Dances with Wolves 3 Disc Special Edition DVD Box Set Collection Review

In the year 1864, Lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) requests an assignment to a remote outpost in the American West. Spending a lot of time by himself, Dunbar falls in love with the frontier, and becomes firm friends with the local Lakota Indians. Before long he finds himself contravening direct orders when he helps his new friends in their battle against the Pawnee. This revisionist western won seven Oscars, including one for Best Picture and one for Costner's direction. Kevin Costner's 1990 epic won a bundle of Oscars for a moving, engrossing story of a white soldier (Costner) who singlehandedly mans a post in the 1870 Dakotas, and becomes a part of the Lakota Sioux community who live nearby. The film may not be a masterpiece, but it is far more than the sum of good intentions. The characters are strong, the development of relationships is both ambitious and careful, the love story between Costner and Mary McDonnell's character is captivating. Only the third-act portrait of white intruders as morons feels overbearing, but even that leads to a terribly moving conclusion. Costner's direction is assured, the balance of action and intimacy is perfect—what more could anyone want outside of an unqualified masterpiece?