|
|
 |
The Last Of The Mohicans: Director's Definitive Cut
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (19th December 2010). |
|
The Film
 I’m just going to come right out and say that I’m not the world’s biggest aficionado of historical period piece dramas. Though many are well done – those that get their facts straight, at least – I’ve often found that they wind up coming across as stuffy, obtuse and too heady for most viewers. I was always more of a science guy in school; history was never my favorite subject, but I appreciated its importance. In the cinematic realm, I’ve been extremely selective about which historical films I watch, and it’s usually at the insistence of a close friend that one ends up in my player. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that, though I’ve seen many great films from this genre, I rarely seek them out. “The Last of the Mohicans” (1992) is a great example of this. I’ve been aware of the film since it was released in theaters (for one reason or another, I’ll never forget the trailer), but I’d never seen more than some bits & pieces of it on cable. It wasn’t until it finally got released on Blu-ray that a close friend, who is a major historical film buff, derided me for not owning a copy immediately. So, I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived on my doorstep. Besides the fact that it stars one of the greatest actors working today – Daniel Day-Lewis – the film was directed by one of the true visionaries of cinema, Michael Mann. This story has been told many times before, but the lengths which Mann goes to in an effort to preserve authenticity are a testament to his passion and attention to detail. The end result is a film which, regardless of how you feel about the subject matter, is a gorgeous love letter to the days when America was still finding its footing in the world forum. This is a story that has been told in cinema before. The original film, “The Last of the Mohicans” (1936), starred Randolph Scott in the Hawkeye role. For his interpretation, director Michael Mann went back to the original novel, “The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757”, written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. That book has been derided for being too general in its commentary on Colonial life back in the early days of the country. Even Mann has admitted as much, so he punched up the story with a strong romantic subplot and added or dropped characters as he saw necessary. Taking place in 1751, 25 years before America’s founding, the British and French are embroiled in the midst of a conflict during the French and Indian War, both sides attempting to take control of the Northeast in what will one day be New York. Three native men – Chingachgook (Russell Means), his son, Uncas (Eric Schweig), and his adopted “white son”, Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis) – are caught in the middle of the conflict, trying to help the colonists to vacate their homes before the war reaches them. The two daughters of a British general, Cora (Madeleine Stowe) and Alice (Jodhi May), are being led to their father when the Indian guide that was hired for them, Magua (Wes Studi), turns on the party and attacks alongside his Huron tribesmen. Hawkeye and his group rescue them and return them to their father, Colonel Edward Munro (Maurice Roëves), but he is tried for sedition when he assists some colonials in escaping the fort to tend to their homes. His sentence is stayed, however, when the French overtake the fort by means of a peaceful surrender. As the British are leaving, an army of Huron Indians, led by Magua, attack the procession and kill Col. Munro. Hawkeye and the others escape, but a lack of available weapons causes he, Uncas and Chingachgook to flee before the girls and their liaison, Jack (Edward Blatchford), are captured and taken hostage. Now, Hawkeye and his two companions must rescue them before they are killed by the tribe, for as Hawkeye promised Cora earlier, “No matter what happens, stay alive and I will find you!” Summarizing the plot for this film isn’t an easy task because it’s one of those films that can be summed up one of two ways: an Indian native falls in love with a British officer’s daughter, or you can rattle off just about everything as I have above. The beauty of the film lies not in the plot, but in the images present on screen. Those less inclined to get wrapped up in the gorgeous cinematography, courtesy of Dante Spinotti, might dismiss the film as a simplistic story of love set against the backdrop of post-Colonial warfare. But, much like the films of Terrence Malick, those who are followers of Michael Mann know that his films rely heavily on authenticity and fantastic shots that put viewers right into the middle of the action, leaving dialogue almost secondary to what you’re seeing – and feeling – on the screen. I’ll admit that I had a hard time remembering who’s who at times since everyone is either in matching war fatigues, or they’re an Indian wearing nothing but a buckskin speedo and carrying a bow & arrow. None of that mattered to me, though, because the film is so breathtakingly gorgeous. It’s akin to watching a National Geographic special on American forests, only this time we get a show to go along with the endless vistas. If there’s one thing you can always count on Michael Mann for, it’s that he’ll never make a boring movie. His drive to capture the essence of the period he’s working in is palpable. Here, he makes every effort possible to make the film authentic, from his decision to shoot in the mountains of North Carolina because it more closely resembled logging areas circa the turn of the century, down to the knives and tomahawks which were crafted by actual bladesmiths and knifemakers. He