Review of Dances with Wolves (1990) by Patrick G — 04 Apr 2015

One of the best American films of the early '90's, and a bold and historic entry in the western genre. Kevin Costner's visionary masterpiece forever changed the portrayl of the Native American in film culture, and dared to address the idea that the glorious settlement of the American frontier was not always si glorious, and that the trail paved for white settlers was a trail of blood.

The backlash against the movie, and against Costner, for beating "Goodfellas" at the Oscars is misplaced at best, and "Dances With Wolves" has become a sad victim of the "if it's so good, how come everybody liked it?" mentality. Costner the director deserved his Oscar, and Costner the actor did indeed deserve his nomination. The revisionist view that his performance was lackluster and wooden is simply not true. It may be strange now to think of him as the biggest male star of the early '90's, but if you watch "Field of Dreams" and "Dances With Wolves" you will remember why he held that title.

We need a resurgence of this type of movie today.