Rating: 
Summary: Probably Costner's Greatest Achievement Thus Far
Review: I recently saw Open Range which shares much in common with this film. Both have an unhurried pace, often dwell on what seem to be insignificant details (but which prove significant later), and both make effective use of the setting in which most of the action occurs. This is Kevin Costner's style as director, one which is especially effective in this film. It was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and received seven, including those for best film, director (Costner), cinematography (Dean Semler), adapted screenplay, editing, and sound. There are two essential conflicts in the plot, one which is cultural and another which involves the Lakota Sioux and their hated enemies, the Pawnee. The former was the inevitable result of westward expansion which eventually eliminated most of the Native Americans who opposed it; the latter existed long before that expansion accelerated following the Civil War. This film has a peculiar beginning: Lieutenant John Dunbar (Costner) seems determined to commit suicide as his Union associates face Confederate troops. During a lull, he races his horse across the field which divides them and is seriously wounded. His behavior is viewed as heroism because it inspires what becomes a victory for the Union troops. Later, after he recovers, he requests assignment to a military outpost in South Dakota. The clear implication is that he wants to get as far away as he can from "civilization." Upon arrival, he find the outpost abandoned. The supplies are unloaded and then he is alone, except for his horse and a curious but cautious wolf which observes him from a distance. Through a series of events, he later becomes involved with a Lakota Sioux tribe and a personal transition then begins which....It would be a disservice to those who have not as yet seen this film to say any more about the plot. Suffice to say that there is a great deal of sometimes violent action which Costner (as director) brilliantly juxtaposes with moments of exquisite tenderness and deep reflection. All of the performances are outstanding. One of the strongest is provided by Mary McDonnell (Stands with a Fist), a white woman and recent widow who has lived most of her life among the Lakota. I especially enjoyed Wes Studi's work in this film as the Toughest Pawnee, (as well as in The Last of the Mohicans as Magua) and Graham Greene's performance as Kicking Bird, Stands with a Fist's surrogate father. Some of the most effective photography recreates a buffalo hunt during which Dunbar helps his friends and neighbors to obtain the food and hides they need before the arrival of winter. There is also an especially well-staged attack on the Lakota camp by the Pawnee in which Dunbar also plays a key role. The "civilization" he rejected eventually follows him westward, forcing him to make a predictable choice. Dunbar's assimilation reminds me of one experienced by John Blackthorne (Richard Chamberlain) in Shogun following his immersion in 17th century Japanese culture. By the time a choice had to be made, neither hesitated and each made his decision for reasons which reveal so much about the new values to which each is committed. Some have criticized this film for being so obviously sympathetic with the Lakota and so critical of the society from which Dunbar fled. They have a point. It is important to remember, however, that Costner is telling the story from a specific point-of-view. He selected historical material which gives his film a degree of authenticity, to be sure, but whose greater purpose is to expedite as well as enrich the narrative. He, his cast, and crew should be very proud of what they achieved together: a thoroughly entertaining film of a very high quality. Be sure to purchase the Special Edition DVD which offers so many supplementary items which include commentaries by Kevin Costner, producer Jim Wilson, director of photography Dean Semler and editor Neil Travis, a new extended version with never-before-seen additional scenes (236 minutes), and a new "The Creation of an Epic" retrospective documentary.
Rating: 
Summary: A thoughtful and entertaining DVD
Review: I remember going to see this movie at least five times in the theater when it first came out. I was totally blown away. I realized what my father's generation must have felt like when they saw Lawrence of Arabia for the first time. The sheer majesty of this film is incredible and it's one that helped brought back the epic motion picture. With the new DVD you get an extra hour of film and all of it is worth watching. There is more character development, shots of vistas that must have bought tears to the eyes when it did not make the first cut, and what really happened the soldiers that abandoned Fort Sedgewick. The picture quality was good and it does not take away from the film, but I agree with other critics when they say they were expecting something a little bit more vibrant coming from the DVD. Especially when MGM has done wonders when rereleasing their eye-popping musicals. The behind the scenes documentary the typically formatted but very good. Fans will enjoy. The feature that the was most unneccessary was the introduction to the photo gallery. The Photos are great, however Ben Glass comes out with his dog and reads from a contrived script, making this feature very schmaltzy. The feature I did enjoy most was the Costner/Wilson commentary. Very informative and worth listening to. Costner bounces between being self absorbed to being very gracious. But they manage to stick to the point as the movie plays. It's obvious that Costner and Wilson love this film. Points also go to them talking about the many names of the that appear on the end credits and where their careers went with as much emphasis as they did with the actors and film crew. Very classy. If you are a fan of Dances with Wolves, epics or westerns, this is definitley worth having. Already considered a modern classic.
Rating:
Summary: Special Edition: Great movie... but the picture quality?
