Dances With Wolves - Blu-ray Review

4.6 Stars (out of 5)

Synopsis                               

Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) 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. This special edition of Costner's Oscar-winning directorial debut features an extended cut of the film, an audio commentary from Costner, a behind-the-scenes featurette and more. (Buy Now Two-Disc 20th Anniversary Edition $14.99)

Starring:

Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Rodney Grant, Graham Greene, Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman, Tantoo Cardinal, Robert Pastorelli, Charles Rocket, Maury Chaykin, Jimmy Herman

Director:

Kevin Costner

Blu-ray Release Date:

January 11, 2011

Subtitles:

English SDH, French, Spanish

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 4.3 Stars (out of 5)

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison
●    Subwoofer - 4.0 Stars
●    Dialog - 4.5 Stars
●    Surround Effects - 4.0 Stars
●    Dynamic Range - 4.5 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0

Utilizing a DTS-HD Master Audio with 7.1, Dances With Wolves brings the wild west to life. Most of this movie is a little quite. However, even in its calm moments subtle ambient sounds can be heard. Crickets and birds chirp, wind softly blows on the prairie, and campfires crackle while using all speakers to help draw you into the movie. The subwoofer is noticeable during most of the film, but when it's needed it definitely takes center stage. During the buffalo hunt, the rampaging herd races across the screen and the heavy bass rattles the couch. Gunshots are delivered with heft and pinpoint accuracy as they whiz by your head. Sometimes the dialog is hard to understand, but it's many due to heavy accents of the soldiers.

Video 4.7 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison
●    Color Accuracy  - 4.5 Stars
●    Shadow detail - 5.0 Stars
●    Clarity - 4.5 Stars
●    Skin tones - 5.0 Stars
●    Compression - 4.5 Stars
 
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect Ratio: 2.36:1, Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Dances With Wolves looks amazing on Blu-ray. This film is filled with beautiful landscapes displayed in natural colors, and pays homage to the beauty and diversity of the United States. Even though this film is over 20 years old, this Blu-ray looks like it was filmed yesterday. The clarity is clean, and highlights fields of corn, clothing textures, sweat, ornate Native American outfits, fine textured wolf fur, and long blades of grass that dance in the wind. There is a light film grain, and the colors tend to lean a little on the earthy side.

Bonus Features 5.0 Stars (out of 5)

Disc One

• Audio Commentaries: There are two commentaries, one with Kevin Costner and Producer Jim Wilson, and another with Director of Photography Dean Semler and Editor Neil Travis.
• Military Rank and Social Hierarchy Guide: "This guide allows you to learn more about the roles, the era and the events that occurred during the historical period in which Dances with Wolves takes place".
• Real History or Movie Make-Believe?: A true-or-false quiz that "challenges your knowledge of the 19th century American military, the Lakota way of life, and the film."

Disc Two

• A Day in the Life on the Western Frontier (1080p, 14:18)
• The Original Making of Dances with Wolves (SD, 20:58)
• The Creation of an Epic - A Retrospective Documentary (SD, 1:14:39)
• Original Music Video Featuring Music by John Barry (SD, 3:52)
• Second Wind (SD, 5:18)
• Confederate March and Music (SD, 2:13)
• Getting the Point (SD, 3:58)
• Burying the Hatchet (SD, 1:12)
• Animatronic Buffalo (SD, 2:18)
• TV Spots (SD, 1:04)
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:33)
• Poster Gallery (1080p)
• Dances Photo Montage (SD, 9:21)

Movie - 5.0 Stars (out of 5)

Review

Dances With Wolves is well deserved American classic, that's thoughtfulness and detail to history stand the test of time. I remember watching this film when it was released, and couldn't figure out what made it so different than other westerns. Now that I'm older it's easy to see it was the first western I saw that was sympathetic to the Indians and told the story from their perspective. In fact, by the end of the film, you hate the settlers for what they did to the Native Americans and the natural resources of the United States.

This film is very slow moving, but somehow it seams well paced. It seams to take it's time telling the story to make sure you feel all the emotion of the film. The acting is superb and it's hard to believe this is Kevin Costner's first time directing. Its no surprise that 7 Oscars were won by this film. It's a sentimental film, that can not be forgotten by anyone who has ever seen it.