DVD
Review | Dances With Wolves (Special Edition) Written by:Kage
Alan
This one really brings me back to my college
years! A good friend of mine who loves period films about wars was
jumping up and down when this one played on campus. I had no want,
need or desire to go and see it, especially with a running time that
went over 3 hours, but I got dragged along anyway. Well, those hours
flew by in no time at all and I remember sitting there completely
stunned an in awe of the spectacle and beauty of what I’d just seen.
Even if you’ve seen “Dances With Wolves” before, it’s time you
reacquainted yourself with this classic, especially in this extended
form.
Lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner, “Message In
A Bottle”) is weary from fighting in the Civil War. When a decision to
end his life turns into a heroic effort that changes the tide of a
battle, he’s given the opportunity to do what he wants most; be assigned
to the frontier before it’s gone. As fate would have it, the commanding
officer who assigns him to a post out West commits suicide, the wagon
driver who delivers him (Dunbar) is killed and the fort Dunbar arrives
at is deserted, so nobody really knows where he is. Dunbar immediately
sets out to make the place livable again and maintain some form of
military order there.
Far from being alone, “Dance With Wolves” really
begins to evolve when Dunbar meets a local Sioux Indian tribe. Through
misunderstandings, acts of kindness and a genuine desire to comprehend a
way of life different from his own, Dunbar embraces the Native American
way of life, learns from them and falls in love with Stands With a Fist
(Mary McDonnell, “Sneakers”), a woman who was taken in by the tribe
early on in life. From buffalo hunts and the threat of the US military
moving forward to claim the land and maintain a show of strength to a
relationship with a wolf (leading to Dunbar being given his Indian name
of Dances With Wolves), this is an epic film that captures the essence
of something that has been, unfortunately, lost over time.
Instead of the typical Hollywood western where
white people were made up to look like Native Americans or promises were
made to “do it right” in terms of paying respect to the Native American
culture, this film delivers on every level. While Costner was
absolutely instrumental in the films success, there’s no way it ever
would have been as good as it is with the talent of all the cast
members, especially Graham Greene, Rodney Grant, Floyd Westerman, Tantoo
Cardinal and so many others, the director-of-photography and all the
people working behind the scenes who gave a part of themselves to make
this project come together.
MGM has re-released “Dances With Wolves” in a
phenomenal looking Widescreen transfer that adds an additional 30+
minutes to the film. It’s the definitive way to watch this movie and
the picture quality is astounding! Colors are rich and vibrant and John
Barry’s score sounds simply magnificent. As for extras, here’s what
makes this version of the film a “Special Edition”. First up are two
audio commentaries, the first with Costner and Producer Jim Wilson and
the second with Director of Photography Dean Semler and Editor Neil
Travis. Costner’s commentary is the better of the two and gives the
most information while the second commentary tends to be a little more
sparse and not as informative.
Also included is a 21-minute “Original Making Of
Featurette” made during production, a 3 ¾ minute original music video
featuring music by John Barr featuring some great behind-the-scenes
footage, an 81-minute retrospective documentary that’s unnecessarily
divided up into 7 different pieces (The Creation of an Epic, Novel To
Screen, Actor Becomes the Director, The Buffalo Hunt, The Look and Sound
of Dances, The Art of Composition and The Success of Dances), a photo
montage with an introduction by Ben Glass, a Poster Gallery, TV Spots
and a Theatrical Trailer.
There really isn’t an aspect of “Dances With
Wolves” that isn’t covered in this latest DVD edition. MGM has reason
to be proud of this release because they’ve given it the kind of
treatment I wish many studios would with some of their films. This is
an important movie that deserves to be watched and deserves the kind of
preservation MGM has given it…until the next format comes along anyway.
This is a must have for your collection!
