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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Michael Blake (screenplay)
Michael Blake (novel)
Release Date:
21 November 1990 (USA) more
Tagline:
Inside everyone is a frontier waiting to be discovered. more
Plot:
Lt. John Dunbar, exiled to a remote western Civil War outpost, befriends wolves and Indians, making him an intolerable aberration in the military. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won 7 Oscars. Another 30 wins & 20 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(71 articles)
South Park Parodies Avatar With The Smurfs
(From Cinema Blend. 12 November 2009, 7:38 PM, PST)
Watch This: Movie Titles That Slip Into the Dialogue
(From Cinematical. 5 November 2009, 2:32 PM, PST)
User Comments:
magnificent more (282 total)
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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
181 min | USA:224 min (extended version) | USA:236 min (director's cut)
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)
Certification:
Netherlands:12 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Graham Greene's first reaction when he learned that most of the film was going to be in Lakota was, "I don't speak that". more
Goofs:
Continuity: The window in front of which Fambrough is standing, opens and closes a couple of times before and after he commits suicide. more
Quotes:
[Dunbar has found an old skeleton on the prairie]
Timmons:
I'll bet someone back east is going, "Now why don't he write?"
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "The Golden Girls: Older and Wiser (#6.18)" (1991) more
Soundtrack:
Fire Dance more
FAQ
When John Dunbar is sent to Fort Hays after his suicide attempt, what is the meaning of his senior officer saying to him "I have just pissed in my pants and nobody can do anything about it."more
more (282 total)
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I like to watch lots of films, pretty much any film in fact, therefore I can tell you i have seen a fair few duds. I have also seen some spectacularly brilliant films. Dances With Wolves is one of them. For me to have the patience to watch a film more than a couple of times then the film needs to make me want to watch it over and over. Let me tell you I have seen this film more than a few times. I think you know when a film is special to you when you watch it and you keep thinking to yourself "oh this scene coming up is great", if you can say that continually whilst watching a film then you know you are watching a great film.
As for the film itself, cinematography has never been bettered, Costners acting is OK but it his presence rather than his acting that has brought gravitas to his movies, you certainly cant argue with his directing, which along with Orson Wells, Tarantino and a few select others must rank alongside as one of the best directorial debuts. The supporting cast is excellent especially Graeme Greene who is the wonderful Kicking Bird and of course Rodney A Grant.
I shamefully dont know too much about the history of the Indian population in America, so I dont know whether the events or portrayals in the film are accurate, however artistic license is surely allowed when making what is first and foremost a piece of entertainment. Being British I have seen many an American film with British stereotypes, not once have I been offended or appalled, as I see them as interpretations, God knows British filmmakers are just as guilty of such generalisations when it comes to "foreign" characters.
Marvel at the wonderful film-making in this film not political inaccuracies after all this is a story, and a damn fine one at that, remember King Kong didnt really climb up the Empire State Building and you dont here gorillas complaining about being misrepresented. This is a point of view expressed in a great film.
Personally films dont get much better than this.