "self designated purpose." All this someone has mentioned mostly in an earlier comment. Perhaps a typo Frank (not to criticize, I am grateful for the mention) - but its Wetzel for anyone wishing to research. It's worth your time. The few Indians who encountered Wetzel and lived claimed "his rifle is always loaded." Known to the hostile natives of the Ohio Valley as "Deathwind" - and for an interesting reason. Look it up, no BS doubters. Said to have possibly had lead poisoning due to keeping shot in his mouth very often in order to be able to reload in such a way.
I was born in Glens Falls and grew up going to Fort William Henry and Lake George. I loved learning this history in school. I have always loved this movie for bringing me back to my childhood there (even though it was filmed in NC). The soundtrack still brings me chills and the film is stunning!
Agreed. Any respectable film buff regards him as one of the best. His ability to almost seamlessly combine high-octane, realistic action sequences with resonant, emotional sensitivity has yet to be matched. Easily one of my Top 10 directors of all time. Top 5 if we're talking about American directors only.
4:40 Tanaghrisson: "Oh sorry was I not meant to split his head open with a Tomahawk?" Washington: "Ah don't worry. It's not like this will start a 7 year long major global conflict."
If you want to read about unruly American militias who could piss off whenever they felt like it, read about the American and Canadian (though mostly American) militias during the War of 1812
Thanks for reviewing this absolutely brilliant film. An amazing story, strong characters, raw emotions, probably the most inspiring soundtrack of the entire movie history, breathtaking scenery, exceptional cinematography, historic authenticity, fantastic actors, and a shockingly beautiful female protagonist - it has it all. It's one of the top 5 films of my personal shortlist of all times.
The man who taught DDL to load on the run, and who you see in the documentary is author Mark Baker. His graduate thesis was expanded for publication and titled "Sons of a Trackless Forest". He also tutored Mel Gibson in flintlock shooting for his role in "The Patriot". Frontiersmen such as Simon Kenton and Lewis Wetzel were known for their ability to reload on the run.
My father took me to see this in the theater. I remember him raving about how incredible it was that the actors were running up the hill as if it was nothing. One of the things that stuck out to me, as a child watching this, was the gunstock club the father used. The ending scene always gets me though. The father’s reaction to seeing his son killed then quickly dispatched the antagonist!
My ancestors fought in the French and Indian War. Probably one of the reasons why I was so interested in history. This movie will always have a special place in my heart
Yay! I work at Fort Necessity National Battlefield and we help preserve Jumonville Glen. It is amazing to see it given the recognition. This film also helped inspire a reenactor fashion trend. After this film premiered a lot of brown stripped skirts appeared in camps. 😆 obviously hoping to meet their Hawkeye.
First time watching History Buffs due to my deep love for this movie. So interesting learning the true historical events that inspired Cooper's book and Mann's film. And I'm right there with you Mr. Hodges regarding the music. This production just had everything going for it, including Mr. Day-Lewis and the luminous Madeleine Stowe. Wes Studi and Russell Means were also outstanding.
Probably one of my favorite movies .. The cinematography is amazing.. Beautifully shot and framed. The soundtrack is amazing. The characters... Just love it
This movie combines my love of history with unforgettable acting (Studi, Day-Lewis) and a particular song, "The Gael" by Scottish legend Dougie Maclean. The funny thing is, my parents had an old cassette tape of his and I used to love that song long before I knew of this movie. Then I saw this film for the first time and the scene at the fort when it plays gave me chills and still does to this day. There is a quiet determination running through the whole movie, building in intensity all the way to the final epic scene.
That's what I absolutely loved about this movie. The final like seven to nine minutes NOBODY SAYS A WORD, but you can tell what's going on. Like the last thing said is by Duncan who says, "my compliments, sir. Now take her and get out!" And then Jodi May says more with her eyes than anybody says in that entire movie with their mouths.
Loved the artillery notes. The lack of recoil, though understandable, always drives me nuts. Having live fired American Civil War artillery it’s pretty substantial. Though I’ve never considered the smoke rings until now! Also, I believe the sheepskin was not to cool the breach but to act like a thumb stall and prevent air from getting in through the touchhole. By depriving it of air/oxygen the likelihood of embers surviving the swab is decreased. This reduces the chance of a discharge when the next charge is rammed home.
Interesting! Why not both? More often than not, things back then were multifunctional. Pragmatism was life, for most people back then in general, but especially people living and/or fighting on the frontier. haha
have you seen the vassa cannon videos the had copies made of cannon for the 1620 fired into copies of a ship side made as close as possible to a 16020's warship its crazy neat
"None of your men will see the inside of a prison barge, they are free, so long as they return to England, and fight no more on this continent and your civilian militia, return to their farms" "Their arms?" "They may leave the fortress fully armed" "My colors?" "Carry them to England with pride!" this secene was so wholsome and the general was very genorus and respectful!
49:00 There wasn't a dry eye left in the cinema. Even now, 30 years later, having watched it many times, this end scene still has us wiping our eyes and reaching for a hanky. You're spot on mention this and good to see you back.
One of the best movie soundtracks of all time, and one of my favorite movies ever made. My only complaint is that when they put out the director's cut so we could actually watch those incredible battle scenes, they also changed the dialogue. I hate they took away all of Nathaniel's one-liners from the theatrical cut, because those were really fantastic in that they were cutting and showed his intelligence, but also made important points about the different attitudes at play. I wish I could have a fusion of both the extra scenes from the director's cut and dialogue from the theatrical cut. Maybe I'll even make my own DVD where I cut between the two.
The soundtrack of this movie has a permanent home in my head.
I use to fall asleep to it growing up. It always was soothing and calming
The only false note, in my opinion, is one spot where there's a vocal song being sung that sounds more like a modern ballad or love song, and struck me as a little incongruous with the rest of the orchestral instrumental score. That is, IIRC, it's been awhile since I saw the picture.
They packaged a cassette with the VHS. So there’s gotta be thousands of these soundtrack cassettes out there. Even 29 years later.
@@AndrewAMartin That was Clannad's I Will Find You. I ended up buying their album at the time just to get that full track. Personally, I thought it's Celtic tones fit fine in the movie, but if I remember correctly I think the director's cut on DVD omits it completely.
same here i swear i sing the kiss soundtrack maybe 2 times a week
I know the focus of this is supposed to be history, but the last 10 minutes of the film is the best out of any movie I know of in terms of raw emotion, music, acting, and action. There's no lines from the actors and yet it's so emotional, the very definition of "Show, don't Tell"
True but he's not doing a movie review. He's doing a review of the history.
I agree 100%. The mountain scene is cinema and storytelling at its finest.
This review is kind of similar to his review of master and commander.
I agree that ending scene was amazing!👍👍
Hell yes great and epic ending!!!
Regarding the ability to load a flintlock rifle while running through the woods: American frontiersman Simon Kenton taught himself to do it at the age of 16. This skill saved his life several times during indian battles in the Ohio River Valley in the late 1700s. The Shawnee Indians called Kenton "Gun's Always Loaded". Allen W. ECKERT wrote two books about this period that tell Kenton's story.
Wait Really?!?!
Simon Kenton was a G!!!! I was a Boy scout, part of the Simon Kenton Council, and I always loved going on weekend backpacking trips around the very areas he walked, reading his stories.
Also
Blue Jacket
I think sometimes we over analyze movies for realism. Yes loading a flintlock rifle while running through the woods was not common and probably not a realistic portrayal of the time, but the key is that its plausible. Frontiersman and soldiers in the army are common people. So they would only be able to do common actions. I was infantry in the Army. I can rappel and I can shoot. I can't realistically do both. Yet, there are special forces that can. Ideally they don't want to, but just like running for your life in the woods while loading a flintlock rifle, sometimes you got to do the rare, unrealistic thing to safe your life.
And of course its a movie. Nobody wants to watch the ordinary. We watch them to see the extraordinary.
Great Books.
@@drachenmagus1604- They’re common people but they were trained to do uncommon things. Things the average person could not do if not properly trained. Also, as you stated if your life depends on it you’d be surprised what the average person can do.
