The film follows them through their four years of high school and their trials and tribulations. An extraordinary true story this documentary follows two innercity chicago residents, arthur agee and william gates, as they follow their dreams of becoming basketball superstars. Kartemquins gordon quinn, executive producer of the film. It picks up everything happening in the gym, in the stands and even outside. Filmed over a fiveyear period, hoop dreams, by steve james, frederick marx, and peter gilbert, follows young arthur agee and william gates and their families as the boys navigate the complex, competitive world of scholastic athletics while dealing with the intense pressures of their home lives and neighborhoods. During his younger years he lived in the north side chicago area near. I walked into the cinema that morning hoping to kill a few hours and avoid.
I had used it as a substitute in milwaukee public schools if i did not receive lesson plans for the day. Hoop dreams was originally intended to be made into a 30minute pbs television series shot over the course of 3 weeks. The central idea of this book is to make the most out of oportunities and to face challenges when they arise. In 2004 and 2005, the makers of hoop dreams, in collaboration with criterion, revisited the documentarys principle figures, arthur agee and.
More than two decades after its 1994 release, the films issues and themes are still. Life after hoop dreams the current the criterion collection. Hoop dreams is, on one level, a documentary about two africanamerican kids named william gates and arthur agee, from chicagos inner city, who are. Hoop dreams basketball club offers an extensive basketball season for the serious basketball player. This is a nonfiction book that is also a true story.
When the filmmakers began, they planned to make a 30minute film about eighthgraders being recruited from inner. It gives us the thrill of the game, but it doesnt cheat on. An oral history of hoop dreams, 20 years after its. The 12part history features hoop dreams filmmakers steve james, frederick marx, and peter gilbert. Hoop dreams says a lot about african american life in particular and the united states society overall. Her children thrive under her protection, despite the dangers and temptations of their neighborhood. Two ordinary innercity chicago kids dare to reach for the impossibleprofessional basketball gloryin this epic chronicle of hope and faith. Conclusions what did it take for sheila to finally gain control of her life after bo had caused her so much.
What digital items do customers buy after viewing this item. After having an injury his sophomore year which caused him to miss most of his junior year and some of his senior year after reinjuring it. Hoop dreams is an indepth portrait of black poverty in chicago. Memorable quotes and exchanges from movies, tv series and more. Even if you care not a whit about high school and professional sports, this is a move worth seeing, because what its really about is a contemporary american culture that exacts a very high price, not only among young people chasing hoop dreams, but also among the rest of us who collude in their fantasies and, truth be told, chase some. Hoop dreams, a story of two young basketball players and the struggles in their lives. The idea for the book came from the documentary movie, hoop dreams, which is a true story. Life after hoop dreams, featured on our new release of the film, presents that footage, along with some new material, for. Hoop dreams is a story about two young men who want to become basketball players in the nba. The filmmakers behind the 1994 documentary hoop dreamsand one of the subjects of the filmtalked about the impact of the movie at a recent screening. Filmed over a fiveyear period, hoop dreams follows young arthur agee and william gates as they navigate the complex, competitive world of scholastic athletics while striving to overcome the intense pressures of family life and the realities of their chicago.
Hoop dreams is a 1994 american documentary film directed and produced by steve james. This fortyminute program was produced by the criterion collection in 2014. Hoop dreams is a complex film that deeply explores the hopes and pitfalls of innercity life, leaving the viewer with a number of troubling questions about the future of thousands of young men like arthur and william. Hoop dreams 1994 full movie download full hd youtube. His dad was never really around until he heard his son. In its unflinching portrait of innercity life, hoop dreams is as much a social commentary on class privilege and race division as it is a film about basketball and presents the audience with a lasting deconstruction of the american dream. Agee is the second child and first son of arthur bo agee sr. Hoop dreams criterion collection, dvd, digital theater system, special interestdocumentary, sportsbasketball, 7155151414. A film like hoop dreams is what the movies are for. Chicagos projects, hoop dreams became a sixyear observation on race, poverty, class and the american dream.
Roger ebert was an early champion of steve james hoop dreams, and james cherished the opportunity to tell the story of this pulitzer prizewinning film critic who became one of the most influential cultural voices in america. William goes to an elite private school known for producing nba basketball. These are the ideas i have formed after reading two intriguing articles judeas declaration of. Hoop dreams has the movie equivalent of allcourt vision. Kartemquin is sad to learn of the passing of earl smith, who was featured in our 1994 film hoop dreams an insurance executive who on weekends acted as a volunteer basketball talent scout for local high schools, big earl was one of the first people followed by the filmmakers as they began the project, and is one of the first people you see on screen. A hoop dreams sequel, written by gun violence the new. Which is true, half of my life is correcting people that we did not win an oscar. One of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of all time, hoop dreams is a rich, complex, heartbreaking, and ultimately deeply rewarding film that uses high. Hoop dreams explains the lives of arthur agee and william gates.
