did you know
posted august 22nd 2004
Most of the information that follows on these pages was taken from the book "Dances With Wolves, The Illustrated Story of the Epic Film" by Kevin Costner, Michael Blake, and Jim Wilson. It is not my intention to break any copyright laws but rather to share some very interesting information with other fans of the movie who may not have this book in their possession. I have 3 copies and I treasure every one of them. I thought it only fitting to start Did you know with the introduction that was written by Kevin Costner.
foreword
"So often we think there is a difference between ourselves and the people who are actually in the movies. I would simply say to you that we probably have more in common than you think.
If you have chosen to have this book in your home, it probably means that you are a lover of movies. Knowing that, I feel secure in telling you that this foreword is meant as a personal introduction to both the movie and the thoughts that shaped it.
Dances With Wolves is first and foremost a movie, and should be seen as one. The value of this book will never measure up to the first time you experience the movie. Since I know the story, I will forever be jealous of the pureness in which you are able to approach and see it.
With that in mind and off my chest, I can tell you that Dances With Wolves was in fact born out of a personal challenge, the seed of which came out of a conflict that could easily have torn the fabric of a long friendship. It will forever be to Michael Blake's credit that Dances was conceived and my great luck to be associated with it.
Dances as a story began as most stories, with one writer confronting an empty piece of paper. There was no premise. There was no deadline. And out of this freedom came the opportunity to write from the heart. That Michael would write about the American frontier was in many ways a complete surprise. That I loved it was not. Michael managed to forge all the elements most attractive to me - simplicity, dignity, humor, and poignancy. He created a story that embraced a culture that has traditionally been misrepresented, both historically and cinematically.
That Dances was a movie was clear. Whether I should direct this movie was probably the biggest question. It became both a personal and a professional battle. The one thing I knew, however, was that if Dances in the smallest way was not as great as the movies that had shaped my love of them, I would always regret my decision.
My only hope is that this movie has an impact on you. It wasn't made to manipulate your feelings, to reinvent the past, or to set the historical record straight. It's a romantic look at a terrible time in our history, when expansion in the name of progress brought us very little and, in fact, cost us deeply.
This book represents the last physical responsibility that I have to the movie, and through it I can reflect on the new friends that were made and the old that stood by me. I think how I have grown up, and now know more than ever the value of my family and the love of my friends.
If I am blessed with good health, there is little doubt that I will make other movies, but if I could not, Dances With Wolves would complete the picture I have had of myself since I was a little boy. It will forever be my love letter to the past."