Hoop Dreams (1994)

That was an excellent one.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The time has finally come for me to watch the documentary that Roger Ebert himself CREDITS "one of the greatest films of the decade." Well, I was not let down one bit, but I definitely wouldn't go as far to consider it that high of a review. But one things is for sure, it was definitely worth it, watching Steve James's HOOP DREAM.Our story follows two aspiring young high school students from Chicago who dream of becoming the next big thing in BASKETBALL. One is Arthur Agee and the others name is William Gates; the two differ in many ways, but luckily, their stories really don't intertwine. — What I found really amusing during this 3 HOUR MOVIE was how dynamic each character is and what their purpose to this story was. Such as the parents! Arthur's family undergoes a lot of dysfunctional problems, and only time will tell if their story is a good one.I believe this film is great for young basketball dreamers, but also any young adult who decides to follow their dreams. One can connect really easily with the lifestyle and realize that it isn't just about (winning) the game. It has much more to do with that.I RATE this doc a 8 out of 10 on IMDb. Nothing too unique, but definitely something that should not be missed. Students who study documentary filmmaking can really learn a lot from this feature. If it is one thing that it teaches you, it is that YOU CAN ONLY LEARN FROM THE BEST.— Michael Mendez

I have seen a few of the documentary films featured in the book of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, some are standard subjects, some are controversial, and some are unusual, but of course all are interesting for their own reasons, I was hoping this one would be another good one. Basically this film follows two African American teenagers, William Gates and Arthur Agee, both from inner-city Chicago, who dream of becoming superstar basketball players for the NBA (National Basketball Association). The film starts from their early beginnings in St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, and sees them grow and progress through the following five years, including starting and graduating college, and maturing into men. William and Arthur were both recruited into the same school that Isiah Thomas came from, and put into a team where white and black people mix, which then was not usual, we see their workouts, practises and struggles through learning all about the game, and obviously their skills come into play and they do rise to become noticed. By the end of the film one of the young men grows into the star he dreamt of becoming, while the other keeps trying, but they stay true to each other and support one another through whatever happens, and their families, friends and closest supporters are with them all the way as well. With narration by Steve James, and also starring Emma Gates - William's Mother, Curtis Gates - William's Brother, Sheila Agee - Arthur's Mother, Arthur 'Bo' Agee - Arthur's Father, Earl Smith - Talent Scout, Gene Pingatore - High School Basketball Coach, Sister Marlyn Hopewell - High School Guidance Counselor, Bill Gleason - Television Reporter, Patricia Weir - President: Encyclopedia Brittanica, Marjorie Heard - High School Guidance Counselor, Luther Bedford - High School Basketball Coach, Aretha Mitchell - High School Guidance Counselor, Shannon Johnson - Arthur's Friend, Tomika Agee - Arthur's Sister, Joe 'Sweetie' Agee - Arthur's Brother, Jazz Agee - Tomika's Daughter and Arthur's Niece, Catherine Mines - William's Girlfriend, Alicia Mines - William's Daughter, Alvin Bibbs - William's Brother-in-Law, Willie Gates - Himself - William's Father and film director Spike Lee. I will be honest that I faded in and out of the story because I did think the three hour length was a bit too much, obviously the five year span of filming makes sense for this length, however I did pay attention to the actual basketball stuff, and the two true life characters are likable, so it is I suppose a worthwhile sports documentary. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Film Editing. It was number 11 on The 50 Greatest Documentaries. Good!

