Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79931 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-06-06
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD-Video, Silent, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 74 minutes

Customer Reviews

A Remarkable Achievement.
Having recently revisited this title as part of the available films of Maurice Tourneur on commercial DVD (the others are ALIAS JIMMY VALENTINE, THE BLUE BIRD, A GIRL'S FOLLY, LORNA DOONE, VICTORY, and THE WISHING RING), I am again reminded of what a remarkable director he was and what a remarkable achievement this film is. Of all the existing versions this one is by far and away the most faithful to the James Fennimore Cooper original (the Daniel Day-Lewis version strays the farthest). The film was beautifully photographed on mostly natural locations (Yosemite Valley) and features fine understated performances from all the principal players especially Barbara Bedford as Cora (Boris Karloff is briefly seen as an Indian who throws a baby up in the air). The film is co-credited to Tourneur and Clarence Brown (Garbo's favorite director and maker of THE YEARLING). Tourneur was injured during the filming and Brown shot most of it. In a magnanimous gesture Tourneur wanted Brown to receive full credit but Brown refused saying that he only followed what Tourneur had already laid out and that he learned his craft from him. The print used here is from the George Eastman House and it is beautiful with subtle tints and proper framing. The title cards are new as is the electronic music score. While the score is perfectly suitable it really needs a chamber ensemble or small orchestra to fully bring it to life but this is a small quibble. The DVD is officially out-of-print but is worth tracking down as one of the very best silent examples of transferring a classic book to the screen. That comes as no surprise for if you check Tourneur's available titles, all but one are taken from literary sources.

Topsy turvey and fascinating
I couldn't believe it when I first saw this film. Uncas, the American Indian - not Hawkeye - is the protagonist?! The white love interest is attracted to him?! And this was made in 1920?!! (However, it seems that depiction of inter-racial couples were more likely in silent films which predated the 1930 introduction of the Hayes Code with its anti-miscegenation rules than in the few decades after that.)

Research has revealed to me that the novel by James Fennimore Cooper has nothing in the way of romance between the characters. So the moviemakers have their pick. Maybe it French-born director Maurice Tourneur who made this shocking choice.

Of course, the Indian is played by very white-looking Albert Roscoe. But, it's the thought that counts. Especially when that thought is expressed by pretty, goth-looking (with her shadowed eyes and wild hair) Barbara Bedford. She was about 17-years-old at the time, but she gives a beautifully understated performance, altho her intense eyes convey plenty.

It took me a while to recognize the actor playing Magua, the bad Indian. It was Wallace Beery, looking more like an African warrior. He's a terrific bad guy, tho.

One of early cinema's innovators, Tourneur (and fill-in director Clarence Brown) make frequent use of vignetting (frames), silhouettes, long shots, and daring lighting (such as the flickering lighting of a fireplace). So, this is a visual treat. Even the tinting in this film is effective.

It's a 1 hr 12 minute movie, so expect most of the novel to be glossed over. But the action scenes are engaging. Well...the Indian massacre of the surrendering British soldiers and civilians leaving Ft William Henry (a historical fact) went on a little long (in dramatic terms for this short movie).

It's a silent film, so many people won't be interested. While it's not dramatically nor technically perfect, if you're American Indian like me (not so likely on this website, I suppose), and/or you like new movie experiences, you might find this a fascinating curiosity.

Perhaps the best adaptation of them all
Although all-but rendered a trivia question these days because of Boris Karloff's appearance among Magua's exceptionally bloodthirsty Hurons, this 1920 silent adaptation is well worth a look.

Rather than Harry Lorraine's Hawkeye, for once the emphasis is on Uncas and Cora's doomed love affair, which is portrayed in a surprisingly non-judgemental fashion for its day. In a film filled with surprisingly restrained performances (even Wallace Beery doesn't go over the top as Magua) Barbara Bedford is so incredibly impressive that you wonder how it was that her career filtered out into uncredited bit parts and walk-ons, and the film is certainly worthy of her performance. Maurice Tourneur and future 30s A-list director Clarence Brown work wonders as co-directors: there's little camera movement, but some highly effective editing that keeps things moving along briskly while there's an interesting use of shifting light and shadows in some scenes. It's also surprisingly violent - the massacre scene is still shockingly brutal, with even babes in arms not immune from the vivid carnage.

The DVD offers a pretty good print from the George Eastman House collection, with various tinted sequences restored to something like their original glory. Only the synthesizer score and new title cards are a bit of a letdown, but not enough to be a real problem.