puts an incredible amount of time into researching everything before he makes a movie, which may be why he has directed less than a dozen films since his debut with “Thief” back in 1981. Mann often writes, directs and produces his films, making him one of the few triple-threat directors working today who can pull off a major film with such skill and precision. I found the best example of his excellence in direction came during the attack on the British soldiers in a field as they abandoned their outpost. Mann keeps the camera static, at a high angle, to allow viewers to take in all the carnage taking place. There aren’t any of today’s quick-cut, ultra-hyper editing techniques or nauseating camera shots used to make things seem more kinetic; Mann’s masterfully sets up the scene and then attains a perfect vantage point to witness it all go down. I can think of few actors better suited to working with such a perfectionist than Daniel Day-Lewis. The actor has always been highly selective when choosing his roles, many of which have earned him Oscar nominations. The reasoning for this is simple – he undergoes a complete metamorphosis to become the character he’s playing. Day-Lewis is known for going to extreme lengths to portray his roles thanks to his preference for method acting. For this role, he learned to live off the land just as his character would have done. He was taught how to hunt, skin animals, fish… he even learned how to load a muzzle while running, something that can be extremely difficult for even the most skilled soldiers. They never explained why his character was a white man raised by Indians (did they?), but Day-Lewis makes it look like he’s been one of the people since birth. There aren’t many actors willing to put this kind of work into their roles anymore, and I’m glad that Day-Lewis is given his accolades for putting his mind & body through such physical trials to make his performances more rooted in reality. Even if I hated everything about this film (which I certainly don’t), there are two aspects to it that will consistently remind me what I love about it every single time: the score and the ending. I absolutely love the music here, even if it had the potential to come out as a schizophrenic, jumbled mess. Composing duties originally fell in the lap of Trevor Jones, but he left the production after Mann’s first cut of the film, which ran for about 3 hours, was rejected by Fox and the director needed to cut it down to a leaner 2 hours. Unable or unwilling to amend his score, Randy Edelman was brought in to write new music while stitching together pieces of Jones’ score to match. Amazingly, not only does it work, but it works extremely well. The film’s main title theme is as emotionally-stirring a track as I’ve ever heard in a film. The deep, pounding tones of drums coupled with a somber fiddle and an accompanying orchestra pack a serious punch. When you combine this with the quiet rage of Chingachgook during the film’s final scenes, I’ll bet even the most hardened of film fans will have misty eyes as he runs through the mountain pass to Magua with a singular purpose in his mind. It’s one of the most gripping sequences I’ve ever seen in any film. This Blu-ray release contains an all-new “Director’s Definitive Edition” of the film. This is different from both the theatrical version and the director’s cut which was assembled for the first DVD release back in 1999. Mann was unsatisfied with the 1992 theatrical cut, feeling that executives rushed the film into theaters after rejecting his initial 3-hour version. For the 1999 release, he went back and removed scenes, used alternate takes and tightened up some of the narrative to resemble something he felt was more suitable. Here, for this 2010 release, he removed a further 2 minutes of footage while also using alternate takes and reinstating some minor scenes. A full list of all changes can be found online, but it’s generally accepted that all but the most hardcore fans of the movie will hardly notice.
Video
So, Michael Mann personally oversees the Blu-ray release and this is the transfer he wanted? I was left somewhat unimpressed by the film’s 2.40:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image. For starters, the picture is incredibly dark, often times so dark that you cannot see what’s on screen, save for a flicker of fire or a reflection of the moon. I was watching the film in an almost completely darkened room, and it was nearly impossible to make out anything in the shadows. I can’t complain about detail being lost there because I wasn’t even able to see objects that were intended to be in focus. Any scenes that take place in these low lightning conditions are subject to the same issues, so take note that this is a picture best viewed in pitch black lighting conditions, if possible. Once we get into the light, however, things get much better. The detail looks marvelous, especially on all of the film’s many genuine costumes worn by members of the British and French armies. Facial close-ups reveal a slight softness which may be inherent to the film, but there’s definitely no indication of the image being digitally manipulated by means of DNR or other such filters. The greatest aspect of this Blu-ray, though, is the scenery as captured by cinematographer Spinotti. You really get the sense of being present in the forest with all of the earthy tones seen here - the rich browns emanating from a forest of trees, the lush green fields of tall grass, the majesty of North Carolina’s mountain trails and majestic skies – the movie could double as motivation for tourists to visit the area. Mann knows how to frame an image better than most, so having the eye of a phenomenal cinematographer only better services the image we are treated to.
