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Dances with Wolves (Special Extended Edition) Customer Reviews (34 - 36 of 64 Reviews)

"I want to see the Frontier...Before It's Gone."
This tale of the frontier and the last days of native culture in the west is Kevin Costner's best film to date. It tells the story of Union army officer John Dunbar who, disillusioned with the bloody civil war in the east, requests to be posted to a remote western outpost. He arrives to find the fort totally deserted with no sign of the garrison. His only companions are his trusty horse Cisco and a unusually friendly wolf he names Two-Socks. He soon makes contact with a band of Souix Indians who are at first curious but highly suspicious of the lone white man in their land. He finally rides out to make formal contact with them which eventually leads to friendship and acceptance by the tribe. Over time, he develops close friendships with several members of the clan, particularly Kicking Bird, the village holy man, Wind In His Hair, a stoic and powerful warrior, and Stands With a Fist, a white woman raised by Kicking Bird's family. Dumbar undertakes a journey of self-discovery as he grows ever closer to his new Indian friends, accompanying them on a buffalo hunt, defending the village against a Pawnee attack, and eventually marrying into the tribe. Slowly but surely, he ceases to be what he has always been, a white soldier named John Dunbar until all that remians is a Souix named Dances With Wolves. In the end, he must make a choice to defend his new friends or return to his old life and assist in the decimation of the Indians and their land.

Dances With Wolves is a beautiful film with strong characters and lush landscapes. Costner is in his element here as the soft spoken reluctant hero who must make serious life choices in the face of overwhelming odds. This movie definately embraces Rousseau's idea of the "Noble Savage" as the Souix are presented here as a proud and innocent people, unencumbered by vice, and threatened by an ever expanding flood of whites driven by the dreams of Manifest Destiny. Whether this is a factual depiction of the Indians is open to debate, but it cannot be denied that we are given a genuinely sympathetic picture of life on the plains and a desire to see Dunbar and his Indian allies hold back the inevitable...

Dances with wolves, a stunning epic
Dances with wolves is a one of few films that are worth viewing. Kevin Costner usually gives a bland preformance but in this case he really shined. The screenplay in this movie is incredible,the whole thing is written like a poem. This film features some of the most beautiful costumes and screen work since Gone with the wind. It's odd that Kevin Costner would not continue directing movies after such a big success with Dances With Wolves. All the other small name actors put on a good preformance. This film is indeed twice the epic Titanic is made out to be. We see John Dunbar, a soldier in the Civil War, transformed through this movie. And this is what gives DWW it's epic side. We see him promoted the the rank of a hero while trying to take his own life, we see him request a post out on the frontier, we see him make first contact with the sioux, We see him fall in love with Stands with a Fist, then we witness the bond bewtween him and the indians grow. from his experience hunting buffalo, to his battles in the tribal wars, we truly get attached to this character. The only problem I saw in this movie was the end. We are left without any idea as to what happend to John and Stands With A fist. But Kevin has proved he has the talent to direct some fine movies. BRAVO!

The Indians are the good guys
Lt. John Dunbar is sent to an abandon fort on the frontier. While at this outpost he begins a journey of his spirit. He becomes friends with the local Indians and eventually becomes one of them. He meets and marries a white woman called "Stand with fist" whose family was killed by another tribe. She wonders into their tribe and is adopted by the Village chief. Stand with fist becomes a translator between Dunbar and the Native Indians (eventhough she has not spoken these words (English) since she was two).

John Dunbar begins a transformation were he begins to see these native indians not as savages but as fellow human beings. One day the native people see him Dancing with wolves around a campfire. They then give him his tribal name "Dances with wolves". Overtime Lt. Dunbar becomes completely assimilated into their culture.

Granham Green gives an outstanding performance as the chief. Graham Greenbecomes the first Native American to be nominated for an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actor). Granham also gives a fine performance as Ishi in the movie "Last of his tribe".

One reviewer wrote that this movie tends to romanticize the Indians by portaying them as saintly people. I have had courses in American Indian Studies and I have to confess that it is true. Native Americans have been romanticized in our popular culture. Dances with wolves portray the Indians as good guys and white people as bad guys. This portrayal tends to be one sided. Not all white people were bad. Many wanted to help the Indians. But, because of their short sightedness and lack of understanding of Native American culture, many of their programs ended up hurting the native people. While many movies portray Native Americans are portrayed as Savages, Many Native Americans are also falsley portrayed as great evironmentalists. In fact Native Americans were just as exploitive of their resources as white people. They just didn't create an impact because their numbers were small and their population size was controlled by the carrying capacity of the environment. Many Native American tribes were aggressive and did kill white people with out provocation. Dances with wolves does tend to be one sided and is just as false as any other western that portray Indians as blood thirsty savages.

The story telling was very good and the cinematography was fantasic. The movie really showed the beauty of the western frontier. One needs to look at this movie not as a portrayal of white people or of Indians but, as the Journey of one man's soul.

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