I sent this review to my Step Father, He is former Tribal President of Stock-bridge Munsee. We appreciate the Shout Out as many people don't realize our Tribe is in fact real and still around. Though its not His Favorite Movie, but he is a huge history buff
So many of our families were mislabelled. Of course I have been to the Munsee Reserve on the Thames near London Ontario. Our labels confused everyone. From Praying Indians to Pequod/Pequot Mohegan/Mohican history did us no favors. How many woud know that the name Mohawk was given to the Mag(Q)ua by the Mohegans as meaning Man-Eaters? Or Seneca given their name by Mohegans meaning "Snake-Heads (Crazy) No one called themselves Delaware's, (Lene Lanape) Regular Joes or the Huedaneshone People (5 nations Iroquois) building a Long House.
You are probably well aware of the REAL Last Battle being in the Bronx 1778 (Death of Ninham) It was a trap meant to kill of natives just like King David killed off the husband of Bathsheba. Cannon Fodder. I'm on the Loyalist side of the bed (Mohegan mix) and these people were known to us. Col. Lord Simcoe of the Queens Rangers was the Gove of Upper Canada in 1791 after the war. He declared he would not entertain the post if the Colony entertained the notion of SLAVERY. He effectively ended Slavery in Canada. Was he the bad guys? Washington didn't end slavery.
I really have one serious question that no one can really explain. Why are the natives called Red Indian by them dumb white Europeans?
I did have a theory on it but I wud like to hear from the natives perspective.
@@MrAtsyhere Them white colonials are 100% dumb. Hear me out.
They even say in historical print that the Malay and Borneo natives in South East Asia are wild and dumb people bcoz the natives live on a tree.
They didn't realised them rainforest got the Bengal and Malaya tigers and they hunt at night , not to mention herd of wild elephants that can crush u when u sleep. Comes monsoon season , most part will be flooded and now u got crocodiles to content with.
My point is , them white folks been doing this for ages and it's in their DNA.
@@princesssolace4337 The European way was to master nature and in taming the natural elements , not become of victim of it. One could avoid living in trees by damming rivers. One could reduce flooding by keeping foliage that reduced erosion. Natural man lives in harmony but succumbs to his emotions and territorial disputes. What system is better? Well if controlling 1/4 of the nations on Earth is how we measure success, Colonialism is a success. If we measure success by an abundance of family China might be the biggest success. The lens that we measure success by is What is Lasting. Hinduism I guess is the best measure of success I know of being 5,000 years old and abundant.
This comment isn't really related to history, but I just recently went on a History Buffs binge for all of the older videos, and it's crazy to think how much things have changed since I first watched the Gladiator History Buffs video six years ago. And yet as much as the world has changed since 2015, watching this review I can still see the same passion and dedication that has always gone into all of your videos. Thanks for always being one of the few things we could count on Nick and History Buffs team!
Magua is one of the greatest movie villains of all time! He isn't sadistic, cartoonish, or over-the-top in any way. He's cold, quiet and reserved, but that just makes him all the more menacing and a stand-out among big-screen antagonists. Thank you Wes Studi for the great performance!
Also extremely driven and hell-bent on revenge. But again, in a cold rather than angry way
I tend to think he's really the protagonist.
@@spendingtimetogether8428 Totally agree
Magua wasn't really a villain in my opinion. He was the antihero hellbent on revenge. He was no different from Frank Castle of The Punisher or Hugh Glass from the Revenant. We just didn't see the beginning of Magua's trials. Its not 100% clear but either Munro or the English were responsible for the death of Magua's children & the destruction of his village. Then he was made a slave by the Mohawk, who were Munro's allies. Magua's wife thought he was dead so she remarried. Just like any other revenge movie, his actions were justified in his own eyes. But without context, without seeing on film the forces that created Magua, all we see is a monster.
@@shokmusic_AC I see what you mean and if Magua was only out to get Munro and his soldiers then I’d totally agree and I’d be rooting for Magua. He crosses the line when he wants to murder Munro’s daughters, two individuals who have nothing to do with the terrible things that happened to him. If it wasn’t for that I could see him as a Punisher-like figure.
I know it's fictional, but Chingachgook's eulogy for his son, Uncas, is one of the best ending speeches of any movie: "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 have patience, and ask Death for speed. For they are all there, but one, I, Chingachgook, am the Last of the Mohicans."
The actor who portrayed Chingachgook was our greatest civil rights warrior, he was a hero to Indians at the time. We still look up to him, towards the end of his life, he always wanted to see our Nation being returned so we can protect our way of life
@@TannerWilliam07 Thanks for the background. I appreciate knowing this.
Agreed, this is a nicely worded eulogy. I was equally impressed with the prayer given by Dan George in Little Big Man with Dustin Hoffman. A prayer thanking the lord for failure as well as success
@@TannerWilliam07 ...and protect the way of all life as well - something we have not done a very good job of.
@@frederickboyce9693 Yes, we need our sacred places returned, we need the US Constitution to be upheld by returning the Treatyland. We need our own laws, jails, and police officers
I love how Daniel Day Lewis likes realism so much he openly gives criticism to his character running and loading
Yet it was proven possible with practice. Men can still do it today, it's just that black powder firearms have become more of a hobby in modern times, so no one practices this anymore... Or very few anyway.
He didnt guve cruticism to humself for not playing Hawkeye even CLOSE TO HOW the actual book describes him as a very tall, skinny as a child, huge adams apple, bright yellow ciat wearing goofball.
Its only later we find out thar he has great physical prowess.
@@samuelmarberry4761Possible, yes. But Nick did elaborate that while it is indeed possible, the amount of training that it would take to reach such a level of skill would be seen as a waste of time. It's not simply a matter of realism as much as a matter of authenticity, but maybe it's faithful to the character in the book?
@@eightleggedanarchistEven common soldiers armed with earlier firearms were trained to reload while walking so it would absolutely make sense for a dedicated warrior to be able to do it during a run.
But stuff like dual wielding muskets is just silly and fictional. It would make much more sense to shoot them one at the time.
Then the ultimate "hold my beer" moment. .
When the world needed him most, he returned
South Park. Last of the meheecans
I was thinking the same thing! Glad to see you back brother. From, your cousin across the pond.
Amen
Trump will be happy to hear you awaiting his return...
hilarious. shouldn't you be in dallas waiting for a dead guy to turn up right now? bunch of clowns the lot of you
I live where this movie was filmed, and its honestly one of the biggest blessings of my life. Spending my young years running through these very woods you're seeing on screen, exploring the steep cliffs, and swimming in the cold mountain streams. Every time I walk out my door I get a glimpse of these mountains, and it never ceases to make my heart skip a beat. They're not only majestic, they're unyieldingly beautiful and wild.
Not too long ago I moved to the blue ridge mountains from where the movie actually took place and the beauty of this place never ceases to amaze me, especially with all the leaves changing now
I recently took a road trip through some of the southern states and I must say seeing those mountains was absolutely breathtaking! I envy your childhood I would do anything to live there and spend time hiking through the natural beauty with my pup
Is that cliff side path that they used to film the final fight scenes easily accessible to the public? I've always felt that would be a great hiking spot to visit.
Nice comment. Thanks for sharing it 👍👍
And where is this place?
I was just thinking to myself yesterday, "Man, Nick hasn't posted in a while. Hope he's okay." Great to see you again.
same here! it's good to see another video on this channel.
Brilliant to see History Buffs back. This is undoubtedly the best You Tube Channel!
I'm going to assume that, in your mind, you said to him, "Stay alive! No matter what occurs, I will find you!"
One of the three best U.S. films of the 1990s. And you're right, the score has much to do with the movie's success in storytelling and in emotional resonance. During the early 90s, only Vangelis and Carter Burwell were consistently composing such powerful and memorable scores.
salut camarade montréalais
t'au Québec icitte!
The entire movie is one of the best (imo!) ever made! In regards to score ,acting , cinematography and historical accuracy! Wes Studi and Daniel Day Lewis definitely deserved an Oscar for their performances. Incredible movie!
I agree. I only own one other movie-Gladiator for the opening scene.
