DANCES WITH WOLVES: Blu-ray reissue (Orion, 1990) Shout! Factory

BEST PICTURE - 1990

A revisionist western with enough sweep and sun-drenched vistas for at least two movies, Dances with Wolves (1990) marks the memorable directorial debut of its star, Kevin Costner. In hindsight, Costner’s movie career has always been one of minor regrets for yours truly. After a few false starts in the 1980’s (most notably, having his scenes in The Big Chill, 1983 left on the cutting room floor) Costner began anew, auspiciously billed as the scruffy, blue-jeaned, mid-western stud muffin of two baseball classics; 1988’s Bull Durham and 1989’s Field of Dreams. He also appeared to more awkward effect in Brian DePalma’s compelling big screen revamp of the old TV G-man drama, The Untouchables (1987); in hindsight, more noteworthy for Sean Connery’s Oscar-winning performance than Costner’s rather goony interpretation of Elliot Ness. But then, Costner hit his stride. More than that, he sent shock waves throughout the complacent film-making community with Dances with Wolves – made at a time when the Hollywood western was considered box office poison. Indeed, the last sprawling sagebrush saga had been Michael Cimino’s disastrously received Heaven’s Gate (1980); a film that so completely put the fear of God into this otherwise godless mecca by breaking the venerable United Artists down to bedrock. The Hollywood press, never at a loss to condemn any movie before it actually hits theaters, had already sardonically dubbed Dances with Wolves as ‘Kevin’s Gate’, even before the ink on Costner’s Orion Pictures contract had dried. And in the intervening months between its arduous gestation and lengthy production shoot in Wyoming these self-appointed mandarins of good taste applied a similar eagerness for another fiscal and career-ending implosion.

While praise was swift, it was not unanimous upon the movie’s debut, the critics, again too quick and too clever with their vitriol; perhaps because Dances with Wolves belied their naysay to become an instant hit with audiences, earning $424 million worldwide and taking home a slew of little gold statuettes on Oscar night. Indeed, Dances with Wolves was the first western since 1931’s Cimarron (another commercial flop) to win the coveted Best Picture Academy Award. As nothing in Hollywood breeds envy more than success, so, invariably, has Dances with Wolves been more heavily panned of late for its ethnocentrism; just a story about a ‘white guy’ who saves the day, feeding into revisited clichés regarding ‘the noble savage’.  Rubbish, indeed! Dances with Wolves was – and still ought to be considered – a monumentally progressive depiction of native Americans. The Lakota language employed extensively throughout the film, though maligned for its periodic misuse of the female-gendered spoken dialect, has not deterred the First Nations’ peoples from embracing this movie as a part of their heritage. Costner was, in fact, made an honorary member of the Sioux and, on Oscar night, was sincerely touched in his extensive plaudits to all indigenous peoples, particularly those who had helped guide the integrity of his epic vision.

Dances with Wolves is impressive for other reasons. Michael Blake’s screenplay (based on his novel) is understated, yet potent. Here is a writer unafraid to allow for the luxury of time to pass, to enrich us with even-paced/character-rich passion, centered on Lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner); an idealist with misguidedly romanticized illusions about the American west. Asked by his superior, the insane and suicidal Major Fambrough (Maury Chaykin) why any man should so desire an assignment to Fort Sedgwick, a forgotten outpost in the middle of this absolute nowhere, Dunbar’s optimistic reply, in wanting to ‘see the west before it’s gone’ immediately sets up our hero for his fall. The cinematic landscape, impeccably lensed by cinematographer, Dean Semler, revels in a sort of Andrew Wyeth-inspired stark sumptuousness and breathtaking natural beauty that any daydreamer like Dunbar could appreciate, much less imagine. Yet, the wilderness is untamed, and frequently inhospitable, and – of course – dangerous; particularly for a novice ‘white man’.  And Costner, as director/star/and grand vizier of this cinematic experience, neither vacillates nor shies away from peeling away these layers of romanticism until, finally, we are left only with its sobering reality - too real to bear.

