Beautiful and poignant. Not only is it the absolute best film of 1994 (yes, better than Pulp Fiction), it is a candidate for the best documentary of all. Remarkable.
Holy god, this is the most poignant and uplifting of all sports films. It makes "Rocky" look gay. The film truly transcends the whole 'sports film' genre honestly. One of my favorite documentaries is made by filmmakers who are actually engrossed in the subjects they observe; they spent over 5 years with two very ambitious High School basketball players....True commitment on the part of the documentarians, and a testament to Kubrick's saying that, with film, "time is gold." The picture never once conforms to hackneyed documentary conventions for audience satisfaction. "Hoop Dreams" is a work of art. It manages to capture all of the multifarious emotions and bittersweet truths about the world of competitive sports. Definitely in my top 5 documentaries of all time.
A documentary that follows the lives of two teenage African-American boys who dream of one day playing in the NBA. It's themes involve poverty, racism, family, hardship, and of course basketball. As the story unfolds and the film evolves we get a close and personal look at these boys who strive hard and conquer their demons in their attempt to reach their goal, we understand that the basketball is not just a sport to them, but it's their lives. The fact that this was not even nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars is shocking. It's a highly inspiring film and is worth the long duration.
Hoop Dreams is a film that does something very special. It's belongs in a category of films like Rocky and Friday Night Lights where it makes you understand how important sports is in people's lives. It's a film that people should show in film classes (Hell everyone should be shown this movie.) How there are so many great and powerful stories in everyday life. Director Steve James' film is smart enough to show how the 2 boys grow and their own obstacles in life. I guess the greatest thing I could say about Hoop Dreams is that it really is what every sports movie should be and with a industry filled with awful movies based on sports (Any basketball or football movie with Jerry Bruckhemer's name attached to it.) this movie grabs your attention from the beginning and despite it's 170 minute length never loses it.
A documentary that plays like a really good drama. Watching the two boys grow up is fascinating and at times depressing but definitely essential viewing. An incredibly well made documentary.
Not just a movie about basketball, this is a journey into the lives of two families and their hopes, dreams, and struggles with adversity. This amazing project spans several years, and exposes the way these kids are exploited as well as the harsh realities of inner-city life. Caveat is that it is almost 3 years long, which isn't necessarily a con considering the size of the project and the quality of the picture.
It's praised as the greatest basketball movie of all time, but it could have been more. The access the filmmakers gained is incredible, but it could have been assembled with more flair.
Documentaries just don't get much better than this. I'm lost in words. This movie was just simply amazing. One of the most touching movies of all time and one of the BEST movies i have ever seen in my life.
Although slow, long and drawn out; Hoop Dreams is a great true story about what it takes to fulfil your dreams, the hard work needed along the way and the situations that may arise to falter you from your course. With a great realistic look into the ordinary lives of black people in the ghettos during the early 90's and an astonishing insight into the politics of college basketball, Hoop Dreams may be long but has a true great ending with a stark contrast on waht dreams may become.
Very well done, over a few years - taking in two lives of inner-city kids with hopes of playing the the NBA. An intriguing look at dreams, priorities and basketball.
William Gates: People always say to me, "when you get to the NBA, don't forget about me." Well, I should've said back, "if I don't make it to the NBA, don't you forget about me."
Easily one of the best documentaries that I have seen.
This is a documentary about two inner city kids making their way through school, playing basketball, hoping to get recruited into a good college, and eventually make their way into the pros.
There is easily enough material just to show one of these kids, but this movie has two, and it is three hours of time, culled from more than 250 hours of footage.
We see these kids from when they are 12-13 all the way to when they are 18-19. We see them recruited into high school, What happens to them, what happens to their families, injuries, grades in school, college plans, various games and championships, other parts of their lives.
It is an absorbing work that has as much drama, tension, and plot dynamics as a regular movie.
one of the best documentaries that i've ever seen. a truly rich and rewarding experience that uses high school basketball as just a jumping-off point to explore issues of race, class, economic division and education in America.
This documentary is an emotional real-life story about two young ballers from Chicago who have dreams of making it to the NBA. This film actually chronicles I believe 6 years of these boys lives. A MUST SEE!
This is an excellent documentary that follows four years in the lives of two inner-city kids (Arther Agee and William Gates) who have dream of becoming N.B.A. basketball players. We watch through their triumphs, their failures and also their family life. The story of these boys is exceptionally engaging (in a way this plays more like a reall film thatn a doco) and you will be rooting for them all the way. While it is overlong (nearly three hours to be exact) but this is another great doco that should also be seen.
u watch these 2 kids grow up from middle school to college as they pursue their basketball dreams.. spans over several years, very interesting and exciting documentary
Wonderfully layered basketball, sorry, real-life documentary. Full of surprising twists and turns that if they happened in a regular movie, you couldn't accept them. Excellent.
Hoop Dreams was nominated for precisely one Oscar. Best Editing. It's one of AMPAS' great all time oversights not to nominate this masterpiece for the Documentary Feature award. Shot over five years the film follows two young black men (William Gates and Arthur Agee) throughout their high school basketball careers as they dream of going to college and then on to the NBA. The filmmakers don't just concentrate on Gates and Agee, they turn the focus on their often troubled family lives, their failures as well as their successes both on and off court. From 300 hours of footage Director Steve James has carved out a riveting three hour film. He's very fortunate with his subjects, Gates is particularly engaging but it's Agee whose story is most compelling as he experiences so many ups and downs but you like both of them, you want them to succeed. The basketball sequences are brilliantly exciting and spread throughout the film at regular intervals at just the right times to remind you what this film is really about. Hoop Dreams is an outstanding documentray, one that should be seen whether or not you're interested in basketball or not.
The best documentary I've witnessed. The story is told with such passion that you can't help but to cheer the characters on, and hope they gain what they worked for. This is a touching and extremely well made piece of cinema.
This documentary follows two young inner city black men from elementary school to graduation as they seek to take advantage of their immeasurable basketball talents to improve their own situation in society while others seek to do so for their own gain as well. It is inspiring and heartwrenching as their dramatic lives unfold in a myriad of highlights and hardships.
This is the true story of two inner-city Chicago boys following their dream to play in the NBA. Although it is a documentary and quite long, the entire film is captivating, interesting, and has the audience rooting for these two boys to overcome the odds against them. It eventually comes to mean much more than basketball. Definately a must see!
MCT:July 15, 2008
MCT:June 16, 2008
MCT:February 25, 2008
MCT:February 22, 2008
MCT:October 5, 2007