I hope Gladiator and possibly Troy are the other two
As someone who does colonial reenacting, you could, in theory, load a rifle while on the run. It would be extremely difficult, you’d waste a *ton* of powder, and you’d need a lot of arm strength to ram the ball home (normally you place the butt on the ground and just use your body weight to assist in ramming the ball down), especially with wadding, because after just a few shots muzzleloader (especially rifles) start to foul up (this is also where the term “fouler” comes from in regard to muskets). The hardest part would be priming it. As fast as Hawkeye is running in the movie you’d be spilling powder everywhere. _I_ could not do this, but I do know some reenactors that probably could.
TL;DR:it’d be very hard but it’s quite possible. In fact, after writing this I remember something that set continental riflemen apart from their regular counterparts is they could actually move while reloading because they were so familiar with their weapons, which most people couldn’t do.
It's actually not fouler, but a fowler. It's a type of musket meant for hunting birds, hence the name.
That is the reason why movie makers and movie critics should more often take council from reenactors - speaking as a former reenactor :)
I heard mountain men in the Rockies could load on the move on horseback. But I would say a bigger issue s not a matter if he could do that but would he do that. Probably better to use your speed to get distance and find cover and use the closing time to load.
Supposedly Simon Kenton (The Frontiersmen; Allan W. Eckert) was able to do this however I don't believe they used cartridges but rather powder horns and loose rounds. From what I have read it does not seem to be a terribly uncommon skill back then however it did require much practice.
There is a video of DDL under training doing that and it would simpler later on when paper cartridges showed up,but bit tricky still.
Ah yes, today is a good day. History Buffs has returned from his slumber to grace us with content.
TH-cam is a better place with him. I still rewatch the dances with wolves video. Great analysis and commentary.
It really did feel like that today!
My thoughts exactly
I was thinking Nick had gone died. Very happy he's back. Excellent as always. Hope he doesn't disappear again.
Today is a good day, indeed!
Russell Means was my cousin. When I saw him in this movie, I was so proud of him. Though Lakota, playing another tribe in a movie, he displayed the dignity of all Nations that were here long ago. Rest well my cousin and brother...
I remember him in pocahontas he was part of my childhood just that one film but he was great and he's superb in this I saw it for the first time 2 month ago and its excellent I've always been interested in native american history it's fascinating
And he was a great political activist as well.
Your cousin is Russell Means and your avatar is Beachhead... My kinda guy.
Hitcha
Russell Means was a G. Wish we had another leader like him today
And yes, Jodhi May and Wes Studi's performances in Alice's death scene, were powerful and evocative, without even a hint of dialogue!
Well sometimes the less said the better and that scene is a classical example of it. Unless we are talking a blind person, anyone else can see it in their faces what is going on.
These days of course they would no doubt have dialogue there to hit you over the head with it and it wouldn't be nearly as powerful.
honestly the fact that Wes Studi had just gotten his oscar, the first Native American actor to recieve one, in 2019.
There have been several Native Actors worthy of such nominations, including Adam Beach. But I was proud to see a hardworking Tsalagi man get his fair recognition by the acadamy he worked hard and earned every bit of it.
I've seen this movie many times, and I appreciate and admire Jodhi May's performance more and more each time.
I just saw Wes being interviewed. Me said Magua was a very sympathetic character!!! Magua, to me is the quintessence of evil. I love the outfits, body paintings and weapons of the Indians in this film.
Extremely disturbing...and fuking brilliant...to me the most powerful in the movie , one i will never forget!
That Oscar win for best sound mixing was SO well earned.
That wet scraping of metal across bone, when Magua kills Uncas...
Somewhere Christopher Lee nods in approval.
"Oh Peter, I don't have to imagine it"
One of the best movie soundtracks ever.
That sound was distinctive but the "crack" which followed to Magua's collar bone was... unsettling. Wow.
Agree sound mixing was great , but let us face it, the Oscar really snob this epic movie, no original score nomination??? wow, no screenplay nomination??, none of the great acting was nominated also, please give a break, I have seen this movie from beginning to end more than 10 times. When I see the movies nominated that year makes feel sad, the only movie I have seen as much as this from 1992 is "A Few Good Men", ( well I have to admit I have seen "under siege" several times too lol)
@@Lauren080508 The overlook of the score by the Oscars was pretty bad. Beauty and the Beast took it but none of the others were really notable.
To be fair the Best Picture winner was Silence of the Lambs and I have seen that MANY times.
Last of the Mohicans still has one of the best movie soundtracks.
The smooth orchestra combined with the upbeat guitar and bass is still relatively unique among soundtracks.
Completely agree. Our first child was born 3 months ago, and the soundtrack has been one of my go-to's for rocking her to sleep. And the jig is great when I'm walking and swaying her to calm her.
@@jlhillmann79 "The Gael" is a very popular piece indeed.
Nice to see you here bear.
I remember my mom humming "on top of the world" to me as a kid. Such a beautiful movie. It was cool too that she grew up in south Carolina and she loved the blue ridge mountains.
It’s too bad they have yet to release an expanded edition of the score.
This movie is a masterpiece, and the soundtrack is absolutely legendary.
I’m going to look it up now on Spotify
Definitely , it's epic in every way
I remember listening to, and watching the movie with my first wife in the early 90's. I still listen to the soundtrack, with my third wife. Still one of my favorite soundtracks. My eyes are already watering up. I'm a softy. The theme is actually from a Scottish song. I actually didn't know that until about a year ago.
@@miltonhayek2494 same here, i watched it with my first wife as well.
So is the Book. I love reading old historical fiction, not because it's accurate, but because it tells you what people at that point in time thought happened. Given the lack of research they could actually do, it is going to be wrong. But it is going to be what they believe happened or could have happened.
The thought of George Washington leading the Continental Army because he felt underapreciated by his boss is oddly enough the most American thing I've ever heard. That's fucking amazing
Indeed.
The modern day equivalent of that would be that guy who shoots up the office after being laid off.
@@dandeman8172 Nah more like Katzenburg leaving Disney to form Dreamworks Animation.
@@dandeman8172 I'd say the modern equivalent is Stone Cold Steve Austin flipping off and attacking his boss, Vince McMahon.
Not just under appreciated but betrayed. So it was the British that broke his allegiance
"Doesn't that just give you goosebumps.."
Yes, yes it does. Every time! Truly an amazing soundtrack.
Every. Single. Time.
I’m happy to hear that this film isn’t an historical abomination. I think it’s smart to rename the characters bc soo many people tend to think historical fiction is accurate. It’s a nice subtle reminder that it’s inspired by true events, not a reenactment.
I find it interesting that Cooper was actually being GENEROUS to the Hurons in the retelling of the British civilian massacre, giving them a deeper motivation beyond mere opportunistic greed, and allowing the soldiers to keep some gunpowder. The reality was so much WORSE. A modern director, writing his own story from scratch, might have done that to not come across as too prejudicial to Natives, but that Cooper did so (and the director merely stuck with the book) strikes me as fascinating, when doing the opposite was the norm in such fiction, making such incidents worse than reality.
@@eldermillennial8330 You have a great point. I hadn't really thought about that, but yeah, this was written back when anti-native prejudice was popular. It was a time when the bad guys in films were usually nonwhite. For his time he was really bucking the norms.
Sadly it is.
If you study the Mohawk culture you'd know this story would likely never have happened. Mohicans were notoriously savage and cannibalistic. Nathaniel was more likely to have been dinner than adopted. They were so feared that a 3-person hunting party would cause entire. villages to flee instead of sending out their warriors.
The Mohawk were brought into the Iroquois League under terms that they wouldn't eat their allies.
Wes Studi was absolutely snubbed for an Oscar for playing Magua in this.
That aside, it's great to see this nigh-forgotten film getting so much appreciation. It *feels* so much more authentic than most other historical films, not just because of the lavish attention to detail, but for a kind of... un-self-consciousness, maybe, about depicting the past. I'm not sure I know any other way to describe it. Maybe it's specifically because the action is centered on fictional characters, which allows the historical figures and scenes to gain some authenticity by just being allowed to be what they are. Michael Mann didn't have to inflate the importance of any real people, giving them credit for things they didn't do, or making them more villainous than they really were (Montcalm aside, arguably, though this twist was at least done with subtlety and for valid plot reasons), when he had Cooper's characters to do all of that sort of grandstanding. The history can just happen around them, which means it can afford a level of accuracy that being under the Hollywood microscope might not normally allow.
