Dances with Wolves (1990)

Dances with Wolves, starring Kevin Costner, won 7 Academy Awards in 1990, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Music, Best Sound, and Best Writing. It was also directed and produced by Kevin Costner himself.

This 1990 epic film depicts the story of Union Army Officer First Lieutenant John Dunbar, who embarks on a journey to the American Frontier to find a military post. Upon arriving at the post, Dunbar has anticipated more soldiers to join him. After several weeks of solitude, Dunbar finds it peculiar that no other soldiers has joined him and documents it in his journal. Unfortunately, Dunbar's assignment to the post remained unknown due to the death of the major, who was in charge of his mission. Dunbar later encounters the Sioux tribe and gains their respect and has been welcomed into their tribe as a member known as Dances with Wolves.

As a result of this movie, Kevin Costner was considered an honorary member of the Sioux tribe. In addition, the Library of Congress has chosen Dances with Wolves for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in the year 2007. This movie is highly acclaimed for its humanistic portrayal of American Indians. The casts’ performances are exceptional thanks to Costner’s directions and the cinematography is utterly prodigious. Another outstanding factor in this engrossing film is the soundtrack, earning John Barry an Academy Award for Best Music. Despite its duration of about 3 hrs, Dances with Wolves keeps the audience engaged throughout the film. This movie grossed $184 million without ever having to reach #1 on the box-office charts and is the highest grossed western movie of all time.