The Last of the Mohicans

This is a superb version of this classic story. Well cast and well acted, its exteriors are highly evocative of the story's time and place: colonial-era northern New York. Although not as lush as the 1992 movie version, it is acted with more fidelity to the original Victorian tale. Hawkeye is more articulate, Magua more intelligent, the major and the girls, well... the major and the girls are more BRITISH! You'll enjoy it.

Originally aired in America as part of "Masterpiece Theatre" hosted by Alistair Cooke (sic).

Fortunately, several of the Masterpiece Theater productions are slowly being re-released on DVD, which is allowing those of us who loved the various stories to revisit them. I remember seeing The Last of the Mohicans when it previously aired in 1971, and loved the story so much, I bought and read the paperback and subsequent Hawkeye stories.

This production closely follows the book, and compared with today's production, it may seem dated, since the indoor scenes are filmed in a studio. Today's younger crowd will not appreciate it, but they have to remember that budget was a major factor in what could be done. The producers wanted to lovingly tell the tale as it was written. Today's productions are hacked up and condensed to the point that sometimes the intent of the author is lost. Also, today's directors/producers spend most of the budget for filming on location, at the sacrifice of the plot.

So try and overlook the production qualities and enjoy the story, the way James Fenimore Cooper basically wrote it.

As a kid, I was moved by this version when it first aired in the 70's and again when I viewed it recently. The richness of dialog in the script and the quality of acting make this version my favorite by far. This is one for your bookshelf.

This remains for me the best film version by far of Cooper's improbable tale. I have vivid memories of it from its first airing. The somewhat stilted script was very much in keeping with Cooper's writing, as were the artificial situations, and melodramatic acting. "Dr. Who" veteran Philip Madoc brings real malice to his role as Magua. Uncas, beautifully acted by Richard Warwick (blue eyes and all)is a genuine leading character, as in Cooper's book, not a mere prop for Hawkeye.

I have been looking for a recorded version since first seeing it without success. I notice that an early comment on this board mentions a 13-part version on DVD. If anyone has any information on how to obtain copies, please post them here or email me!

I love BBC Historical Dramas, there historical accuracy is normally far greater than any other channel/studio. But the 1971 date shows, all the Indians are played by white actors with bad makeup and silly almost comical "Indian" accents. While the 1992 film version had many flaws, its portrayal of the natives was very well done(As well the time period in general). This miscasting is very distracting though out, Magua for example in the 92 film as played by Wes Studi was much better(than this version's) simply because his look was so convincing, he looked like a deadly Huron warrior while Philip Madoc looks like some dude in a silly Indian outfit going to a costume party. Beside the unrealistic Indians, all the sets are absurdly poor, for example Fort Henry is a joke. The poor hand to hand fighting scenes(which there are quite a few) are just as bad as the sets if not worse, clearly no one is being shot or cut or hurt in anyway. I understand that the budget for this production must have been limited(very limited), but that does not excuse the fact that the illusion is broken over and over again, we are constantly reminded that we are watching people play at being Indians,soldiers and scouts, not the real thing.

Even with all these flaws, I still found LOTM to be a solid production, as with any BBC production the writing was fairly good and I was reasonably entertained. This is the worst BBC Historical Drama I have seen, but still quite watchable(hard for anything to beat I,Claudius,Elizabeth R,Sharp,etc anyway).

For those others that gave LOTM such high ratings, I think nostalgia is the main reason not the merits of this series.