Dances with Wolves Information

Dances with Wolves is a 1990 American epic western film directed, produced by, and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a group of Lakota Indians.

Costner developed the film over a period of 5 years, with an initial budget of $15 million. Dances with Wolves had high production values and won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture " Drama. Much of the dialogue is spoken in Lakota with English subtitles. It was shot in South Dakota and Wyoming.

It is credited as a leading influence for the revitalization of the Western genre of filmmaking in Hollywood. In 2007, Dances with Wolves was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Plot

In 1863, First Lieutenant John J. Dunbar (Kevin Costner) is wounded in the American Civil War. Rather than having his leg amputated, he takes a horse and rides up to the Confederate front lines, distracting them in the process. The roused Union army then attacks and the battle ends in a Confederate rout. Dunbar survives, is allowed to recover properly, receives a citation for bravery, and is awarded Cisco, the horse who carried him, as well as his choice of posting. Dunbar requests a transfer to the western frontier so he can see its vast terrain before it disappears. Dunbar arrives at his new post, Fort Sedgwick, but finds it abandoned and in disrepair. Despite the threat of nearby Native American tribes, he elects to stay and man the post himself. He begins rebuilding and restocking the fort and prefers the solitude afforded him, recording many of his observations in his journal.

Meanwhile Timmons, the wagon driver who transported Dunbar to Fort Sedgwick, is killed and scalped by Pawnee Indians on his way back to Fort Hayes. Timmons's death and the suicide of Major Fainborough, who sent them there, prevents other soldiers from knowing of Dunbar's assignment to the post, effectively isolating him. Dunbar notes in his journal of how strange it is that no other soldiers accompany him at the post.

Dunbar initially encounters his Sioux neighbors when several attempts are made to steal his horse and intimidate him. In response, Dunbar decides to seek out the Sioux camp in an attempt to establish a dialogue. On his way he comes across Stands With A Fist (Mary McDonnell), who has injured herself in mourning her deceased husband. She is the white adopted daughter of the tribe's medicine man Kicking Bird (Graham Greene), her original family being killed by the aggressive Pawnee tribe when she was young. Dunbar returns her to the Sioux to be treated, which changes their attitude toward him. Eventually, Dunbar establishes a rapport with Kicking Bird and warrior Wind In His Hair (Rodney A. Grant) who equally wish to communicate. Initially the language barrier frustrates them, so Stands With A Fist, though with difficulty remembering her English, acts as translator.

Dunbar finds himself drawn to the lifestyle and customs of the tribe and begins spending most of his time with them. Learning their language, he becomes a hero among the Sioux and is accepted as an honored guest after he locates a migrating herd of buffalo and participates in the hunt. When at Fort Sedgwick, Dunbar also befriends a wolf he dubs "Two Socks" for its white forepaws. When the Sioux observe Dunbar and Two Socks chasing each other, they give him his Sioux name "Dances with Wolves". During this time, Dunbar also forges a romantic relationship with Stands with a Fist and helps defend the village from an attack by the rival Pawnee tribe. Dunbar eventually wins Kicking Bird's approval to marry Stands with a Fist, and abandons Fort Sedgwick.

Because of the growing Pawnee and white threat, Chief Ten Bears (Floyd Red Crow Westerman) decides to move the tribe to its winter camp. Dunbar decides to accompany them but must first retrieve his journal from Fort Sedgwick as he realises that the journal is the blueprint to the army for finding the tribe and that he knows too much about their ways. However, when he arrives he finds it occupied by the U.S. Army. Because of his Sioux clothing, the soldiers see him as a native and a threat and open fire, killing Cisco and capturing Dunbar, arresting him as a traitor. Sgt Bauer (Larry Joshua) with the generals and major, interrogate him, but Dunbar cannot prove his situation, as Corporal Spivey (Tony Pierce) had secretly stolen his journal. As a result, along with Dunbar's refusal to serve as an interpreter to the tribes, he is put on trial for treason and transported back east as a prisoner to be hanged. While travelling in the armed caravan, the soldiers shoot Two Socks when the wolf attempts to follow Dunbar despite Dunbar's attempts to intervene.

Eventually the Sioux track the convoy, killing the soldiers and freeing Dunbar. At the winter camp, Dunbar decides to leave with Stands With A Fist, since his status will put the tribe in danger. As they leave, Wind In His Hair shouts across to Dunbar, reminding him of their friendship. U.S. troops are seen searching the mountains but are unable to locate them, while a lone wolf howls in the distance. An epilogue states that thirteen years later the last remnants of Sioux were subjugated to the American government, ending the conquest of the Western frontier states and the livelihoods of the tribes in the plains.

