Hoop Dreams [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Steve James

Overview

This documentary about the aspirations of high-school basketball players from inner city Chicago won awards from the Sundance film festival, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the Academy Award (Oscar) for best editing. Two young men are followed during their entire high-school career, beginning with their participation in playground games and ending with their being recruited by colleges. The obstacles these young men face include parental drug addiction, family poverty, and inner-city violence, as well as the usual obstacles that arise in competition, including physical injuries. While each aspires to leave the ghetto, there are many reasons to suppose they may not be able to, despite each beating the odds against them by winning college scholarships.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/31/2015
UPC:	0715515141314
Original Release:	1994
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	2:52:00
Sales rank:	10,038

Special Features

Two audio commentaries: one with filmmakers Steve James, Frederick Marx, and Peter Gilbert, and one with the film's subjects, Arthur Agee and William Gates; Life after "Hoop Dreams," a new documentary that catches up with Agee, Gates, and their families; Additional scenes; Collection of excerpts from Siskel & Ebert trackingthe acclaim for Hoop Dreams; Orginal 1994 music video for the film's theme song; Trailers; Plus: Essays by author John Edgar Wideman and filmmaker and critic Robert Greene

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Emma Gates	Herself (William's mother)
Sheila Agee	Herself (Arthur's mother),Actor
Earl Smith	Himself (Talent scout)
Gene Pingatore	Himself (Coach)
Isiah Thomas	Himself (Professional basketball player)
Dick Vitale	Himself (Television sports commentator)
Kevin O'Neill	Himself (Marquette University head basketball coach)
Bobby Knight	Himself (Indiana University head basketball coach)
Spike Lee	Himself (Film director)
Frederick Marx	Actor
Peter Gilbert	Actor
Ben Sidran	Composer

Technical Credits

Frederick Marx

Steve James

Frederick Marx	Screenwriter,Producer
Steve James	Screenwriter,Producer,Director
Catherine Allan	Executive Producer
Peter Gilbert	Producer
Gordon Quinn	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

This much-celebrated documentary from 1994 follows the life of William Gates and Arthur Agee, two young Chicago basketball players who share the familiar dream of college scholarships and eventual NBA stardom. Pruned from 250 hours of footage, the riveting 3-hour film spans five years in the lives of these young black men, starting as they prepare to enter St. Joseph's, the predominantly white Catholic high school that helped shape NBA legend Isiah Thomas. Examining the pressures and the incredibly long odds facing even créme-de-la-créme athletes, director Steve James artfully balances the triumphs and suspense with pathos -- including Arthur Agee's return to a high school in the inner city. Although there's more than enough exciting basketball footage, James and his cowriter Frederick Marx, capture their most dramatic moments in Gates and Agee's off-the-court experiences. For anyone lured by the extraordinary highs of the sporting life, Hoop Dreams emphasizes that the lows can be just as significant. It's easy to see why this remarkable film provoked a huge outcry when it failed to receive an Academy Award nomination in the Documentary category: No other film has ever explored this triumphant and heartaching court of dreams.

Barnes & Noble - Charles Salzberg

The celebrated documentary from director Steve James, Hoop Dreams follows two young boys trying to take their basketball game from the inner-city streets of Chicago to the NBA. Tackling issues of racism, politics, and the dangerous power of hope, the film stands out as a complex and astute examination of the African-American experience. With the all-powerful image of Michael Jordan presiding over the film, Hoop Dreams exposes the way in which basketball has become the dominant force in the lives of so many African-American young men, who rely on their athletic skills to rise above the poverty surrounding them in a society that values only what these boys can do on the court. The film brilliantly elucidates a journey of lost innocence where the casualties of a game mean much more than simply losing on the court.

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