The Toronto Star from Toronto, Ontario, Canada • 52

C6 Friday, September 25, 1992 THE TORONTO STAR TTTTT-T-I I I I I I I I I I I III I I I I I I I I I I I li ftV. rGlorious historical saga lives up to the term classic a lie captain ferent tribes of the time, everything from how they fought to how they shaved their heads. He Movies one of two daughters of of the hapless British regiment at Fort Henry William, Day-Lewis is his own man. Instead of representing some The Last Of The Mohicans Starring DanM Day-Lawla and Mad-lalna Stowa, acraanptey by MtahaM Mann and Christopher Crowe based on the novel by Jamas Fentmora Cooper and tho screenplay by Philip Dunne, directed by Michael Mann. At Cineplex Odoon theatres.

PQ Catherine Dunphy An epic! Casts of thousands! Action! Adventure! Exclamation marks! The punctuation conies from me and from all the other Viewers who will be astonished and delighted to finally see the real thing, a genuine epic, done in the grind style and done well. The Last Of the Mohicans law explosive and glorious saga, thrilling and sweeping with over whelming cinematography, a REVI co-founder of the American Indian Movement) and his brother Uncas, played by Canadian Eric Schweig. Both father and brother take their share of the action, ak does Steven Waddington as a by-the-book British officer. 'so -Lewis is not the superna- rat every natural An Academy Award winner (for My Left Foot) he very deliberately makes himself still and centred, but not central. He does not carry the movie He is not supposed to and she does not have to.

r-j The Last Of The Mohicans can stand by itself. and Day-Lewis spent eight months before a single frame was shot learning to hunt and skin animals, handle a flintlock rifle, start a fire by flint When directors pay this much attention to details, the story can get lost Its been known to happen. Characters become props, or worse, historical mouthpieces, and their stories aggravating distractions instead or illuminations of past lives. nut as Hawkeys, the adopted white son of a Mohican chief, who falls in love with Cora politically correct version of the best of both worlds, Day-Lewis presents a free man of his time who was independent and grateful tn be an outsider. He is not the last Mohican of the title that moniker belongs to another.

Nor is he the take-charge, vanqulsh-all hero of most of these Boys Own Annual tales. Long-haired and taut, he streaks through the murky forests, but so do his father (played by Russell Means, in real life a simplified, name of die epic and almost paid to die good memory of Hur, Mohicans can legitimately be considered something of a miracle. Director Michael Mann is one of the more unlikely people to have created this I dont use this word lightly classic: Up to now, hes known for executive 1 inducing Miami Vice and direct-ng Manhunter, a slight film that attracted most of its attention after another Thomas Harris novel was made into a movie (The Silence Of The Lambs). But without dousing the sparks set off by the first wide-eyed and breathless childhood reading of James Fenimore Coopers great frontier adventure classic nor Scotts Hawk- i Anchored by a performance of almost Zen-like calm and focus a lithe Daniel Day-Lewis and another of muted but fierce intensity by Madeleine Stowe, it is hothing less than a cinematic second coming. Alter the recent overblown and false Far And Away, CUy Of Joy nd Hook besmirched the good 1 FflMOU si L'AYE RS is presented as tableau and grand gesture and grave portentous pronouncements.

While neat and foolish British soldiers fire rhythmically into the dark blue yonder, families of settlers are sacrificed and tomahawks land with sickening stereophonic thuds. Heads are scalped, a heart is deliberately cut from a still living foe, the war whoop is primal and terrifying. This Is the dark side of war, dose, erratic, fleet, graceful and terrible. It is not easy to watch. But impossible not to.

As electrifying as the fighting over Fort William Henry between the English officer Munro and the French Montcalm is shown to be, the scene in which the bedrag-led defeated English are at-leaving their fort in pa- full of thetic pomp is astounding, sr 'I si IK HARRISON FORD THE DIRECTORS CUT THE ORIGINAL CUT OF THE FUTURISTIC ADVENTURE Th eye in the original 1936 movie. Mann has created balletic and brutal scenes of great scope and beauty and intimate frenzy. But be warned. He does not back away from showing the barbarity of the battles. Reportedly obsessed with presenting a minutely accurate depiction of the 1757 war in the American colonies between Britain and France and the native Americans who aligned themselves with both sides, Mann has not made another period piece in which history unsettling silent firry.

More than 1,000 native American extras move fiercely and furtively. Never has an attack felt so real Or been shown in as proper a context. Fully understood is the reason for the savagery of the vengeful, vicious Huron, Magua (played by Cherokee Wes Studi). Mann was also careful to recreate the various styles of the dif- at rfV SPECIAL MIDNIGHTSHOWj IPJPTOWNtT BATURDA' CAST OF THOUSANDS: Hawkey, played with exacting detail by Danlel-Day Lewis, leads the attack In Last Of The Mohicans, and (Inset) romances Madeline Stowe, who Is exceptional as his love Interest. JBY PBCNCHK) VORNN PRESENT A MICHAEL DEBV-MXEV SCOTT iwaoi HAHH90H FORD BLADE RUNNER wRUIUER HMJER SEAN VOUNQ EDWARD JAMES 0LM08 -HAMPTONFANCHER DFMD PEOPLES mm BRIAN KEUY HAMPTON RANCHBT DOUGLAS TRUMBULL hurtrussell martin kmea iNeewn7i fes The only thing Martin wanted was a nice, quiet family vacation SfoocMtom hcbirti HOLLYWOOD I SHERATON (Xj oc CY fXtr CEDARBRAE 1 VICTORIA Tarr.

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