Posted by Gayle on July 29, 1999 at 18:50:37:
Finally got my soundtrack of LOTM last week and have been swimming in it ever since! What magnificent music that is! I've always been mad for percussion and French horns anyway, and this tape really does it for me.
One thing that I didn't expect, though, when I started immersing myself in the music by itself, was that the music would focus me so much on the character of Duncan. I keep envisioning the expression on Steven Waddington's face when he realized that canoe was going over the falls and his only choice was to drive it or drown. And then I start thinking about Duncan in all the various situations he had to deal with, and I believe Mann made him a much finer person than Cooper's Duncan in the book. He was more of a true gentleman, and braver, and he grew as a person with the evolving story. (Duncan in the book was sort of brave, but not much of a thinker, and he was just as clueless when the whole mess was over as he was when he decided Magua would make a perfectly trustworthy guide through the forest at the beginning of the story.)
I keep wondering why Mann didn't have Duncan offer Hawkeye some competition.
Any thoughts on the character or Steven Waddington's portrayal of Duncan?
Gayle