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In 1757 during the French and Indian
War, the British and French are battling for control of North America.
Though they are bound by law to join the militia to aid the British,
many settlers are reluctant to leave their frontier homes and families
defenseless against Huron
Indians allied with the French.
Chingachgook (Russell Means), his son
Uncas (Eric Schweig), and Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), his adopted white
son, visit the Cameron household. Jack Winthrop (Edward Blatchford)
joins them and tells Hawkeye that he is gathering volunteers for the British army. The next
morning, Jack and a group of others go to Albany, New York, to obtain
terms from General Webb, who agrees to grant them leave if their homes
are attacked. Satisfied, the volunteers join the British forces at Fort
William Henry, sixty miles north of Albany.
Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe) and her
sister Alice (Jodhi May) have received word from their father, Colonel
Edmund Munro (Maurice Roëves), the commander of the British
garrison at the fort, to meet him there. A native guide named Magua
(Wes Studi) and a detachment of British soldiers commanded by Major
Duncan Heyward (Steven Waddington) escort the women on the trail.
However, they are ambushed by Hurons led by Magua himself. All of the
soldiers except Major Heyward are quickly killed. He, Cora and Alice
are rescued by Hawkeye and his companions, who have been tracking the
war band. Magua prepares to shoot Cora, but Hawkeye distracts him.
Magua and the surviving Hurons scatter into the forest. The rescuers
reluctantly agree to escort the survivors to Fort William Henry. Along
the way, they discover that the Cameron homestead has been razed and
everyone killed, though nothing has been stolen, a sure sign of a war
party.
When they arrive at Fort William
Henry, they find it under siege by the French. They manage to sneak
inside. When Munro scolds his daughters for joining him, they realize
that Magua has deceived them for unknown reasons. Munro tells Heyward
that the fort can only hold out for three more days. Their only hope is
to get a messenger through to General Webb at nearby Fort Edward for
reinforcements.
Hawkeye tells the colonel and the
colonials about the attack on the Camerons and the colonials demand
that he release them to defend their homes, as General Webb agreed.
Munro refuses, so Hawkeye helps Jack and his friends desert. Hawkeye,
who stays behind to be with Cora, is arrested for sedition and
sentenced to hang.
Several days pass. As the fort is on
the verge of falling, the French commander, General Montcalm (Patrice
Chéreau) offers Munro surrender terms. The garrison and
their families are offered safe passage to Albany, on condition they
return to England and no longer fight in the war. Munro reluctantly
accepts, after Montcalm shows him an intercepted message that Webb has
refused to send aid.
As the British march away, they are
ambushed by a much larger force of Hurons led by Magua. Before Magua
personally cuts out Munro's heart, he tells him he will kill the
colonel's daughters so that his family will be extinguished. Earlier,
it is revealed that Magua’s village had been destroyed years
ago by British soldiers led by Munro, resulting in the death of his
children and his wife marrying another man when she thought Magua was
dead. Magua himself was made a slave.
Hawkeye, Cora, Alice, Uncas,
Chingachgook, Heyward and two other soldiers escape and hide in a cave
behind a waterfall, but Magua and his men are close behind. With their
gunpowder wet, Hawkeye and his two companions jump into the falls,
knowing their presence would precipitate a hopeless fight. Heyward and
the two women are captured while the remaining soldiers are killed.
The prisoners are taken to a Huron
village, with Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachgook in pursuit. Magua is
bargaining with the sachem when they are interrupted by the arrival of
an unarmed Hawkeye running the gauntlet of hostile warriors. With
Heyward translating, Hawkeye convinces the chief that Magua is acting
for himself, rather than the Hurons' best interests and traditions. The
chief agrees and renders his judgment: Cora is to be burned alive to
atone for Magua's dead children; Magua is given Alice to be his wife so
that both bloodlines can continue. Heyward is to be returned to the
British in the hope of avoiding reprisals. Hawkeye is given safe
passage in recognition of his bravery. Desperate, he pleads to take
Cora’s place. Heyward, out of love for Cora and newfound
respect for Hawkeye, deliberately mistranslates, offering himself
instead. When the chief accepts, Magua curses him and leaves with Alice
and his men.
Uncas immediately follows the war
band to rescue Alice, while Chingachgook waits for Hawkeye. As Heyward
is being burned at the stake, Hawkeye stops at a safe distance and
shoots Heyward, ending his suffering. They then set off in pursuit of
Magua.
Uncas catches up with Magua's band
alone. He kills several men before engaging Magua in single combat.
Magua kills Uncas, dropping his body off a cliff. Alice throws herself
off the cliff after him. A devastated Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Cora
witness their deaths from a distance. Finally catching up, the two men
slay several warriors. As Hawkeye holds the rest at bay, Chingachgook
duels Magua and avenges his son.
In the final scene, Chingachgook and
Hawkeye engage in a spiritual ritual to send Uncas' spirit to his
ancestors. With the death of Uncas, his last blood relative,
Chingachgook names himself 'the Last of the Mohicans'.
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