I hope I've clearly conveyed some of my feelings about this film and why it is so effective at capturing something of the atmosphere of the time. Thanks for your video, History Buffs!
No doubt. Wes Studi made this film. All the acting was superb. His ability to translate his character's hatred, vengeance, savagery, and unyielding focus was incredible. The only other time I think his acting was equal to this film was in *Hostiles* also starring Rosamund Pike and Christian Bale, both of whom did a truly _astounding job_ in their roles too. If you haven't seen it, watch it! It's worth it!
I agree, historical movies too often are self-aware of the important story they are telling, and so the events and dialogue feels like the producers are trying to captivate the audience. The art of subtly appealing to the audience without forcing it is rarely found in Hollywood.
Wes Studi is an underrated actor, period. My favorite is his reaction to Alice's step off the clip. "Oh, well, win some lose some."
Mr. Jackson - "nigh-forgotten film?" Really? Not hardly, perhaps you need to brush up on your vocabulary?
@@GlassArtist07 That's a rather snobbish comment to make Gerry considering this film was, and still is, largely unknown. I'd say his vocabulary is fine, yours needs work.
I know the adaptation of the massacre isn't 100% accurate, but honestly, from a cinematic perspective, the sound of the natives whistling out of the trees, the sight of them surrounding and falling on the British column, is just one of those genuinely chilling, extremely memorable moments for me. Not accurate, perhaps, but very effectively directed.
I agree. I love that the camera just lingers on the troops, as we hear the Native war cries grow louder in numbers. And we start seeing the shots fired from both sides. Fantastic filmmaking!
I don't know if the filmmakers had this in mind or not, but keeping to history here would have been a very bad look on the Native Americans. Even Magua as the villain of the film has a sympathetic backstory.
I know that the original is a love story too. But I would've preferred it without a quickie and French kisses.
They could've portrayed their love without such physical depiction between them.
Not that I'm prudish. But Romance also works with instantly getting physical.
But I don't know the book...
@user-mr6eq7oy8j I always thought Magua stole the film. But I'm First Nation's, so I'm a little biased. Wes Studi is a great actor though.
Wes Studi doesn't get enough recognition as an actor. This was perhaps his coldest role and he plays it off so perfectly. Mogwa may have been an evil character but that one scene where he just motions Cora's sister from the ledge, that one little showing of his humanity, that speaks volumes.
While having her father's blood on his hand
I read that scene differently - he doesn’t look bothered at all when she falls. He’s, like, *shrug*, better find someone else to do the cooking and cleaning. Oh, well.
Totally agree that Studi is the bomb, though. He’s great in everything he’s in.
@@rstainsbury You're right. He definitely goes back to indifference when she falls.
He has a great bit part in the new series Reservation Dogs on FX if you want to see what he’s up to lately. Him and especially the equally under appreciated Zahn McClarnon get a chance to shine on that show.
History Buffs: The Alamo (2004)
History Buffs: Gods and Generals
History Buffs: Lincoln
History Buffs: Cromwell
History Buffs: 1917
here's hoping he doesn't forget the first one..
Andersonville '96 was much better than Gods and Generals, it was the second in Ted Turner's production of Civil War stories, a made for TV(TNT) Movie in between the two Hollywood "big-budget" movies. Worth the watch if you're interested in a historically accurate Civil War pow story, though nothing really mind-blowing where the script is concerned. The extras were Civil War reenactors for example, the prison was built to spec; Ted didn't half ass it like he could've is what I guess I'm getting at.
Das Boot!!!
@@Seven_Leaf ok interesting I've never heard of this one. Im of the opinion there's really no good civil war movies, Ride With the Devil is ok and outlaw Josie Wales, assassination of Jesse James have a vibe sorta but nothing great.
Personally I'd LOVE to see something like Ambrose Bierce's stuff combined with "Come and See". Maybe with Sherman's march to the sea. Just showing how insane and brutal conflict was
One of my favourite movies, but I’ve always wondered how accurate it was. Welcome back Nick, good to see you again.
Plus Dan Snow agreed with your assessment of the battle.
My American History professor had the class come over to him house to come see this movie as extra credit to finish off our French and Indian war section. He was a true history buff and we discussed everything plus some covered here. He also collected artifacts from early American history so we got to see those. Easily my favorite professor because he loved his subject and wanted to share that with us.
It's been documented in 18th century American military history that there have in fact been a few frontiersmen like Simon Girty and Daniel Boone who could in fact reload, run, and fire simultaneously. Their trick was to use lead balls that were slightly smaller than the caliber of their firearms so that they could drop them down through their muzzles without having to use their ramrods. Sometimes, they also dropped multiple balls into the barrels to give them a "shotgun" effect to make up for the poor accuracy. In close quarters wilderness warfare, it was good enough to get the job done!
Also don't forget Lewis Wetzel. He was famous for being able to reload on the run.
And quite a few double rifle or double smoothbore it was also by them,even some Drilling ones where 1 or 2 barrels were rifled,the other smoothbore.
@@TheStapleGunKid Lew Wetzel is depicted as Murder Incarnate in Hugo Pratt's Fort Wheeling -comic.
A rifle could also be loaded much more quickly without its leather patch around the bullet, but then the rifled grooves inside the barrel would no longer spin the bullet to improve its accuracy. Firing a rifle like this would be the equivalent of firing a musket.
@@kurington.blogspot7876 Indeed, Wetzel was a controversial figure even in his own day, with some considering him a hero and others considering him a homicidal maniac.
The soundtrack to this film is a masterpiece, especially 'Promentory' during the final confrontation. For years, I assumed it was an adaptation of an Native American song - so imagine my surprise when I heard a bagpiper playing it in Edinburgh!
Baffled, I spoke to the piper about the tune. Turns out it is an adaptation, but of Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean's 'The Gael'.
As a child, I hummed this tune on my way to school (I was a weird kid) - now, I listen to it as I stand in ruined castles and walk through Highland glens. It never, ever loses its capacity to bring me to (happy) tears.
THANK YOU for giving the song that has haunted me a name! I saw this movie when I was very young and always remembered "the sad fiddle scene" where the one girl throws herself off the cliff during a chase sequence. The scene and that music, were all I ever could recall about this movie. I love Celtic/folk music. I guess I better go look up the soundtrack now...and maybe consider rewatching the movie after watching this video.
One of the best and most fitting soundtracks ever.
There's a video clip on this site of a violinist named Jenny O'Connor playing The Gael at a medieval renaissance fair. I highly recommend it, she's amazing.
I really appreciate the props he gave to the score, it's vast and mesmerizing and had no ear-splitting notes. Even the battle scenes didn't have sounds that made me recoil in pain.
Really weary of the countless movies that have whisper-quiet dialogue followed by a max decibel scream or explosion.
@@Turtleproof My sentiments exactly!
I’m glad that they allowed Wes Studi (Magwa) to speak his dialogue in the actor’s natural voice rather than some stereotypical “Pigeon-English” that other films portray native Americans using. It makes him even more of a frightening character.
Wes is amazing in this film.
Wes Studi is an underrated actor who deserves far more credit.
@@mikegould6590 you kidding? He's the ultimate Native American actor.
@@mtumeumrani376 that's sorta exactly what he said..?
I grew up on a rez, it's not thay inaccurate but Wes Studi is fucking phenomenal
Magua always sent shivers up my spine with his cold, quiet and reserved way to make him seem so menacing. Wes Studi is such an amazing actor and he gave the best performance of the character of Magua. Daniel Day Lewis is also an amazing actor. I was blown away with his performance of Hawkeye.
I watched the ending today and I thought the same thing.
They were all excellent actors.
So calm and calculating. He never over plays his hand
Honestly though he's one of the most frightening movie villains ever
Yes! This is the episode I’ve been waiting on since I first discovered this channel. And now it’s here!
Same here my guy!!
This movie is astounding. I still love it after all these years. The score is still absolutely stunning.
