Dances with Wolves
Inside everyone is a frontier waiting to be discovered.
![Video for the film Dances with Wolves — Dances with Wolves (1990) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/N4gr-uXUg1M/maxresdefault.jpg)
Country
Production
Budget
$22 000 000
Box office
$424 208 848
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Kevin Costner, Jim Wilson, Jake Eberts
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Jeffrey Beecroft
Audition
Elisabeth Leustig, Jory Weitz, Rene Haynes
Editing
Short description
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.
What's left behind the scenes
- Almost all scenes were filmed in chronological order.
- Critics praised the film for its lifelike depiction of Native Americans, which at the time differed significantly from typical Hollywood clichés that portrayed Native Americans as either noble or bloodthirsty. For his involvement in the film, the Lakota tribe adopted Kevin Costner as an honorary member.
- During the filming of the buffalo hunt, Kevin Costner rode horseback independently in almost all scenes, including those in which his character gallops without a saddle and fires a rifle, releasing the reins from his hands.
- To avoid accusations of animal cruelty, Kevin Costner's company, "Tig Productions," spent $250,000 creating animatronic bison puppets for the hunting scene.
- When Kevin Costner's character runs at the beginning of the film with his arms outstretched and eyes closed, it was an improvisation that caught the stunt coordinator off guard. He only shouted a warning at the last moment, otherwise the actor would have crashed into a fence.
- In the scene depicting the skinning of bison carcasses, animal puppets made of papier-mâché were used. The carcasses looked so realistic that someone from the public called the police during filming, who arrived at the set to arrest what they believed were poachers.
- Due to an $18 million budget overrun and widespread reluctance to invest in Westerns, Kevin Costner had to contribute his own funds to cover the excess costs. He recouped his investment, as the film grossed over $100 million, and Costner, having invested $3 million, received around $40 million.
- Kevin Costner's daughter, Annie, played the child in one of the episodes. She is shown in a flashback running from the place where her family was killed. As she runs, she looks over her shoulder, first one way and then the other, because her father told her to look over her right shoulder, and she was only 6 years old and confused right with left.
- The bison stampede scene could only be filmed with one take per day, because once they started running, these animals could only stop after 15-16 kilometers, and it took a whole day to return them to the filming location.
- The film was shot in the expanses of South Dakota. The cornfield shown at the beginning of the film had to be sown and the crop grown in advance, and the foliage of the trees repainted in autumn colors, as if the action was taking place in Tennessee in the fall.
- The making of the film was often delayed and paused due to unpredictable weather, difficulties in filming practically wild wolves, and the complexity of battle scenes involving Native Americans. Filming the bison hunt was also difficult – it took three weeks, and involved 100 Native American extras and a herd of several thousand bison. During the filming of one scene, Kevin Costner (who performed most of the riding scenes himself) collided with another rider and fell off his horse, but immediately got up and continued filming.
- The length of the first version of the film after final editing was five and a half hours, after which a lot of material was cut.
- With the exception of the Civil War scenes shown at the very beginning of the film (which were filmed last), the film was shot in the order written in the script. This is a rare occurrence in filmmaking.
- The film shows a man ordering a wolf to return home when Kevin Costner's character is on his way to meet friends. A trainer played this role. When he ran, and the beast chased after him, the wolf bit him on the leg, so Kevin Costner himself subsequently stepped in. Costner periodically threw the wolf pieces of raw meat to prevent it from biting him too.
- The film was shot during a drought, so the water in the lake was brought in.
- Michael Blake wrote the screenplay in the early 1980s. Kevin Costner came across the script in 1986. He advised Blake to rewrite the screenplay as a novel, which would increase its chances of being filmed. Blake did so and found a publisher willing to print the novel in 1988. Costner immediately bought the film rights to the novel with the intention of making this film.
- Graham Greene put a slice of smoked sausage in his shoe so that the awkwardness and discomfort he felt would be reflected on his face.
- In the scene at the beginning of the film, when doctors examine Kevin Costner's character, it wasn't the actor himself but his stunt double. The doctors were played by the film's producer Jim Wilson (on the left) and Costner himself, who was also the director, producer, and lead actor. Their voices were dubbed by other actors.
- The novel on which the film is based mentions the Comanche tribe, but the film depicts the Lakota Indians (the reason being that the script required a large herd of bison, which could only be found in South Dakota, where the Lakota lived).
