Dances with Wolves (1990)

One of my all-time favorite movies. I can't begin to remember how many times I've seen it. And I'll watch it again. Kevin Costner gives a compelling performance, but so does the entire cast. One gets a great sense of who the Lakota were and are. Respect.

I watched the extended version of this film, and I just have to say, any film that can run for FOUR HOURS and not come out the other end as a boring pile of garbage, is worthy of some pretty serious praise. That said, _Dances with Wolves_ is not really in my wheelhouse, and although it held my attention I can't see myself probably ever watching it again. Costner knows what he's about, and that's great, but a four-hour film about American history with strong romance elements is nev...

There are two actor of recent years that I really struggle with. One is Tom Hanks, the other is Kevin Costner. His monotonic narrative as he conveys this story via his journal makes this otherwise breathtakingly beautiful story frequently a real plod. He is "Lt. Dunbar" who after a very close shave with the Confederate troops during the US Civil War is posted to a far outpost where he finds himself living a solitary existence with only a wolf ("Two Socks") for company. That i...