Right
up front, let me say that I have never seen the theatrical cut of the
Academy Award winning DANCES WITH WOLVES. My first experience with
the film was the extended version of the film, which was released on
Laserdisc roughly a decade ago. I immediately fell in love with DANCES
WITH WOLVES in this form, and couldn’t comprehend how approximately
an hour’s worth of footage could have been cut from this wonderful
movie. As you might have guessed, I had no desire to see the truncated
version of this epic western, so I never bothered with the initial DVD
release, which only offered the theatrical cut. Fortunately, I can now
retire my Laserdisc because MGM Home Entertainment has issued the extended
edition of DANCES WITH WOLVES as a special edition DVD release for
$29.98.
DANCES
WITH WOLVES is a fascinating western that is sympathetic to the plight
of Native Americans during the nineteenth century, thus the movie weaves
its tale to embrace the culture of the Sioux people. The protagonist of
the film is Lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner), a decorated hero of
the Civil War, who requests a posting on the frontier, so he can see this
unspoiled expanse of the American wilderness before it is gone. When
Dunbar arrives at his remote post, he discovers Fort Sedgewick a deserted
ruin, but makes the decision to stay and fulfill his duty to the United
States Army.
After
a period of solitude, Dunbar finds himself unexpectedly befriended by a
lone wolf that remains within close proximity to the fort. While the wolf
is an intriguing distraction, Dunbar still longs for human companionship,
which causes him to seek out his nearest neighbors- the Sioux Indians, a
people with whom he has had some minor skirmishes. While the Sioux are
initially distrustful of Dunbar, the tribe’s spiritual leader Kicking
Bird (Graham Greene) becomes fascinated with the white soldier and decides
that his people should learn more about him. Eventually, Dunbar and the
Sioux form a relationship of mutual respect after the language gap is
bridged by Stands With a Fist (Mary McDonnell), a white woman, who was
adopted by the tribe when she was an orphaned young girl.
While
I certainly love DANCES WITH WOLVES, I have never been particularly
impressed with Kevin Costner’s talents as an actor. Costner’s
emotionally reserved performance style does come across somewhat better in
DANCES WITH WOLVES than it has in other films; however, it was his
work as the film’s director, that showed where his true talent lies.
Costner brought true vision and a real emotional center to this western
epic, and his efforts behind the camera earned him a richly deserved Oscar
for Best Director. Additionally, Costner imbues DANCES WITH WOLVES
with a definite sweep during the larger set pieces and a real sense of
humanity during the smaller moments. The fine supporting cast of DANCES
WITH WOLVES features Rodney A. Grant, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Tantoo
Cardinal, Robert Pastorelli, Charles Rocket and Maury Chaykin.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made DANCES WITH WOLVES available on DVD in
a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. The transfer is nothing short of superb, which is certain
to leave fans with a big smile on their faces. DANCES WITH WOLVES
is a fairly gorgeous movie and this transfer really shows off Dean Semler’s
Academy Award winning cinematography. One other note, the presentation of
the film does not show any truly noticeable signs that would differentiate
the theatrical cut from the additional footage that comprises the extended
version of the film.
The
image on the DVD is quite sharp and beautifully defined, even in sequences
captured under low lighting. Colors are fairly vibrant and favor a warm,
earthen toned palette, as well as producing natural looking flesh tones.
Neither chroma noise nor smearing is present to mar color reproduction.
Blacks appear inky, whites are crisp and contrast is truly excellent. The
film element used for the transfer is virtually free from blemishes,
although there is a slightly noticeable grain structure during the darker
scenes. DANCES WITH WOLVES has been authored across both sides of a
DVD-18, which keeps digital compression artifacts very well concealed
indeed.