Best soundtrack I ever heard.
Howard Shore is brilliant.
I never get tired of this movie. Every scene is epic, the music unbelievable.
There is a violinist that covers this song, I coached her husbands soccer team when he was 12.
I rank this as one of the five greatest war movies ever. Depending on your def of a war movie, Platoon, Schindler’s ListLast of Mohicans, Full Metal Jacket, Band of Brothers 11 part TV miniseries.
I my not so humble opinion.
I can forgive a little bit of straying off history's path for a move this beautiful. That ending chase scene is so well done. I'm always touched by Alice's final scene when Magua pulls back the hatchet and reaches out with his hand stained with Uncas' - Alice's new love's - blood.
Yes, the movie version of the Cooper novel was great. But was it bloodshed, bloodshed, bloodshed every day? Or did the Director just focus on the sensational and the romantic? Cooper's writing style was quite archaic, and difficult for the average TV-viewer to read. . PS. Didn't the reg British troops ever learn anything from their encounters with the Indians' guerrilla tactics? (Cut to the 20th C.--didn't the modern US Army ever learn anything from their encounters with the VietCong?).
Until recently, I lived within walking distance of where that scene was shot. It's breathtaking!
@@halwag I'm pretty sure the British did learn. Cut to the Revolution and there were still open field battles with volley fire skirmishes, but they also had rangers, snipers, and ambush units. Though most on the side of the British were not themselves "British military units" but often militia and hired guns.
As for Vietnam that was a failure by politicians and generals to understand what sort of war they were fighting. Leading up to then all wars in recent history had been "modern" in the fact that standing armies fought over territory. The VC were fine with fighting to a point, inflicting damage, then retreating Only to have the American, Australian etc soldiers then leave that area once the battle had been won. Then the VC would go reoccupy the area anyways. Still you would see "indian tactics" from LLRP, SEAL's, Green Berets etc.
The guy who knows how to load a musket on the run like that is the historical technical advisor and weapons expert, Mark Baker. He lives here in TN and teaches this kind of stuff regularly. He also was the advisor on The Patriot, teaching Mel Gibson how to use the tomahawk. The line “aim small, miss small”, was his quote to Mel that got added into the movie. Mark Baker is awesome. Google him; you’ll dig it.
I just rewatched this for the first time in years and was thinking, "this would be a good one for Nick to cover." And here it is. Well-timed.
You are living in a simulation
Me too! Tonight with the lady actually, while playing Assassin's Creed Rogue. What are the chances
@@jjwh The only reasonable explanation!
Young people need to watch this movie back to back with Marvel's Eternal so they to can wonder what the hell happened to movie making.
No spolier but the ending of this movie is phenomenal. The back drop, the choreography, the music. All brilliant...except for the one shot reload of an historical weapon of slow proportions in several seconds.
Totally agree. There's also a very quick "oopsie" moment where Daniel Day-Lewis bumps into a fake rock, but I can't complain because the last 20 minutes are such a freaking masterpiece.
The theme played with the ending shot is one of the most memorable movie endings. Mann also created the other in Heat.
I've hunted with a modern muzzle loading rifle and even that is a pain in the butt to load. I couldn't imagine someone trying to load a Long Rifle while running. Would it be possible? Maybe but you would have to practice a whole lot just to be able to do it period much less in just a few seconds. What was more accurate in that scene was Hawkeye picking up a musket and using it.
@Gwyn and Gold love Rob Roy. Neeson really gives a good performance in that sword fight at the end.
@@rainstreet78 the gunstock club is a unique bit of kit and Wes Studi gets the stuff knocked out of him.
Wes Studi does not get the respect he deserves. Amazing actor….
Fully agreed, Wes Study really made Magua one of the great cinematic villains in this film. He can just sell any role with that wonderful, striking face of his.
He doesn't make Magua sympathetic (that's a bit far), but he does make him relatable. We understand why he hates Munro, but also why he's fed up with the Huron leadership.
This movie was my first time seeing Was Studie
This was the first time I saw Wes Studie and he was great. I thought at the time that he stole the whole movie. A wonderful actor who we see too little of.
IMHO he even put Mystery Men over the top. He wasn't in the movie much, but damn his lines and delivery were perfect, and some of the most memorable.
This is easily one of the 50 greatest films ever made, thanks for doing this.
He should cover the HBO series "Chernobyl" It would be interesting to see how accurate it is.
Not very, Good cinematic story telling but devolved into KBG bad guy, This guy bad that guy bad, this guy good. You also need someone that understands radiation to help with the video. Biorobots was pretty legit though.
@@thesandman2435 100% disagree. About as accurate as such a complex technical subject can get.
The good guy-bad guy stuff...part of it was real, and part of it is the problem of looking at a bizarre system from the perspective of a - comparatively - sane one. The series mostly avoided falling into that stereotype when it communicated the incredible morass of lies that the Soviet Union was built on, the world of alternative facts people lived in. If you see good guy-bad guy stuff in that it's your problem.
it was not great not terrible
@@dukenukem8381 The 3.8 roentgen of historical series.
In all seriousness, I thought it was great.
@@squamish4244 the show is just wrong on so much of the actual story and the people of Chernobyl that it is mainly fiction. Very few people are depicted as they were and much of the story is taken from books that are known to be inaccurate. The science and the actual events are just wrong and if you view it as accurate, you should pick up some books and look at the stories of the people that worked at the plant.
"Well, to be quite honest, Sarge I'd rather be at home with the wife and kids."
On a way more serious note, I very recently watched the whole Chief series on Curiosity and the Ottawa/ Pontiac Rebellion episode especially moved me. Freaking smallpox.
So glad to see you back, always on point, especially with such a great but tricky peace of movie! Merci et à bientôt j'espère
26:12 - Gunners drape the touch holes of their cannons to stop air being expelled when the powder charge is rammed. The draught could otherwise revive any burnt out powder embers inside the barrel, which would ignite the powder charge. The loader’s best friend was the guy whose job it was to keep the touch hole covered.
I’m not sure whether a fleece was ever used.. ordinarily the touch hole would be covered by a leather patch that fitted over the gunners gloves.
Cooling was sorted by swabbing the barrel with a wet ramrod before the powder charge was loaded.. although the guns would only fire once every 2-3 minutes as the crew tired. Unlike the movies the gun would recoil about 6 feet when fired and the whole crew had to dig it out of the mud and manhandle it back into position before it could be set and reloaded. Cooling the barrel wa not the biggest problem of the day.
Thanks for posting this response. I’ve served on Civil War and Rev War reenactor gun crews and you are spot on.
It was the scene i always was most fascinated by.
watching master and commander i noticed the cannons are tied up and if i remember correct the wheels are off?obviously cant have cannons recoiling 6 feet on a warship.
trucks,yep make sense.i used to skateboard when younger and thats what the wheel assembly is called,trucks.thank you for your reply.
The line in this movie that has stuck with me is when the Mohicans are escorting Munro’s daughters to the Fort and they come across the burned out farm and bodies of their friends. Recognizing that patrols of the enemy will probably come by so if they move anything that it will be noticed and put them in greater danger. So when the oldest daughter complains that “even though they are strangers they deserve a Christian Burial” Hawkeye responds “THEY ARE NOT STRANGERS and they stay where they lay”. It really demonstrated for me the complexity and emotions of fighting wars among your friends and families which, of course, was a prevailing issue with pretty much all the wars in North America.
I grew up 20 mins outside of Albany and the shots in this movie bring back nostalgic memories of camping up north near Lake George in the Adirondacks. I can personally attest to the thick underbrush and dense forests sweeping over the hills/mountains. Even today, the state park is one of my favorite places to visit for the majestic/natural landscape.
I live in Saratoga county and practically grew up in the Adirondack Mountains. I still camp, fish, and hunt there.
I am near the LG area too, but it was shot in NC
Born and raised on Long Island but went to Lake George as a kid and drove my family through the Adirondacks to Tupper Lake, Lake Placid, and Lake George, along with the fort, a couple years ago. It is amazing territory and for someone from Long Island astounding to be in the same state.
