Dances with Wolves (1990)

Lieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, befriends wolves and Indians, making him an intolerable aberration in the military.

Director:

Kevin Costner

Writers:

Michael Blake (screenplay), Michael Blake (novel)

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene

Won 7 Oscars. Another 44 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Costner	...	Lieutenant Dunbar
Mary McDonnell	...	Stands With A Fist
Graham Greene	...	Kicking Bird
Rodney A. Grant	...	Wind In His Hair
Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman	...	Ten Bears (as Floyd Red Crow Westerman)
Tantoo Cardinal	...	Black Shawl
Robert Pastorelli	...	Timmons
Charles Rocket	...	Lieutenant Elgin
Maury Chaykin	...	Major Fambrough
Jimmy Herman	...	Stone Calf
Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse	...	Smiles A Lot
Michael Spears	...	Otter
Jason R. Lone Hill	...	Worm
Tony Pierce	...	Spivey
Doris Leader Charge	...	Pretty Shield

Storyline

Lt. John Dunbar is dubbed a hero after he accidentally leads Union troops to a victory during the Civil War. He requests a position on the western frontier, but finds it deserted. He soon finds out he is not alone, but meets a wolf he dubs "Two-socks" and a curious Indian tribe. Dunbar quickly makes friends with the tribe, and discovers a white woman who was raised by the Indians. He gradually earns the respect of these native people, and sheds his white-man's ways.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | native american | 19th century | wolf | famous score | 

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Taglines:

Lt. John Dunbar is about to discover the frontier...within himself.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Western

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

All the Lakota women have smooth, coiffured and braided hair. Yet, for some unknown reason, "Stands with a Fist" (Mary McDonnell) has layered, wild, messy hair that changes length in the film. This makes no sense since she has been with the Lakota since she was a child and would have grown her hair out several inches to several feet by this time and it would be styled as the other Lakota women.

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Goofs

During the beginning of the great buffalo shooting you can clearly hear someone shout, "Here we go" while the camera is focused on Dunbar. (This audio track can be heard on the European (4 hour) version)

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Quotes

Sergeant Pepper: [at the inactive battlefield] Some of the boys are saying that if we ain't gonna fight we could just settle the whole business with a little high stakes poker. Wouldn't that be a sight... a bunch of fellas sitting in the middle of this field drawing cards...

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Alternate Versions

The 236-minute "extended version" or "Director's Cut" has been released on home video, altering the movie as such:

• 38 x new scene
• 15 x extended scene
• 12 x alternative footage
• 5 x alternative text
• 1 x new text
• 3 x postponed scene
• 3 x altered arrangement of scenes
• 3 x shortened scene.

There is also a 233-minute version which cuts out the 3 minute Intermission at around 133 min featuring John Barry music.

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Connections

Referenced in Bum Reviews: Avatar (2009)

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Soundtracks

Fire Dance
By Peter Buffett

User Reviews

Way better than Avatar

I just can't for the life of me understand why this movie is rated below Avatar...

After having seen this movie again for the first time in years, and after having seen Avatar, it is my opinion that Dances with Wolves is in an entirely different league in terms of story telling. The main ingredients of the story between these two movies is fairly similar - however, the pace and finesse with which Dances with Wolves portrays the development of the relationship between John and the Indians is masterfully done. While Avatar has huge flaws in its story-telling including some scenes with very weak dialogue - it might have gotten away with it as the audience is perhaps distracted by the bombardment of impressive CGI effects!

If you thought Avatar was good and haven't seen Dances with Wolves in a while - I highly recommend it. An excellent move that I think deserves a much better review score - and also should definitely be on IMDBs top 250 list.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Sioux Pawnee

Release Date:

21 November 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dances with Wolves

Filming Locations:

Kansas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$598,257, 11 November 1990

Gross USA:

$184,208,848

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$424,208,848

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tig Productions, Majestic Films International, Allied Filmmakers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

181 min 236 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1