Review of Hoop Dreams (1994) by Alexander R — 25 Mar 2007

Hoop Dreams was nominated for precisely one Oscar. Best Editing. It's one of AMPAS' great all time oversights not to nominate this masterpiece for the Documentary Feature award.

Shot over five years the film follows two young black men (William Gates and Arthur Agee) throughout their high school basketball careers as they dream of going to college and then on to the NBA. The filmmakers don't just concentrate on Gates and Agee, they turn the focus on their often troubled family lives, their failures as well as their successes both on and off court. From 300 hours of footage Director Steve James has carved out a riveting three hour film. He's very fortunate with his subjects, Gates is particularly engaging but it's Agee whose story is most compelling as he experiences so many ups and downs but you like both of them, you want them to succeed. The basketball sequences are brilliantly exciting and spread throughout the film at regular intervals at just the right times to remind you what this film is really about. Hoop Dreams is an outstanding documentray, one that should be seen whether or not you're interested in basketball or not.