Cast

• Kevin Costner as Lt. John J. Dunbar / Dances with Wolves (Lakota: ?u"?gmánit T?á"?ka "b Wa?hí)
• Mary McDonnell as Stands With A Fist (Napép?e?a Ná?i"? Wi"?)
• Graham Greene as Kicking Bird (Zi"?tká Nagwáka)
• Rodney A. Grant as Wind In His Hair (P?ehí"? Ot?áte)
• Floyd Red Crow Westerman as Chief Ten Bears (Mat?ó Wik?émna)
• Tantoo Cardinal as Black Shawl (?iná Sápa Wi"?)
• Jimmy Herman as Stone Calf (Í"?ya"? Ptehí"??ala)
• Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse as Smiles A Lot (I?á S'a)
• Michael Spears as Otter (Ptá"?)
• Jason R. Lone Hill as Worm (Waglúla)
• Charles Rocket as Lt. Elgin
• Robert Pastorelli as Timmons
• Larry Joshua as Sgt. Bauer
• Tony Pierce as Spivey
• Kirk Baltz as Edwards
• Tom Everett as Sgt. Pepper
• Maury Chaykin as Maj. Fainborough
• Wes Studi as the fiercest Pawnee
• Wayne Grace as The Major

Production

Originally written as a spec script by Michael Blake, it went unsold in the mid-1980s. It was Kevin Costner who, in early 1986 (when he was relatively unknown), encouraged Blake to turn the screenplay into a novel, to improve its chances of being adapted into a film. The novel manuscript of Dances with Wolves was rejected by numerous publishers but finally published in paperback in 1988. As a novel, the rights were purchased by Costner, with an eye on directing it. Actual production lasted for four months, from July 18 to November 23, 1989. Most of the movie was filmed on location in South Dakota, mainly near Pierre and Rapid City, with a few scenes filmed in Wyoming. Specific 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 outside Fort Pierre, South Dakota, as were the Fort Sedgwick scenes, the set being constructed on the property.

Production delays were numerous, because of South Dakota's unpredictable weather, the difficulty of "directing" barely trainable wolves, and the complexity of the Indian battle scenes. Particularly arduous was the film's centerpiece buffalo hunt sequence: this elaborate chase was filmed over three weeks using 100 Indian stunt riders and an actual stampeding herd of several thousand buffalo. During one shot, Costner (who did almost all of his own horseback riding) was "T-boned" by another rider and knocked off his horse, nearly breaking his back. The accident is captured in The Creation of an Epic, the behind-the-scenes documentary on the Dances with Wolves Special Edition DVD.

According to the documentary, none of the buffalo were computer animated (CGI was then in its infancy) and only a few were animatronic or otherwise fabricated. In fact, Costner and crew employed the largest domestically owned buffalo ranch, with two of the domesticated buffalo being borrowed from Neil Young; this was the herd used for the buffalo hunt sequence.

Budget overruns were inevitable, owing to Costner's breaking several unspoken Hollywood "rules" for first-time directors: traditionally, they avoid both shooting outside and working with children and animals as much as possible. As a result, late in the production Costner was forced to add $3 million personally in out-of-pocket money to the film's original $15-million budget. Referring to the infamous fiasco of Michael Cimino's 1980 Heaven's Gate, considered the most mismanaged Western in film history, Costner's project was satirically dubbed "Kevin's Gate" by Hollywood critics and pundits skeptical of a three-hour, partially subtitled Western by a novice filmmaker.

The film changed the novel's Comanche Indians to Sioux, because of the larger number of Sioux speakers. Lakota Sioux language instructor Doris Leader Charge (1931"2001) was the on-set Lakota dialogue coach and also portrayed Pretty Shield, wife of Chief Ten Bears.

Despite portraying the adopted daughter of Graham Greene's character Kicking Bird, Mary McDonnell, then 37, was actually two months older than Greene, and less than two years younger than Tantoo Cardinal, the actress playing her adoptive mother. In addition, McDonnell was extremely nervous about shooting her sex scene with Kevin Costner, requesting it be toned down to a more modest version than what was scripted.

Reception

Defying expectation, Dances with Wolves proved instantly popular, eventually making $184 million in U.S. box office sales, and $424 million in total sales worldwide. The movie won the Best Picture Academy Award against strong competition, notably Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas.

As of 2011, the film holds a positive review score of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. Because of the film's popular and lasting impact, the Sioux Nation adopted Costner as an honorary member.

In 2007, the Library of Congress selected Dances with Wolves for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Native American activist and actor Russell Means was less kind about some aspects of the film's technical accuracy. In 2009, he said "Remember Lawrence of Arabia? That was Lawrence of the Plains. The odd thing about making that movie is that they had a woman teaching the actors the Lakota language, but Lakota has a male-gendered language and a female-gendered language. Some of the Indians and Kevin Costner were speaking in the feminine way. When I went to see it with a bunch of Lakota guys, we were laughing."

According to other sources the gender specific Lakota words were used correctly in the movie. Some of the criticism was inspired by the fact that the pronunciation is not authentic since none of the actors except for one were native speakers of the language. However, making the movie with dialogues in the native Language has been lauded as a remarkable achievement.

