Hoop Dreams

Name: Hoop Dreams
Genre: Drama, Sport, Documentary
Released: October 14, 1994
Duration: 170 min
Rating: 98
Cast: Arthur Agee, William Gates

1994

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 86 Ratings

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8.0

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8.0	Your Score
8.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 86 Ratings

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Hoop Dreams

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Movie Details & Credits

Fine Line Features | Release Date: October 14, 1994 | PG-13

Starring: Arthur Agee, William Gates

Summary: Two inner-city Chicago boys with hopes of becoming professional basketball players struggle to become college players.

Director: Steve James

Genre(s): Drama, Sport, Documentary

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 170 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Jay Carr

Hoop Dreams is without peer among sports-oriented documentaries to the extent that it's about people before it's about athletic feats. It respects its subjects' complexity and tenacity while nailing the problematic, double-edged influence of sports in America. In fact, no film has ever combined sports and family values as powerfully as Hoop Dreams. There's simply nothing like it. [21 Oct 1994, p.47]

100

John Bleasdale

It’s the film’s humanity which is at the core of its genius. Read full review

100

Roger Ebert

A film like "Hoop Dreams" is what the movies are for. It takes us, shakes us, and make us think in new ways about the world around us. It gives us the impression of having touched life itself. Read full review

100

Jay Boyar

Although the filmmakers are subtle in their methods and unobtrusive in their interviewing style, they make their points forcefully. Read full review

100

David Ansen

It's one of the richest movie experiences of the year, a spellbinding American epic that holds you firmly in its grip for nearly three hours. Read full review

100

Hal Hinson

Hoop Dreams is the most powerful movie about sports ever made. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Though the movie clocks in at just under three hours, it is -- aside from an occasional slow spot -- fascinating and exciting. Read full review

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User Reviews

Christopher_G2

Aug 11, 2014

This is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. It's absolutely fascinating the story and evolution of these two kids through their basketball lives in high school. It's about life pure and simple with it's twists and turns that catch you off guard, the surprises both pleasant andThis is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. It's absolutely fascinating the story and evolution of these two kids through their basketball lives in high school. It's about life pure and simple with it's twists and turns that catch you off guard, the surprises both pleasant and heartbreaking. The two aspiring basketball stars engage you like few characters you will see in any documentary. And for the filmmakers to have such dedication over these years, the highest credit and thanks to them.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

EAReviews

Aug 22, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Boyhood of sports documentaries. Filmed over the course of the high school career of two black teenagers from poor neighborhoods in Chicago, Hoop Dreams paints a starkly realistic picture of the high stakes of basketball and the influence the sport can have on a young black man's life. The film evolves into almost a tale of two cities, with the boys developing considerably differently as they go through high school, and the challenges they face at each. Without divulging too much of the plot, both boys are invited to attend a private, suburban, mostly white high school with a legendary team history, but only one can remain. Once the paths of the boys split, the divisions in class become evident as the other boy attends a mostly black inner-city high school. One is afforded opportunities and saving graces, while the other must scrape by. Another reason for the film's power is the depiction of the home life of the boys, showing the hurdles that they must overcome on the homefront. "The system" is mentioned frequently by one of the boy's mothers, and the effects of the system can be seen clearly both on and off the basketball court. Basketball is a pivotal method of understanding race and class in America, and Hoop Dreams explores all these themes and more with effortless grace. Your heart will race during the games, whether you like basketball already, or haven't thought once about the hardwood. Don't be turned off by the length of the film (nearly 3 hours), it is worth every second, and you are gripped from the moment the film begins until the epilogue credits.… Expand