- Battle scenes used reenactments of battles from the American Civil War.
- Studio executives insisted on a film length of 2 hours and 20 minutes. He had to accept the director's cut, which lasted 3 hours.
- Originally, the film was to be shot in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, but the park administration proved uncooperative, and after the first week of filming, Kevin Costner, tired of constant petty criticisms and demands, ordered the production to move to South Dakota.
- Practically none of the Native American actors involved in the filming spoke Lakota, so they had to hire a linguist to teach them the language. This was Doris Leader Charge (a translator and educator who taught Lakota at the university for many years), and she also played the wife of the character played by Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman.
- The helmet in the hands of the character played by Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman, when he talks about the people who 'came in his grandfather's time,' is a typical helmet of the Spanish conquistadors who conquered a significant part of South and North America in the 15th-16th centuries.
- Critics praised the film for its lifelike depiction of Native Americans, which at the time differed greatly from typical Hollywood stereotypes that portrayed Indians as either noble or bloodthirsty. For his participation in the film, the Lakota tribe accepted Kevin Costner as one of their honorary members.
- During the filming of the bison hunt, Kevin Costner did his own riding in nearly all the scenes, including those in which his character rides bareback and fires a rifle, letting go of the reins.
- Almost none of the Native American representatives involved in the filming spoke the Lakota language, so a linguist had to be hired to teach them. This role went to Doris Leader Charge (a translator and educator who taught Lakota at a university for many years); she also played the wife of the character portrayed by Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman.
- To avoid accusations of animal cruelty, Kevin Costner's company, "Tig Productions," spent $250,000 to create animatronic bison puppets for the hunting scene.
- When Kevin Costner's character runs with his arms outstretched and eyes closed at the beginning of the film, it was an improvisation that caught the stunt coordinator off guard. He shouted a warning at the very last second, otherwise, the actor would have crashed into a fence.
- Due to a budget overrun of $18 million and a widespread reluctance to invest in westerns, Kevin Costner had to use his own funds to cover the deficit. He recouped his investment as the film earned over $100 million at the box office; having invested $3 million, Costner received approximately $40 million.
- The child in one of the episodes was played by Kevin Costner's daughter, Annie. She is shown in a flashback running away from the site where her family was slaughtered. As she runs, she looks back over alternating shoulders because her father told her to look over her right shoulder, but she was only 6 years old and confused her right shoulder with her left.
- Production of the film was frequently plagued by delays and pauses caused by unpredictable weather, the difficulties of filming practically wild wolves, and the complexity of battle scenes involving Native Americans. The bison hunting scene was also difficult to film; it took three weeks and involved 100 Native Americans as extras and a herd of several thousand bison. During the filming of one scene, Kevin Costner (who performed nearly all of his own riding scenes) collided with another rider and fell from his horse, but he got up immediately and continued filming.
- The film features a man who commands a wolf to go back when Kevin Costner's character is riding to meet his friends. This role was played by a trainer. When the man ran and the beast chased after him, the wolf bit him in the leg, so Kevin Costner eventually played the part himself. Costner periodically threw pieces of raw meat to the wolf to ensure it wouldn't bite him as well.
- Michael Blake wrote the screenplay in the early 1980s. Kevin Costner came across the script in 1986. He advised Blake to rewrite the screenplay as a novel, which would increase its chances of being adapted for the screen. Blake did so and found a publisher in 1988 who agreed to print the novel. Costner immediately bought the film rights to the novel with the intention of directing the movie.
- Graham Greene put a slice of smoked sausage in each of his shoes so that the awkwardness and discomfort he felt would be reflected on his face.
- In the scene at the beginning of the film where doctors examine Kevin Costner's character, a stunt double was used instead of the actor. The doctors were played by the film's producer Jim Wilson (on the left) and Costner himself, who served as director, producer, and lead actor. Their voices were dubbed by other actors.
- The helmet held by the character Red Crow, played by Floyd Westerman, when he speaks of the people who "came in his grandfather's time," is a typical helmet of the Spanish conquistadors, who conquered a significant part of South and North America in the 15th and 16th centuries.
- It was originally intended that the film would be shot in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, but the park administration proved unconstructive. After the first week of filming, Kevin Costner, tired of the constant petty nitpicking and demands, ordered the production to move to South Dakota.
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