Reviewed by Ramona Prioleau

Released in 1994, Steve James’ Hoop Dreams is a landmark of documentary sports cinema. Originally intended to be released as a 30-minute short on the Public Broadcasting Network, Hoop Dreams, which tells the story of two African American high school students and their journey to become professional basketball players, ended up being filmed across 5 years and, by its conclusion, had more than 250 hours of footage in the can. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994, earned the distinction of being only the second documentary film ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Editing (although there was serious controversy over the fact that the film was not nominated for more Oscars).

The film uses high school and extracurricular sports as jumping off point for a deeper exploration of much more serious issues. While technically the film may be about William Gates and Arthur Agee’s attempt to become professional athletes (an attempt that ultimately failed), Hoop Dreams is as much about basketball as it is about race, class, or education.

Hoop Dreams is also a uniquely American movie as well, as it is an honest, unflinching look at the power of forces like privilege and discrimination have in modern American life. Included on almost every year-end best movie list in 1994, it is a unique cinematic experience that sets it apart from comparable films. And for more 25 years, audiences have appreciated it as such.

The manner in which Hoop Dreams dissects the sport-industrial complex is gut-wrenching and real, but somehow the film remains optimistic throughout. In the documentary, audiences should not overlook that even though Hoop Dreams is about so much more than basketball, the visual poetry with which director Steve James shoots and frames the sport itself is stunningly beautiful. Everything—from the jump shot to the dribble to the sweat on the players’ brows—is photographed and presented like a love letter to the sport itself. A lot of the film’s optimism comes from this clear and patient understanding of the game.

James’ and the protagonists’ attentive love for the sport further allows the grander, politically and emotionally-charged portions of Hoop Dreams to shine even brighter. Basketball itself and the films cutting social critique—the two pillars of Hoops Dreams—are never at odds in the film. Instead, the aspects work together and play off one another, making the 1994 film still stand as one of the best, true, sports stories to date. M

October 2019