Product Description

A "truly spectacular" (The New York Times) film that combines action, romance and breathtaking adventure, Dances With Wolves is "a cinematic masterpiece" (American Movie Classics) that is nothing short of "a triumph" (Roger Ebert)!Sent to protect a US outpost on the desolate frontier, Lt. John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) finds himself alone in the vast wilderness. Befriending the very people he's sent to protect the outpost from, the Sioux Indians, Dunbar slowly comes to revere those he once feared. But when the encroaching US Army threatens to overrun the Sioux, he is forced to make a choiceone that will forever change his destiny and that of a proud and defiant nation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #913 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-05-20
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 236 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Kevin Costner's 1990 epic won a bundle of Oscars for a moving, engrossing story of a white soldier (Costner) who singlehandedly mans a post in the 1870 Dakotas, and becomes a part of the Lakota Sioux community who live nearby. The film may not be a masterpiece, but it is far more than the sum of good intentions. The characters are strong, the development of relationships is both ambitious and careful, the love story between Costner and Mary McDonnell's character is captivating. Only the third-act portrait of white intruders as morons feels overbearing, but even that leads to a terribly moving conclusion. Costner's direction is assured, the balance of action and intimacy is perfect--what more could anyone want outside of an unqualified masterpiece? --Tom Keogh

DVD features
Sadly, the Oscar®-winning cut of Kevin Costner's Western is nowhere to be found on this two-disc set. This "extended version" adds 58 minutes to the three-hour film, most of which was seen in TV airings. The extra hour is unique in the history of new versions of a great film; it neither wastes the viewer's time (JFK) nor vastly improves the film (Once Upon a Time in America). There is more character building, but also extends some scenes unnecessarily. Regardless, there's lot more here. The new 81-minute documentary does an excellent job of chronicling the film, from Michael Blake's book to Oscar night with new interviews and vintage behind-the-scenes footage; it's one of the best made-for-DVD retrospectives. There are two commentary tracks, the better one by Costner and producer Jim Wilson, although most of it is from a recording made for the laserdisc. Another nice feature is the presentation of on-set photographs set to John Barry's moving score. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

Could've been one of the Greatest
There's so much to love about this movie. I've been fascinated with and envious of American Indians my whole life. One thing I admire about them is their fierce loyalty to their people. That's something Costner should contemplate. There is a total of one (1) good white man in the movie; and he, of course, became an Indian. The movie's message isn't enhanced by its fanatically anti-white approach. There is much for white society to be proud of. Costner didn't need to degrade his own people to make a movie that honors Indians. If he hadn't, this would have definately been on my favorite movies list.

Why don't he write?
Dances with Wolves DVD

Kevin Costner and Mary McDonnell star in thus tribute to Native Americans which won seven Academy Awards, including best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay and best score. Includes some footage not seen in the theatres.

Highly recommended for fans of Kevin Costner and Mary McDonnell and native Americans.

Gunner April, 2008

Magnificent Epic...Dubious History
Spectacularly filmed with breathtaking action sequences. A smart, clever, warm-hearted script that pushes all the right buttons. The buffalo hunt scene is alone worth the price of a rental. I enjoy it every time.

As storytelling, Dances W/ Wolves is arguably the high-water mark of late 20th century political correctness. Minorities good, whites bad. That's not necessarily a bad thing, after hundreds of movies portraying native americans as savages, would it absolutely kill Hollywood to turn the other cheek just for once? Apparently not. Hugely successful both in box office and awards, DWW set the standard for epics for the next two decades. Who knows, John Ford might have actually approved. John Wayne would not have.

Once again, for the people in the back row who didn't hear the first thousand times: if you are looking to Hollywood for history lessons, you are fools. Sorry for the name calling but it is what it is. By now, any adult in North America has no excuse for not knowing better than trying to get educated through movie watching. Alas, many reviewers seem to persist in the understanding that the Old West was really like it is portrayed in entertainment. Even the basic premise that an Indian tribe would be so foolhardy as to take a white man, a professional soldier no less, into its community is absurd. Can you say, "begging for trouble?" Conversely, the idea that a white american man of a sound mind from the east in the mid 1800's would be so openminded as to want to "go native" is similarly absurd. Racial harmony was not taught in the classroom in the 1800's. It's a STORY. Enjoy the STORY.