Dances with Wolves

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Dances with Wolves is a 1990 epic film which tells the story of a United States cavalry officer in the 1860s who befriends a band of Lakota Indians, sacrificing his career and ties to his own people.

1 Production
2 Academy Awards
- 2.1 Won
- 2.2 Nominated
3 Response
4 Cast
5 Soundtrack
6 References
7 External links

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Production

The movie's screenplay was adapted by Michael Blake from his novel of the same title. It was Costner who in early 1986 when he was himself relatively unknown, encouraged Blake to turn an idea for a story into a novel. Dances with Wolves was rejected by numerous publishers but finally published in paperback in 1988. The film was directed by Costner.

Most of the movie was filmed on location in South Dakota, but a few scenes were filmed in Wyoming. Filming locations included the Badlands National Park, the Black Hills, the Sage Creek Wilderness Area, and the Belle Fourche River area. The buffalo hunt scenes were filmed at the Triple U Buffalo Ranch near Pierre, South Dakota. [1]

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Academy Awards

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Won

Best Cinematography

Best Director (Kevin Costner)

Best Film Editing

Best Music, Original Score (John Barry)

Best Picture

Best Sound

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. (Michael Blake)

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Nominated

Best Actor in a Leading Role (Kevin Costner)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Graham Greene)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Mary McDonnell)

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Costume Design

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Response

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Box office

Dances with Wolves was very successful commercially, becoming the highest grossing Western of all time with nearly $184 million in U.S. box office sales [2].

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Praise

The film was often praised for its accuracy in the portrayal of Native Americans, because it went beyond the simple primitive savage motif of typical Hollywood fare.

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Criticism

Often the film is criticized for having overly graphic violence and sexual content, even though the film only received a PG-13 rating. It has also been heavily criticised as a revisionist apology for colonialism. The film is criticised in particular by Gerald Vizenor, for maintaining the simulation of the 'Indian' through the noble savage myth, the tragic soon to be extinct myth, and by once again portraying the situation only from the settler.

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Cast

It stars Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Tantoo Cardinal, Robert Pastorelli and Charles Rocket. It has been released in both a 181-minute theatrical version and a 236-minute Special Edition version for television and video.

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Soundtrack

John Barry composed the Award-winning score, which became a very popular film score. Pope John Paul II once referred to it as among his favorite pieces of music.

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