Dances with Wolves (1990)

Director: Kevin Costner

Starring: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene

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

There can be no denying ‘Dances with Wolves’ is an incredible production and it certainly deserves all the accolades and high praise, but ultimately I found the film (eventually) a bit boring.

Yes, it is an interesting story of a man’s journey to self-discovery, but to sit through a 3-hour western drama with very little action does become tedious. If the film was just over 2 hours long, or 2 and a half, I might have found it less boring. Some scenes were unnecessarily long and could have been cut. The film is also very slow moving.

Ok, so that’s my main criticism. Kevin Costner is wonderful as John Dunbar. We don’t really know too much about the character, but since he is about to discover who he truly is and wants to be, it doesn’t really matter. There are some very funny moments, too. The cinematography is beautiful and I loved the setting. ‘Dances with Wolves’ is a story of courage, will, determination, moral values, and unlikely friendships.

Off course a love interest was inevitable and predictable, and when the love story finally took over, I really became bored. We all view films differently, and that’s a good thing. For me, ‘Dances with Wolves’ is too long a movie, and there were moments when I got a sense of deja vu. ‘Gone with the Wind’, for instance, is longer still (about 4 hours), yet I never felt bored. The ‘Lord of the Rings’ films are about 3 hours long each, and they, too, kept me engaged for the entire duration of the film. ‘Dances with Wolves’ just drags too much, and there are many rather quiet moments in the film. It is a beautiful movie with lots to admire, but just too slow for my liking.

‘Dances with Wolves’ received 89 award nominations, winning 51 – including 7 Oscars (Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Writing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Music Original Score). It was a massive box office success, earning $424 million on a $22 million budget.

Would I watch it again? No.