---
title: "Dances with Wolves"
year: 1990
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/dances-with-wolves"
fi1m_id: "dances-with-wolves"
imdb_id: "tt0099348"
tmdb_id: 581
wikidata_id: "Q20456"
fi1m_score: 80
critics_score: 69
critics_reviews: 8
published: "2026-09-13"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:14.366525+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Dances with Wolves (1990)

Directed by Kevin Costner · 3h 01m · MPA PG-13 · Adventure, Drama, Western

## Identity

Dances with Wolves

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/dances-with-wolves
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** dances-with-wolves
- **IMDb ID:** tt0099348
- **TMDB ID:** 581
- **Wikidata ID:** Q20456
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099348/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/581, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20456

**Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 69 from 8 reviews

*In a sentence:* Kevin Costner takes three hours to meet the neighbours, and we are surprisingly happy to wait

> Kevin Costner’s patient Western earns its scale through character, landscape and a willingness to listen. Its view of Sioux life is too reassuring, but the warmth and spectacle make the long journey worthwhile.

## Synopsis

Lieutenant Dunbar (Kevin Costner), a Union soldier, encounters the Sioux on the Dakota plains. As he begins to learn about their way of life, his dealings with the community become the centre of his story. Among those he meets are Kicking Bird (Graham Greene), Wind In His Hair (Rodney A. Grant) and Stands With A Fist (Mary McDonnell). Ten Bears (Floyd ‘Red Crow’ Westerman) and Black Shawl (Tantoo Cardinal) are also part of the community Dunbar comes to know. The Western follows his growing involvement with the Sioux and his changing understanding of where he belongs.

## Review

*Dances with Wolves* is a generous, absorbing Western whose sincerity survives some fairly simple thinking about its hero. Kevin Costner directs and plays Lieutenant Dunbar, a Union soldier drawn into Sioux life on the Dakota plains. Michael Blake’s screenplay lets that growing interest develop slowly, giving us time to share it. We recommend it with a reservation: the film is so pleased by Dunbar’s willingness to learn that it does not always ask much else of him.

Costner is well suited to such a watchful part. His unforced screen presence makes curiosity credible, and he avoids acting as though every new experience ought to announce a personal revelation. Graham Greene’s Kicking Bird and Rodney A. Grant’s Wind In His Hair help give the Sioux community distinct personalities; the film works because we become interested in the people Dunbar meets. Mary McDonnell, as Stands With A Fist, supplies an emotional directness that prevents the warmth from settling into mere good manners.

Dean Semler’s cinematography gives the Dakota plains the space they need. His wide views allow us time to look across the country, so Dunbar’s growing fascination with it becomes something we can share. The buffalo hunt shows how well Costner can organise action within those open spaces. We were thrilled by it: the movement across the plains makes the danger feel immediate, even within a film so willing to take its time.

Jeffrey Beecroft’s production design also matters to the film’s quieter success. The attention given to the Sioux community’s physical surroundings helps make daily life worth watching, and supports the actors when there is no grand action to carry a scene. John Barry’s score is less restrained, giving the landscape and Dunbar’s growing attachment a broad emotional emphasis. It is affecting music, though there are passages when we would prefer to recognise the feeling without quite so much help.

Editors Neil Travis, William Hoy, Steve Potter and Chip Masamitsu let the film settle into its long stretches of discovery. At 181 minutes, it makes a considerable demand on an evening, but the pace is usually part of the pleasure. The narration is less necessary: Dunbar’s interest is clear enough in Costner’s performance and in the attention paid to those around him. Explaining that interest can make the film feel anxious that we might not have noticed what a good man he is.

The larger reservation concerns the writing. Blake and Costner give Sioux life affection and detail, but their admiration sometimes makes the people seem less complicated than they should. Dunbar’s discovery remains the central concern, so the film’s sympathy does not quite free it from the Western’s habit of making a white man’s education everybody else’s business. The performances do much to soften that limitation, particularly Greene’s, but they cannot remove it.

