Roger Ebert gave the movie three stars.
Ebert's review is quoted: not as authentic and uncompromised as it claims, more of a 'metinade' (as transcribed; likely matinee) fantasy than it wants to admit, but probably more entertaining as a result.
The rating is repeated as three stars; the host thought Ebert would have gone three and a half and jokes that he disliked his seat that day.

Casting What-Ifs

Brian Cox as Colonel Munro; Andie MacDowell as Cora; Jean Reno as Montcalm

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 00:51:47Read transcript

The hosts say Brian Cox was offered Colonel Monroe and turned it down.
The hosts say Andie MacDowell (transcribed 'Andy McDowell') was in the mix for Cora; she and Madeleine Stowe could have swapped almost every role, and the speaker says Stowe wins their all-time battle.
Counterpoint on whether Stowe could have led Four Weddings and a Funeral, and whether Andy McDowell (as transcribed) could have led Bad Girls.
The hosts say Jean Reno was offered General Montcalm (transcribed 'Montcom'), which would have been weird.

Recasting Couch

No affirmative selection

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 00:54:33Read transcript

The hosts are happy with the actress who played the younger sister; Uma Thurman is called too old after Dangerous Liaisons and Alicia Silverstone too young, and the role needs someone British.
Drew Barrymore is rejected; the role needs an unfamous, shell-shocked young girl.
No recast is offered, capped by an 'Oh my God, Uncas' joke.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Mann's takes and budget overrun; Fort William Henry set; waterfall reshoot; composer change; costume designer exit; release delay and three cuts; Native American extras; Russell Means's background

In the discussion (10)

Approx. transcript time · 00:55:26Read transcript

The hosts say Mann did at least 20 takes per setup, the budget ran $7 million over, and 20th Century Fox sent a representative to keep it on track.
A story has Mann shouting over speakers about an orange light that turned out to be the sun rising; the host questions whether it is true.
The hosts say the production used North Carolina for 1757 New York and spent $6 million on a Fort William Henry set built to historical specifications.
The hosts say Mann decided he did not like the waterfall scene and reshot it nine days before, as transcribed, 'Revere saw the movie', and that the 'stay alive, I will find you' moment came from the reshoot.
Citing a 1996 Randy Edelman interview, the hosts say Mann fired Trevor Jones over a more electronic score and brought in Edelman for a classical one; both are credited, with jokes about Jones being replaced.
The hosts say the original costume designer, a multiple Academy Award winner (transcribed 'Jay Matcheson'), left over artistic differences and removed his name, and Elsa Zampelli (as transcribed) finished; this is joked into Mann's pattern of people walking off sets.
The hosts say the film was scheduled for summer 1992, Mann delivered a three-hour version, Fox postponed it to September, and it was cut to two hours, with three cuts existing.
The hosts say the production employed 900 Native Americans from across the United States, most notably Cherokee.
The hosts say Russell Means was 52, making his first movie, and was a famous American Indian activist; they say he ran for vice president in 1984 as Hustler publisher Larry Flint's (as transcribed) running mate and lost the 1988 Libertarian nomination to Ron Paul.
A reported practical-joke war between Day Lewis and Stowe escalated from food fights to a staged bloody car crash; both hosts doubt it happened.

Picking Nits

Alice and Uncas's unexplained romance; single-courier communication; tea service in the wilderness; period wigs

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:03:25Read transcript

It is unclear when the younger sister fell for Uncas, with jokes about a missed ice-cream date.
Wartime communication hangs on single couriers crossing the forest with no backup; the fix would be a triple courier system and trained birds. — Chris Ryan
Duncan's tea with Cora at a table in an open field raises who staffed it; the answer offered is England's policy of recreating home anywhere, an imperialist bent.
Wig strategy of the era: Colonel Monroe's gray wig is age-appropriate, and one participant would have gone Nick Cage Conair mullet; no further nits.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Who to root for between the English and the French

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:07:05Read transcript

Few questions are offered; the remaining one is who viewers were supposed to root for between the English and the French, called too complicated to handle, while conceding no expertise on the French and Indian War.