Dances with Wolves

Factual error: When Lt. Dunbar gets to the Fort, they show a dove in the rafters. It is a domestic Ringed Turtle-Dove or domesticated Barbary (African Collared) Dove. They likely did not have those doves at the Fort, but rather should have been a Mourning Dove. Rock Doves and chickens were common domestic animals brought for food.

Continuity mistake: When Dunbar 1st finds a bloodied Stands with a Fist mourning on the prairie she has long hair extensions. When he carries her back to the tribe her hair is shoulder length.

Continuity mistake: The Civil War battle scene has trees already turning fall colors, and the cornfield is already showing frost damage with dying top leaves. The likely timing for scenery such as this would be about mid to late September. There wouldn't be enough time for Dunbar's leg to heal, then travel 1000 miles west, then establish rapport with the Sioux, then go on a buffalo hunt, then move to winter quarters before snow flies.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Maybe he recovered over fall and winter, then traveled west in spring?

dizzyd

Dunbar tells the Army soldiers that have him captured that he arrived at the fort in April.

Continuity mistake: When Timmons is being shot by the Pawnee there is one part where he has 3 arrows in him. The scene switches and quickly goes back to him and now he has 4 arrows. No other shots were taken.

Family5

Revealing mistake: Costner is supposed to be nude after he gets out of the water and is watching Kicking Bird wandering around in his camp; however, a close look in the lower left of the scene will show Costner is wearing skin-colored panty hose. The elastic waist band is quite visible, cropping didn't get it all out. (00:54:20)

Factual error: In a scene where Dunbar is at the fort and a Henry 1860 rifle is lying on a firing port, there appears to be a long cartridge similar to 45/70 or.50 Govt with the rifle. The Henry 1860 rifle at the time used .44 Henry cartridges which were significantly shorter. (00:41:55)

Other mistake: At the beginning after Dunbar leaves the surgery area, he walks up to fence where a soldier is lying down. Next to him is an apple with the grocery sticker on it. (04:49:00)

Ultra Fine

Factual error: When Dunbar saves the native American boy from the charging injured buffalo he jumps off, asks if he's all right then makes two repeated shots from his Henry rifle without cocking the lever. Only special safari guns did that, at a later date.

John Dunbar: The strangeness of this life cannot be measured: in trying to produce my own death, I was elevated to the status of a living hero.

More quotes from Dances with Wolves

Trivia: The wolf in the film was played by two different wolves. Neither knew how to howl, so a third wolf had to be brought in for the howling scene.

More trivia for Dances with Wolves

Question: Why did Dunbar's superior kill himself as Dunbar was being taken to his new post?

Answer: He was mentally disturbed and was depressed about being assigned to a "dead end" post with no chance at advancement. Dunbar, the hero, choosing to be assigned to the frontier, just pushed the poor soul over the edge.

Mark English

In a word, the disease syphilis. The urinary tract problems and the Insanity are possible side effects.

What are you basing this on? What in the movie indicates that he has syphilis?

Answer: Dunbar's superior supported the British ("The King is dead... Long live the King" said with a heavy British accent) and was likely a closet-case Redcoat his entire US military career. It was not rare and many suicides were a result of that.

This claim is not supported by the movie. "The King is dead. Long live the King" is a common idiom referring to the passing of power to someone new. It most definitely does not literally refer to the English King. The movie is set in the middle of Queen Victoria's reign. As for your assertion that there were a large number of English loyalists in the Union Army three generations after the Revolutionary War seems highly unlikely. Can you cite evidence of this?

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