Anyone looking for a Western driven chiefly by confrontation may find this one’s priorities frustrating. Costner is willing to let getting acquainted occupy the space another film would fill with threats, and that patience is what we value most here. The sentiment needs watching, but it need not spoil the pleasure of spending time with these characters. Set aside the full evening; this is poor material for a quick watch before bed.

*Fi1m score 80, published 13 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond warmly to Dances with Wolves, praising the ambition and assurance of Kevin Costner’s direction, the landscape photography and the attention given to Sioux characters and daily life. The favourable reviews find feeling and narrative sweep alongside the spectacle, with the buffalo hunt a recurring highlight. Costner’s restrained screen presence also earns praise, while Variety singles out John Barry’s score as part of the film’s appeal.

The spread is wide, however, and sentimentality divides even the admirers. Some find the Sioux idealised and the central character thinly drawn, without losing their affection for the film. The New Yorker takes those objections further, finding Costner bland and the film’s treatment of history lightweight. Slant Magazine likewise sees polished but generic Hollywood filmmaking, despite admiring the visuals and buffalo hunt. The central disagreement is over whether the film’s sincerity compensates for its limited complexity.

## Straight answers

**Is Dances with Wolves worth watching?**

*Dances with Wolves* is worth watching for anyone with a full evening to spare and a taste for a Western that prefers getting acquainted to gunfire, and we scored it 80. Kevin Costner's patient direction, Dean Semler's wide views of the Dakota plains and a well-drawn Sioux community carry its 181 minutes. Its view of the hero is a little too pleased with him.

**How long is Dances with Wolves, and what is it rated?**

*Dances with Wolves* runs 3h 01m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is an adventure and drama film.

**Where can I watch Dances with Wolves in the US?**

*Dances with Wolves* is streaming on AMC+, Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel and Apple TV in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. It leaves The Roku Channel on 1 October. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Dances with Wolves, and is it suitable for children?**

*Dances with Wolves* carries a UK 15 certificate, so it is not a film for young children, and it is best kept for older teenagers and adults. The review notes real danger in the buffalo hunt, and the certificate implies violence beyond what a 12A would allow, but this is a slow, character-led Western rather than one built on confrontation or fright.

**How does Dances with Wolves compare to Embrace of the Serpent?**

*Dances with Wolves* is the warmer and more comfortable of the two, and [*Embrace of the Serpent*](https://film.one/film/embrace-of-the-serpent) the sterner. Costner's film lets a white visitor learn from the Sioux and is pleased that he does, while Ciro Guerra's black-and-white Amazon journey offers its visitors far less reassurance. Choose Costner for spectacle and company; choose Guerra for something graver and stranger.

**What should I watch after Dances with Wolves?**

After *Dances with Wolves*, try [*Dersu Uzala*](https://film.one/film/dersu-uzala) (1975, Fi1m 82): Another patient encounter across cultures, with landscape that makes human certainty look foolish. Then [*Embrace of the Serpent*](https://film.one/film/embrace-of-the-serpent) (2015, Fi1m 82): A sterner account of cross-cultural encounters, with less comfort for the visitor.

