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“Dances with Wolves” tells the story of John Dunbar
(Kevin Costner), a highly decorated Lieutenant
during the Civil War, who becomes disenchanted
with his life, and wants nothing more than
to be posted somewhere out on the frontier
so he can enjoy the beauty of the American
wilderness while it still exists. Upon arriving
at Fort Sedgewick, he finds it in ruins…
and empty. He decides to stay and embrace
the solitude. He at first befriends a wolf,
but when the need for human companionship
starts tugging at him, he heads out to attempt
to meet a tribe of Sioux Indians who live
nearby. Initially distrustful of each other,
their curiosity eventually leads to a mutual
respect and friendship.
I was one of those naysayers who went to the
theatre when this 3-hour plus film was first
released. I thought there was no way a movie
this long, made in this day and age, could
possibly keep my attention the whole time.
And one directed by Kevin Costner to boot.
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As is the case at times, I was wrong. “Dances with Wolves” was a magnificent film, that
I instantly considered a classic. I liked the
movie so much that I went to see it twice in the
theatre. It won seven Academy Awards, each one
deservedly so.
“Dances with Wolves” set the bar
at the time of what a good western could be. Everything
about the film was first class, from the magnificent
cinematography to its straightforward look into
the complexities of human nature and how to overcome
culture differences one person at a time. Nothing
was glossed over, and wrongdoing was shown from
both sides of the fence. To this day, it still
stands very near the top of my list of favorite
westerns.
One of the many things that really impressed
me, beyond the fact that Actor/Director Kevin
Costner could create such a beautiful film, was
that he could do it on such a miniscule budget.
When I learned it was made for only $16 million
dollars, I couldn’t believe it. Even in
the early 90’s, that was considered to be
low budget. But Costner took that money and produced
a 3-hour epic, as lush and full as anything I
had ever seen. I don’t mean to seem like
I’m just pouring out compliment after compliment,
but it really was a monumental achievement. And
no one believed he could pull it off.
As much as I loved the film, I unfortunately
never had the chance to catch the extended cut.
Coming in at just under 4-hours, I had been curious
for years to see how the extra scenes affected
the final product. Would the movie be better,
worse, or just the same? Year after year, I kept
putting off getting the laserdisc, and now I’m
really glad I did. MGM Home Entertainment is releasing
the first DVD release of the extended cut. And
as if that’s not enough, there’s quite
a bit of extras to be had as well, but more on
that later.
Having not seen the film in 10 or so years, I
was hard pressed to recognize all of the new footage.
Occasionally I would catch a scene that didn’t
look familiar, but that could have been due to
my age-ravaged brain. What I can tell you is that
this version of the film is as emotionally fulfilling
as the original. And much like the original cut,
I never felt it drag. The fact that these extra
scenes were so seamlessly edited into the film
is remarkable not only for being able to keep
flow of the story smooth, but is also a testament
to the fine transfer that was done overall.
And speaking of that transfer, it does the film
justice. The colors are rich and vibrant and add
much to the appreciation of the cinematography.
Whether your looking at the warm colors present
in the expansive plains or the freezing cold harshness
of winter in the mountains, the image quality
never varies. The sound, which is the only place
I noticed some differences as far as the additional
scenes, is full and makes good use of a surround
sound system.
Delving into the extras, the first I have to
comment on is the commentary track. Or should
I say commentary tracks? That’s right, there’s
two feature length commentaries available. The
difficulty I have here is in recommending them.
Not because of their content, but more so because
of the time issue involved, considering they are
both, as I said, feature length. I wish I could
just tell you they were dull and ponderous and
to skip them all together. The problem is, I can’t.
I found both to be a combination of entertaining,
interesting and educational. The first, by Costner
and producer Jim Wilson, is very relaxed and informative.
Over the years I had heard of Costner being a
bit ‘full of himself’, but I found
none of that here. He seems extremely appreciative
of everyone involved in the project, and never
hesitates to give credit where it is due. There’s
fair amount of really good stories here as well.
The second commentary by director of photography
Dean Semler and editor Neal Travis deals heavily
with the technical side of making the film, but
it’s rarely boring or pretentious. Both
have some interesting stories to tell and I was
surprised by how well rounded a commentary it
ended up being.
The second disc has a bit more for hardcore fans
of the film (like me). The documentary “The
Creations of an Epic” is no ordinary documentary.
Coming in at 82 minutes, it delves pretty deep
into what it took to put together a film of this
size and scope, with the limited budget available.
It’s broken up into sections (though you
can choose to play all), and includes new interviews
with many of the original cast and crew. The amount
of behind the scenes material available here is
awesome. Even if you don’t make it through
the commentaries, this documentary is a ‘must
watch.’
MGM has also included a photo montage, poster
gallery, trailer and TV spots. All of these are
nice additions, but again, the documentary is
really the place to go.
I know there are people out there who kind of
have it in for Kevin Costner, and admittedly he
hasn’t made a whole lot of really good movies
lately. But there was a time he was at the top
of his game and has had a hand in some really
fine motion pictures (“Field of Dreams”
being my personal favorite). Some of these people
have commented that “Dances with Wolves”
is overly sentimental. I couldn’t disagree
more. Costner created a visual masterpiece of
modern cinema that deserves all the acclaim and
awards it received. It’s a powerfully emotional
look at a difficult time in our history. And this
DVD is a release more than worthy of being added
to my 2003 ‘must-have’ list.
Directed by: Kevin Costner
Starring: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham
Greene, Rodney A. Grant
Extras: Extended Version with Never-Before-Seen
Additional Scenes, Audio Commentary with Kevin
Costner and producer Jim Wilson, Second Audio
Commentary with the Director of Photography and
the Editor, "The Creations of An Epic"
Retrospective Documentary, Original Making-Of
Featurette, Original Music Video, Dances Photo
Montage with Introduction By Ben Glass, Poster
gallery, TV spots, Original Theatrical Trailer
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1) Enhanced for
16x9 Televisions, 5.1 Surround
Studio: MGM
Release Date: 5/20/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Website
We'll give Dances With Wolves - Special Edition
an A+.
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