Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- Kevin CostnerLieutenant Dunbar
- Mary McDonnellStands With A Fist
- Graham GreeneKicking Bird
- Rodney A. GrantWind In His Hair
- Floyd 'Red Crow' WestermanTen Bears
- Tantoo CardinalBlack Shawl
- Robert PastorelliTimmons
- Charles RocketLieutenant Elgin
- Maury ChaykinMajor Fambrough
- Jimmy HermanStone Calf
Recommendations
- 100
Washington Post
A gigantic achievement, an endowment of riches. - 100
Chicago Sun-Times
This movie moves so confidently and looks so good it seems incredible that it's a directorial debut. - 90
Variety
Costner's directing style is fresh and assured. A sense of surprise and humor accompany Dunbar's adventures at every turn, twisting the narrative gently this way and that and making the journey a real pleasure. - 90
Washington Post
Costner (with Michael Blake's screenplay) creates a vision so childlike, so willfully romantic, it's hard to put up a fight. - 88
Chicago Tribune
A three-hour delight… The movie generates much of its power by being so life-affirming at a time when people feel nervous about the future. [9 Nov 1990, Friday, p.C] - 78
Austin Chronicle
The film's politically correct repudiation of the familiar black-and-white characterizations of the white and red man is ultimately undermined, however, when the pendulum swings too far in the other direction. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
The picture moves slowly but never sluggishly, and it never grinds down. The measured pace shows real assurance on the part of Costner. [9 Nov 1990, Daily Datebook, p.E1] - 70
Time
It would be nice, for instance, to meet some white man, other than Dunbar [Costner], who is not a brutish lout. And it would not harm the film if there were one or two bad-natured Sioux visible in it. [12 Nov 1990, p.102]
