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Maybe
he’s dropped off the
radar now. The
closest thing he’s
been to the public
spotlight again is
singing country
music… but Kevin
Costner made the
year’s best film in
1990. It’s true.
He’s got the Oscar
to prove it. In his
directorial debut,
Kevin Costner made a
three hour epic that
told a fantastic
story and beat out
Goodfellas
for best picture.
Twenty years after
its release the film
isn’t as
awe-inspiring as it
was in the 90’s but
it’s still a
fantastic piece of
cinema.
Dances with Wolves
stars Kevin Costner
as Lieutenant John
Dunbar, a decorated
Civil War hero.
After suffering an
injury in a
courageous battle,
the army gives
Dunbar the chance to
choose his post
anywhere in the U.S.
Dunbar elects to
head west to the new
frontier before it
becomes stormed with
settlers. Dunbar
elects to head to a
small military base
in the middle of
nowhere- Fort
Sedgwick. After a
long journey to his
destination he gets
there to discover
that the base is
deserted. Dunbar
decides to
reestablish the
base, so he spends a
large portion of
time cleaning up the
area and
reestablishing an
army presence.
Eventually he makes
friends with a wolf
he calls Two Socks
and makes a deeper
connection with his
horse. He also makes
contact with a tribe
of Sioux Indians and
he becomes friends
with the natives.
Finally he deserts
Fort Hood and
becomes a member of
the Sioux tribe.
First
and foremost
Dances with Wolves
tells a great story.
You can’t help but
sympathize with
Dunbar through the
entire movie. He’s
torn between
cultures throughout
and it’s interesting
to see how he reacts
towards each culture
doing something
negative to the
other. Eventually
yes he chooses his
side and we’re
getting the clear
view of who’s in the
wrong, but it shows
a fair
interpretation of
wrongs from two
different groups of
people. It’s an
interesting dynamic
to watch on screen.
It’s also a great
love story, a solid
story about friends,
a historically
accurate depiction,
and overall just a
classic movie told
very capably by
Costner both as an
actor and a
director.
Costner the actor in
Dances with Wolves
is fantastic. Being
able to sympathize
with everything that
Dunbar is going
through on screen is
critical and the
audience is able to
do that through the
performance of
Costner. He’s a
fantastic actor and
he had his peak in
the 90’s but this is
the pinnacle of his
career and his best
performance. Costner
the director is a
little different.
He’s not overly
ambitious with his
shots, but he shows
them very capably.
The film is a
beautiful film, this
is true, but that’s
because of the
locations they shot
it in, not the
presence of Costner
behind the lens. Did
he do a good job?
Absolutely. But this
movie is great
because of acting,
production, and a
great script.
Costner’s only job
was not to mess it
up. To his credit,
he didn’t.
They
recently released a
20th
Anniversary Edition
of this and first
and foremost, the
audio on this film
are amazing on Blu-ray.
The video looks
better of course,
but not that much
better from the DVD
version. But the
audio is fantastic
and it captures the
soundscape of the
prairie and the
mountains
wonderfully. The
extra features are
all on the second
disc of this set.
There’s a great look
at what life was
like for pioneers, a
short feature on an
animatronic buffalo,
and some behind the
scenes stuff that’s
a pretty decent
watch the first time
through… not so much
after that.
Dancing with Wolves
is a fantastic movie
told accurately.
That’s the most
important thing. Out
of all of the movies
where there is a
relationship between
settlers and
Indians, this is the
most accurate. Both
sides had their
flaws with the
relationship, but
the ignorance of the
people settling in
the area destroyed a
culture that was
very special.
Dancing with Wolves
is about a man
learning the Sioux
culture and
embracing it. It’s a
fantastic movie that
should be watched at
least once in a
lifetime.
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