What You Never Realized About Dances With Wolves 

Dances With Wolves was a classic the instant it reached the public screens in my opinion! I love classic films and DWW is one of a few modern films (post 1980) that I have added to my collection.

Indeed.

Dances With Wolves is my all time favorite movie. I have lost count how many times I have watched it.

Dances with wolves is one of the few movies that make my eyes tear up just thinking about it. Just a beautiful movie!

I agree but to some extent at the time of its showing, a little over rated. I agree with the criticism made of it in this posting though.

❤❤

Magnificent, captivating and deeply moving story painstaintintly depicting history of America and American film-making

I too.....I married a Cree Princess.....I am also Scott from birth records......but born in Canada

Us Scots can get on with anyone 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍

THIS IS TYPICAL IN U.S HISTORY .YOUR ANCESTORS PREFERENCE FOR A NATURAL NATIVE LIFE WAS MOT UNUSUAL PROOVING THE WHITEMAN'S EVIL CULTURE WAS REJECTED BY MOST CAPTIVES , AS THEY EMBRACED A MORE FAVORABLE CULTURE.❤❤

Bury Me Heart At Wounded Knee should be required reading in schools.

Chief Joseph of Nez Perce and Crazy Horse.

That's so right!

So right!

Yes, bc I love this movie, and hate Westerns mostly.

Perhaps it is a true Western, while those other movies we traditionally call Westerns should be reclassified as fantasies produced to appeal to the cultural biases of the era in which they were made?

Indeed!

Living within 20 minutes of the Cherokee Reservation near the Great Smoky Mountains here in NC, there's a great resurgence of learning their language as well: school children along with students at the nearby Western Carolina University & anyone else with a desire to learn it.

@@gingervista And isn't that wonderful ? In the 20th century we have lost so many indigenous languages. When you lose language, you lose culture and history. Lucky YOU to have seen witnessed this.

It’s such a pretty language.

How wonderful! I hope all of their culture lives forever. Native Americans are such beautiful Individuals and so few people get to see that. Their artwork; jewelry, paintings, carvings, Leatherwork, & pottery, Their entire culture and respect for the earth. There is so much to admire in our indigenous peoples. I am truly grateful that an honest depiction of their lives was represented in Dances with Wolves. It will always be a classic, Dances With Wolves will never die.

Yes it is a good thing to learn and remember. I relate so well to the Lakota way I think somewhere in a different place I was Lakota, I long for those days again. ✌️👍

All time classic

Oh yes it can, buster.

how?@@stephenthompson5413

I found the Civil War criticisms alone to be infantile . I know that war from both sides . There were many times when formations would meet ... one scared and the other glad of it . They grabbed whatever cover they could without sometimes working out that way . Split rail fences weren't idea cover but they were everywhere and units gravitated to them constantly when there was a lack of anything better 👀

I'm in agreement as to its impact. No thinking person expects an absolutely 100% accurate and concise portrayal of an entire population made up of a broad cross section of cultural traditions from wildly varying geographical areas. What was presented was a "what if" story that made great efforts to be as plausible as possible, even if unlikely. They definitely succeeded at that, and in the end everyone who participated deserves a clap on the back as they created a modern day classic and an epic adventure. I think it's fair to say that the audience got their money's worth.

and what did this "cultural awareness" earn for Indians? Absolutely nothing.

Thanks for sharing that family story. Makes me smile.

@@Christianne-md2nd Makes me wonder how many heads are being scratched over "Drive in"

I miss drive ins

@@rhubarbmontana1054 I live in Montana and have a nice little plot of rhubarb, did you know if you cut off the light the stalks grow to find it and don't grow massive leaves? In rhubarb forcing huts you can actually hear the plants grow. Also Clan of the Cave Bear, I was 12... sitting alone in the back seat.......🤪😜🤪

Another good movie is LAST OF THE DOGMEN staring Tom Beringer

Unforgiven, High Noon, The Searchers, My darling clementines,, Stage Coach, Ox Bow Incident, The Good Bad Ugly, Magnificent Seven, Shane, True Grit, Fist Full of Dollars, Good Day for A Hanging, Jeremiah Johnson,,, True Grit 2011, Outlaw Josey Wells,,, Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid, 7 Men From Now, Red River ,,, Dances.. Costner’s first person narration is amateurish sounding. Otherwise a great movie.