The
Special Edition release of DANCES WITH WOLVES comes with a very
fine sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. For a movie that was
made on a rather small budget (for its size and scope), the sound design
is a rather impressive element of the completed film. Certainly not as
aggressively mixed as newer films, DANCES WITH WOLVES makes
excellent use of the entire soundstage- adding character and ambience to
smaller moments, while pumping up the larger sequences with full-bodied
sound that places the viewer in the midst of the action. The bass channel
proves to be thunderous during the encounters with stampeding buffalo and
down right solid at other times. Dialogue is render rather crisply and
intelligibility is always excellent whenever the characters are speaking
English. No other language tracks have been included on the DVD, although
English, French and Spanish subtitles have been provided.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental materials that have been
spread across both discs of this two-disc set. On the first disc, one will
find two separate running audio commentaries. The first commentary track
is with director/star Kevin Costner and producer Jim Wilson, while the
second features cinematographer Dean Semler and editor Neil Travis. Both
commentary tracks prove to be outstanding and worth the viewers time (yes,
an additional eight hours) for the amount of valuable information that the
participants impart about this wondrous production.
Also
on disc one is an Original Making Of Dances With Wolves
featurette from the time of the film’s theatrical release. The
twenty-minute program isn’t the usual fluff PR piece and provides a
decent look behind the scenes. A "Music Video" consisting of
John Barry’s music and behind-the-scenes and movie footage closes out
the first disc. Onto disc two, one will find The Creation Of An
Epic: A Retrospective Documentary is an eighty-two minute program
that has been broken up into parts that cover various aspects of the
production. The program is a fascinating look back on the creation of this
classic western, which can be viewed a section at a time, or in its
entirety thanks to a play all option. Also on disc two is a photo montage
of publicity photographs that are shown slideshow fashion and is
accompanied by John Barry’s music. A poster gallery, two TV spots and
the film’s theatrical trailer close out the supplements.
DANCES
WITH WOLVES is an incredible western epic that has certainly achieved
classic stature. MGM Home Entertainment has wisely issued the extended
version of film on DVD, giving its fans the kind of special edition they
have been longing for. Not only is the quality of the presentation
outstanding, so is the DVD’s supplemental content. Absolutely
recommended.
Right
up front, let me say that I have never seen the theatrical cut of the
Academy Award winning DANCES WITH WOLVES. My first experience with
the film was the extended version of the film, which was released on
Laserdisc roughly a decade ago. I immediately fell in love with DANCES
WITH WOLVES in this form, and couldn’t comprehend how approximately
an hour’s worth of footage could have been cut from this wonderful
movie. As you might have guessed, I had no desire to see the truncated
version of this epic western, so I never bothered with the initial DVD
release, which only offered the theatrical cut. Fortunately, I can now
retire my Laserdisc because MGM Home Entertainment has issued the extended
edition of DANCES WITH WOLVES as a special edition DVD release for
$29.98.
DANCES
WITH WOLVES is a fascinating western that is sympathetic to the plight
of Native Americans during the nineteenth century, thus the movie weaves
its tale to embrace the culture of the Sioux people. The protagonist of
the film is Lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner), a decorated hero of
the Civil War, who requests a posting on the frontier, so he can see this
unspoiled expanse of the American wilderness before it is gone. When
Dunbar arrives at his remote post, he discovers Fort Sedgewick a deserted
ruin, but makes the decision to stay and fulfill his duty to the United
States Army.
After
a period of solitude, Dunbar finds himself unexpectedly befriended by a
lone wolf that remains within close proximity to the fort. While the wolf
is an intriguing distraction, Dunbar still longs for human companionship,
which causes him to seek out his nearest neighbors- the Sioux Indians, a
people with whom he has had some minor skirmishes. While the Sioux are
initially distrustful of Dunbar, the tribe’s spiritual leader Kicking
Bird (Graham Greene) becomes fascinated with the white soldier and decides
that his people should learn more about him. Eventually, Dunbar and the
Sioux form a relationship of mutual respect after the language gap is
bridged by Stands With a Fist (Mary McDonnell), a white woman, who was
adopted by the tribe when she was an orphaned young girl.