Audio
I have little to complain about regarding the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. It can be smooth and subtle during quiet scenes of dialogue, when nothing is heard except the whisper of voices in the dark alongside the ambient sounds of the forest. But, once battle begins the track roars with the booming thunder of cannons assaulting fortified walls. Muskets fire with fierce intensity, traveling from all corners of the room as soldiers and Indians are picked off one by one. The blast of Hawkeye’s trusty rifle explodes every time it’s fired on screen. Mann’s intentions are to keep viewers right in the thick of battle, and the sound design is exceptional. Of course, it also needed to be considering the film won the Oscar in 1993 for Best Sound Design. And, as if I haven’t talked about the score enough, it sounds incredible in lossless audio. I don’t care that the cues are built specifically to tug on your emotions at the right moments; that’s what a film score is supposed to do. While some may find the rising swell of the instruments too obvious a cinematic ploy, I found they added such weight to the scenes they playing over that it took the movie to a whole new level for me. Subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
Though it might look like there isn’t much here - and you’d be right – keep in mind that Fox actually created the documentary included here just for this Blu-ray release. Considering they’re one of the studios who frequently drops bonus features when a film makes the transition to Blu-ray, this is a much-needed step in the right direction for them. We also get an audio commentary with the director himself, Michael Mann, and a few of the film’s theatrical trailers. The audio commentary with director Michael Mann is a little on the dry side, but when he does speak it’s worth listening. As I stated before, Mann places a great emphasis on maintaining an authentic realism in his films, so the research he does is often exhausting and extremely thorough. The benefit to us, the viewer, is that not only do his films capture the time perfectly, but we also get to learn a great deal of the history behind what we’re seeing when he provides a commentary track such as this. Aside from the plethora of historical jargon, he also talks a great deal about working with Day-Lewis (one of his favorites), shooting on location, script changes and much more. “Making of The Last of the Mohicans” (1080i) is an all-new multi-part documentary on the film’s production. Broken down into three acts, they can be played separately or all together with the “play all” function: - “Act I” runs for 13 minutes and 24 seconds. Director/writer/producer Michael Mann discusses why he wanted to remake this film, which was originally done in 1936, as well as how poorly the novel used as the original source material captured the true nature of that period in America. The remainder focuses on Daniel Day-Lewis’ character and the training he underwent with a real woodsman to get in the proper shape for the role. - Act II” runs for 11 minutes and 21 seconds. This segment focuses mostly on the romantic angle between Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe. Stowe talks about what drew her to the character she’s playing, while Mann talks about how he envisioned the character to be within the film. - “Act III” runs for 17 minutes and 56 seconds. This final segment takes a look at the action of the film, especially Mann’s preference to have his actors perform all their own stunts whenever possible. His attention to detail and obsession with realism shows through in his casting, because he expects his cast to look like they belong in the time period they’ve been cast to play in. He even had authentic 20,000 lb. cannons brought in to keep up appearances. With his films, you always know no detail has been spared. There are trailers (480p) available for the following: - Teaser trailer runs for 1 minute and 23 seconds. - Theatrical trailer runs for 1 minute and 54 seconds. The disc is also BD-Live enabled, though nothing specific to the film is likely to ever be found on the site it takes you to. There disc is also D-BOX motion-enhanced if you have a set-up capable of handling it.
Packaging
You’ll get an eco case, and you’ll like it.
Overall
I found “The Last of the Mohicans” to be a gorgeous, visually-engrossing film, even if it felt a bit stuffy at times. Daniel Day-Lewis is simply one of the most captivating actors I’ve ever watched, so anything he elects to act in is bound to, at the least, feature an award-caliber performance. When you combine his talents with the triple-threat found in Michael Mann, there’s going to be some magic on the screen. This Blu-ray presents Mann’s definitive cut of the film (for now, at least) with a transfer that can be murky and dim at times, but easily outshines any previous DVD releases. And, while the bonus features may not be overflowing, we should be glad Fox decided to give us anything at all. The commentary is insightful and easy to listen to, while the documentary fills in any gaps Mann might have missed. All in all, this is a solid disc for one of the best historical epics of the 90's.
|
|||||
|