| Hoop Dreams - Criterion Collection | 
 enlarge | Studio: Criterion
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $17.49
You Save: $12.46 (42%)
New (51) Used (17) Collectible (1) from $13.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  64 reviews
Sales Rank: 12316
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 170
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0 x 0
MPN: TM2540
ISBN: 1559409584
UPC: 715515016025
EAN: 9781559409582
ASIN: B0007WFYBG
Theatrical Release Date: October 14, 1994
Release Date: May 10, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Factory Sealed DVD w/ Free 1st Class Upgrade
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| Features:
| • | Classic DVD | | • | Exclusive interviews, highlights, and behind the scenes coverage | | • | DVD's main menu allow you to jump directly to the action | | • | Presented in full-screen digital video |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Two ordinary inner-city kids dare to dream the impossible - professional basketball glory - in this epic chronicle of hope and faith. Filmed over a five-year 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 Criterion Collection is proud to present this landmark documentary chronicling two remarkable families who challenge the American dream.
Amazon.com essential video
This completely absorbing three-hour documentary follows the lives of two inner-city African American teenage basketball prodigies as they move through high school with long-shot dreams of the NBA, superstardom, and an escape from the ghetto. Taking cues from such works as Michael Apted's 35 Up, director Steve James and associates shot more than 250 hours of footage, spanning more than six years, and their completed work actually moves like an edge-of-the-seat drama, so brimming with tension, plot twists, successes, and tragedies that its length--170 minutes--is never an issue. Yet, what makes the film more impressive is how James moves his scope beyond a competitive sports drama (although the movie has plenty of terrific, nail-biting basketball footage) and addresses complex social issues, creating a scathing social commentary about class privilege and racial division. The film opens by introducing William Gates and Arthur Agee, two Chicago hopefuls, as they are being courted and recruited by various high schools to play ball, and continues until the pair are college freshmen. James allows the audience the experience of not only watching their journeys and daily routines (it's a sobering portrait of inner-city life), but also witnessing their maturation. Each takes a separate path along the way, stumbling over several obstacles (William suffers injuries, Arthur fails to meet his coach's high expectations); but James takes particular care to stress the importance and strong commitment of each character's family along the way, giving the film a essential center. The parents and siblings emerge with as much depth and complexity as the two main "characters," and turn Hoop Dreams into an unforgettable film experience. --Dave McCoy
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| Customer Reviews: Read 59 more reviews...
 Great! November 30, 2008
The movie bullets the book, it is just like the book.
Its a 3 hour long documentary about 2 teen african american having the hoop dreams and going to St Josef, and eventually one gets kicked out of the private school because of financial problems and goes to public school,and the other kid gets injured big time, but that doesn't stop these african american kids from having their hoop dreams, eventually they make it to college on a scholarship off of basketball, but they really didn't make it into the NBA.
It guides you through their school years fresh-senior, and tackles what every other normal teens go through.
 A True Life Rocky Story and A Steal of a Price for Criterion. June 25, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Hoop Dreams is an amazing film. Not only is it the best documentary of all time but one of the greatest movies of all time.
I was amazed at how director Steve James was able to get this on film so perfectly. The story follows two inner city kids, Arthur Agee and William Gates, and their dream of making it to the NBA and out of the ghetto. The doc was filmed over five years we watch these two boys at fourteen grow to be young men and the ups and downs they go through. Viewers also get a look into the life of how kids are scouted and the harsh realities that go along with it but ultimately it's an uplifting story about overcoming your struggles and preserving.
The doc is so natural that at many points I forgot it was a documentary and I was watching a movie based on a true story. Basketball was a part of my life growing up, playing on courts all around Mass, that and a love for film I was certain I'd like Hoop Dreams. Also reading over the years the high praise it received at times once you finally see a movie it could be a let down because your expectations were so high. What I found was the film exceeded any expectations I had and was so much more then just being about basketball.
You don't watch a movie like Hoop Dreams you experience it. And it gets the best treatment dvds can get by Criterion, you can't go wrong. I give Hoop Dreams the highest possible recommendation.
Alumni Buy This May 11, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Alumni of St. Joseph High School will like this because it shows the inside of the school and their teachers from the 80's.
Great product. Great delivery time January 18, 2008
This was a great product. The timing of the delivery was great as well. A +
The Best Documentary of All-Time December 17, 2007
Hoop Dreams is probably the most engrossing documentary ever made. It covers two young kids with unrealistic dreams that they will be the next Michael Jordan, or Isiah Thomas, their idols. Both can play, and play very well at that. However, being from poor families and growing up in a dangerous neighborhood, their only chances of realizing their dream is to play high school basketball out of the area. This documentary shows their lives at home, their lives at school and most of all their lives on the court. The trials and tribulations they go through to just play basketball at a place that warrants their skills is amazing. This is a must see film, I don't think it would be possible not to be intrigued by it. This product is the best documentary of any generation.
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