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Hoop Dreams (1994)

Hoop Dreams (1994)

PG-13

A compelling three-hour saga following the lives of two young NBA hopefuls

7.9

Movie

United States of America
English
Documentary
1994
STEVE JAMES
Arthur Agee, Bobby Knight, Dick Vitale
174 min

TLDR

The perfect blend socio-politics and athletics, sports docs have yet to top this classic.

What it's about

Arthur Agee and William Gates start freshman year at a prestigious private school on a basketball scholarship, but they’re increasingly pressured by the demands of the team, their family, and their dreams of making it big.

The take

Don’t be fooled—despite being a three-hour documentary, Hoop Dreams is just as thrilling, heartbreaking, and cinematic as any sports film out there. Unlike them, however, Hoop Dreams is less of an uplifting feel-good story than it is an honest and sobering look at how the education system has failed Black communities. It’s not a complete downer, though, since we follow two hardworking and inspiring boys committed to lifting their families from poverty. While more privileged players can afford to treat basketball as a hobby, to Arthur and William, basketball is a lifeline, a rare chance to enjoy better opportunities and give their families a better life. Imagine carrying that on your shoulders while training, studying, looking for colleges, and surviving teenhood. It’s a lot, but director Steve James weaves it all beautifully. James divides the chapter into freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years, following Arthur and William as they start on the same footing, diverge and live parallel lives (one in private school, the other in public), and eventually meet again during their final years in school. Their journeys are riveting, not least because we also get to know their families, friends, hopes, and dreams. This is riveting cinema, as socially conscious as it is competitively thrilling.

What stands out

Seeing them grow before your eyes feels very special.

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