Many long nights were spent filming the siege scenes. Loudspeakers were installed around the battlefield and fort so directions could easily be given to the hundreds of cast and crew. One night after many long hours, Mann shouted over the speakers, “What’s that orange light? Turn out that orange light!” After a pause, another voice came over the speakers saying, “That’s the SUN, Michael.”
Daniel Day-Lewis is well known for going to extremes in preparation for his roles. For this film he lived in the wilderness where his character might have lived, hunting and fishing and living off the land for several months prior to shooting.
By most accounts, each scene took at least 20 takes. Concerned about the growing cost, 20th Century Fox sent a representative to the set who did nothing but stand behind Michael Mann and say, “That’s enough Michael, move on.”
Wes Studi claimed in a 1996 interview that he and several of the other Native American actors in the film spoke their lines in their own native languages. Thus, in many instances, such as the scene in the Huron village where Magua argues with the Huron Sachem, Studi speaks his native Cherokee, which is mostly unintelligible to Mike Phillips, a native Mohawk speaker. As well, supposed Mohican dialog between Chingachgook and his son Uncas, features Lakota Sioux Russell Means speaking unintelligibly with Northern Inuit Eric Schweig.
The shoot employed more than 900 Native Americans from all over the United States, mostly from the Cherokee tribes.
The main theme of the movie is taken from the tune “The Gael” by Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean on his 1990 album The Search.
Daniel Day-Lewis trained with a U.S. Army colonel to develop his shooting and hand-to-hand combat skills.
Hawkeye’s real name in the novel is Natty Bumppo. The film changed to Nathaniel Poe to avoid laughter from the audience.
Michael Mann decided to shoot the film in North Carolina instead of New York partly because he felt that the woods there looked more like the old-growth forests of the Adirondacks, which still show evidence of logging during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the scenes were shot at Biltmore, George Vanderbilt’s North Carolina estate, with a forest that was carefully planned and planted about 100 years ago.
The film was originally scheduled for a summer 1992 release, as the teaser posters said, but when Michael Mann’s first version clocked in at three hours, he was told by Fox to cut the film down and the release was postponed to September. Mann was never happy with the resulting two-hour version, feeling he had not had enough time to properly trim it, and so Fox allowed him to re-edit it entirely for the 1999 DVD release. Although only a few minutes longer, the new version features minor changes throughout the film. It is Mann’s preferred version and the only one available on DVD in the US.
Daniel Day-Lewis’ commitment to his role and the strenuous shooting schedule took a toll on his health. He was treated for claustrophobia and “mild hallucinations” after this movie wrapped.
Jodhi May’s mother was on-set because of Jodhi’s age. She woudn’t allow a real “love scene” between Jodhi and Eric Schweig.
Michael Mann wouldn’t allow the actors to use stand-ins.
Some of the cast and crew spent a month in the North Carolina wilderness together before shooting began.
Cinematographer Dante Spinotti used minimal lighting to give the movie a natural look.
Some of the extras used were trained in historic military combat for three months.
Jodhi May has said that much of her role disappeared on the cutting room floor.
Several of the set pieces, including the immense Ft. William Henry, were built with the appropriate materials and on location.
Madeleine Stowe was initially reluctant to star in this movie. It was only after she realized it was a love story that she agreed to audition.
Reputedly, the Fort William Henry set was constructed at a cost of $6m.
Michael Mann has said watching The Last of the Mohicans (1936) when he was young was his inspiration for the film.
Michael Mann re-shot the waterfall scene nine days before showing the movie to reviewers.
While filming the canoe scenes, the canoe always tipped. F. Curtis Gaston, Soldier Number One, recalls having to save the upset Jodhi May from the cold waters.
In the beginning of the movie the natives are shown playing the Creators Game what is now known as lacrosse.
The red-brick bridge that’s crossed over in the beginning of the movie is at Biltmore Estate Asheville, NC.
There are three versions with three different running times: the original 1992 release 112 minute version, the 2001 117 minute director’s expanded version, and a 2010 director’s definitive cut at 114 minutes.
