If there was ever a subcategory of movies simply titled “zen,” this would definitely fit that criteria. I find this movie very relaxing, yet super powerful and thrilling at the same time somehow.

Just to get it out of the way, this is easily in my top five scores of all time. Every single track gives me goosebumps and makes every scene as impactful as it could possibly be. I could honestly listen to it on repeat. The score is super under-appreciated and the composers, Randy Edelman and Trevor Jones, deserve way more credit and should have gotten far more movies to work on after this.

The cinematography is also on another level. The landscapes are beautiful to look at and just the way some of the action scenes are shot are phenomenal. Michael Mann used slow motion perfectly too. The scenes that definitely stood out to me the most were the darker scenes at night with the cannonballs and fire. So amazing.

Daniel Day-Lewis is in this movie, so of course his performance is phenomenal, but so is everyone else’s. I give a lot of credit to Michael Mann for this as well, as I think he directed the actors perfectly. For the most part, the performances were very subtle too. There were a lot of still shots of just people’s faces, and even those said a lot about what was happening inside the characters’ emotions.

Magua is one of the most underrated villains in my humble opinion. He’s so menacing and has absolutely nothing about him that is honorable, even with his tragic backstory. Every single scene he’s in he fills with tension and suspense, and this is portrayed pretty much from the get go. Wes Studi also did a great job of giving a subtle performance, because he really doesn’t say much until you get further into the movie.

Romance is definitely not my thing, but I love the relationships in The Last of the Mohicans. The way Hawkeye and Cora’s relationship is built up is so perfect, and Heyward’s desperation to be with Cora makes him such a pitiful character, almost in a funny way. The incredibly subtle (yes I know I’ve used that word a lot) romance between Uncas and Cora’s younger sister, Alice, is also perfect and ends in a powerful way.

I loved this film the last time I watched it, and this rewatch definitely affirmed that.