One of my all-time favorite movies. I can't begin to remember how many times I've seen it. And I'll watch it again. Kevin Costner gives a compelling performance, but so does the entire cast. One gets a great sense of who the Lakota were and are. Respect.
I watched the extended version of this film, and I just have to say, any film that can run for FOUR HOURS and not come out the other end as a boring pile of garbage, is worthy of some pretty serious praise. That said, _Dances with Wolves_ is not really in my wheelhouse, and although it held my attention I can't see myself probably ever watching it again. Costner knows what he's about, and that's great, but a four-hour film about American history with strong romance elements is never going to blow me away. _Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._
There are two actor of recent years that I really struggle with. One is Tom Hanks, the other is Kevin Costner. His monotonic narrative as he conveys this story via his journal makes this otherwise breathtakingly beautiful story frequently a real plod. He is "Lt. Dunbar" who after a very close shave with the Confederate troops during the US Civil War is posted to a far outpost where he finds himself living a solitary existence with only a wolf ("Two Socks") for company. That is until a passing warrior gets a glimpse of him at his bath and runs a mile. What now ensues is a gently paced story depicting his developing relationship with his neighbouring Sioux tribe. This film features a memorable John Barry score to accompany some fine cinematography, and the efforts from Graham Greene ("Kicking Bird") and a slew of other native American actors is excellent. It's just Kevin. He was the power being the production, and certainly had some skill directing it - but his acting... It is so soporific. He simply doesn't convey well the senses of loneliness, fear and joy that his character experiences as he gradually becomes subsumed into a new - sometimes rather brutal - identity. The story demonstrates and exposes the prevailing attitudes of both cultures towards the other, of their suspicions and mistrust - and were the "Dunbar" role to have been portrayed by a more heavyweight screen presence, then we could have had a memorable movie rather than just a long one. It is still good, though - just could have been doing with more oomph from the star.
A philistine in the art film business, Jeremy Prokosch is a producer unhappy with the work of his director. Prokosch has hired Fritz Lang to direct an adaptation of "The Odyssey," but when it seems that the legendary filmmaker is making a picture destined to bomb at the box office, he brings in a screenwriter to energize the script. The professional intersects with the personal when a rift develops between the writer and his wife.
A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.
Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!
Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates - including an older prisoner named Red - for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Viennese composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.
In WWII-era Rome, underground resistance leader Manfredi attempts to evade the Gestapo by enlisting the help of Pina, the fiancée of a fellow member of the resistance, and Don Pietro, the priest due to oversee her marriage. But it’s not long before the Nazis and the local police find him.