Kevin Costner’s Best Western Films Are Streaming for Free Now on Tubi

Kevin Costner’s best Westerns are available to stream today, and the best thing about this, is that you can watch them for free. Open Range and Dances With Wolves have been added to Tubi’s impressive catalog of movies. The streaming service is known for its capacity to host obscure and mainstream hits on a single user-friendly platform that you don’t have to pay a single cent to watch.

Both films starring Costner (and also directed by him) were added to the roster of films that usually land in Tubi’s catalog on a monthly basis. The August additions include other Western films like Banjo Hackett: Roamin’ Free (1976), Cowboy (1958), and Hostiles (2017), which will be available on August 21, 2024. Other Westerns available on Tubi include Stagecoach (1939), Northwest Passage (1940), Broken Arrow (1950), and the classic TV show Bonanza from 1960.

Costner’s signature cowboy films were added to Tubi amidst what should have been a renaissance for the Hollywood star. In June of this year, Costner returned to the beloved genre that made him one of Western’s modern auteurs. Horizon: An American Saga was released to mixed reviews from critics, and Costner’s plans to follow up with an epic film series were suddenly in jeopardy. Chapter 2 of Horizon was supposed to be released in August, but now it’s heading to the 81st Venice International Film Festival, where Costner will have to prove again why he’s the last great cowboy actor and director.

In the meantime, audiences can enjoy not one but two of the greatest films in Costner’s filmography, both starring the actor during his prime and both being perfect examples of his ambitious vision as a storyteller of modern Westerns.

Open Range: One of the Most Authentic Cowboy Films Ever Made

Open Range stars Costner, Robert Duvall, Annette Benning, Diego Luna, and Michael Gambon, among others. It’s based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine, and it tells the story of Boss Spearman and Charley Waite, cattlemen who must face the wrath of a rancher who hates their ways. Boss and Charley are forced to go on a journey of revenge and justice against Baxter.

The film, deemed extremely authentic by experts, was a box office success for Costner, who had suffered some flops before, and returning to Westerns wasn’t exactly a sure bet. However, the film was praised as a solid Revisionist Western, and it still holds a 79% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It was Costner’s last Western before trying again with Horizon: An American Saga.

Dances With Wolves

A Civil War soldier develops a relationship with a band of Lakota Indians. Attracted by the simplicity of their lifestyle, he chooses to leave his former life behind to be with them. Having observed him, they give the name Dances With Wolves. Soon he is a welcomed member of the tribe and falls in love with a white woman who has been raised in the tribe. Tragedy results when Union soldiers arrive with designs on the land.

Release Date

March 30, 1990

Runtime

180

Writers

Michael Blake

Dances With Wolves is based on the book of the same name by Michael Blake, who also wrote the movie. It follows the adventures of Lieutenant John J. Dunbar in the mid-1800s when he was serving the Union Army. Dunbar is assigned to a remote post in the Old West, where he will come in contact with a Sioux tribe, and will experience a change of spirit.

The film was Costner’s revitalized approach to the Western genre. It made over $400 million at the box office, and it got the actor/director serious recognition at the Academy Awards. Dances With Wolves won seven out of 12 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. It still holds a solid score of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, and some consider it to be one of the last epic Westerns ever made (Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven would also shake the Oscar ballots a couple of years later).