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.
Cinematography
Dean Semler's prairie vistas that make Kansas look like myth
Score
John Barry's flute-heavy theme that WILL make you cry
Acting
Graham Greene's scene-stealing wisdom as Kicking Bird
Director
Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Lieutenant Dunbar
Mary McDonnell
Stands With A Fist
Graham Greene
Kicking Bird
Rodney A. Grant
Wind In His Hair
Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman
Ten Bears
Tantoo Cardinal
Black Shawl
Robert Pastorelli
Timmons
Charles Rocket
Lieutenant Elgin
Maury Chaykin
Major Fambrough
Jimmy Herman
Stone Calf
Michael Spears
Otter
Tony Pierce
Spivey
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Costner filmed the buffalo hunt with an actual stampede of 3,500 animals; no CGI, just genuinely dangerous chaos.
The film's Lakota dialogue was so authentic that Sioux elders used it to teach younger generations—though critics noted it still frames Indigenous experience through a white protagonist's eyes.
US