Mike Phillips character is listed as “Sachem” in the end credits. This is not a name; it is a title that means “elder”, “wise one”, or “chief”. The character’s actual name is “Tamenund”, although this name is never used in the film.
In Cooper’s book, Cora’s mother was of African heritage, though not a slave. Madeline Stowe is of English, German, and Costa Rican ancestry.
Daniel Day-Lewis is alleged to have quipped at the local NC airport to a fellow Mohican player, “I quit smoking, but this film has made me start again”.
As depicted, the British and militia of Fort William Henry were allowed to leave with their arms and colors, however, historically they were not allowed to have ammunition. In addition, the massacre of the column afterwards by the Natives was condensed to one large scene on film, whereas it was a series of small attacks during the night before the prisoners left the fort and afterwards as they tried to leave. During the night, many Warriors went into the hospitals and killed British wounded. They also grabbed at and attacked soldiers and civilians as they left. Many of those grabbed were taken prisoner. The number of victims of the massacre has never been proven with varied figures from as low as 69 to over 1,500.
Colonel Munro here is a heavily fictionalized version of his real-life counterpart. The real Colonel Munro never married, and had no children. He survived the massacre of his men and reached Albany, only to die three months later of an epileptic seizure.
During the siege scenes, large mortars fire huge cannonballs at the fort. One day while attempting to capture the projectiles arcing through the air, basketballs spray-painted black were fired from the mortars. Most of them burned up in the barrel or briefly flamed in the air for several feet before falling to earth.
The cougar used in the film now lives in Hollywild Animal Park in South Carolina.
Montcalm orders a “Capitaine de Bougainville” to read the captured dispatch from Gen. Webb to Col. Munro. This is almost certainly Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, a French nobleman, soldier, diplomat, and explorer. After serving as Montcalm’s aide-de-camp during the siege of Ft William Henry during the Seven Years’ War, Bougainville went on to distinguish himself by organizing the relocation of the Acadians to Louisiana, commanding the first circumnavigation by a French fleet, and serving with distinction in the French Navy during the American Revolution.
When the film was pushed back from its original summer release in 1992 to September, Composer Randy Edelman was brought in to provide additional music after Trevor Jones could not return to the film due to other commitments after having written about fifty minutes of music to rework his score from the film’s original three hour cut. Edelman would provide about twenty-eight-and-a-half minutes. Edelman was then in charge of assembling the music for the new cut of the film which clocked in at about 114 minutes which included Jones’ music, Edelman’s, and all the source material by Daniel Lanois and Clannad. Jones and Edelman did not work together on the score which is why their names on the credits are separate from one another. The subsequent soundtrack album also represents this as Jones’ music is separated from Edelman’s as the album’s first half is Jones’ score followed by Edelman’s and ending with Clannad’s song to round it out. All told with their musical contributions to the film, Jones and Edelman’s score combined round out to approximately seventy-eight minutes without the source music.
The drummer during the march just before the attack by the Huron war party has “Nec Aspera Terrant” embroidered on his hat. The most common translations are “Difficulties be damned” and “No fear on earth.”
Renowned Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser is the fiddler on the soundtrack though he is not credited.
Madeleine Stowe appeared in a TV movie as another heroine based on character from a James Fenimore Cooper novel, “The Deerslayer” (1978) which along with “Last of the Mohicans” is part of “The Leatherstocking Tales” with the main character of Natty Bumppo who is referred to as Hawkeye, Deerslayer, and Pathfinder in various books within the series.
Included among the American Film Institute’s 2001 list of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 Most Heart-Pounding American Movies.
Hawkeye’s rifle is a beautiful example of the classic Pennsylvania long rifle – which is all too frequently misnamed the “Kentucky” rifle. Considered by many to be among the most beautiful firearms ever crafted, Pennsylvania long rifles often feature a small lock, long, slim, graceful lines, and beautifully carved “tiger” maple stocks. The dramatically down-turned “Roman-nosed” stock is a hallmark of the Allentown-Bethlehem area school, the rifle in the film being very similar to works created by several well-known gunsmiths from that tradition in 18th and early 19th century. Hermann Rupp, John Rupp, and Jacob Kuntz were among some of the well-known practitioners of this style; an excellent and gorgeous example of the Kuntz’s craftsmanship can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Pete Postlethwaite, one of the English soldiers when the girls arrives at the fort, also plays Daniel Day-Lewis’ father in In the Name of the Father (1993).
