Review: At face value, Hoop Dreams is a documentary about kids trying to play basketball, but once you peel back this first layer you will find so much more meaning then the two creators probably could have imagined. What started as a small presentation on basketball in inner city Chicago developed into a sweeping epic following two boys who want to be like Isiah Thomas. The film manages to be about family, relationships, poverty, sports, education, drugs, race and class without ever expressly detailing these areas. Instead, director Steve James lets the subjects guide the film. The only main structure this documentary has is time. Though this requires the audience to have much more patience then most filmmakers are willing to risk, the outcome is one of the greatest documentaries you will ever see. Where most can be ingested in one sitting, James, a then first time director, manages to develop something that resembles a good novel- where you can watch and re-watch it multiple times and find or explore something new about its characters. This does not come easy in the documentary genre, where you only get one chance to capture real life moments. If you look at the list of awards Hoop Dreams has won or been nominated for, you'll begin to understand the respect many filmmakers and critiques give it. Meticulous is the best word to sum up Steve James and Peter Gilbert's dedication to the process, as they spend over four years following the family and another three years editing. All this was done despite constraints on funding and continually aging technology. Of course, the unusual amount of access the families of William Gates and Arthur Agee grant the two filmmakers is deserving of an award itself, but thankfully, it is not exploited and you can tell that the details of their life are displayed both fairly and accurately. In short, Hoop Dreams is a must see for anyone interested in documentaries or filming in general. James and Gilbert know when to let scenes develop and breath, refraining from participating or staging scenes as much as possible. The un-intrusive style creates a longer, more ambiguous film, but it’s certainly one worth appreciating on every level. Review by Matthew Abshire Informative: 4 - your sports knowledge won't increase, but your love of the game and appreciation for those who commit themselves to it certainly will. Entertainment: 5- Any one can substitute themselves into the story and understand at least the partial difficulty these kids had of achieving their dream. Technical: 5 - His first documentary has some problems, but shows enough dedication and care to smooth out any wrinkles. Overall: 5 - One of the greatest documentaries I've ever seen, helping me to appreciate documentaries on a completely different level.
Hoop Dreams
Format: DVD Year: 1994 Running Time: 170 Min Distributor: Kartemquin Films Producer: Steve James and Peter GIlbert Director: Steve James Date Reviewed: 4-16-2007 Story: William Gates and Arthur Agee enter their high schools as freshman desiring nothing more than a chance at playing in the NBA. But the two Chicago native boys quickly learn that the odds are stacked against them, and as troubles with coaches, poverty and family start to stack against them, will their love of the game remain, or will they lose hope like so many others? (IMDB)