nedgo

This film is as prescient about the abuses of the so-called liberal media, as another film made the same year: NETWORK. Though the political agendas of the two films run somewhat different tracks, they arrive at the same station. One's private life, passions and convictions are reduced to fodder for the lowest common denominator of the semi-literate whenever it suits the status quo's purpose.

If you're about to see "The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum" for the first time, attempt to avoid thinking of it as an old film; As with Network, the passing decades have proved it more a documentary.

This post refers to the extended DVD special edition of DANCES WITH WOLVES. Rarely does a film improve with the addition of 50+ minutes of film, certainly not a multiple Oscar winner. DANCES is that rare beast. A fine film at its original theatrical running time; it is a true masterwork in its extended DVD presentation. I'd viewed the film but once in its original theatrical run in 1990. I was impressed by Mr. Costner's directorial debut, though I felt much of the same material about the Caucasian race's shameful treatment of Native Americans had been stated as eloquently in LITTLE BIG MAN. Seeing the 4-hour cut of DANCES renders my initial reaction invalid. I recently viewed LITTLE BIG MAN for the first time in 15 years, and then bought my copy of the extended DANCES. Comparing the two works is like saying THE LONGEST DAY covers the same turf as SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. They may cover the same history but they are different poems in different languages. Get the new DANCES extended edition and treasure it as one of THE great American films.