Agreed. But, Outlaw Josie Wales has to be #2 😊

The reality back them was history is brutal! The area of the scout camp basically had a tribe that was worse for their fellow Indians than the white man. The tribe was not nice to the white man either. The Indian nation had enough and ran the tripe of offenders to the fort who imprisoned them. The fort also found itself in a stand off with that nation and took a lot of communication to rectify the situation. Those from the Indian tribe that was imprisoned was hanged and peace was established. The scene from Dances with Wolves that sticks out in my mind was when Dunbar was shone a Spanish Conquistador Helmut and told they went away, but was basically asked about his people and Dunbar pointed to the sky and said, "Like the stars." I gulped and any translation be damned, equated to my mind the battle between Good and Evil. The saddest part of my life was going to Tennessee and visiting the reservation. The attitude I was hit with was hatred and not part of any problem. I just wanted to buy a flute, but refused to do so as they wouldn't let me try it. Purchased two from another Cherokee in of all places a tourist trap. He was Cherokee too and even after telling him my story sold them to me saying we got things right. We both admitted that we felt honored by the other. I ended up camping on one of the locations with Dances with Wolves and that to is an honor. When I told the scoutmaster that I wanted to visit the grave of Fools Crow who gave out information after his death, and the lack of any response from the reservation. He told me that Fool's Crow wanted me to enjoy what he got out of his life there, but not the sorrow he had to suffer from.

My husband was from the lakota tribe. His native language was lakota which he spoke in during sleep. He told me how the lakota made fun of whites when they spoke and only lakota knew what went on. My husband totally enjoyed the film

No u ain't

It's a long movie, but it was necessary.. but when it ends, i want to watch it again! Im part Ojibwe/Nippissing but the movie also touched my soul in a way a movie has never done. I feel at one with the Lakota and the land.. I also have watched this movie many many times 😍

@@MikeK2100 There are no reservations in Tennessee.

Thought it was very good. Every film depicting events of the past obviously cannot be totally accurate . Who cares when it's trying to depict an event that not many still living could have witnessed ! It's entertainment and this film is good for everyone.

I have it on my phone as a ringtone.

.Definitely one of the best fair play shows of all time. All groups of people have problems within their race community and relatives. No groups is worse until they are giving a uplift and they get their minds full of shit from a little success. We are people acept that Animals are breeds and people shouldn't label themselves.

I couldn't have put it better. Thank you ✨

@mymatemartin: Your comment gave me chills...such a vivid memory of it!

I cried so much at that part...in the theater and afterwards in the carpark. Just standing there helplessly sobbing with curious folks wondering why.

Two of my favorite movies.....i still watch them every now and then

"We don't rent pigs." 😂 Epic. Both of them!

I agree..my two favourite films of all time.

I enjoy both. I am from Croatia,never been over Atlantic, everything i know is from the movies. But i prefere docs. Westerns are not the real picture of that time, we, the whites are always the heroes. I disagree,but i did not live there and then. So sorry what happened to the Tribes

My great uncle had a Prairie wolf, was a wagoner, was wiped out by Comanche and survived by using his pet wolf for food and foot wear,ect. He went back out was completely disappeared, presumably by Comanche. HE gave his 1873 Winchester to my grandfather, i still have it.

Yes, While watching the movie I quite forgot that this is an actor whose native language is European and is depicted speaking an native American language fluently and then slowly recollects her original English. Very well done indeed.

Not having seen that movie on the big screen is one of my biggest regrets... The photography must have been AMAZING...

So glad that my horse loving friend talked me into seeing it in the theatre too. It was just GREAT. I Love Kevin Costner, Graham Greene ,Tantoo Cardinal and Mary McDonnell. Best show I've seen in a very long time. I still have the VHS tape for it.

