Hoop Dreams
1994 Directed by Steve James
Synopsis
This documentary follows two inner-city Chicago residents, Arthur Agee and William Gates, as they follow their dreams of becoming basketball superstars. Beginning at the start of their high school years, and ending almost 5 years later, as they start college, we watch the boys mature into men, still retaining their "Hoop Dreams".
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That's why when somebody say, "When you get to the NBA, don't forget about me," and that stuff. Well, I should've said to them, "If I DON'T make it, don't you forget about me."
These two kids, man. Beautiful fucking people.
HOOP DREAMS is a brilliantly-made documentary about basketball, race, education, and the need to escape. It's long, yeah, but every scene feels needed. Every interview is revealing and occasionally tear-inducing. The whole production just flies by and leaves you with this a strangely positive emptiness. It's a desperate hopefulness, a beam of light in a pitch-black chasm. You know that you probably won't be able to get to the light, but it doesn't really matter. The hope is what…
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I almost cried. One of the best documentaries of all time, I felt like I knew these kids and was rooting for them hard. So intimate and dedicated, following these two kids for 5 years. I immediately wikipedia'd them after and a lot of bad shit has happened to their families, I really wished they made it to the NBA obviously, but Arthur is doing a lot of good for young people these days. A really quick 3 hours. So much love, and I don't give a shit about basketball.
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December Project #22
A crowning achievement for documentary filmmaking. Originally starting as a PBS-funded special about an inner-city basketball court and its young players which developed into following some of the players back to their homes and documenting their lives. And within that footage was the story of Arthur Agee and William Gates, two teenagers with the passionate dream of becoming NBA stars. The film chronicles four years of their lives - beginning right before they start high school and ending right before they begin college - and not only shows them struggling to reach their goals, but also their personal and family lives. With an extensive three-hour runtime, director Steve James portrays their journey in a way that feels…
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This movie is many things, so much more than a sports movie. It's an honest look at hope vs. reality, a portrait of inner city life, an evaluation of race relations in the US, a glimpse into the self-serving nature of high school and college sports programs, a family drama.
Thoroughly immersed in its subject to the point where you actually see the two teens grow into young men, physically and emotionally. Great movie. -
Like that shite British boyband Five once said "Slam Dunk (Da Funk)"
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Whittling down over 250 hours of footage shot across five years in the lives of NBA hopeful teens Arthur Agee and William Gates, director Steve James makes convincing drama of Hoop Dreams, playing on the concept of the American dream in the context of working class urban youth. Agee and Gates make for ideal subjects, their family lives fractured, their athletic performances far outshining their academic. Reservedly critical of the societal system that allows such talents to go wasted, James resists imprinting the film with overt personal opinion, leaving it more to each individual viewer to examine the situation through their own eyes. Engaging though it is to see these youths strive for their dreams, there’s a frustrating lack of…
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This was a great documentary, captures the strain that black people on inner city neighborhoods live through, where the only choices that have glamor are drug dealing and sports star. The conflicts and resentments within the families are very interesting to watch, the structures seem so unstable, being on welfare a drug addict father, the other kid all of the sudden has a wife and kid with no actual means to sustain himself... it all seems a bit crazy. And in the end their way out remains nothing but a dream.
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Probably one of the best documentaries ever made.
Not really too interested in basketball, but it's ultimately unimportant since it evolves beyond it's subject to dwelve into deeper themes.
It is definitely a personal story of people who are a part of a revolving system which manufactures tragedy and disappointment."It became more of a job than a sport to play."
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That's why when somebody say, "When you get to the NBA, don't forget about me," and that stuff. Well, I should've said to them, "If I DON'T make it, don't you forget about me."
These two kids, man. Beautiful fucking people.
HOOP DREAMS is a brilliantly-made documentary about basketball, race, education, and the need to escape. It's long, yeah, but every scene feels needed. Every interview is revealing and occasionally tear-inducing. The whole production just flies by and leaves you with this a strangely positive emptiness. It's a desperate hopefulness, a beam of light in a pitch-black chasm. You know that you probably won't be able to get to the light, but it doesn't really matter. The hope is what…
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This documentary follows two teenagers with aspirations of making it into the NBA. Five years of the boys lives are documented as they try to make it through high school and ultimately into college.
I hadn't seen this for a very long time. Remember in the 90's when you would watch something from the 80's and you'd notice it? This is how this felt. The 90's, although not feeling that long ago, look so long ago.
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Steve James's three hour documentary follows the lives of two inner-city college basketball players who dream of turning pro and, in turn, escaping from their impoverished Chicago communities. Tracking them for almost eight years, it's able to authentically capture the lives of these kids and their families, showing their class, economic and racial struggles. It's also an indictment of the whole American education system from how much pressure young people are put under to the disadvantages poorer students face. But in the face of all this, the characters still remain determined to succeed which makes for inspirational, affecting viewing. This is the bar for which all documentary cinema should aim, and I say that as someone who is totally unfamiliar with the sport of basketball.
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Almost as long as the last 2 minutes of an NBA game.
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Saturdays at my house growing up were capstoned with the Wide World of Sports. The thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat opener always made me consider the atmosphere of my surroundings on that day. For depending on whether my dad's favorite college teams were winning or not, a specific mood would permeate the place and though the highs of a win were enjoyable, the lows of a loss were enough for me to vow, as a superior teenager, that I would never allow anything outside of my direct influence to hold such power over me. I learned to eat those words, because I had to admit that I'm the first to be emotionally swept away by the human…
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Roger Ebert's favorite film of the 90's. You were a giant, sir.
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Hoop Dreams tiene que ser el documental deportivo más ambicioso de la historia. Probablemente, también el mejor.
Si bien su alto compromiso -un retrato de cinco años sobre las vicisitudes de las familias de un par de adolescentes que buscan entrar a la universidad vía el basketball- se adivina influido por la serie "Up!", de Michael Apted, Hoop Dreams está más cercano a trabajos de largo aliento como The Wire. La comparación es pertinente: al igual que la obra de David Simon, la cinta es una crónica monumental sobre los sinsabores del sueño americano urbano de fin de siglo.
La edición es soberbia, sobre todo en la segunda mitad, cuando se muestran las eliminatorias y la presión parece irremontable. Todo…