Dances with Wolves (1990) - Costner's triumphant, simpatico western

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Kevin Costner on the prairie with a wolf on the poster for his own film, Dances with Wolves

QUICK REVIEW:

Lieutenant John J. Dunbar (Kevin Costner (Open Range (2003))) is wounded in the American Civil War and gets exiled to a remote western post, where he befriends wolves and Indians and comes at heads with his military commanders.

Wolves is a very beautiful salute to the native peoples of America, more specifically the Sioux Indians. The story, - Michael Blake (Winding Stair (1998)) adapted his own novel, - is very simple and elongated (the film runs 180 minutes), packed with grand nature, sympathetic Indians and gun-crazed Americans, who even SPOILER wipe their asses in Dunbar's journal.
The film also contains a stunning buffalo scene and Mary McDonnell (Donnie Darko (2001)), who is really super as Costner's  half-Indian flame.
Costner debuted as a director with this major film, which he had to help get finished by injecting 3 mil. $ to cover his budget overrun out of his own pockets. He has since only directed the similarly long, but ridiculed The Postman (1997) and the very good western Open Range.
Dances with Wolves is a very good film, which I think some people mistake for a masterpiece simply because they find it so sympathetic.
There also exists a 236 minute 'director's cut' version, - but beware; Costner has stated that he had no hand in this extended cut.

Related review:

Kevin Costner: Thirteen Days (2000) - Electrifying Cuban Missile Crisis thriller (actor/producer)

Watch the original trailer here

Cost: Estimated 19-22 mil. $
Box office: 424.2 mil. $
= Huge hit
[Wolves surprised skeptics, who were already waiting in the shades, calling the film Kevin's Gate, (alluding to Michael Cimino's infamous turkey Heaven's Gate (1980))), were put to shame, as the film took in 184 mil. $ (43 % of the total gross) in the US and became a worldwide smash, as per the international posters above. Wolves was also 10 times Oscar-nominated and won 7, including Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography (Dean Semler (Apocalypto (2006))), Sound, Editing and Score (John Barry (You Only Live Twice (1967)))! - The film thus, incredibly, became the first western to win the Best Picture Oscar since Wesley Ruggles' (The Monkey's Paw (1933)) Cimarron (1931)!]

What do you think of Dances with Wolves?