@@nysp993 beautiful there. I enjoyed visiting the pine bush when I was there
Interesting. I always thought that the forests of Upper New York, where the historical actions took place were different to the Appalachian, Blue Ridge mountains and forests of NC.
The performances by the actors/actresses in this movie is phenomenal - Particularly Magua played by Wes Studi, Chinganchook played by Russell Means, and Hawkeye played by the legendary Daniel Day Lewis
Wes Studi was amazing in the movie. I honestly could not believe how amazingly he played the character.
@@CZProtton Magua was my favorite character(I never looked at him as a villain) - Wes Studi did him proud.
I always enjoy seeing Wes Studi in any role. But this is only his second best appearance after Mystery Men lol 🤣.
I want to say Mr Studi was particularly happy with playing Magua as it was the first time he was able to actually speak his people language on screen. Might be remembering wrong, might have been a different movie.
When she stands on the edge of the cliff. It's the one time Magua shows fear. What an actor.
The scene where he beckons Alice over with Uncas’ blood on his hand still gives me chills.
When it comes to those with rifles loading their rifles on the run I recall something I read in a guide to the Battle of Cowpens when the American riflemen fought the British forces. It made a reference to the riflemen being able to load and run at the same time. Granted it isn't easy, but they did have some shortcuts to doing it. Keep in mind prior to the American Revolution these men would have been hunters and would have had experience loading on the move. They also had ways of cutting down the loading time. They knew how to pre-measure their powder and had wooden blocks that held their patch and shot so all they had to do was ram it down the barrel. All these items would be tethered to their gear so they wouldn't lose them. While it isn't easy or hard to believe it should be kept in mind they did this on a regular basis so it is possible.
It also wasn’t uncommon for rifleman of the day to use an undersized ball if speed was the main concern. It doesn’t take as much effort to ram down and would thus be faster, albeit less accurate than a tight fitting ball.
I’m sure this has been requested 1000 times by now, but it would be absolutely amazing to see you cover Sharpe.
Dominic Noble has a video about Sharpe!
Ironically there was a clip from Sharpe at 37:00
"Romance" meant something completely different at that time. It would be closer to "Adventure/Fantasy" today.
I remember when I first learned that and noticed it In the books, shows, and movies I watched they mentioned "a man's romance" and I was like oh they mean adventure and such and not finding love
@@blazer168 Lol, but almost all adventure and fantasy involves finding love, e.g. Indiana Jones, Stargate, etc.
@@jerrygu5316 true, but they were more of a subplot than the actual adventure
@@jerrygu5316 That is mostly to do with filmmakers (and especially studios) wanting to broaden the audience appeal so that as wide a demographic as possible will find something they like in the movie.
The earliest Science-Fiction stories, like Jules Verne and HG Wells, were originally called Scientific Romance, and later stories like the John Carter of Mars books were called Planetary Romance.
It still means the same thing.
I loved this movie. Fantastic cinematography, cool actors in cool roles, epic music, great fight scenes, what's not to love? Anyone who has fired a black-powder weapon knows how vile that smoke smells. I cannot imagine the clouds of acrid smoke - the fog of war, indeed - and trying to function in it.
@@JohnnySack16 I no longer lived in the USA but back "in the day" I loved the smell of black powder, it got me into re-enacting
"vile"? I love it! Different strokes 😊
18:20: Some of the American state militias did, in fact, "piss off" when they wanted to during the War of 1812. They refused to march into Canada because they believed their duty extended only to the borders of their states.
@SAT_Holmes The agreement that militia could return to their farms for harvest is historically accurate. I’m reading The Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America 1754-1766 by Fred Anderson which argues the issues that the colonies went to war for independence actually stem from the French and Indian War.
They chose wisely. Those who ventured into Canada were handed their heads.
@@CMartMatross Yes Chris part of the reasoning for new Taxes was to help pay the cost of the War . Protecting the Colony they should help with the Cost ? Cost of War leading to Revolution . The French backed the Rebels against England During the War For Independence , That cost a lot of Money . Financial Stress , Famine Crop Failure and uncaring Aristocrats led to the French Revolution ? It might actually be Part of the Reasons for what happened Decades later .
@@mikegould6590 Most Americans frontiersmen knew full well they had no business in Canada. As usual, it was a pretentious toff in a whig who headed off the fiasco
@@CMartMatross It was the same with French Canadian militias at the time - Montcalm had to let them go after Fort William Henry so they could go back to Quebec for the fall harvest. One of the reasons (not the only one of course) he had to stop any more advances south and fall back to Canada for a more defensive war.
The Last of the Mohicans has one of the best endings I've ever seen in a movie.
As a native North Carolinian, when you mentioned how few places look as they did centuries ago, our beloved Blue Ridge and Smokies immediately came to mind. I've spent a great deal of my life in these mountains near where this was filmed. Thirty years on, it still looks pretty much the same.
it was filmed partly in Chimney Rock State Park near Hickory, North Carolina and you can walk on the trail along the cliffside. At the visitor center they have some of the original costumes and props from the film on display.
I really did love this movie, and the music, long before I wondered how accurate it was. There is so much emotion in it, something modern movies seem to have lost. Long live the 'Last of the Mohicans'!
I got so raped up in it ,I got very emotional.
I can't handle seeing people die.
@@janedc5ch319 Wrapped. Raped is entirely a different thing.
I tried reading the actual novel written by James Fennimore Cooper. It was, to me, totally unreadable. The literary conventions of the 1820’s are very different from today’s.
The 2 things I look forward to you reviewing the most are the film “Glory” and the HBO mini-series “John Adams”.
Glory is wonderful
@@AndriaBieberDesigns John Adam's is great too. I thought it was Laura Linney's finest work. I felt Paul Giamatti started off a little clumsy attempting to channel Anthony Hopkins at first. But some of my favorite work by David Morse and Tom Wilkinson. It was the first time I had noticed how great Stephen Dillane was too before he became Stannis Baratheon.
@@gerritpeacock8949 I disagree on Giamatti, but agree on everything else. Morse was SO good as Washington, and I absolutely cannot say enough about how amazing Dillane is. Seriously, he's just superb.
@@paramitch if you watch it again, just remember what I said. Giamatti kind of mumbles to himself in the first couple of episodes as if he is doing an anthony Hopkins impression. He is still great. I just think he took a turn whether he would admit it or not.
Yes, please.
One of the little historical details that makes me grin is how the characters refer to "Kentucky" as "CAN-tuk-EE"
The cane break of old Cane-tuck!
Does this guy know how to party or what?
Oh damn it, that was mill-e-wah-que
This is excellent! Never before has the French-Indian War so well explained. You have a gift, my friend. Thank you for sharing it.
I'm happy to report that mountain lions, though rare, are back in New York State. A friend of mine in rural Western NY got video of one in his backyard!
I know that you guys want to see mountain lions back in NY state but if you're itching to see mountain lions so much then visit either Utah or Idaho or even western Montana!
Mountain lions were never extinct in NY, the state government has them “officially” classified as extinct to deter poachers from trying to find them. Our government in Pennsylvania does the same thing, mountain lions are officially considered extinct despite the fact that people have been getting them on trail cams for decades now
"... that they can piss off whenever they want to."
I'm guessing you know know about what a headache US militias were for the 19th Century. That's actually a dead serious thing and would haunt the US Army for decades to come. A famous example was in 1812 when the US launched its first offensive into Canada. Half of the army flat out said "no" about the invasion leaving only the regulars to carry it off. That didn't go so well. Also, native soldiers were just as bad with the US and UK never knowing how many militia/irregulars they would have at any given battle. You Brits were REALLY DISGUSTED in the 1812 War with native troops showing up, eating up rations, and then bugging out. So as outrageous as it sounds, it really wasn't unheard of at this time in North America- the volunteer militia that could just leave whenever they want. Honestly, it's one of the reasons that the US Army was looked down upon as an army of amateurs by so many European powers.
The funny bit about that is that it is still a volunteer army, in a way. Nobody is drafted into the US Military anymore (Vietnam was the last draft-worthy war the US fought in). But the US pours so much funding into their military that life as a soldier is advertised as completely doable, as a type of CAREER. Sure, you might die in an unexpected war (faced that myself, when 9/11 went down while I was in boot camp), but the benefits are so generous that it's rather easy to volunteer, and for some people, frankly pretty preferable to most civilian careers.
