Thirty years ago, I sat in a darkened theater in Southern California as kettledrums rumbled, and gorgeous orchestral music rose over images of hazy hills. The scene cut to three men sprinting through thick, dark forest. The swing of a long-barreled flintlock rifle, the flash and the roar — and I was transported to the New York frontier in 1757.
Since that September day in 1992, I’ve watched all or parts of The Last of the Mohicans times beyond count. I have probably listened to Dougie MacLean’s The Gael theme every day since.
Michael Mann’s magnificent picture premiered on September 25, 1992. I was living in Sierra Madre, California, at the time — right at the foot of the Mt. Wilson trail. Aye, as you can imagine, that Celtic theme coursed through my blood as I hiked or ran up that trail. When Lady Marilyn and I visited Sisters, Oregon, in August of 1993, with an eye to rolling up our own version of the Oregon Trail, we listened to the soundtrack of The Last of the Mohicans as we drove over the Santiam Pass and through the dense west-side forest back to Portland — and our decision was made.
I never visit Sahalie Falls in the Cascades to our west without picturing Nathaniel, Uncas and Chingachgook leaping improbably down the falls to escape Magua and his Huron, and live to fight another day.
The climactic scene of personal combat on the cliff trail remains tense and dramatic no matter how many times you see it.
I imagine our dog-brother Lane Batot is feeling the passage of the decades as he contemplates his work on the film three decades ago. The last two editions of Muzzleloader Magazine feature Ted Franklin Belue’s reminiscences of that arduous shoot. There is a series of videos on Youtube on the making of the film that are well worth your time. They’re linked here. Lane offers extensive commentary on his experience on that post.
I shall raise a horn tonight to the magnificent LOTM — and today’s soundtrack shall be The Gael in all of its many incarnations. Here’s a favorite:
Quixotic Mainer says
One of those extremely rare gems where the movie is far better than the book. Chingachgook’s “But once, we were here.” speech should never have been cut from the theatrical edition.
JimC says
Concur.
lane batot says
Yeah, I accumulated a lot of stories during that movie, my first foray into the Hollyweird World(as an “Xtra” then–we Xtras would all likely be Computer Animated these days!) It IS a great movie(final product), and even GREATER Soundtrack(one of the BEST EVER!), but the making of it was NOTORIOUS among experienced film folk involved as THE WORST, most abusive film they ever worked on! I saw a lot of that unfolding around me, but luckily, I was one of the ONLY group of people that actually had FUN doing it–the Xtra Coureur De Bois! There were not many of us, and we were ALL flippant as heck about the whole deal(and enjoyed speaking in outrageous French accents!), and no one of any authority was in control over us(we hung out sorta mostly with the Xtra French Indians, but came and went rather as we pleased! Unlike the rest of the Furher controlled cast and crew! Typecast, the lot of us!) Hence why you see so little of us in the Final Product! I’m purty sure the anally controlling Mann HATED us–his body posture and other subtle mannerisms hinted at that when we were in his presence, and the SCREAMED apoplectic expletives “WHERE THE HELL ARE THE GODDAMMED COUREUR DE BOIS!!!!!!” when we were scheduled for visibility but weren’t, was another clue…… BUT–DUH-YAM! Thirty Years? Thirty-One for me, as we started filming in 1991, actually! It hardly seems that long ago……Seems like last Summer, sometimes. I credit LOTM as being a major influence in convincing me a film career was NOT something I was temperamentally well suited for! I think the mind-numbing BOREDOM between shots, that dragged on and on and on, day after day, got to me the most. I realized just how damn lucky I already was–instead of pretend filming of individuals running free in the mountains, reveling in the wilderness, I was actually living that life, roaming and running daily with my pack of wolf dogs at the time, with no Director’s orders or particular controls marring the experience! But it WAS a neat project to have been a part of, in the end, even if so peripherally!
Aaron Yetter says
Got me into flintlock and historical trekking for about 10 years until other interests took over. I still occasionally go for walks with the flintlock and zap a few squirrels and the odd turkey. I also agree film is a lot better than the book.
JimC says
I’d guess that LOTM sparked (sorry) a whole lot of interest in the ol’ flintlock and historical reenactment. Also really launched Daniel Winkler with his custom knives and tomahawks — now devoted to weapons and tools for Spec Ops.
Brian H. says
I was born in upstate New York and as a kid visited Fort Ticonderoga and Old Fort Henry. Those times coupled with an old Davy Crockett bio and a YMCA program called “Indian Guides” definitely lit the fire for me. We then came to Colorado in the late 70’s just in time for the modern black powder scene to be flourishing and Michener’s “Centennial” to get made. Years after LOTM came out and my sons were old enough to watch it, I think it gave them a glimpse as to why I’ve been fascinated by the “coureur des bois” my whole life. It’s a epic film in every sense of the word.
