Two weeks ago, I drowsed through "Last of the Mohicans" on a Sunday afternoon.  It was the recent (1992) version starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe. I had never seen it before, because I figured that Hollywood had murdered more than settlers, killing off the James Fenimore Cooper original version.

     Wow, was I wrong!  While the story line was changed into a more contemporary-friendly format, it remained true in spirit to Cooper's tale.  (I had to read the book in a college class a year ago.) I have seldom seen such exquisite cinematography.  The movie captures the inward struggles of cultures clashing and realigning. They are fighting for territory in the new world, and the natural beauty persuades the viewer that the battle is a worthy one.

    Several elements must converge in order for me to rant and rave about a movie.  In fact, before now, I've never reviewed a movie on these pages.  I'm not a cinemajunkie. So here's my criteria for a legendary movie: There must be     a. grand music,     b. compelling acting,     c. beautiful scenery, and     d. a complex storyline. 

I found all these elements here. I awoke from my Sunday snooze to find a bona fide classic unfolding on my TV.  I got my wonderful husband to purchase the movie for me, and have viewed it about 6 times in the last two weeks.   There are some odd gaps in the movie, however, so I looked up old fan sites to try to find additional information. 

     There are dozens of L of the M websites waiting to be discovered.  I won't rehash all that info.  But if you're a fan of the men-are-men and women-are-women type of movie, haven't seen an epic film for awhile, and could use an interlude featuring love and conflict steeped in history and lush scenery, go rent or buy "Last of the Mohicans."  I would put this film almost on par with "Return of the Kings" in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Not that R of the K is historical, but the grand natural beauty in both stories almost becomes an additional movie character.  The coveted land, after all, is what the conflict in both of these fine movies is about.