Here it is, this, my favorite film of all time, and this, the last almost ten minutes, where the editing, the phenomenal performances (has any actor ever said more with a head tilt and a hand gesture?) and the fantastic musical score, the romance, the brilliant cinematography, two of the main characters die in the first 5 minutes of this sequence, the vistas, the interplay between the dark and the light, the good and the bad, the freedom to make your own decisions when faced with your own death, it’s all here, all we’ve built towards the entire movie, all we’ve come to understand of these characters we love, it’s all here, in the final ten minutes, all of it-one of the best-staged, most well-shot, best played end fight scenes between the main baddie and one of the good guys, it’s all that’s good about what American film can be, and if this were a short film, it would stand alone as a fantastic bit of historical adventure, and in a movie with so many great set-pieces, there’s nothing quite better than Daniel-Day Lewis holding two rifles as he runs and kills two men at once with the notoriously inaccurate flintlock. The beats, the music, the drama-I don’t know if it’s art-but I love it. This is the one movie I would take with me on a deserted island, and it’s the one movie I will always look to to remind me how much I can love movies. There hasn’t been a more bittersweet or more engaging or more rousing ending to a movie than this one. It is and will always remain my favorite film of all time, and this scene, and this ending, will stand the test of time.
My Favorite Scene #6: “The Last of the Mohicans” (Promentory)
7 thoughts on “My Favorite Scene #6: “The Last of the Mohicans” (Promentory)”
Leave a comment
Gone Elsewhere 
Agreed! And glad you found the original ending, not the director’s cut with the tacked on dialogue. It’s a perfect ending to have the last words of the film be “the last of the Mohicans.”
absolutely agree!!! still get goosebumps when i watch that scene!
Madeline Stowe was just jaw droppingly beautiful back then. Still is, really.
Well said. I’m watching it now and have done twice already. I’m a film buff but the final 10 minutes of this staunch film is my best and most perfect end of all films, it could not have been made any better. The music is beautiful and awe inspiring.
A want a last of the Mohicans video game ! Although copyright would probably distort the music and the gameplay would be as shite as the lotr gaming abominations.
There is a Last of the Mohicans video game…or as close as we’ll get. It’s called Assassin’s Creed 3.
Amen.. couldnt say it any better.. always always ALWAYS nakes me cry when she jumps.. for a character who has the tiniest amount of lines, and with her main scene none at all, well.. beats the titanic scene hands down.. beautiful movie.. heart wrenching scene…tearing up now cos i just tewatched it
Could not agree more! Two of the most powerfully delivered moments without saying a word…the head tilt and hand gesture you mentioned and the realization of a father seeing the death of a son…and the resultant fury. Just no words to access it properly 😊