Review: First of all, I agree with all other reviewers here that the added scenes only serve to increase the quality of this epic film. The included documentary is also something special for those who truly love this movie. However, since I own both the original DVD release and the new Special Edition, I have noticed one minor flaw. The color in many of the scenes on the Special Edition DVD appear washed out or faded when compared to the original. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Badlands scene. The colors on the original DVD were bright and vivid, while those on the Special Edition were relatively dull and pale. While this fault is not enough to keep me from recommending the purchase of this DVD, it does raise an interesting question. Shouldn't the Special Edition be of higher overall quality than the original, and not vice versa?
Rating:
Summary: Costner's Finest Moment
Review: This is a stunning motion picture and worthy of all the accolades and awards (7 academy awards..!!) it received. It's ironic that Costner had difficulty finding financial backing for this film as it belonged to a genre that was considered out of "cinematic fashion". Not only did this film dispel such nonsense, but a year later, Clint Eastwood's brilliant "Unforgiven" also garnered the Oscar for Best Motion Picture. Dances with Wolves tells the story of John Dunbar, a dissillusioned Civil War "hero" who wants to see the frontier "before it disappears. Dunbar quickly makes a home for himself in a deserted and forgotten fort on a quiet sandy area on the plains, where he prefers the company of his horse and nature to the harshness of the civil war, which is continuing to rage back east. In time, Dunbar meets his "neighbours" - the plains tribe, the Sioux - and it is the interaction and relationships which develop between this soldier and the Sioux, which propels this movie to greatness. It is interesting to see the difference in the relationship between Dundar and Winds-In-His-Hair, the warrior, who wants nothing to do with the "white intruders" on his land. However, the "holy man" of the tribe, Kicking Bird, looks at Dunbar with a sense of curiousity and "sadness (he understands that more white men will eventually come to settle their land) and over time, establishes a very special relationship with him. Dances With Wolves works on so many levels that it's not at all surprising that the film was both an artistic and commercial success. You have a rousing adventure film with battles and a buffalo hunt that is absolutely breathtaking in its realism. The scenes are so well depicted that you almost have the sensation of riding at a breakneck pace along side the thundering herd. Of course, there's a romance element as Dunbar falls in love with Stands-With-Fist, the adopted daughter of Kicking Bird, who has recently lost her husband. You have to admire the integrity and guts that Costner showed in making a film in a genre that was essentially dead. It's doubtful that he would have found the money if this film hadn't come on the heels of The Untouchables and Field of Dreams, for example, which had secured his reputation in Hollywood at the time as a major bankable star. This film was made at the height of Costner's popularity and turkeys like Waterworld, 3000 Miles To Graceland and The Postman were still far off in the future. However, notwithstanding the above, if Costner never did another thing in Hollywood, he can look back on this epic film that he was primarily responsible for and be very, very proud.
Rating:
Summary: An All American Classic!
Review: This movie has everything (wait a minute, of course it does. it won 7 acadamy awards...)you could ever want in a film. Comedy, history, romance, tragedy, EVERYTHING!!! The story is all about John Dunbar, who enlists in the Union in the Civil War, and is stationed out in the middle of nowhere in one of the plain states (I'm not sure which one). He mets a gentle wolf, and he mets an even gentler Sioux tribe who soon befriend him. He falls in love with an English woman who belongs to the tribe because when she was little, A Pawnee tribe killed the rest of her family. The Sioux somewhat addopted her, & she learned to speak the language. They soon fall in love and get married. But all kinds of tragedies befall the tribe - The ongoing war against the Pawnee, The Union army capturing John (Dances with Wolves is his Sioux name), More pioneers taking the Indian's land, not enough buffalo to eat, etc. This movie is SO excellent! If you haven't seen Dances With Wolves, you are missing out on a great American Classic!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This was the best movie when it came out, and thankfully it still holds up. Some parts of the movie do appear slightly dated. This shouldn't stop you from buying it, because this is the best movie about indians, ever, and its in their own language. Plus, you get an hour of additional footage seemlesly added to the film. buy now.
Rating:
Summary: More of a good thing
Review: The additional 53 minutes that the extended edition of Dances With Wolves offers adds little of substance to the original. It does flesh out the story in bits and pieces. When released theatrically, it was obviously necessary to pare down the film's length. At more than three hours, the theatrical release was only barely acceptable to theatres, since it meant fewer showings per day and consequently smaller receipts. For those who loved the original, though, this is just a little extra feast to enjoy. I did.
Rating:
Summary: A fine telling of a fascinating story. Extraordinary.