Quixotic Mainer says
A cool but completely unrelated bit o’news; James Keating is linking FP articles from his blog now. I don’t know if you have ever met him, but he’s an intriguing fellow, and definitely an influence to the modern understanding of white weapons.
JimC says
Never met him, but I’m familiar with his Bowie Knife work. That IS cool.
Padre says
What a tangled web FP weaves! I recently called Keating up to order one of his DVDs. He was busy tending to his horses, but still took 15 minutes to take my order and offer me some very wise advice. He’d be a fascinating guy to meet and train with.
I wonder if he could offer up a guest post on frontier Bowie knife techniques?
JimC says
That is a fine idea…
Eccentric Cowboy says
I must confess a grievous sin I’ve committed: I hadn’t seen Last of the Mohicans until a few years ago at the urging of a friend, and I’ll be eternally in their debt for that recommendation. The movie doesn’t just show the superficial aspects of the frontier, it captures the SOUL of living on the frontier in its glorious visuals, heart-clutching soundtrack and granite solid writing. It’s bloody, it’s brutal, it’s dangerous, and the characters love it. But for all the peril there is unmistakable beauty in the wild lands. It’s not shown as good or evil, it simply is what it is, the frontier.
Absolutely glorious movie, and it occupies the top shelf in my movie collection!
JimC says
Always good to hear from you, EC. LOTM puts me in mind of your long-ago post urging fantasy readers to explore the wilds of the forest frontier.
Eccentric Cowboy says
Always glad to post Jim!
Indeed, I feel that fantasy today has bottlenecked quite a bit, and ironically people aren’t exploring other avenues of fantasy. A great exception is Primal, which you mentioned in a post a little while back. It’s unorthodox and it’s absolutely amazing! Next to no dialogue, and yet you understand everything. Positively beautiful!
I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it already. And if you have, watch it again. 😉
Matthew says
It’s weird but a lot of fantasy writers are kind of closed minded in that they only know Tolkien fantasy or Martin fantasy. They don’t know Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast novels which are sort of like if Dickens wrote Franz Kafka’s The Castle. Hell, they may not know Kafka. Or Borges either. (Of course, people who “don’t read that weird stuff” insist that those two aren’t fantasy.)
Also, a lot of good fantasy writers had a wider area of influence than just fantasy novels. REH knew a lot about history particularly the American West, but also other times and places. Tolkien was an expert philologist and knew a lot of mythology. Some fantasy novels seem written by people who only know fantasy novels.
And do watch Primal.
Eccentric Cowboy says
Indeed, I’ve noticed this being very predominant these days. And don’t get me wrong, I love Tolkien, I’ve read his works repeatedly, and it’s amazing, but it’s not the ONLY way to write fantasy. There are a multitude of others, and it almost seems like some people look down on shorter, self-contained stories with fewer rules and more mystery. I actually love fantasy stories like The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, where there is a great journey, lots of monsters and baddies to fight, and a villain with mysterious abilities and it’s not always clear what he can or can’t do, raising the tension.
In fact, people seem remarkably reticent to write fantasy with influences other than medieval Europe. And I understand that, as many of us are descended from such roots, but hardly all of us. There are untapped gold mines of resources throughout the world and history for us to draw from. I myself am diving deep into mythology and stories from India, Native Americans, China, Africa, Central and South America, and many others.
And REH did amazing fantasy, one of the only fantasy writers I actively read. They’re fantastic! And I must make yet another confession of sins, I’m not familiar with Mervyn Peake, Franz Kafka or Borges. Indeed, my sins accumulate ever greater! But perhaps I can atone and read from these greats!
Westley Wu says
One of my top 5 movies of all time. Love the period, wish they would make more movies like it!
JimC says
Me too. There are so many rich opportunities.
Thomas A McIntyre says
Time for a remake of the great Northwest Passage, 1940.
My supposition is that it was a prewar propaganda film, to assure future soldiers of how the worst hardships could be endured.
Thomas A McIntyre says
PS The Ranger eating the severed Indian head! Talk about transgressive.
Thomas A McIntyre says
Most striking for me was that in a period when Hollywood was indulging in the self-flagellation of highlighting ugly people as stars, those in LOTM were breathtakingly beautiful and handsome, white and red–well, there was Wes Studi, but he wasn’t dull looking. Seemed to me that Mann realized audiences went to movies specifically to see faces and bodies that didn’t look just like theirs.
JimC says
I consider Madeleine Stowe one of the great beauties.
Thomas A McIntyre says
Here, here.
lane batot says
A great beauty indeed, Madeline Stowe, and she could do more with one look than other actors do with a soliloquy!
Joe says
I’ll definitely check out these Ted Franklin Belue magazine features. The score of the film continues to stand out as both unique and unexpectedly perfectly suited to the setting of the French-Indian War timeframe.