Also, when you're fighting overseas, tens of thousands of miles from home, where exactly is one to defect to, if that's what he or she wants to do? So from a practical standpoint, it just makes a metric ton more sense to stay with the army that is paying you to fight, than it is to abandon the front lines. Especially since your family and friends back home, in the states, are pretty damn safe where they are, so there is no worry there.
I remember during the Civil War, some Prussian officers come in to learn some new tactics they might find. Only to find that they weren't really any interesting happening. Reporting stating the American army was just a bunch of amateurs that are not very professional.
@@jacob4920 A volunteer army isn't the same as one where soldiers can just up and leave whenever they hecking felt like it.
If you tried to leave your post in the modern US Army randomly, that would be desertion, a criminal offense.
What is now Canada was only defended by mostly militia and natives and some of the native tribes used to be in what is now the US and were pushed out and ran to Canada. British regular reinforcement came in 1813 where the tide of war shifted against the US. How ever much you can hate militia for not sticking to a regular army. irregular troops and militia was the reason Canada did not fall. The US officially attacked Quebec city twice and was repelled twice by militia.
The Idea of having a loyal army is less frequent in our timeline then expecting your men to leave mid campaign. Back in the medieval periods when the idea of nations started, whole war would grind to a halt as the soldiers just up and left to go back home for harvest and sleep the winter in. Alexander the great himself fell victim to his army leaving. Only recently have people grown coward enough to actually capture a fellow man and execute him for not wanting to fight the political war of the few. Don't get me wrong, killing for desertion always existed, But you could not place one brain dead man with a MG to cut down his fellow men so if the moral was low enough in your army, it would disband itself and theirs nothing you could do about it or be killed by them. Now all it takes is one brain dead man to commit manslaughter for you.
@@erichvondonitz5325 pretty sure the use of telegraph as a tactical, operational, and strategic communication medium , combined with the construction & use of railroads was beyond professional understanding of those Prussians.
The French besieging Fort William Henry is still one of my favorite historical scenes of all time. Also, the music makes this film special, that and the scenery which is simply stunning. Simply a very well done movie, even if it takes its liberties with the history.
I love Michael Mann's Last of the Mohicans. It is the only film adaptation I have seen that improves the story from the book. All of the elements from the book are there in the film but reorganized to make the pacing much better than the book. Also, the film disregarding a silly chapter from the book where Hawkeye (I think it was Hawkeye) dresses as a bear to scare off a village. I think they also switched the characters of Cora and her sister.
I just posted this same thought but with much less detail! 😊
What about Platoon?
Daniel Day-Lewis is absolutely one of the greatest actors of our time. He always amazes me with his performances. I actually thought he was an American for a couple years until I seen an interview of him.. I watch this movie on VHS for the first time I could only imagine how good in the theater on the big screen must have been. My brother had loaned me the movie I had never heard of it until the night I watched it. It something I must have watched it seven or eight times in a three-month and at least once a year afterwards. For me it's classic
Daniel Day Lewis is the rarest of actors. He submerges his personality completely into the character he is playing. Amazing.
I remember as a teen in the early 2000s visiting Chimney Rock Park in North Carolina, where the final scene was filmed, and my family and I listening to the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack in the car. That was an amazing trip. It's surreal walking on the actual cliffside trail where the final scene was filmed and the view is incredible. The year before we visited the actual Fort William Henry and there was a Last of the Mohicans exhibit inside where my dad told me about the movie. It's been one of my favorite movies ever since!
Yes indeed, going to Chimney Rock is a cool experience, especially for fans of the movie. We did a pic at the "Duncan's BBQ" restaurant sign outside the park. That's good dark humor marketing.
I was like, "Oh great, a 'video essay' about the 'indian' film 'Last of the Mohicans'", then I realized I was in my subs and it was actually THIS channel.
As an Indigenous person, I'm so here for this.
That main theme of the movie is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever made.
Michael Mann masterpiece. Glad to see that it is historically accurate. It’s been one of my favorite movies for almost 30 years.
Just need to say. The ending scene is one of the best scenes in movie history. I love the fight scene, the music, the setting, and it's all so good!
i'm dying for a "The Revenant" history buffs
I’m dying for a “Downfall” history buffs
Coming soon...in 2026
The Revenant would be kinda lame since much of what's in the movie is "Hollywoodized". The real story just isn't as intense, even down to the locations being way less epic (and not nearly as far as it seems in the movie) and him actually forgiving the dude in the end, not having a mixed race son or native wife, etc
@@tonywords6713 Glass didn’t kill Fitzgerald because latter had enlisted the army. I don’t remember reading that Glass forgave him, but I could be wrong.
Hawkeye was raised by Mohicans in the movie, but in the book he was raised by Delaware and had Mohican friends.
Yeah the fact they left out his entire backstory and just went with the generic orphan bullshit always irked me.
"I love this idea, like really think about it, the possibility that America, the greatest superpower in history came to be because a man was snubbed a promotion."
*It's like a man who rose to power and started the bloodiest conflict in history because he was denied entry into art school*
The principal difference, of course, was that Washington fought for the freedom and independence of his infant nation, not to conquer and oppress others. No small thing. And Washington was not the driving force behind the onset of American Revolution -- he was only given command when the revolution was already underway. And we don't really need to get into the radically different character traits of the two leaders, do we?
The "Hitler started WW2" thing works for that joke but isn't really true. Stalin, Hitler and the collective Polish allies played their thirds in it. Hitler and Stalin both invaded poland to fight each other.
If Hitler never existed, WW2 would still happen as Stalin wanted to annex/invade Europe to spread communism much like he did to half of it after WW2. WW2 would have been a weak democratic germany and other capitalist powers fighting the USSR
@@egosumhomovespertilionem
"The principal difference, of course, was that Washington fought for the freedom and independence of his infant nation, not to conquer and oppress others"-Tell that to the Native Americans he butchered and the black slaves-some of which him and the other founding fathers owned and never set free.
Hitler himself got his idea of "Lebensraum" (living space by wiping out the slavic race from existance so that Germans can have land to occupy) from the American conquest and how they treated the Native Americans. Even his idea of concentration camps was inspired by Indian reservations.
You know you're doing something wrong in life when Hitler himself mentions you in his book as a source of insperation and an example to follow.
Guys, it's a joke, not a dick. Let's try not to take it too hard.
May I suggest that you research a fellow named Lewis Westzel who lived in the Ohio Valley in the late 18th/early 19th century? A fascinating character, he actually trained himself to load and fire his Pennsylvania rifle at a full run. It saved his life at least once. Pursued by hostile Indians, he loaded and fired his weapon several times, prompting the Indians to break off their pursuit because they were convinced he had some sort of repeating rifle.
James Fenimore Cooper was probably aware of Wetzel and his exploits, but I cannot swear that the film's director was.
In short, loading and firing on the run certainly wasn't common, but it wasn't impossible.
No one on the frontier would be stupid as to even try that nonsense. Particularly an experienced one. I've made and shot flintlocks for 50 years. Tall tables for the gullible romantics.
@@normanbraslow7902 you are full of BS. You comment nonsense under every other more important comment.
I have heard of him! A friend of mine who is a cartoonist told me once that he's been entertaining the idea of doing a graphic novel about him at some point. How neat would that be if he ever gets around to it? Some of the most amazing people in history are ones you seldom if ever hear about. Jack Hinson from the Civil War era is another one that comes to mind. There's some pretty incredible stories about some of his feats with his .50 musket.
Pavel Slama Ok, fool. Go ahead and try it. Just be ire you are far out in the woods or desert all alone so when the rifle blows, you are the only one hurt or killed.
This is absolutely correct and well enough documented by family letters, interviews, accounts and other author's research. Simon Kenton was another of very few known for the same. There is factual and romanticized fiction based on Wetzel, but this feat of reloading on the run is basic accepted fact he is known for, and has been discussed as one potential inspiration for Cooper's amalgamation of Bumppo. Lots more to Wetzel's story that is not well enough known. Very interesting and perhaps influential figure of his time and area. Certainly controversial if you want to get to the heart of his life and "self designated purpose." All this someone has mentioned mostly in an earlier comment.