Well Said

John Berry is my favorite composer, this soundtrack and “Out Of Africa” pure brilliance ❤

​@@Fishinfool14 Barry, not Berry. He won two Oscars for those scores.

YES, IT WENT DIRECTLY INTO MY HEART!!❤❤❤❤❤

It was the same for me. I’ve watched it so many times. Always the extended version. And honestly, many times i just watched it to the point where he rides back to get his diary 😔

Get a life !

@@waynekavanagh745 in a forum appreciating a great movie, your reply is not worth commenting on

Having been a fan of westerns since my twin brother & I were quite young, I grew up wondering why they used whites for Indian roles! It looked so obvious & fake!

As a Star Wars nerd, I have to give Lucas his due. Greedo had subtitles in 1977. But seriously, I didn't even notice them in Dances. Not having them would have been a million times more distracting. That dialogue humanized the "savage" Indians.

Perfectly said. Bravo!

Bringing culture to insular Americans is a worthy aspiration, reducing xenophobia and exposing more of the rest of the world’s history and cultures to this group.

In the book the NDN’s were Comanches.

@@daviddempsey8721Xenophobia? Xenophobia is defined as fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners. American NDN’s were neither strangers or foriegners. The white colonizers were the strangers and foriegners.

Quannah Parker was my Grandfather’s Grandfather. His Mother, Mary, was Quannah’s daughter.

WOW!!!

I'm from Bosnia as a teenager I've red the book/story Little Big Man written by Thomas Berger watched movie of course and I fell in love with American west and natives and then Dances with Wolves came I was amazed, came to USA as a refugee 1996 first chance i had I went to South Dakota to see all those historical sites amazing ,still amazed with Natives and their way of life.

The deleted scenes give a grander view of the narrative. I do not care if the movie was 4 hours. It deserved a larger statement with the deleted scenes included.

@@ericscottstevens agree 100%

There are a number of Historical Inaccuracies in the movie. First it depicts the West during the 1870s not the 1860s, during the Civil War. The book has Cheyenne Indians not Lakota.... There are more Henry Rifles in this movie than were ever purchased by the US Government. The Government purchased Spencers during the Civil War, not Henrys and Certainly Did Not Send these Advanced Weapons west during the War.... Even the Soldiers act like post Civil War Soldiers in the Regular Army, not Civil War Soldiers.....

@@jmweed1861 During the Civil War the Union army sent thousands of captured Confederate soldiers to the western outposts. Some say It served 3 purposes as POW camps, as soldiers to man the western outposts, and placing POWs well out of theatre to worry about rejoining the confederacy. By about 1868 most POWs had been paroled. or went awol in search of land and or gold. Some Confederates joined the Union army. The deleted scene of the camp before Dunbar arrives really provides that rebel mentality of the confederates clad in blue not wanting to take orders from anyone.

Greatest movue ever made. Incomparable Costner as lead actor. Magnificent depiction of native Americans. My most favoutrite movie ever.☆☆☆☆☆

Totally agree! Kevin was superb in both.

Those are also my two favorites.

That makes me feel better about the movie as I too liked it 34 years ago.

I hope you explain to your students that the "American buffalo" are really bison.

You are an awesome teacher! Kids fortunate to have you!❤

Buffalo are native to Africa and Asia. Bison are native to North America

I have watched this wonderful movie so many times, I still cry.

I saw it on a quiet, Monday night in an empty movie theater. It was overwhelming and breathtaking!

Why don't they do a second chapter, and let people see the finish. I've always wanted to the ending.

You’re easily fooled .

I loved this movie ❤

​@matthewbonner2261 well according to this video, they had Lakota advisors who helped in the production, so you might want to correct them with your "expertise"?

I didn't want it to end..the final scenes of the migration to Canada(assumed) reminded me of the similar flight of the Nez Percè trying to escape thru the Bear Paw mountains, pursued by Gen Nelson Miles, a vindictive man who, when they caught up with the Nez Percè just 40 miles from the border, and freedom, ordered the beautiful Appaloosa horses shot, and the people into a Reservation. Chief Joseph's dying wish to be buried in his beloved Palouse Valley was denied..a sad tale.