Dunbar’s first encounter with the Sioux’s fiery warrior, Wind In His Hair (Rodney A. Grant) is hardly encouraging. Neither is Dunbar’s initial encounter with Two Socks, the lone wolf cautiously monitoring his every move along the prairie landscape.  Perhaps a little too optimistically, things begin to fall into place for the ambitious Dunbar, despite his isolation on the plains. Depending on one’s point of view, Fambrough’s suicide, and, the murder of uncouth and foul-smelling wagon train master, Timmons (Robert Pastorelli) creates either a vacuum for this isolationism to ferment or the perfect storm in which Dunbar can experience unfettered an unlikely friendship with Kicking Bird (Grahame Greene) who is as apprehensively curious about this pale-skinned stranger. Kicking Bird encourages Stands With A Fist (Mary McDonnell), a white woman reared from childhood by the Sioux after her family was killed, to ‘make talk’ with Dunbar. This détente, predictably, is fraught with immediate romantic underpinnings and overtones. As Dunbar’s appreciation for the Sioux continues to evolve, so does his great admiration blossom into love for this mediator who brought them together. McDonnell is perfectly cast as the marginally frightened, intensely passionate interpreter; her eyes even more expressive than her wafer-thin whispers that build from inward shyness to defiant resolve.

Interestingly, Dances with Wolves began its life as a screenplay back in 1979. Alas, Michael Blake could find no one to take an interest. Even after the property was adapted as a novel by Blake - with Kevin Costner's encouragement - it proved unsalable with publishers until late 1988; almost a decade after it was initially conceived for the screen. By then, however, Kevin Costner had risen to prominence in the Hollywood community. He quickly snatched up the film rights and thereafter set about courting interested parties to raise the $22 million necessary to produce it. In the end, Costner would fork out nearly $3 million of his own cash to complete Dances with Wolves. Production delays were considerable, most attributed to South Dakota’s temperamental weather; also owing to grave difficulties in ‘wrangling’ the various live wolves, and finally, due to the complexities in staging an all-out Indian battle and bison hunt full scale. Alas, the shooting of the latter was not without incident. Employing domesticated bison from singer, Neil Young’s ranch, Costner, who did most of his own horse riding, was T-boned during the stampede, knocking him full force to the ground. Badly bruised, though otherwise unharmed, Costner’s pride was likely the only casualty. But he could have just as easily broken his back and become paralyzed for life.

Our story begins with one of the last standoffs between the Confederate and Union Armies during the American Civil War.  Awakening bloodied, on an operating table inside a gruesome makeshift hospital on the front lines, where surgeons lop off limbs with savage and unclean utensils without the benefit of chloroform, Major John Dunbar discovers that his own wounded leg is slated for amputation. In a moment of semi-lucidity, Dunbar hobbles to his waiting horse, determined to go out in a blaze of glory as a suicide rider between enemy lines. This stunt is repeated over and over again; Dunbar’s audacity, winning him mutual respect on both sides of the battle line. For his blind valor, Dunbar is afforded consideration by the General’s private surgeon, who operates and saves Dunbar’s leg. Dunbar is also given his choice of commissions to pursue upon completing his convalescence. He chooses Fort Sedgwick, a frontier outpost in the middle of the wide-open west. His motives are fanciful. He wants to ‘see the west’ before it becomes overpopulated by settlers.

Dunbar’s initiation to this untamed wilderness is hardly welcoming. His superior, Maj. Fambrough has lost his mind, signing Dunbar’s orders to proceed to Fort Sedgwick before barricading himself in his office and declaring “to your journey…to my journey!” then, blowing his brains out with a pistol. Dunbar is assigned a wagon master, Timmons, to see him to Fort Sedgwick. Regrettably, the man is about as unkempt, slovenly, ill-mannered and inarticulate as traveling companions can get. He also farts on cue. The arrival at Sedgwick is even less assuring. Dunbar discovers the fort virtually abandoned, the nearby sump full of carcasses of slaughtered animals and the previous occupants, presumably either from fear or madness, having moved all their supplies and living quarters to some man-made holes dug in the side of a nearby hill. Dunbar elects to send Timmons back with a message, calling for military reserves to be sent to him at once. Alas, along the long journey home, Timmons is pierced through the heart with an arrow by the marauding Pawnee, dying in the open fields of tall waving grass. Although Dunbar does not realize it, he is now completely isolated from civilization.

