--- title: "Dances with Wolves: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dances-with-wolves/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/dances-with-wolves" critics_score: 69 critics_reviews: 8 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): what the critics said Critics' score 69 from 8 reviews: 6 positive, 0 mixed, 2 negative. 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. ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dances-wolves-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Sheila Benson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 9 November 1990. 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 the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-09-ca-4155-story.html) ## Variety — Amy Dawes Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 12 November 1990. 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 the review](https://variety.com/1990/film/reviews/dances-with-wolves-2-1200428612/) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. 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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dances-with-wolves) ## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 1990. 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 the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1990/12/17/new-age-daydreams) ## Slant Magazine Rating 1/4. 7 June 2003. 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 the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/dances-with-wolves/) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 9 November 1990. 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 the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/09/movies/review-film-a-soldier-at-one-with-the-sioux.html) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 November 2004. 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 the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/dances-with-wolves-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Den of Geek — Simon Brew Rating 4/5. 10 November 2009. 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 the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dances-with-wolves-blu-ray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/dances-with-wolves.md