Herag Review of Dances with Wolves

Dances with Wolves (1990)

Kostner can't act and direct at the same time (Tantataka!)

[12 November 2011]

Kostner is a mediocre director, the likes of Clint Eastwood. Both have been hyped, since they cant find work in Hollywood. Kostner won the award since he has the Hollywood morons behind him, where as, Scorsese, is considered an outsider, who lost to a mediocre director. Why couldn't they find a American Indian to portray "Stand with a Fist"? The dialog between her as an interpretor sounds like The "Jeopardy" show.. Dunbear..no..Dunbar. The hunting of the buffaloes and the stockade-even though makes a nice spectacle-is cruel and should not have been allowed by the South Dakota authorities, not to mention the carcass shown of them. Kostner as John Dunbear! is a selfish loner (the type who shoot their own driver) who keeps a journal for the sake of narration but his voice is effeminate and shrill. This guy is no Morgan Freeman or Ray Liota. His acting is good when he gets on hand and knees to portray the Tantkata (buffalo.) even the Indians were impressed and seemed to them as good acting. It looks like he made a trip to the frontier, to hook up with this girl who is a bad interpretor but obviously good at other things and sleep in a tent. The story is drawn out for no reason. The only recreation and entertainment comes from a Kostner and the jackal staring at each other, even though the jackal comes out as a better actor! The shot where he picks up the wounded girl on to the horse is not shown-the reason is-it is almost impossible to do this, since the stirrups didn't exist. The movie is a money maker but was it better than "Good Fellas"? If so, why is it not in the list of Top 250 Movies? May I ask?