Hoop Dreams is about two promising basketball players and their experiences playing in high school. At the beginning, the two boys get a scholarship to a private school known for having an exceptional basketball program. Even though it requires each of them to take a ninety minute bus ride one way every day, the school presents a huge opportunity for both of the boys; it's much better in practically every way than the lousy under-privileged schools they previously attended.The film is very restrained in making its point which is something I found odd for a documentary film; I don't watch many films like this but I thought the idea was for the film-makers to make a clear argument rather than present a load of facts and allow the viewer to draw his own conclusions. In any case, it's pretty clear to me that the film is critical of the process that leads these students to be recruited to play basketball at the tender age of 14. It turns out that the scholarship the boys get doesn't cover all expenses and so it proves to be impossible for Arthur Agee, the boy who initially shows less promise, to remain at the school for more than a year. This wreaks havoc on the already pathetic boy who has to deal with his family's extreme poverty due to his father's drug addiction and his mother's health related inability to keep a job. William Gates, the more promising boy, can't afford to pay the fee either but the school finds a sponsor to help him because of his more advanced skills.Arthur is really the more interesting character here as he is plagued with problems from the get-go and he has to try harder to get anywhere. In addition to his poverty, he has to deal with his father's attempts to live vicariously through his success. He struggles to find his own identity. For a good portion of the film, Arthur tries to copy the success of an NBA star from his area, going so far as to borrow the older man's nickname for his own use.It struck me that both of these boys weren't paying enough attention to academics or social skills as they both seemed rather immature and ignorant, particularly in terms of their future potential outside of basketball. Their academic failure is also made clear by their struggle to make an 18 on the ACT, a score that is well below the national average.Hoop Dreams does a good job of telling the story of a little more than four years of the lives of two boys; it's an engrossing enough film to make its three hour run time go by fairly quickly. The film also tells something about the environment promising athletes are thrust into from an early age and how they're sometimes manipulated into spending huge amounts of time doing something that really won't do them much good in life all in the name of making the dream of NBA stardom a reality. I would have liked the film more if it had a bit more context and scope; as it is this work doesn't add up to much more than the story of two individuals when it probably should have said more about the entire system they're immersed in. I also feel that the film-makers should have taken a stand and made some attempt to analyze the story they told, their refusal to do so looks like a combination of laziness and cowardice to me. Still, Hoop Dreams does enough right to make it a worthwhile viewing experience.

This groundbreaking documentary is about as close to cinematic perfect as a film can get.Taking no less than six full years to construct, Hoops Dreams follows the lives of two aspiring basketball players from Chicago's lower-class communities. Starting as freshman, cameras document the lives of Arthur Agee and William Gates as the pair enters their freshman years at St. Joe's High School, a private institution known for its rich basketball tradition.Gates is considered the next great basketball prodigy to come out of St. Joe's, drawing comparisons to NBA Hall of Famer Isaiah Thomas, who graduated from the school in the 1960s.Discovered by a scout mining for talent in one of the city's many forgotten blacktops of the deprived south side, Agee is much less renowned than Gates, but still earns a partial athletic scholarship.Gates immediately makes the varsity team as a freshman and enjoys a generally successful first two years at St. Joe's. Letters from almost every major college basketball program come flooding in as Gates becomes one of the most sought-after young basketball players in the state of Illinois.After one year at St. Joe's, Agee struggles to acclimate to the school's "suburban" culture and transfers to a public high school much closer to his home in the city.With expectations sky-high entering his junior season, Gates suffers a serious knee injury early on, forcing him to miss almost every game while hampering his chances of garnering a major Division I scholarship.With his father aimlessly wandering the streets strung out on drugs and the family struggling to pay even the most basic of bills, life is even more tumultuous for Agee. The low point comes when the electricity in there home is cut off due to excessive missed payments.Despite his personal and academic struggles, Agee begins to flourish on the hardwood, leading his John Marshall High School team to the city championship and a berth in the Illinois State Basketball Tournament. Along the way, the team fastens a few inspiring - and equally thrilling - upsets of some of the state's elite teams.Wearing a perceptible and somewhat clunky brace, Gates returns for his senior season and seems to have lost his explosive first step and fearless attitude. His team is upset early in the playoffs, putting an unceremonious end to Gates's high school career. Despite his struggles and a re-aggravation of his knee injury during an elite off-season basketball camp, Gates manages to receive, and accept, a full-athletic scholarship from Marquette University in Milwaukee.Agee does not have the grades to attend a four-year college directly out of high school, so the budding talent signs with a Junior College in the Midwest before ultimately transferring to Division I Arkansas State.The juxtaposition of the lives of these two young men make for a compelling and authentic look at inner-city life, big-time basketball recruiting, expectations, pressure and the pursuit of a better life through athletics. You don't have to be a basketball fanatic to appreciate this superb piece of filmmaking either. It's simply a masterpiece that will transcend generations.