Dances with Wolves

Dances with Wolves
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Name	Dances with Wolves
Director	Kevin Costner
Producer	Kevin Costner
Writer	Michael Blake
Based on	Dances with Wolves (novel) by Michael Blake
Starring	Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant, Tantoo Cardinal
Music	John Barry
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Edited by	Neil Travis
Production companies	Tig Productions, Ikon Productions
Distributed by	Orion Pictures
Release date	1990
Runtime	181 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English, Lakota
Budget	$22 million
Box office	$424 million

Dances with Wolves is a 1990 American epic Western film directed by Kevin Costner, adapted by Michael Blake from his novel. The film follows Lieutenant John J. Dunbar's frontier posting, his encounters with a Lakota Sioux community, and his cultural transformation, blending performance, cinematography, and indigenous languages. It became a major commercial success and received multiple Academy Awards, influencing portrayals of Native American peoples in mainstream cinema.

Plot

Lieutenant John J. Dunbar, a Union Army officer, is posted to a remote western 19th-century frontier fort where he encounters isolation, frontier life, and Native American nations. Early scenes involve interactions with soldiers from the American Civil War aftermath, frontier supply lines, and the abandoned Fort Hays, framing Dunbar's decision to remain at the frontier. Dunbar establishes relationships with a Lakota Sioux band, learns Lakota language and customs, and forms bonds with individuals such as Kicking Bird and Stands With A Fist, negotiating cultural exchange and intergroup tensions. The narrative culminates in mounting pressures from westward expansion, including encounters with the United States Army units enforcing relocation policies and conflicts foreshadowing events like the Plains wars and treaties such as the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), leading to a poignant resolution about identity, displacement, and survival.

Cast and characters

Kevin Costner portrays Lieutenant John J. Dunbar, a role that foregrounds interactions with figures from Lakota society and soldiers influenced by Civil War veterans and frontier officers. Mary McDonnell appears as Stands With A Fist, a character whose personal history connects to encounters with Euro-American expansion and family tragedies referenced against incidents like the Sand Creek Massacre aftermath. Graham Greene plays Kicking Bird, a diplomat and spiritual leader analogous to historic Lakota leaders who engaged with emissaries and councils such as those involving Red Cloud and Spotted Tail. Supporting performances include Rodney A. Grant as Wind In His Hair, Tantoo Cardinal as Black Shawl, and Floyd Red Crow Westerman in elder roles reflecting connections to the network of Plains leaders and orators. Military and civilian personnel depicted echo archetypes drawn from figures associated with frontier forts like Fort Laramie, scouting detachments linked to George Armstrong Custer narratives, and civilian traders resembling agents operating through posts such as Bent's Old Fort.

Production

The film was developed from Michael Blake's novel and shepherded into production by Kevin Costner's production company after interest from studios including Orion Pictures and financiers tied to late-20th-century Hollywood. Location shooting used plains and prairie landscapes evocative of regions near South Dakota, Wyoming, and the Great Plains, with cinematography by Dean Semler emphasizing wide vistas reminiscent of earlier Westerns such as those by John Ford. Production design and wardrobe incorporated Lakota material culture, beadwork, and tipi construction researched from institutions like the Smithsonian Institution collections and consultations with Native consultants and performers. Dialogue included Lakota language passages coached by linguists familiar with Siouan languages and compared to archival recordings held at repositories such as the Library of Congress. Composer John Barry contributed a score blending orchestral themes with motifs aligned to pastoral imagery, paralleling scoring traditions of composers like Elmer Bernstein and Ennio Morricone.

Historical and cultural context

The film situates its story within post-American Civil War westward expansion, manifest destiny debates, and the period of Plains Indian resistance and accommodation. Characters and scenarios evoke historical leaders and events—such as interactions reflecting policies arising from presidencies like Ulysses S. Grant and the administrative outcomes of the Indian Appropriations Act of 1871—while also referencing broader cultural processes including treaties, reservation formation, and the impact of overland trails and railroads like the Union Pacific Railroad. The portrayal of Lakota social structures engages with ethnographies by scholars associated with institutions such as the American Anthropological Association and histories including the writings of George Bird Grinnell and Helena Huntington Smith. The film's use of Lakota language, casting of Native actors, and depiction of Plains lifeways contributed to debates among historians, activists, and critics at organizations like the National Congress of American Indians about representation, historical accuracy, and cinematic agency.

Release and reception

Released by Orion Pictures in 1990, the film opened to commercial success and robust box-office returns, becoming one of the highest-grossing Westerns since the mid-20th century. Critical response ranged from praise by reviewers associated with outlets like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Variety for its cinematography and revisionist tone, to scrutiny from scholars and Native commentators in forums such as the Smithsonian Magazine and American Indian Quarterly over historical simplifications and romanticization. Awards season recognition included nominations and wins across ceremonies organized by bodies like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Golden Globe Awards, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Accolades and legacy

The film won multiple awards at the 63rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Kevin Costner, and garnered accolades from the Golden Globes and BAFTA. Its commercial and critical success renewed mainstream interest in Westerns and influenced later productions involving Native American themes, contributing to a lineage that includes films and series referencing indigenous perspectives. The movie's legacy prompted increased casting of Native actors in Hollywood projects, stimulated academic discussion in journals like Ethnohistory and led to collaborations between film producers and Native institutions such as tribal cultural centers and museums. Debates over portrayal, authorship, and historical fidelity continue in film studies curricula at universities including University of California, Los Angeles and University of New Mexico.

Category:1990 films Category:American Western films Category:Films about Native Americans