Perhaps a typo Frank (not to criticize, I am grateful for the mention) - but its Wetzel for anyone wishing to research. It's worth your time. The few Indians who encountered Wetzel and lived claimed "his rifle is always loaded." Known to the hostile natives of the Ohio Valley as "Deathwind" - and for an interesting reason. Look it up, no BS doubters. Said to have possibly had lead poisoning due to keeping shot in his mouth very often in order to be able to reload in such a way.
I was born in Glens Falls and grew up going to Fort William Henry and Lake George. I loved learning this history in school. I have always loved this movie for bringing me back to my childhood there (even though it was filmed in NC). The soundtrack still brings me chills and the film is stunning!
Michael Mann is one of the greatest directors and often overlooked a bit. Just a masterful artisan.
Agreed. Any respectable film buff regards him as one of the best. His ability to almost seamlessly combine high-octane, realistic action sequences with resonant, emotional sensitivity has yet to be matched. Easily one of my Top 10 directors of all time. Top 5 if we're talking about American directors only.
I had no idea this was the same director of Heat
4:40
Tanaghrisson: "Oh sorry was I not meant to split his head open with a Tomahawk?"
Washington: "Ah don't worry. It's not like this will start a 7 year long major global conflict."
Oversimplified
And what happened next was a seven year long major global conflict. (Which Great Britain won!)
@@zegpath81 Gaining America, Canada and India in the process .
I'm still sad that it isn't called the first World War in history books xD
@@thegrayyernaut he First World War wasn't called that until after 1939, it was referred to as The Great War.
If you want to read about unruly American militias who could piss off whenever they felt like it, read about the American and Canadian (though mostly American) militias during the War of 1812
"The Gael"
Last of the Mohicans theme song.
For those wondering.
such an amazing song. Dougie Maclean is a legend to me
Yup, a Scottish piece
Thanks for reviewing this absolutely brilliant film. An amazing story, strong characters, raw emotions, probably the most inspiring soundtrack of the entire movie history, breathtaking scenery, exceptional cinematography, historic authenticity, fantastic actors, and a shockingly beautiful female protagonist - it has it all. It's one of the top 5 films of my personal shortlist of all times.
I haven't seen the film in probably around 20 years now, and I still remember that climactic soundtrack like it was yesterday.
The man who taught DDL to load on the run, and who you see in the documentary is author Mark Baker. His graduate thesis was expanded for publication and titled "Sons of a Trackless Forest". He also tutored Mel Gibson in flintlock shooting for his role in "The Patriot". Frontiersmen such as Simon Kenton and Lewis Wetzel were known for their ability to reload on the run.
Exactly, thank you.
Did know that. Thanks!
I managed to acquire one of the trade guns used in the. Movie. For a smoothbore it’s a very accurate piece.
5 seconds in:
"Hell yes. Hell yes. Hell yes."
Love your show man.
So do I! HB is great!
The Monty Python clip made me subscribe. IT WAS PERFECLY PLACED.
My father took me to see this in the theater. I remember him raving about how incredible it was that the actors were running up the hill as if it was nothing.
One of the things that stuck out to me, as a child watching this, was the gunstock club the father used.
The ending scene always gets me though. The father’s reaction to seeing his son killed then quickly dispatched the antagonist!
its like freaking Christmas my birthday and wedding day when Buffs puts out a movie! such awesome videos so detailed
Ahhh! Another History Buffs review! It’s been too long and I am ready!
For me, the music is the best part of this movie. So much went over my head when I saw this as a kid, but the music sure stayed with me.
My ancestors fought in the French and Indian War. Probably one of the reasons why I was so interested in history. This movie will always have a special place in my heart
"He who questions training only trains himself at asking questions." -Magua
“We are number one. All others are number two. Or lower.” Magua
Magua is a total badass! Too bad he didn't exist in real life.
When you can balance a tack hammer on your head, you will head off your foes with a balanced attack." -The Sphinx
@@coraggio93 he did, in character
@@mshnman And why am I wearing watermelon on my feet?
Yay! I work at Fort Necessity National Battlefield and we help preserve Jumonville Glen. It is amazing to see it given the recognition.
This film also helped inspire a reenactor fashion trend. After this film premiered a lot of brown stripped skirts appeared in camps. 😆 obviously hoping to meet their Hawkeye.
Beautiful part of SW PA. Lots of outdoor activities to do
First time watching History Buffs due to my deep love for this movie. So interesting learning the true historical events that inspired Cooper's book and Mann's film. And I'm right there with you Mr. Hodges regarding the music. This production just had everything going for it, including Mr. Day-Lewis and the luminous Madeleine Stowe. Wes Studi and Russell Means were also outstanding.
Probably one of my favorite movies .. The cinematography is amazing.. Beautifully shot and framed. The soundtrack is amazing. The characters... Just love it
I've always loved "The Last of the Mohicans". I also adore the music. I stirrs me the same way the music from "Excaliber" does.
It is indeed profoundly stirring. It's truly an exquisite film.
In Excalibur the music is mainly from Richard Wagner. Indeed that's great music !
This movie combines my love of history with unforgettable acting (Studi, Day-Lewis) and a particular song, "The Gael" by Scottish legend Dougie Maclean. The funny thing is, my parents had an old cassette tape of his and I used to love that song long before I knew of this movie. Then I saw this film for the first time and the scene at the fort when it plays gave me chills and still does to this day. There is a quiet determination running through the whole movie, building in intensity all the way to the final epic scene.
Scots Irish music strongly influenced traditional American folk music. In Appalachia some of the music is virtually unchanged.
That's what I absolutely loved about this movie. The final like seven to nine minutes NOBODY SAYS A WORD, but you can tell what's going on. Like the last thing said is by Duncan who says, "my compliments, sir. Now take her and get out!"
And then Jodi May says more with her eyes than anybody says in that entire movie with their mouths.
Loved the artillery notes. The lack of recoil, though understandable, always drives me nuts. Having live fired American Civil War artillery it’s pretty substantial. Though I’ve never considered the smoke rings until now! Also, I believe the sheepskin was not to cool the breach but to act like a thumb stall and prevent air from getting in through the touchhole. By depriving it of air/oxygen the likelihood of embers surviving the swab is decreased. This reduces the chance of a discharge when the next charge is rammed home.
Interesting! Why not both? More often than not, things back then were multifunctional. Pragmatism was life, for most people back then in general, but especially people living and/or fighting on the frontier. haha
have you seen the vassa cannon videos the had copies made of cannon for the 1620 fired into copies of a ship side made as close as possible to a 16020's warship its crazy neat
@@ncktbs I have not, but I’ll check it out!
Did they not use thumb stalls in this period or did they revert to water soaked sheepskins when the guns got too hot?
18th Century mortars were fixed to bases, to prevent recoil, though that was not the case with field guns.
Beautifully made film. Not enough is done on this period of history. Well done on your review. So many stories in this time that deserve telling.
"None of your men will see the inside of a prison barge, they are free, so long as they return to England, and fight no more on this continent and your civilian militia, return to their farms" "Their arms?" "They may leave the fortress fully armed" "My colors?" "Carry them to England with pride!"
this secene was so wholsome and the general was very genorus and respectful!
A similar deal was reneged on by the Afghans in 1842.
49:00 There wasn't a dry eye left in the cinema. Even now, 30 years later, having watched it many times, this end scene still has us wiping our eyes and reaching for a hanky. You're spot on mention this and good to see you back.
One of the best movie soundtracks of all time, and one of my favorite movies ever made. My only complaint is that when they put out the director's cut so we could actually watch those incredible battle scenes, they also changed the dialogue. I hate they took away all of Nathaniel's one-liners from the theatrical cut, because those were really fantastic in that they were cutting and showed his intelligence, but also made important points about the different attitudes at play. I wish I could have a fusion of both the extra scenes from the director's cut and dialogue from the theatrical cut. Maybe I'll even make my own DVD where I cut between the two.