Hoop Dreams

Groundbreaking documentary follows five years in the lives of two promising high school basketball players from Chicago.

"...Directed by: Steve James. Hoop Dreams is an amazing documentary, nearly three hours long,..."

Dec. 23, 1994 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

On the Line, Two Shots

The Texas Documentary Tour revisits Steve James' 'Hoop Dreams'

"...Halfway through the seven-year making of Hoop Dreams, director Steve James, as all doc-makers must, was..."

April 7, 2006 Screens Feature by Anne S. Lewis

The Interrupters

The Hoop Dreams filmmaker, Steve James, has a new documentary about a group working to halt crime in Chicago.

"...(and an Oscar nomination for his breakthrough 1994 doc, Hoop Dreams) to merit multiple mantelpieces, tackles Chicago's soaring crime..."

Sept. 30, 2011 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Life Itself

The life of Roger Ebert is celebrated in this documentary by the director of Hoop Dreams.

"...This deeply loving documentary by the gifted Steve James (Hoop Dreams), evokes the man, husband, friend, critic, TV celebrity,..."

July 11, 2014 Movie Review by Louis Black

The War Tapes

As raw and disturbing as it is wry and satirical, this film gives voice to U.S. National Guard soldiers in Iraq.

"...focus to three men, Scranton (along with producer/editor and Hoop Dreams director Steve James) carved a 97-minute film out..."

Sept. 22, 2006 Movie Review by Toddy Burton

On the Ropes

"...of an increasingly perilous 'hood. Similar to the much-revered Hoop Dreams, which focused on B-ball as a ghetto escape..."

Oct. 8, 1999 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Soul in the Hole

"...about in 30 years. With an approach similar to Hoop Dreams, Danielle Gardener's documentary Soul in the Hole portrays..."

Nov. 21, 1997 Movie Review by Russell Smith

Prefontaine

"...director and producers responsible for the highly acclaimed documentary Hoop Dreams, then you may enjoy the film even more..."

Jan. 31, 1997 Movie Review by Alison Macor

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision

Oscar-winning documentary about the famed artist.

"...an award that was overshadowed by the omission of Hoop Dreams from the group of five documentary nominees. Unfortunately,..."

March 22, 1996 Movie Review by Alison Macor

Martha & Ethel

"...Ettinger. With the arrival of last year's celebrated documentary Hoop Dreams the cinematic climate seems ripe for more nonfiction..."

April 28, 1995 Movie Review by Alison Macor

He Got Game

"...director most capable of delivering Hollywood's first truly great hoop drama squares up at the three-point line and takes..."

May 1, 1998 Movie Review by Russell Smith

Scanlines

Above the Rim

"...Above the Rim is the Hoop Dreams story -- star basketball player from the inner..."

June 4, 1999 Screens Feature

Scanlines

"...Hoop Dreams D. Steve James (1994)..."

Dec. 11, 1998 Screens Feature

Documentary GameChangers Will Change How You Look at E-Sports

Producer Peter Billingsley on high-stakes professional videogaming

"...Peter Billingsley, producer of GameChangers: Dreams of Blizzcon, has a very simple theory. "They just..."

June 19, 2018 Screens Post by Richard Whittaker

DVDs

What begins as a film following two junior high basketball phenoms with aspirations for the NBA becomes, over five years of filming, 'Hoop Dreams,' the classic depicting the collision of the American dream and the reality of life on the streets of Chicago

"...Hoop Dreams..."

May 27, 2005 Screens Feature by James Renovitch

Air Bud

"...down to its essence with a movie about a hoopster who's a dog in fact as well as name...."

Aug. 1, 1997 Movie Review by Russell Smith

Enchanted

Romance, dry satire, and musical comedy blend in this new Disney film, which stars a delightful Amy Adams.

"...an innocent forest-dwelling babe who sings with animals and dreams of finding her true love. Enter Prince Edward (Marsden)...."

Nov. 23, 2007 Movie Review by Toddy Burton

Five Slices of Life at AFS Doc Days

Memory, subjectivity, and nudism all under the truest of lenses

"...to the subjects of famous, even landmark, documentaries like Hoop Dreams, The Staircase, Capturing the Friedmans, and The Wolfpack..."

May 25, 2023 Screens Post by Richard Whittaker

Looking at the Big Picture

Paramount Summer Classic Film Series goes large

"...Hoop Dreams..."

May 20, 2016 Screens Feature by Kahron Spearman

SXSW Film

Daily reviews and interviews

"...James (Stevie, Hoop Dreams) goes back to his hometown of Hampton, Va.,..."

March 19, 2010 Screens Feature by Anne S. Lewis

More Than a Game

Before joining the NBA, LeBron James was a high school star who climbed the heights with a core of teammates, all of whom are documented here.

"...the depth of another study of high school ball, Hoop Dreams, and tends toward repetition, but, in the end,..."

Oct. 23, 2009 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Believe in Me

Despite all its clichéd moralizing and blatant borrowings, the movie does offer a few clever twists on an old sports-movie formula.

"...(Bend It Like Beckham is better than Rudy? No Hoop Dreams?), but it's a testament to just how worthy..."

March 9, 2007 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Xs and Os

Ward Serrill on 'The Heart of the Game'

"...just to get it out of the way, considers Hoop Dreams brilliant and influential, but a "much different doc,..."

July 7, 2006 Screens Feature by Shawn Badgley

Reel Paradise

This documentary shows what happens when famed producer’s rep/author/gadabout John Pierson convinces his family to move with him to Fiji, where, if all goes according to plan, he can leave behind the indie-film rat race, immerse himself in a completely foreign culture, and, best of all, screen all sorts of movies for the natives.

"...that nabs the biggest laughs.) Documentary director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Stevie) is an old associate of the Piersons..."

Sept. 30, 2005 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Above the Rim

"...b-ball films. With the recent Blue Chips, the forthcoming Hoop Dreams, and this debut from Jeff Pollack, Hollywood seems..."

April 1, 1994 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Immaculate Film

Musicalia at the SXSW Film Festival

"...in which case you should stick to the metal.Accordion DreamsVideo, 57 min., 2000..."

March 9, 2001 Music Feature by Michael Bertin

Behind the Wheel With Deezie Brown

After five years of fine-tuning, the perfectionist producer and rapper rolls out 5th Wheel Fairytale

"...the Bastrop artist's total commitment to his own humongous dreams, had to be ditched for the pursuit of art..."

Aug. 26, 2022 Music Feature by Julian Towers

Page Two

SXSW 2005 looms on the horizon

"...Reel Paradise (Documentary, directed by Steve James): Hoop Dreams filmmaker captures indie legend John Pierson and his..."

Feb. 11, 2005 Column by Louis Black

Do or Do Not

SXSW sports docs follow heroes' journey

"...says. "It's inspiring to other young women with bold dreams – that girls can be tough and gritty and..."

March 15, 2013 Screens Feature by Joe O'Connell

A Full Dance Card

Back in Austin after eight days in the land of mountains and Mormons at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, it's hard to distill the experience into any one verity. The combination of dozens of movies and the oxygen-poor altitude create memories that seem more impressionistic than precise.

"...held on to their scrappy "everything for their art" dreams. (Meanwhile, journalists found themselves more and more in the..."

Feb. 4, 2005 Screens Feature by Marjorie Baumgarten

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