Awards and honors

63rd Academy Awards: In addition to becoming the first Western film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture since 1931's Cimarron, Dances with Wolves won the following additional Oscars:

• Best Director " Kevin Costner
• Best Adapted Screenplay " Michael Blake
• Best Cinematography " Dean Semler
• Best Film Editing " Neil Travis
• Best Sound " Russell Williams II, Jeffrey Perkins, Bill W. Benton and Gregory H. Watkins
• Best Original Score " John Barry

Dances with Wolves was also nominated in the following categories:

• 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 " Jeffrey Beecroft and Lisa Dean
• Best Costume Design " Elsa Zamparelli

American Film Institute recognition:

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - #75
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
  • Lt. John W. Dunbar - Nominated Hero
• AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores - Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers - #59
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - Nominated
• AFI's 10 Top 10 - Nominated Western and Epic Film

Other accolades:

• Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture " Drama " Jim Wilson and Kevin Costner
• Golden Globe for Best Director " Kevin Costner
• Golden Globe for Best Screenplay " Michael Blake
• Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement - Kevin Costner at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival

Sequel

The Holy Road, a well-received sequel novel by Michael Blake, the author of both the original Dances with Wolves novel and the movie screenplay, was published in 2001. It picks up eleven years after Dances with Wolves. John Dunbar is still married to Stands with a Fist and they have three children. Stands with a Fist and one of the children are kidnapped by a party of white rangers and Dances with Wolves must mount a rescue mission. As of 2007, Blake was writing a film adaptation, although Kevin Costner was not yet attached to the project. In the end, however, Costner stated he would not take part in this production. Viggo Mortensen has been rumored to be attached to the project, playing Dunbar.

Historical references

Judith A. Boughter wrote: "The problem with Costner's approach is that all of the Sioux are heroic, while the Pawnees are portrayed as stereotypical villains. Most accounts of Sioux-Pawnee relations see the Pawnees as victims of the more powerful Sioux."

St. David's Field, Tennessee does not exist nor did it in 1863. As the opening battle is a minor portion of the film, it was considered undesirable to name an actual historical battle, which might result in knowledgeable viewers taking exception to fictional events.

Fort Sedgwick, Colorado was erected as Camp Rankin and renamed for General John Sedgwick (1813"1864). Sedgwick was killed May 9, 1864, at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia. Fort Sedgwick served as an army post from July 1864 to May 1871. John Sedgwick did erect a fort in Kansas in 1860.

Fort Hays, Kansas was named for General Alexander Hays (1819"1864). Hays was killed May 5, 1864, in the Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia. Fort Hays served as an army post from October 11, 1865, to November 8, 1889.

There was a real John Dunbar who worked as a missionary for the Pawnee in the 1830s"40s, and sided with the Indians in a dispute with government farmers and a local Indian agent. It is unclear if the name "John Dunbar" was chosen as a corollary to the real historical figure.

The fictional Lieutenant John Dunbar of 1863 is correctly shown in the film wearing a gold bar on his officer shoulder straps, indicating his rank as a First Lieutenant. From 1836 to 1872, the rank of First Lieutenant was indicated by a gold bar; after 1872, the rank was indicated by a silver bar. Similarly, Captain Cargill is correctly depicted wearing a pair of gold bars, indicating the rank of Captain at that time.

The description at the finale is correct; 13 years after the film is set, the last band of free Sioux were forced into a humiliating surrender at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, and the dominance and prevalence of the Plains Indians was over.

Home video editions

The first Laserdisc release of Dances with Wolves was on November 15, 1991, by Orion Home Video on a two-disc extended play laserdisc set.

The first Dances with Wolves VHS version was released in 1991. Dances with Wolves has been released to several VHS versions. The limited collector's edition set comes with two VHS tapes, six high gloss 14" x 11" Lobby Photos, Dances with Wolves The Illustrated Story Of The Epic Film book, and an organized collector's edition storage case.

Dances with Wolves has been released to DVD on four occasions. The first on November 17, 1998, on a single disc. The second on February 16, 1999, as a two disc set with a DTS Soundtrack. The third was released on May 20, 2003, as a two-disc set featuring the Extended Edition. The fourth was released on May 25, 2004, as a single disc in full frame.

Dances with Wolves has been released on Blu-ray in Germany on December 5, 2008, in France on the April 15, 2009, in the United Kingdom on the October 26, 2009, and in the United States on January 11, 2011. The German, French, and American releases feature the Extended Edition, while the British release features the theatrical cut.

Alternate versions

One year after original theatrical release of Dances with Wolves, a 4-hour version of the film opened at select theaters in London. This longer cut was dubbed Dances with Wolves: The Special Edition, and it restored nearly an hour's worth of scenes that had been removed to keep the original film's running time under 3 hours.

The genesis of the 4-hour version of the film was further explained in an article for Entertainment Weekly that appeared only 10 months after the premiere of the original film:

This Special Edition was eventually broadcast in 1993 for the American network television premiere at ABC. For the DVD release, the Special Edition was dubbed an Extended Cut. For Blu-ray, the same cut was renamed Director's Cut.

Director Kevin Costner would later claim that he did not work on the creation of the 4-hour cut at all.

Soundtrack

• John Barry composed the Oscar-winning score. It was issued in 1990 initially and again in 1995 with bonus tracks and in 2004 with the score "in its entirety" (although, in reality, approximately 25 minutes of the score is still missing from the 2004 release).
• Peter Buffett scored the "Fire Dance" scene.

Bibliography