MovieChat Forums > The Last of the Mohicans (1992) Discussion > The best 10 minutes ever filmed?

The best 10 minutes ever filmed?

posted 10 years ago by hawkEye-oo
87 replies | jump to latest

I've had this conversation a few times with friends, but for me the sequence starting with Duncan's sacrifice and ending with Magua's death is the most brilliant thing I've ever seen on screen. The combination of stunning visuals, a perfect score, and about five very visceral emotional hits.. it just kills me every time.

Granted I haven't seen everything I should have in the world of film, but if you can point me to something else this great, please do :)

[–] sparker1 10 years ago

If you are looking for something with a similar forward driving force then it would be the helicopter attack in Apocalypse Now from the bugler sounding charge through the end of the battle and the colonel's lamentation that someday the war will end.

[–] hawkEye-oo 10 years ago

It's been such a long time since I watched Apocalypse, but I reckon you're right. Interestingly, there's an essential musical element in both... pretty powerful stuff.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] hawkEye-oo 10 years ago

Agreed, all good points, and clearly there's so much to love in this film... how is it that it scores jut 7.8 on IMDB?

[–] gotmyorangecrush 8 years ago

It scores so low because it doesn't have super heroes, Decepticons or Autobots it in. Rotten Tomatoes has a much more accurate scoring of this film. Its got a 94% critical rating and 88% audience rating.

Still Shooting With Film!

[–] hawkEye-oo 10 years ago

Haha, made sure to include that disclaimer lest a horde of rabid cinephiles tell me I'm crazy. Regardless I'm sure happy to take on some suggestions and be pointed to other movies that might rouse me like LOTM.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] ronfirv 10 years ago

Well,I rated this movie a clear 9.0.
Supposedly Michael Mann is working on a new film based on the famous battle of Agincourt, just waiting on script completion quite soon.
If the right actors are chosen for the leads,and a great cinematographer,or basically the film gets the "LOTM treatment" we should be in for a possible treat. Let's hope!

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] ronfirv 10 years ago

I take your point about the Uncas and Alice love story. We were all left to guess and even I thought, were they in love or not? By the end, it was far more clear but yes, that should have been fleshed out a bit more.
Fingers crossed Mann's Agincourt happens.

[–] cinesylph 9 years ago

I actually think a big part of what makes their (Uncas/Alice's)story so poignant and powerful is that it is not spelled out. It is all through non-verbal observation and communication and purely emotional. This is in contrast to Hawkeye and Cora, where there is more of a cerebral element to it.
And I totally agree about the power of that sequence -- mesmerizing and breathtaking!

[–] Churchilljill 9 years ago

If you read the script (avail on this web site) - Uncas and Alice do get intimate. It never made the screen, but they kind of intertwine in the waterfall scene (kind of a strange time understanding the dire straights of it all, or maybe because of it…) Easy to find on the script.

[–] ta2me92704 10 years ago

It is a spectacular sequence. The last gunfight in Open Range is right up there too.

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[–] Balboasaurus 10 years ago

Yes, completely agree with you. And, all that is done with very little dialogue by a phenomenal cast. Uncas' death gets me every time. I watch this movie often, and a part of me wishes that Uncas wouldn't die at the end. The way Hawkeye goes Black-Ops with Magua's men...brilliant.

[–] movie80 10 years ago

I sometimes skip that scene. Not easy to watch that scene.

[–] ehg974-773-341306 8 years ago

I agree ... I sometimes skip it, too, but it's done SO well and really shows the horrors of warfare in any age. That's why I usually watch it anyway, just because it is done well.

[–] ehsfb2001 10 years ago

Absolutely agree no matter how many times I've seen it.

[–] jd-276 10 years ago

I don't know about "the best ten minutes ever filmed" but it's definitely gripping and I totally understand why people would agree. The fight scenes are probably the best I can remember.

[–] teddy89 10 years ago

That song, promontory, was wonderful during Duncan's sacrifice and Uncas' failed rescue attempt. The silence during that sequence was deafening.

[–] politicaldefiance 10 years ago

Those 10 minutes are what really saved this film from being fairly average to me. I agree that they are stunning and the highlight of the whole picture.