But it only showed the brutality of the Pawnee, and only one scene of Lakota violence, taking vengeance on a Pawnee after being attacked. No other sides were shown of either tribe. It even excluded how Christine came to be with the Lakota.Was it kidnapping or rescue? But, this is still one of the best movies ever.

@@su-rv2uq Never thought about that, I always thought her adoption was along the lines of the Little Big Man movie. She was left alone and found days later by another tribe.

She hid while her family was being raided when she was a child. I'm not sure, which tribe was responsible. She was taken in by the Lakota when she was found. At 6:34 he explains the real story of the "White widow" that inspired her story.

@@su-rv2uqtrue enough…c’mon tho it was a 3 hr movie as it was. Can you imagine being in charge of deciding what to cut and what to keep… 😮…😂

Thank you for standing with us,my mother was a survivor of one of those boarding schools

Boo boo hoo hoo j hmmmm L​@@kendallthompson7852

Many went to the Indian boarding schools and many never returned. Their families never knew what happened to them. My friends (Indian) visited a gravesite at an Indian boarding school. One tombstone simply said "Pima Girl", not her name, just her tribal affiliation. My Mother was born in 1941; she and my Aunt went to an Indian boarding school. My Mother was the younger child; when she saw her sister she started to cry for her. My Aunt saw her standing by the fence crying but they wouldn't let them see each other.

The only reason Indians still exist is because the government opted to try and forcefully integrate them into white society instead of killing them. An action the Indians all to seldom extended to white families they raided, murdered and kidnapped. It was a war and wars mean killing or worse. Sadly the war is still going on as demonstrated by Indian obstruction to anything proposed that was not their idea and continuing to struggle to regain control of land that was highly questionably ever theirs.

The tribes were also destroying each other. There's plenty of information about this, from tribe members themselves. Sixty years ago I came across a book in Healdsburg CA written by a tribe member who saw it coming and regarded it as karma for their own behavior.

@@cassandraseven3478 I absolutely agree. The different tribes would attack, kill, rape, and plunder other tribes. They stole horses and took hostages as well. This happened for thousands of years. The thing they didn’t do was exterminate the other tribes. Perhaps that Native American who authored the book felt they deserved punishment but mass extermination and relocation of entire tribes was done in order that the pioneers could occupy the Indian lands. There are many different opinions on this subject but that cannot be denied. It’s just a part of our history.

​@@cassandraseven3478you cannot discount the manipulation of the tribes by European forces, the effect of the genocide on tribal leadership, and consequence of forcing the tribes into smaller and back her land spaces. Many of the wasting raids on other tribes were orchestrated by outside forces which left the tribes with little choice. Writing off the savage nature of the colonizers plunder, abuse, and genocide because the natives also fought each other is a pathetic attempt at what about-ism that attempts to white wash the horrors inflicted by the colonizers.

@@blakehelgoth5247 The horrors inflicted by the colonizers? You have no idea what kind of horrors the Native Indians inflicted on the colonizers do you. The Indians didn't just kill white people. They were indiscriminate. They tortured men, women, boys, girls, toddlers and babies for hours and even days before finally dealing a final death blow or burning. They buried them up to their necks and burned them with hot coals from the fire, one small coal at a time, eventually burying their heads completely. They made fun of and laughed at the victims screaming and writhing in exquisite pain. They ripped open their bellies while still alive and breathing and slowly pulled out all their intestines then cut the scalp off their head and left them to be picked apart by the vultures. They shot poison arrows into the whites and if the arrow tips didn't do enough damage to cause death, then then viper venom would - but very slowly. The Indians delighted in issuing as much pain for as long as possible. They would cut off the genitals and fingers of their victims and force them down their throats. Do some reading or video watching (Unworthy History) and you will understand how savage and ruthless the Indian tribes were.

​@@blakehelgoth5247just like the horrors inflicted on the Europeans by the demon worshipping indigenous