With beautiful cinematography, Dances With Wolves (1990) ranks among the greatest photographic attempts to capture the luminous Western landscape in all of Art. I know one of the camera men that worked on the "buffalo hunt" scenes and he cited his work in this film as the pinnacle of his career. Everyone who worked on Dances With Wolves deserves to be proud, it is a magnificent achievement. It snagged a bunch of Oscars that year including Best Picture and Best Director for Kevin Costner, for whom this film was a labor of love. It revitalized interest in Westerns and Native American themes and consistently places high on the AFI's list of the greatest films of all time. It is a true Gem, a modern Classic.
1863: Lt. John Dunbar (Kevin Costner), after being wounded in the Civil War, travels west to see the frontier "before it is gone." He is stationed at Ft. Sedgwick, a remote post in Indian land, but arrives to find it deserted and in disrepair...
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
Dunbar decides to stay on, despite being alone in a dangerous land. He fixes the place up and does his best to restock it. All the while, he is enjoying the majestic scenery...
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
Several attempts by Indians to scare him and steal his horse, prompt Dunbar to initiate contact, thinking a dialogue will be the best route to understanding. The initial greeting with the Sioux is awkward and stand-offish...
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
But subsequent meetings prove somewhat more cordial, despite the language barrier...
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
Dunbar very gradually comes to be accepted by the Sioux...
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
helped by his aiding an injured woman in their tribe, and finding a herd of buffalo that had been eluding them...
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
With no white contact, Dunbar immerses himself in Native American life...
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
He receives the name Dances With Wolves (due to his cavorting with a wolf at the Fort) and he falls in love...
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
The life of the Sioux is beautiful, but not without danger. The Pawnee are hostile enemies...
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
And another enemy looms on the horizon, as the white men are steadily expanding West. This is a vanishing way of life...
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
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| Dances With Wolves. 1990: Kevin Costner |
