The Last of the Mohicans
An epic adventure and passionate romance unfold against the panorama of a frontier wilderness ravaged by war.
Country
Production
Budget
$40 000 000
Box office
$75 505 856
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Michael Mann, Hunt Lowry, James G. Robinson
Camera operator
Composer
Trevor Jones
Artist
Wolf Kroeger, Dennis Bradford, Patricia Woodbridge
Audition
Bonnie Timmermann, Susie Figgis
Editing
Short description
In war-torn colonial America, in the midst of a bloody battle between British, the French and Native American allies, the aristocratic daughter of a British Colonel and her party are captured by a group of Huron warriors. Fortunately, a group of three Mohican trappers comes to their rescue.
What's left behind the scenes
- A film adaptation of the eponymous work by James Fenimore Cooper (1826).
- Poor living conditions for the extras during location filming in the forest led to a strike among the crew. The strike involved not only the extras themselves but also lead actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Russell Means.
- A film adaptation of the novel of the same name by James Fenimore Cooper (1826).
- Day-Lewis, a proponent of the Stanislavski system known for his meticulous attention to character development, gained weight, significantly improved his physical fitness, and learned how to fire a flintlock rifle and paddle a canoe for the film. This fact was widely discussed in the English-language press; however, few noticed that Russell Means, who was in his fifties at the time of filming, performed in hunting and combat scenes without any concessions for his age. According to Mann in an interview released after Means' death, Means achieved the necessary physical condition in three weeks.
- In one interview, actress Jody May, when asked about her role as Alice, replied that most of her performance ended up on the cutting room floor. Fans of the film were particularly excited about the love scene between Alice and Uncas, which was written in the script as quite explicit but did not make it into the final film.
- Approximately 900 Native American extras were recruited from across the country for the filming.
- Eric Schweig, who played the role of Uncas, expressed his opinion in an interview with the film's fan site that the movie suffered because attention was focused primarily on the white stars—Stowe and Day-Lewis—at the expense of the 'Native American' component of the plot.
- Poor living conditions for the extras during location shooting in the forest led to a strike among the cast and crew. It was joined not only by the extras themselves but also by the leading actors, Daniel Day-Lewis and Russell Means.
- Russell Means, despite his clear sympathy for the director (and Michael Mann's mutual personal and political sympathy for him), noted instances of racist treatment of Native Americans by the film crew and the filmmakers' blatant ignorance of Native American history, culture, and customs.
- Day-Lewis, a follower of the Stanislavski system and known for his meticulous attention to character development, gained weight, significantly improved his physical fitness, learned to shoot a flintlock rifle, and operate a canoe for the film. This fact was repeatedly discussed in the English-language press, but few noticed that Russell Means, who was over fifty at the time of filming, performed in hunting and combat scenes without any concessions made for his age. According to Mann in an interview released after Means' death, he achieved the necessary physical condition in three weeks.
- Eric Schweig, who played Uncas, expressed in an interview with the film's fan site that the film suffered from the focus being primarily on the white stars of the film—Stowe and Day-Lewis—to the detriment of the “Native American” component of the plot.
- Erik Schweig, reflecting on his work on the role, noted that he remembers more the constant need to run a lot than 'getting into character'.
- Reflecting on his work for the role, Eric Schweig noted that he remembers the constant need to run a great deal more than he remembers 'getting into character'.
- Actress Jody May, when asked about her role as Alice in one interview, replied that her role remained mostly on the cutting room floor. A particular excitement among the film's fans was caused by the love scene between Alice and Uncas, written in the script as quite explicit, but not included in the film.
- Despite a clear affinity for the director (and Michael Mann's mutual personal and political affinity for him), Russell Means noted instances of racist treatment of Native Americans by the film crew and the filmmakers' blatant ignorance of Native American history, culture, and customs.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
