Happy Tuesday, dear readers! Each week, we’ll rank the top 10 films in a specific category. While we aim to tie these lists to big releases, that won’t always be the case. Our goal? For you to enjoy, share your own lists, and join in on a lively, friendly debate. This is an interactive space to build community here at The Contending.
No fancy intros, no long essays – just a category and a list. Sound good?
This week marks the 35th anniversary of Dances with Wolves, the sweeping Best Picture winner that Kevin Costner directed, produced, and starred in. Released on November 9, 1990, it became a box office phenomenon, grossing over $424 million on a $19 million budget, and went on to win seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Costner’s directorial debut helped revive the Western (my favorite genre), brought humanity to Native American representation, and captured cultural collision against the breathtaking Dakota plains.
Often reduced to “the film that beat Goodfellas,” Dances with Wolves has unfairly carried the weight of Oscar revisionism for more than three decades. Costner’s debut wasn’t just ambitious, it was a monumental achievement, crafting a deeply empathetic, visually transcendent epic when the genre was all but dead. Both Goodfellas and Dances are masterworks in their own right: Scorsese’s film a furious urban symphony, Costner’s a mournful prairie elegy. Both rank among my top 100 films ever made. Comparing them misses the point, as #FilmTwitter is often wont to do. The Oscars, at their best, attempts to honor greatness in all its forms, and Dances with Wolves deserves to stand tall on its own legacy.
Kevin Costner has been one of my favorite actors for as long as I can remember. The moment he burst onto the screen as Jake in Lawrence Kasdan’s Silverado (1985), I was hooked. He had it all: the coolness, the toughness, the effortless charm.
To celebrate the anniversary of Dances With Wolves, I’m spotlighting the best films starring Kevin Costner, from the Old West to the baseball diamond and everywhere in between. Let’s get to it.
10. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
9. A Perfect World (1993)
8. Open Range (2003)
7. No Way Out (1987)
6. Silverado (1985)
5. The Untouchables (1987)
4. Bull Durham (1988)
3. JFK (1991)
2. Field of Dreams (1989)
1. Dances with Wolves (1990)
