I can’t let Michael Mann’s 82nd birthday pass without sharing one of my favorite scenes of his filmography. Have y’all ever started watching a movie and immediately knew you were going to love it?! That’s what the opening 4 minutes of THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS did for me. The credits start and the soundtrack reveals the powerful musical theme of the movie as well as its beautiful mountain setting. And then we join Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), his dad Chingachgook (Russell Means), and his brother Uncas (Eric Schweig) in the middle of their hunt as they’re sprinting through the woods after their prey. They just look so cool running together under Mann’s stylish direction. It’s not even the best scene in the film, but it’s the scene that drew me in and let me know I was in for something special.
Happy Birthday, Michael Mann and thanks for sharing your talent with all of us!
Enjoy this awesome scene, my friends!
Through the Shattered Lens 
Unfortunately, the only thing I liked about this movie was that Madeleine Stowe and Wes Studi starred in it.
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Thanks for sharing. I have no response to that. 😁
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Although I think Day-Lewis is a good actor I didn’t care for him in that role. That killed it for me.
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Brad, one of the many things I enjoy about your writing and general communication skills is the way that you handle “chimers”. Gonna guess that you were ‘all in’ when the name ‘Madeleine Stowe’ showed up on the credits at 0:55, no further explanation needed!:-) fwiw, Michael Mann came off EPing ‘Miami Vice’ for five years, and ‘Crime Story’ for two years, and producing/directing/co-writing this LAST OF THE MOHICANS story changed the way he was viewed, in Hollywood, forever. As always, thanks for sharing your choices!
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I’ve been all in on Stowe since I saw STAKEOUT! 😍 And one of the great things about human beings and movies is the way different movies affect us in different ways. I think TLOTM is a masterpiece, but it’s not for everyone. I still don’t understand how Charles Bronson isn’t everyone’s favorite actor.
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no ur just not receptive enough to open interpretation of art to appreciate it. There is no movie that hasn’t been directed and casted by the native peoples of America that is accurate. Take that off the table immediately or you will never be able to take in the beauty or magnetism of non indigenous movies that thought they were progressive for their time. I read the book in sixth grade. I watched the film with my father over and over at six years old. Growing up in rural New Jersey and New York the scenery and the precolonial war history really resonated with me. The score is beyond phenomenal.
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