I only fully taught hoop dreams one time while teaching. I knew the movie was special because it was a documentary that kept kids attention better than space jam. It gives us the impression of having touched life itself. Hoop dreams by steve james steve james, william gates, arthur. When hoop dreams was still in theaters, peter and i were thinking we should make a narrative movie. Based on eberts bestselling memoir, its a story by turns personal. It will open in new york next friday and around the country on oct. Hoop dreams is a compelling documentary which follows the life of two young basketball stars from chicago, arthur agee and william gates. The filmmaker behind hoop dreams and life itself reflects on his career upon being honored at the afi docs guggenheim symposium. Hop dreams mirror of social problems of the of the personal reaction the movie hoop dreams is an excellent movie portraying the lives of people who belong to disadvantageous social background. When it failed to garner an academy award nomination in the documentary feature category, public outcry led to an overhaul of how films are nominated. Part way through the filming, stevie is arrested and charged with a serious crime that tears his family apart.
Had a family help pay for his tuition which also gave him a summer job. The book hoop dreams by ben joravsky is a nonfiction sports novel that was based off of the award winning film. Filmed over a fiveyear period, hoop dreams follows young arthur agee and william gates as they navigate the complex, competitive world of scholastic athletics while striving to overcome the intense pressures of family life and the realities of their chicago streets. The story of hoop dreams was not over even after the film was released. Two ordinary innercity kids dare to dream the impossibleprofessional basketball gloryin this epic chronicle of hope and faith. After 5 years of filming, the team had shot 250 hours of footage, which they laboriously edited down to 3 hours. Tryouts are in august girls teams begin in october and finish early spring march. The book that i just finished reading is called hoop dreams, by ben joravsky.
In january 2014, jason guerrasio has published an oral history of hoop dreams at. Hoop dreams is now available in bluray and dvd special editions from the criterion collection. It takes us, shakes us, and make us think in new ways about the world around us. In 2004 and 2005, the makers of hoop dreams, in collaboration with criterion, revisited the documentarys principle figures, arthur agee and william gates, along with their families, to see what had been happening in their lives since the films premiere in 1994. The movie is an introduction to the realities of life. During the filming, william gates kept very quiet about his personal life, and did not tell the. She struggles through poverty, resisting gangsters, violence and drugs while battling an indifferent city bureaucracy.
Hoop dreams is a 1994 american documentary film directed and produced by steve james, frederick marx, and peter gilbert, with kartemquin films. To ask other readers questions about hoop dreams, please sign up. This muchcelebrated documentary from 1994 follows the life of william gates and arthur agee, two young chicago basketball players who. Hoop dreams still rings true in chicago, more than 20. When the film starts, both arthur and william are ninth graders from the inner city. The 1990s witnessed a boom in the production and consumption of popular ethnographic accounts of life in americas inner cities. It follows the story of two africanamerican high school students in chicago and their dream of becoming professional basketball players. A hoop dreams sequel, written by gun violence shawn harrington, who appeared in the 1994 documentary hoop dreams and later became a high school assistant basketball coach, was shot in. Looking back at broken dreams a july 5 sports article on the two lead characters in the 1994 documentary hoop dreams misspelled the name of. Hoop dreams screens in a newly restored digital master.
Vibrant color and rich textures abound in hoop dreams, a stylish embroidery guide for the modern maker. The documentary shows the human sacrifices made by black american athletes trying. How would you feel if you had to change schools in the middle of the year. I too would highly recommend hoop dreams to anyone who hasnt seen it. Twenty years after the landmark documentary was cruelly snubbed at the oscars, we take a look at where the principals are today. Hoop dreams 1994 has the form of a sports documentary, but along the way it becomes a revealing and heartbreaking story about life in america. A system that also utterly fails to prepare them for life after basketball. 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. No videos, backdrops or posters have been added to life after hoop dreams. Mary thomas is a single mother with nine children in a rough chicago neighborhood. Hoop dreams criterion collection digital theater system. This film illustrates the impact of class, differential opportunities, gender and race.
Personal response arthur was forced to change schools but was happy that he was still able to play basketball. Both of them are invited to a private school after being recruited after playing in different parks. Life after hoop dreams 2015 the movie database tmdb. Catherine allan, executive producer for twin cities public. I didnt have an idea for a doc, and our agent was getting us. Jeremiah goodwin whitaker expository writing 101915. Life after hoop dreams video 2015 documentary short. Arthur and william are two teenage african american teenagers chasing the basketball dream. Lives forever changed the costars of hoop dreams didnt make it to the nba, but thats no tragedy. You really get a feel for what life was like for agee and gates growing up in the situation they did, how they felt people pulling them in different directions, and how difficult it is at that age to make some of the decisions they had to make. Hoop dreams will close the new york film festival on sunday night at 8, the first documentary ever to do so. It is a real life story which focuses on the lives of two children who play basketball and dream of becoming nba players. In the 1970s, ronald reagan coined the term welfare queen to describe a con.
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