Footage from the film, including the attack of the column, was reused in the 1994-1995 television series “Hawkeye,” starring Lee Horsley as the title character. The series was also based on Fenimore Cooper’s stories and characters.
According to Randy Edelman’s 1996 Film Score Monthly interview, he came on board because of creative differences between Trevor Jones and Michael Mann which forced Jones off the project. “The movie was over budget, there was a mess with the studio, etc. The only reason Morgan Creek got the rights to not just the music and the album but all the overseas rights is because the whole situation was out of control. Daniel Day-Lewis was a big box-office star having won the best actor Oscar only two years earlier for ‘My Left Foot’.”
Andie MacDowell was considered for the role of Cora Munro.
Jean Reno was offered the role of Gen Montcalm.
At 1hr 38m, the Wilhelm Scream can be heard as Chingachgook bludgeons an enemy in the face.
Brian Cox was offered the part of Colonel Munro.
Included among the American Film Institute’s 2002 list of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 top 100 America’s Greatest Love Stories movies.
Richard E. Grant and Hugh Grant were considered for the role of Maj. Duncan Heyward.
When they enter the fort there is a shot from above of them and you can see Madeleine Stowe being pulled along by Daniel Day Lewis, she almost is burnt by a burning torch held by an extra and flinches away from it
In James Fenimore Cooper’s book, the character of Cora was mixed-race; her father being Col. Munro and her mother, a woman of African heritage, though not a slave. Madeleine Stowe is of English, German, and Costa Rican ancestry. Despite this casting, she is still referred to as the “dark child of Munro” by Sachem.
When first announced, John Cusack was mentioned for an unspecified part.
In 1976, Warner Bros had announced a new version of “Last of the Mohicans” with Lindsay Anderson directing, but it failed to materialize.
Kim Raver tested for the role of Cora.
Continuity
Hawkeye shoots a Huron who drops his gun. The gun falls off a rock and then in the next shot reappears on the rock for Hawkeye to grab as he runs by.
As they are climbing rocks along the river, Uncas looks back at Alice. His earring has changed sides (indicating that the shot was flipped).
When the colonials are at Fort William Henry and arguing with General Munro about releasing them to go back to their farms, Cora is shown standing in a doorway. When she is first shown, the doorway is over her left shoulder. In the subsequent shot, the doorway is over her right shoulder and she ultimately exits through this doorway.
As the British Army is retreating from Fort William Henry, Magua ambushes the British. At one point in the battle, Major Duncan Heyward is commanding a small group of British soldiers. Most of them get killed, and he begins to run away. The bayonet on his rifle disappears soon after he shoots one of the Indians.
Maj. Duncan delivers a dispatch to Gen. Webb. After he reads it, Gen. Webb puts it completely rolled-up and straight ahead in front of him. Subsequently it appears placed crosswise and a little open.
When Cora is in the bedroom with Alice, her hair braid is over her right shoulder, but in the next it is over her left shoulder.
Just before Chingachgook gives Magua the final blow the shot shows Magua standing upright, but in the next shot just before Chingachgook hits him he’s already bending over.
After Chingachgook delivers the final blow that kills Magua the first shot is of him from the waist up. He begins to raise his right foot to disengage Magua’s body from the war club blade. The next shot shows his left foot raised and disengaging Magua’s body from the blade of the club.
After leaving the canoes in the river, Nathaniel and the others find that their powder is wet, yet in the next scene at the Huron village they seem to suddenly have powder again.
During the messenger runner sequence, the sky above Hawkeye and the others changes between shots, showing different cloud patterns and periods of twilight.