Review: This film is the best "Western" film in decades. Kevin Costner turns in a fine performance as a Civil War cavalry hero who is posted to the Western Frontier, and by accident is assigned to an abandoned outpost by a deranged commander. Alone and isolated from the Army, Costner eventually becomes first acquainted with, then absorbed by, the local Lakota Sioux tribe. Although the storyline sounds simple, this is in fact a complex story with many dimensions. The film's greatest success is its portrayal of the Sioux as ordinary human beings in a highly complex and civilized society, albeit one very unlike our own. The Sioux are shown to be a brave, compassionate, friendly people, although possessed of a warlike tradition and culture. The cinematography of the film is superb, and it wonderfully captures the size and grandeur of the American west. The picture is crisp and the scenes are vivid. There are no phony looking sets of the type that often plagues Western films. As if this were not enough, this film contains one of the best musical scores I've ever heard. "Looks Like a Suicide," the main musical score of the film, is wonderful. Unfortunately, this film has two very serious flaws that caused me to deprive it of a "five stars" rating. It is far, far too long. I like the film enough so that I admit that I enjoy the length, but there is no doubt in my mind at least that this film could and should have been shorter--this would not have decreased its impact. The second flaw is that, as the Amazon editorial review says, the scene when the American soldiers return is simply overdone. It is OK to villainize them; history suggests that this is at not undeserved. But it could have been done in a less extreme fashion--the way it was done caused the whole scene to seem one dimensional, and not particularly enjoyable, at least to me. The Special Edition DVD is the one to get. The "deleted scenes" that it includes are some of the better ones; I would say that this suggests that the one big flaw in this film is the editing--the regular version excluded some good scenes and included some scenes that seem to simply constitute filler. Well, opinions may differ. The audio commentaries are interesting, although I admit I have not yet listened to them all and may never do so. All in all, there is a tremendous amount to like in this film, and most film afficianados will enjoy this DVD thoroughly. The DVD format is great for this film, because of course it makes it possible to watch it in several sittings. At 237 minutes, that is almost a must for most of us.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Recommended
Review: I have just finished watching Dances With Wolves for the first time, and I have to say it is one of my favorite movies of all time, after one viewing.
The movie absolutely captivated me with it's sense of wildness and freedom. I never imagined that I would feel this engrossed in a 3+ hour movie, but I indeed did sit there thru the entire thing, totally absorbed in the storyline.
The movie was packed with extraordinary scenery and a flawless portrayal of the horse people of the plains.
The ending was tragic, but true, and I feel even more for the native cultures that once peopled our land, and treated it as it should be treated.
I am sure most of the folks reading this review have already seen the movie at one time or another, so I must say that this long awaited DVD was worth the wait. The picture was excellent, as was the audio. There is one two sided disc for the movie and an additional disc for special features, which I have not had the chance to get into.
Rating:
Summary: Longer & Better. A True Cinema Gem.
Review: To borrow an old cliche, "Dances With Wolves" isn't a cup of tea everyone will enjoy. The naysayers will usher out the usual complaints: Too long... Too slow... Subtitles... Blah, blah, blah... But this cup of tea is meant to be sipped and savored, not guzzled. I already had the special edition on VHS, and I held out buying the film's DVD until now. The special edition "Dances With Wolves" is a prized addition to my DVD collection. This is a rare "extended version" of a film in that the added scenes truly add to the story and enhance the movie-watching experience. Yes, this edition of "Dances With Wolves" is longer, but it is also better. Among the extra scenes, one stands out. It depicts the Sioux's brutal, some would even dare say "savage" side as they essentially dismember the white hunters who slaughtered bisons for their hids but let the meat rot. (We see the aftermath of what the tribe's warriors did to the hunters, not the actual killings.) All the extra footage blends well with the original "Dances With Wolves." This film has seamless editing, and I actually like how the time is taken to let the story unfold slowly. Too many movies seem rushed to me -- and I, in turn, feel rushed watching them. "Dances With Wolves" gives you quiet moments to absorb the information and enjoy the absolutely majestic cinematography as the story develops. Let me also list the accolades most commonly associated with this Best Picture winner -- by those who agree it is a masterful epic: Authentic acting, glorious images and great, old-fashion story telling. And don't forget the score. The music is a perfect match for the film, and contributes greatly to settng the mood. Then there's that buffalo hunt scene, widely considered "Dances With Wolves" most rousing moment. It truly is among the most impressive five minutes ever captured on film, especially as you realize these big beasts are the "real deal." Today, directors would resort to digital animation. We are actually seeing a herd of 3,000 snorting bisons rambling across the prairie and a genuine reenactment of a Sioux buffalo hunt. Amazing! Finally, I found the featurettes on Disc 2 superior to the general Making Of... fluff tacked onto most DVDs. These "Dances With Wolves" documentaries are done in retrospect, 12 years removed from when the film was actually made, as Kevin Costner and practically all the other principals associated with the film look back on the film-making experience. They all seem to realize, with great pride, "Dances With Wolves" is their crowning achievement. This movie was also obviously a labor of love for all involved, and it shows.
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