Dances with Wolves

"Inside everyone is a frontier waiting to be discovered."

1990 3h 1m EN

🙌

7.8

BANGER

🍅

87%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★7.8TMDB · 4,854🍅87%Rotten Tomatoes●72Metacritic★8IMDB · 307,747

AdventureDramaWestern

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.

“Inside everyone is a frontier waiting to be discovered.”

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Cast

Kevin Costner
Lieutenant Dunbar
Mary McDonnell
Stands With A Fist
Graham Greene
Kicking Bird
Rodney A. Grant
Wind In His Hair
Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman
Ten Bears
Tantoo Cardinal
Black Shawl
Robert Pastorelli
Timmons
Charles Rocket
Lieutenant Elgin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kevin Costner
Writers: Michael Blake
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 181 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $424M — a 19.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

204+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kevin Costner, shot by Dean Semler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Barry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Neil Travis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kevin Costner directs. Dean Semler behind the camera. John Barry scores. Neil Travis cuts. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 181 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
2Grossed $424M — a 19.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
336 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5204+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Kevin Costner, shot by Dean Semler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by John Barry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Neil Travis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Kevin Costner and Mary McDonnell and Graham Greene carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Inside everyone is a frontier waiting to be discovered.".
11IMDB entry: tt0099348 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 27 themes, including "friendship", "mutiny", "countryside", "based on novel or book".

The technical file

Cinematography: Dean Semler
Original score: John Barry
Editing: Neil Travis
Production design: Jeffrey Beecroft
Costume design: Elsa Zamparelli
Makeup / hair: Linda Bowman
Sound: Robert Fitzgerald
Stunt coordinator: Norman Howell
Runtime: 181 min · 3h 1m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $22,000,000
Box office: $424,208,848
Return: 1928% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Dances with Wolves (1990)
Rotten Tomatoes: 87% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 72/100
IMDB rating: 8/10 · 307,747 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Won 7 Oscars. 55 wins & 40 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Cinematography
Academy Award for Best Original Score
Academy Award for Best Film Editing
Silver nugget for the best foreign film
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
National Board of Review Award for Best Film
Academy Award for Best Sound
Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Kevin Costner

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Steve Butterworth2017-04-17
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.
Gimly2019-12-28
★ 6/10
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 never going to blow me away. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.
CinemaSerf2023-08-26
★ 7/10
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 is until a passing warrior gets a glimpse of him at his bath and runs a mile. What now ensues is a gently paced story depicting his developing relationship with his neighbouring Sioux tribe. This film features a memorable John Barry score to accompany some fine cinematography, and the efforts from Graham Greene ("Kicking Bird") and a slew of other native American actors is excellent. It's just Kevin. He was the power being the production, and certainly had some skill directing it - but his acting... It is so soporific. He simply doesn't convey well the senses of loneliness, fear and joy that his character experiences as he gradually becomes subsumed into a new - sometimes rather brutal - identity. The story demonstrates and exposes the prevailing attitudes of both cultures towards the other, of their suspicions and mistrust - and were the "Dunbar" role to have been portrayed by a more heavyweight screen presence, then we could have had a memorable movie rather than just a long one. It is still good, though - just could have been doing with more oomph from the star.