Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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328 of 331 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Theatrical version available on DVD overseas, November 26, 2004
Like many people here, I detest the recut DVD version of this film. Seeing the original theatrical version in 1992 was one of the key moviegoing experiences of my life. I don't buy DVDs to see a new spin on a movie I liked, I buy them to be able to rewatch that same movie. Alternate cuts are fine as a bonus feature, but once I saw how Michael Mann had butchered his mainstream masterpiece, giving no option of seeing how it was originally, I sold the DVD and bought a copy of the mercifully untouched widescreen VHS.
Recently, however, I discovered that while this American director's cut DVD is from Fox, Warner Bros holds the rights to Mohicans outside the USA, and they have released the original theatrical version on DVD around the globe. I have a regionless DVD player, which is easy to get in many stores for under fifty dollars, so I bought a copy of the British DVD at amazon.co.uk
Wow. It's as I remembered it, with the Clannad song, without the extra monologue over the closing scene, and with my favorite line back in -- "My father warned me about people like you. He said do not try to understand them, and do not try to make them understand you."
If you love this movie like I do, get a regionless DVD player, they're worth it for so many reasons, and then get a copy of the British DVD. You'll be glad you did.
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368 of 391 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great Original Movie (and VHS); POOR DVD, September 7, 2000
Re-release of a previous review so those who read nearby reviews NOTE the difference between VHS (excellent) and DVD (POOR): Waited in great anticipation for the DVD release of this one. The Last of the Mohicans is a great movie enhanced with terrific music. The VHS widescreen version in THX is a wonderful piece of entertainment. Unfortunately, this Director's Expanded Edition has destroyed the flow and continuity of the original. In Director Michael Mann's attempt to supply us with his "definitive vision of the film" via his own editing, he has ignored the professional editors and provided us with a substandard version of what was a fine film. Several of the added clips have no musical sound track at all and come across as painfully awkward - making the viewer fully aware he/she is watching actors in front of a camera rather than immersing us in the action. There is even a series of scenes in the original (and VHS) that has a vocal music piece overlaid that has been completely omitted from the DVD. All in all, I was very disappointed in the DVD after having distinctive and memorable images etched in my mind from the original theater and VHS releases.
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47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Romance and Adventue, July 12, 2005
Set in 1757 during the French and Indian War, "The Last of the Mohicans" is based (but does not strictly adhere to) the novel by James Fenimore Cooper. It is a lavish, exquisite production, with Daniel Day-Lewis fantastic as Hawkeye, showing a screen magnetism that is more intense than in any other part he has played. His chemistry with beautiful Cora, wonderfully portrayed by Madeleine Stowe is palpable, and they manage to have one of the most erotic love scenes ever filmed, without shedding a single garment. The film has many battles scenes, and could be categorized as "action/adventure," but I always think of it as being primarily a romance, and it is also an excellent depiction of the early days of the settlers, and their many struggles.
The setting is western New York, with much of the action taking place at Fort William Henry, but it was actually filmed in the lush and scenic wilderness of North Carolina, with superb cinematography by Dante Spinotti, and a lovely score by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman. Michael Mann's direction keeps a terrific pace, and the cast is wonderful, and includes Russell Means, marvelous in his film debut as Chingachgook, Eric Schweig as Uncas, Wes Studi as the revengeful Magua, Johdi May as Cora's sister Alice, and Steven Waddington impressive as Major Duncan Heyward.
VHS vs. DVD: The Director's Expanded Edition, though still a brilliant film, is a disappointment, and I will be keeping my old letterbox VHS, which though worn, actually has a brighter picture than the DVD. The "expanded" portions add little to the enjoyment of the film, and the deletions hurt it. The incomplete conversation between Hawkeye and Cora in the burial ground is left hanging in the air, and the absence of Clannad's song, "I Will Find You", takes much of the magic from the scene where Hawkeye follows the captured Cora.
Total running time for the VHS, 114 minutes, DVD 117 minutes.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
THE HANDSOME BRAVE MOHICANS HELPED THE BRITISH COLONIAL'S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS!
This is a outstanding movie that has it all, action, war, love, jealousy, betrayal, passion, honor, friendship, courage, sacrifice, death and sorrow, and freedom!
Read more
Published 1 month ago by Teresa
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