While
I certainly love DANCES WITH WOLVES, I have never been particularly
impressed with Kevin Costner’s talents as an actor. Costner’s
emotionally reserved performance style does come across somewhat better in
DANCES WITH WOLVES than it has in other films; however, it was his
work as the film’s director, that showed where his true talent lies.
Costner brought true vision and a real emotional center to this western
epic, and his efforts behind the camera earned him a richly deserved Oscar
for Best Director. Additionally, Costner imbues DANCES WITH WOLVES
with a definite sweep during the larger set pieces and a real sense of
humanity during the smaller moments. The fine supporting cast of DANCES
WITH WOLVES features Rodney A. Grant, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Tantoo
Cardinal, Robert Pastorelli, Charles Rocket and Maury Chaykin.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made DANCES WITH WOLVES available on DVD in
a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. The transfer is nothing short of superb, which is certain
to leave fans with a big smile on their faces. DANCES WITH WOLVES
is a fairly gorgeous movie and this transfer really shows off Dean Semler’s
Academy Award winning cinematography. One other note, the presentation of
the film does not show any truly noticeable signs that would differentiate
the theatrical cut from the additional footage that comprises the extended
version of the film.
The
image on the DVD is quite sharp and beautifully defined, even in sequences
captured under low lighting. Colors are fairly vibrant and favor a warm,
earthen toned palette, as well as producing natural looking flesh tones.
Neither chroma noise nor smearing is present to mar color reproduction.
Blacks appear inky, whites are crisp and contrast is truly excellent. The
film element used for the transfer is virtually free from blemishes,
although there is a slightly noticeable grain structure during the darker
scenes. DANCES WITH WOLVES has been authored across both sides of a
DVD-18, which keeps digital compression artifacts very well concealed
indeed.
The
Special Edition release of DANCES WITH WOLVES comes with a very
fine sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. For a movie that was
made on a rather small budget (for its size and scope), the sound design
is a rather impressive element of the completed film. Certainly not as
aggressively mixed as newer films, DANCES WITH WOLVES makes
excellent use of the entire soundstage- adding character and ambience to
smaller moments, while pumping up the larger sequences with full-bodied
sound that places the viewer in the midst of the action. The bass channel
proves to be thunderous during the encounters with stampeding buffalo and
down right solid at other times. Dialogue is render rather crisply and
intelligibility is always excellent whenever the characters are speaking
English. No other language tracks have been included on the DVD, although
English, French and Spanish subtitles have been provided.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental materials that have been
spread across both discs of this two-disc set. On the first disc, one will
find two separate running audio commentaries. The first commentary track
is with director/star Kevin Costner and producer Jim Wilson, while the
second features cinematographer Dean Semler and editor Neil Travis. Both
commentary tracks prove to be outstanding and worth the viewers time (yes,
an additional eight hours) for the amount of valuable information that the
participants impart about this wondrous production.
Also
on disc one is an Original Making Of Dances With Wolves
featurette from the time of the film’s theatrical release. The
twenty-minute program isn’t the usual fluff PR piece and provides a
decent look behind the scenes. A "Music Video" consisting of
John Barry’s music and behind-the-scenes and movie footage closes out
the first disc. Onto disc two, one will find The Creation Of An
Epic: A Retrospective Documentary is an eighty-two minute program
that has been broken up into parts that cover various aspects of the
production. The program is a fascinating look back on the creation of this
classic western, which can be viewed a section at a time, or in its
entirety thanks to a play all option. Also on disc two is a photo montage
of publicity photographs that are shown slideshow fashion and is
accompanied by John Barry’s music. A poster gallery, two TV spots and
the film’s theatrical trailer close out the supplements.
DANCES
WITH WOLVES is an incredible western epic that has certainly achieved
classic stature. MGM Home Entertainment has wisely issued the extended
version of film on DVD, giving its fans the kind of special edition they
have been longing for. Not only is the quality of the presentation
outstanding, so is the DVD’s supplemental content. Absolutely
recommended.
