Review of Dances with Wolves (1990) by Michael O — 05 Apr 2016

Dancing With Wolves starring Kevin Costner tells the tale of a former Confederate Officer who transitions into joining the Union forces during the Civil War. He is a man who at the end of the movie is almost dying because of loss of blood and is miraculously given the strength to mount a noble steed and head toward certain death.

However, our hero escapes and goes toward doing what is right. The social commentary of the film surrounds the idea of death of self as a rebirth. He is a man who was living and being apart of the wrong side but he escapes by some Spiritual grace and is transformed.

After being taken in by the Sioux tribe he sees that what has happened is not a coincidence and strives to overcome conflict and find his path. The movie is elegantly shot and some of the views are breathtakingly colorful.

The soundtrack adds depth and pace and makes the shorter seems as well as the longer ones more enthralling. By the time the movie revolves we see the archetype of the "rebirth" as Costner is completely transformed and his moral standing is honored by the Sioux peoples as well as those fighting for the Union.

It was a slow burn and by that I mean it took a while for it to develop but when it did, boy was it good. I would highly recommend this film and I think that I gained a greater appreciation to natural lighting and nature shots after seeing this film.

Even though it was a four hour film the cinematography, lighting and sound make it a masterpiece of its time and preserves the film.