### Reviews we read (9)

- **Empire**, Angie Errigo (85/100, inferred): Dances With Wolves is a personal and artistic triumph for Costner as well as a box-office winner and hugely enjoyable epic. The critic singles out the affectionate and detailed portrayal of the Native American characters and their way of life for praise, while noting excessive sentiment in places. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dances-wolves-review/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Sheila Benson (85/100, inferred): The critic hails Costner's directorial debut as a stirring epic with a clear-eyed vision of the frontier and the Sioux, rich in character, action, and spectacle like the buffalo hunt. It singles out the authentic, lyrical photography and the film's engaging focus on character over mere spectacle. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-09-ca-4155-story.html)
- **Variety**, Amy Dawes (80/100, inferred): The review praises Costner's assured directorial debut for bringing grace and feeling to the elegiac tale of a hero's discovery among the Sioux on the Dakota plains. It highlights the fresh style, John Barry's score, and the film's potential as a word-of-mouth hit despite its length. [Read](https://variety.com/1990/film/reviews/dances-with-wolves-2-1200428612/)
- **Time Out**, GA (75/100, inferred): Costner's directorial debut is a genuinely impressive epic Western with a sincere dramatic sweep and strong historical authenticity. It lacks some complexity and political sophistication, with sentimentalised Sioux and a two-dimensional hero, but remains hard to resist. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dances-with-wolves)
- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (40/100, inferred): The review portrays the film as a bland, middle-of-the-road New Age social-studies lesson about a white man joining the superior Sioux culture, criticizing Costner as a bland megalomaniac who makes everything lightweight. It acknowledges some competence and the film's authentic vastness but finds it untroubled and not truly revisionist. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1990/12/17/new-age-daydreams)
- **Slant Magazine** (1/4): The critic finds the film a well-polished but generic example of epic Hollywood filmmaking that has not aged well and was overrated at the time of its Oscar wins. They single out the visual splendor and the buffalo hunt sequence as transcendent moments amid the lack of profundity. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/dances-with-wolves/)
- **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (NYT Critic’s Pick): The critic finds the film a competent and ambitious first directorial effort from Costner, with the story of a Union soldier integrating with the Sioux recalling literary classics like Robinson Crusoe. It praises the natural screen presence of Costner and the film's epic scope but notes it falls short of genius. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/09/movies/review-film-a-soldier-at-one-with-the-sioux.html)
- **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (90/100, inferred): The critic calls Costner's three-hour subtitled Western a miraculous achievement that revives the exhausted genre with integrity and lack of pretension. He singles out the modest, convincing performance by Costner as Dunbar and the film's overall emotional authenticity. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/dances-with-wolves-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)
- **Den of Geek**, Simon Brew (4/5): The critic calls the film a bold and ambitious directorial debut that works well despite some narration and a preference for the shorter cut. They highlight its excellent photography, landscapes, and strong storytelling as standout achievements. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dances-with-wolves-blu-ray-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Kevin Costner
- **Director:** Kevin Costner
- **Screenplay:** Michael Blake
- **Cinematography:** Dean Semler
- **Editor:** Neil Travis, William Hoy, Steve Potter, Chip Masamitsu
- **Music:** John Barry
- **Production design:** Jeffrey Beecroft
- **Costume design:** Elsa Zamparelli
- **Producer:** Kevin Costner, Jim Wilson
- **Cast:** Kevin Costner as Lieutenant Dunbar; Mary McDonnell as Stands With A Fist; Graham Greene as Kicking Bird; Rodney A. Grant as Wind In His Hair; Floyd Red Crow Westerman as Ten Bears; Tantoo Cardinal as Black Shawl; Robert Pastorelli as Timmons; Charles Rocket as Lieutenant Elgin
- **Runtime:** 3h 01m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 21 November 1990
- **Genres:** Adventure, Drama, Western
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Winner, 1990); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 1991); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Winner, 1990)
- **Budget:** $22 million
- **Box office:** $424 million

## Where to watch in the US

- AMC+: streaming
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd, leaving 2026-10-01
- Apple TV: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-13.*

Also available in: BE, CA, DK, ES, FI, IT, NL, NO, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1991: Best Actor (nominated); Best Costume Design (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (nominated); Best Supporting Actress (nominated); Best Cinematography (won); Best Director (won); Best Film Editing (won); Best Original Score (won); Best Picture (won); Best Sound (won); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won)
- Silver nugget for the best foreign film 1991: Silver nugget for the best foreign film (won)
- Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film 1990: Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film (won)

## If you liked this

- *Dersu Uzala* (1975), Fi1m 82: Another patient encounter across cultures, with landscape that makes human certainty look foolish. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/dersu-uzala.md)
- *Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner* (2001): An Indigenous perspective, with the dramatic weight resting inside the community.
- *The New World* (2005): For more open country, cultural encounters and feeling carried by images.
- *Embrace of the Serpent* (2015), Fi1m 82: A sterner account of cross-cultural encounters, with less comfort for the visitor. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/embrace-of-the-serpent.md)
- *The Searchers* (1956): For a harsher Western whose central outsider is considerably harder to embrace.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/dances-with-wolves