Electing proactively to restore the fort, Dunbar spends days cleaning out the sump, burning the decomposing animal remains in a bonfire, and, making the most of what limited repairs can be made without the proper implements. His industriousness attracts the attentions of the neighboring Sioux; also, a lone wolf whom Dunbar nicknames ‘Two Socks’ as the animal’s front paws are uniquely colored in white fur.  Dunbar’s first encounter with Wind In His Hair is eventful, the rider gallantly charging and shouting in his native tongue. The spectacle is startling to Dunbar and witnessed at a distance by Kicking Bird, who is more reticent and curious about this newly arrived stranger. Returning to their encampment, Kicking Bird explains to his chief, Ten Bears (Floyd Westerman) that perhaps their next line of recourse ought not be intimidation, but a cautious extension of friendship. Soon, Kicking Bird returns with members of the tribe. Dunbar attempts to make them feel at home, bartering for goods and preparing coffee. But the language barrier between them is a stumbling block that Kicking Bird attempts to rectify when he encourages Stands With A Fist to ‘make talk’ with the white man.

Dunbar’s initial introduction to Stands With A Fist, a white woman captured as a child after her entire family was slaughtered and raised by the Sioux (shades of Natalie Wood in John Ford’s The Searchers), is heartrending. She is uncommunicative and seemingly inconsolable after the death of her husband, endeavoring to take her own life with a knife.   Dunbar prevents this suicide and returns her to Kicking Bird, whom he later discovers has acted as her adopted father all these many years. (Interestingly, Mary McDonnell was actually several months older than both Grahame Green and Tantoo Cardinal, who plays her Sioux mother, Black Shawl). Kicking Bird’s admiration for Dunbar is firmly established and Dunbar is soon invited to partake of the tribe’s lifestyle. Stands With A Fist begins to teach him the Lakota dialect, and Dunbar wins even more browning points when he helps locate a huge herd of bison for their annual hunt.

Forsaking his ambitions for the fort, Dunbar becomes an honorary member of the Sioux, befriended as something of an elder brother by Cisco (Justin). Dunbar is also rewarded with a betrothal of marriage to Stands with a Fist after he helps smite the onset of a village invasion from the rival Pawnee. Owing to these increased threats, Ten Bears urges his people to relocate further west. Alas, Dunbar explains he must first retrieve his diary from Fort Sedgwick, as it would provide proof of their existence and thus, place the Sioux in danger. Regrettably, Dunbar, escorted by Cisco, discovers the Fort occupied by the U.S. Army.  As he is dressed in native garb, Dunbar is mistaken for Sioux. The military open fire, killing Cisco and taking Dunbar hostage. Unable to validate his miraculous story as anything more than deriving from fitful madness, Dunbar is charged with desertion and sentenced to be taken back east for a court martial. Soldiers of this forced escort cruelly kill Two Socks after he attempts to follow their trail. Eventually, the Sioux track down the convoy, attack and kill the soldiers, setting Dunbar free. Reunited with Kicking Bird and the rest of the tribe at their winter camp, Dunbar elects to leave with Stands With A Fist for parts unknown. His presence, if he stays, would only place the Sioux in grave danger. In their bittersweet farewells, Kicking Bird gives his blessing to the couple and a soulful Wind In His Hair reminds Dunbar to never forget their friendship. In the movie’s epilogue we hear the panged, echoing cry of a lone wolf and see the U.S. military searching the mountain range for any sign of Dunbar. An epitaph explains how a mere thirteen-years into the future, the Sioux were all but vanquished by the U.S. government’s forceful push into the western frontier.

Dances with Wolves’ finale is both sobering and sentimental; a sort of ambiguous – if marginally flawed – attempt to reconcile the plight of Native culture, while basically reasserting the white male perspective at the crux of its narrative. There is never any doubt about this. The film belongs to Kevin Costner’s forthright man of integrity – seemingly, the ‘one’ white man, not like the others. We recall Dunbar’s willingness to ‘learn’ from the Sioux, as well as his being embraced by them, but only as a traditionally focused and very Hollywoodized version of history at best. Such noble interactions, inbred with tolerance and mutual respect are hardly the overriding altruistic motivations or principles exercised on either side. The west was not conquered in bittersweet tears, as the ending to Dances with Wolves erroneously suggests, but in the brutal bloodshed of a forced march – both ignorant and arrogant – as it set about to ‘civilize’ these parts unknown at any and all costs.  Dunbar’s escape into the night with Stands With a Fist at the end of Costner’s revised and rather lengthy 236-minute Director’s Cut does more than simply reinforce this re-imagined reality. It returns the audience’s ethnocentric center of gravity to its Caucasian patriarchy; an affirmation of those dyed-in-the-wool ‘heroically situated’ western landscapes, first re-imagined by the likes of John Ford as Hollywood took custodianship of the old west – as it never was, or rather – could/should and might have been.

