film

Hoop Dreams

User Rating	1 2 3 4 5
Producer(s)	Steve James, Frederick Marx
Director(s)	Steve James
Release Date	1994
Runtime	170 min
Format(s)	video, DVD
Language(s)	English
Youth Media	no

Film Description

A film following the lives of two African American boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional. The documentary follows two inner-city Chicago residents, Arthur Agee and William Gates, as they follow their dreams of becoming basketball superstars. Beginning at the start of their high school years, and ending almost 5 years later, as they start college, we watch the boys mature into men, still retaining their "Hoop Dreams". Both are recruited into the same elite high school as their idol, former Detroit Piston superstar Isaiah Thomas. Only one survives the first year; the other must return to a high school closer to his home. Along the way, there is much tradegy, some joy, a great wealth of information about inner city life, and the suspense of not knowing what will occur next. This is not a "by-the-numbers" film.