This is my very favorite film! As much as I like Gladiator and Troy, they always seem so distant. Perhaps this being closer to our time and fought on our turf, just before we set off on our own as a nation - it speaks more to me. Only Mel Gibson and The Patriot come close to the excellence in cinema that tells of this time. Like a lot of guys, I am easily won over by big, epic, sweeping, romantic stories of war and heroism - I enjoy them immensely. This is the one I enjoy the most.
I think in part it's because all of the tribes at war here, are presented in a favorable light. The French and the British, Mohawk and Huron, the settlers and colonists - you like all of them! There are bad guys too, but it's the Noble men that stand out. And there are noble men and the showing of honor throughout. I'm sure Mr. Cooper's great telling of a good story has a lot to do with it - the writers always do. But it's the movie we're talking about.
It might just be my imagination, but it seems that Michael Mann always does something with the lighting. I think it goes all the way back to his Miami Vice days. It seems to affect the intimacy, or the way we view the people. But I could be wrong. His two best films are this one and Heat. With the greatest shootout anywhere being the one in Heat. Daniel Day Lewis wore the part of Hawkeye as though it had been tailor made. What an excellent performance. But then he's famous for the study he puts into his characters.
There are some seemingly smart strong people in every group presented here, no one tribe has all the virtue. In that sense, they are equals - a rarity in storytelling and movie making. So much of history is crowded with the master and servant relationship that also ends up in much of our literature. And there is always an element of truth to that, but it's not the whole truth. Don't forget, it's the winners who always write the history. Seldom does a conquerer speak well of a vanquished foe.
The character of Chingachgook, the older Mohawk and former chief, has got the coolest weapon in the form of a Mohawk throwing axe. It's so big it looks like a rifle when it's slung over his back, but it's not.
This is not at all a Western, which occupies a unique time period in our history between the end of the Civil War and the early 1900's. One hundred years before there was ever a west to have cowboys in - there was the Frontier and frontiersmen. A completely different time, place and people - not related to the cowboy. This is their say, let them have it.
It all takes place during the time that the British and French are fighting for control over the fur trade in the north all the way up into Canada, and the sugar trade all the way down south into the Caribbean. Sometimes wars are about the land, but many times they're about the money coming from the resources. This is one of those times, and the heat of the battle over this money is the French and Indian War - at least on land. Which covers the period of our story. You never hear that in movies or novels, but that is the history of it. When left to themselves, Cain will always kill Abel - over something.
I leave it on that note as it ties in perfectly with the sense of remorse and longing we're left with from the story. But you'll have to watch this most excellent movie for yourself to see what any of that means. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It is a rich tale, a grand sweeping romantic action adventure epic, a satisfying movie, and a most beautiful one at that.
I think in part it's because all of the tribes at war here, are presented in a favorable light. The French and the British, Mohawk and Huron, the settlers and colonists - you like all of them! There are bad guys too, but it's the Noble men that stand out. And there are noble men and the showing of honor throughout. I'm sure Mr. Cooper's great telling of a good story has a lot to do with it - the writers always do. But it's the movie we're talking about.
It might just be my imagination, but it seems that Michael Mann always does something with the lighting. I think it goes all the way back to his Miami Vice days. It seems to affect the intimacy, or the way we view the people. But I could be wrong. His two best films are this one and Heat. With the greatest shootout anywhere being the one in Heat. Daniel Day Lewis wore the part of Hawkeye as though it had been tailor made. What an excellent performance. But then he's famous for the study he puts into his characters.
There are some seemingly smart strong people in every group presented here, no one tribe has all the virtue. In that sense, they are equals - a rarity in storytelling and movie making. So much of history is crowded with the master and servant relationship that also ends up in much of our literature. And there is always an element of truth to that, but it's not the whole truth. Don't forget, it's the winners who always write the history. Seldom does a conquerer speak well of a vanquished foe.
The character of Chingachgook, the older Mohawk and former chief, has got the coolest weapon in the form of a Mohawk throwing axe. It's so big it looks like a rifle when it's slung over his back, but it's not.
This is not at all a Western, which occupies a unique time period in our history between the end of the Civil War and the early 1900's. One hundred years before there was ever a west to have cowboys in - there was the Frontier and frontiersmen. A completely different time, place and people - not related to the cowboy. This is their say, let them have it.
It all takes place during the time that the British and French are fighting for control over the fur trade in the north all the way up into Canada, and the sugar trade all the way down south into the Caribbean. Sometimes wars are about the land, but many times they're about the money coming from the resources. This is one of those times, and the heat of the battle over this money is the French and Indian War - at least on land. Which covers the period of our story. You never hear that in movies or novels, but that is the history of it. When left to themselves, Cain will always kill Abel - over something.
I leave it on that note as it ties in perfectly with the sense of remorse and longing we're left with from the story. But you'll have to watch this most excellent movie for yourself to see what any of that means. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It is a rich tale, a grand sweeping romantic action adventure epic, a satisfying movie, and a most beautiful one at that.