Still, Dances with Wolves remains impressively large-than-life film-making at a time when the template had been all but relegated to moth balls as box office poison. On set, Costner was an exacting professional. When cost overruns threatened to shut down his production, and Orion Pictures adamantly refused to put up one cent more to finish the picture, Costner dipped into his own personal finances to finish this passion project. His stubborn faith in Dances with Wolves, and his commitment to make it as respectful to Native-born Americans remain unbowed.   Originally planned at a truly epic four hours with intermission, a full hour of footage was excised shortly before the film’s theatrical engagement at the insistence of Orion Pictures. Costner pruned his opus magnum to the more manageable 180-minute general release cut; promised by Orion that the film would be seen in its entirety for its home video debut. Both sides remained true to their word. In 1995, Dances with Wolves was afforded its first ‘complete’ release on Image Laserdisc. Since that time, many things in Hollywood have changed; chiefly, Orion’s financial collapse and the picture coming under the United Artists banner, later to be annexed wholesale by MGM/Fox Home Entertainment.

In the intervening decades, only Costner’s Director’s Cut survived the transition to DVD and Blu-ray…until now. Shout! Factory’s steel book Blu-ray ‘Collector’s Edition’ of Dances with Wolves is cause for celebration indeed. Not only to we get Costner’s monumentally compelling 236-minute cut, but also, for the first time anywhere – the 181 min. theatrical release that won a slew of Oscars, including Best Picture. Having seen the theatrical version only once – in a theater back in 1990 - and the Director’s Cut more than a handful of times since – I was genuinely surprised when, revisiting the theatrical cut now, how it played with the ballast of Costner’s carefully nuanced integrity and poignancy virtually unaffected. Yes – we get more of everything in the 236 min. Director’s Cut. And no, our patience is never strained or bored by this added girth. But Orion’s theatrical cut fulfills virtually all of these criteria. In the end, the intensity and methodical pacing of Costner’s final edit wins out. But not by much. Either way, the viewer is in for ‘an experience’ – the sort of sprawling adventure/epic Hollywood has not produced in decades. Were that anyone in Tinsel Town would even venture to try.

Dances with Wolves was one of MGM/Fox’s first Blu-ray releases: the entire feature compressed onto a single Blu-ray without intermission. In 2010, it was afforded a fairly lavish 2-disc 20th anniversary re-issue; a second disc, containing a wealth of vintage documentaries on the making of the film, a history lesson about the actual American western frontier and some fairly comprehensive featurettes dedicated to the movie’s production design, plus, Costner’s own recollections in an audio commentary.  In short, the 20th anniversary Blu-ray was comprehensive, with minor caveats pertaining to compression-related artifacts. Actually, given the movie’s monumental run time, the hi-def image is fairly startling: rich, vibrant colors evident throughout with very natural looking flesh tones. Contrast appears just a shay lighter than expected, but not at negligible levels. Film grain has an overall pleasing texture, surely not to disappoint. Although there are instances of compression noise, the image quality, married to a DTS 5.1 soundtrack is, bar none, impressive. Inexplicably, MGM/Fox reissued Dances with Wolves for its 25th anniversary without any extras.

Now, for Shout! Factory’s steel book ‘Collector’s Edition’ reissue, the technical specs on the Director’s Cut remain identical. This is the previously issued disc all over again. Mercifully, it still holds up. Better still, the theatrical cut gets its own disc and looks marginally better, deriving from a newer scan. All of the extras from Fox’s original Blu-ray release are housed, once again, on a separate Blu-ray, and include the original – and extensive ‘making of’ produced at the time of the lavishly appointed LaserDisc box set. We also get, ‘A Day in the Life on the Western Frontier’ – a great retrospective piece, plus The Creation of an Epic, and, the aforementioned ‘featurettes’, with TV spots, theatrical trailers and a photo montage to round out our appreciation. The only thing missing here is a 4K remaster of both cuts. Oh well, room for improvement, I suppose… and another ‘deluxe’ release somewhere down the road. Bottom line: Dances with Wolves is a breathtaking spectacle. Shout!’s ‘Collector’s Edition’ re-issue rectifies the oversight of not having a hi-def version of the original theatrical cut. It also restores a ton of goodies surely not to disappoint. Very highly recommended…for now.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

4.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

4.5

EXTRAS

4.5