When the party going to Fort William Henry is attacked, Alice’s hair is pinned up in a complex pattern. However, a few minutes later her hair is completely down and there is no evidence that it was ever done up at all.
As Cora and her fellow captives are being taken to the Huron camp up the mountain you can already see the broken branch before she brushes into it.
Factual errors
There are a number of scenes at Fort William Henry where Scottish or Highland soldiers in highland regalia are depicted, but there were no Scottish or Highland soldiers present. The two regiments present were the 35th Foot (Sussex) and the 60th Foot (Royal American) who wore conventional British Infantry uniforms, not highland.
The French are seen lighting the bomb fuses in their mortars and then firing the mortars, even though it was discovered in the Seven Years’ War that the flash was sufficient to ignite the fuse on a bomb (and indeed safer).
The colors for the British regiments at Fort William Henry are incorrect in this film. The bright yellow flag has Roman numerals XLII for 42nd Regiment of Foot, Black Watch. Not only was this unit not at Fort William Henry historically, they were in Albany over 60 miles away, their regimental color was a brownish-yellow called buff and not a bright yellow.
This second flag, a blue regimental belonging to the 35th Regiment of Foot, is also incorrect. Their flag had a rare and distinctive orange color, hence their nickname the Orange Lilies.
Everybody shoots and shoots and shoots, but nobody ever reloads. Those things actually fired one shot before needing to be reloaded.
Hawkeye first sees the bombardment of the fort on the far side of an island. There is no island in Lake George anywhere near the fort.
Revealing mistakes
Gray rock-textured canvas, presumably covering modern trail signs or graffiti, is clearly visible in final scenes. Hawkeye bumps a canvas while running through an underpass, and a larger portion is visible as he returns to embrace Cora after Magua’s death.
When Chingachgook hits Magua’s arm with the war club, the club bends, showing that it was actually rubber.
When Major Heyward and Cora Munro first meet and discuss marriage, there is a large sheet on a washing line flapping violently in the wind. However, none of the three characters in this scene is remotely affected by the wind.
At around 25 minutes, at the site of the Cameron’s burned-out cabin, the prone body of Alexandra shows some breathing motion as Uncas lifts his hand away from her arm.
Then, immediately on the next shot, you can see her on the far left of the screen already in a different position.
(around 1:36:01) Hawkeye brushes against a rock which is in fact a canvas prop.
Anachronisms
As the British are leaving Fort William Henry, two buses are visible in the background as the British General rides by.
When Hawkeye is hunting at the beginning of the movie, there is a chain link fence in the background.
The flare launched from Fort William Henry during the bombardment scene was equipped with a parachute to provide longer use. This type of flare was not invented until shortly before the First World War.
Telephone pole visible on the left side of the screen when the argument over the burial takes place.
When the British leave the Fort, a propane gas bottle, a plastic box and bucket made of stainless steel can be seen as the soldiers go down the ramp.
Audio/visual unsynchronised
When Cora, Alice and Duncan have been taken prisoner by Magua and his men, the branch that Cora “breaks” is broken before she falls into it.
Duncan can be heard translating one of the lines from French before it is spoken.
When Major Heyward’s company enters the forest for the first time, the drum tempo does not match the marching of the soldiers.
Crew or equipment visible
If you look very carefully during the opening, just as the elk emerges from the trees, you can see a man wearing a red hat, moving right next to the elk.
When the troops are leaving the fort there are two big red-and-white buses as well as a blue-and-white umbrella on the beach.
After Fort William Henry has surrendered, the assistant director is visible at the bottom of the screen, wearing a blue baseball cap and waving a megaphone.
Diver visible at the bottom of the waterfall.
Plot holes
When Colonel Munro learns that General Webb has sent reinforcements to another fort only 12 miles away, he orders that a runner be sent. On clear, windless nights, the sounds of cannon fire can travel up to 50 miles. So General Webb would have known that Munro’s fort was under attack.
Magua states multiple times that it is his intention to destroy the family line of Col. Munro. However, when he finally catches up to Cora and Alice under the falls, he simply takes them as captives.