
Hoop Dreams
1994, Documentary/Drama, 2h 54m
60 Reviews 10,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
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 school hoops as a jumping-off point to explore issues of race, class, and education in modern America. Read critic reviews
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Critic Reviews for Hoop Dreams
All Critics (60) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (59) | Rotten (1)
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At once a rigorous exploration of the sports-educational industrial complex and an intimate piece of portraiture...
March 27, 2020 | Full Review… -
The film is rich in backstage tension, from Agee's bad grades to Gates's knee injuries, while the glaring social inequality is reflected in the violent fathers and criminal friends who populate the outskirts of the tale.
October 28, 2019 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review… -
Perhaps James's biggest achievement is his unshowy emphasis on the poetry of basketball itself: the jump shot, the slam-dunk, ecstatic physical expressions of pure transcendental success.
October 25, 2019 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review… -
Utterly, heartbreakingly lucid.
April 10, 2018 | Full Review… -
Quote not available.
September 7, 2011 | Rating: A | Full Review… -
It's about three hours long. But it moves like Isiah, fast and smooth, and it's over in a heartbreak.
August 3, 2008 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Hoop Dreams
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Apr 15, 2016Hampered by being too long and not focused enough.Marcus W Super Reviewer
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Jul 16, 2014Hoop Dreams doesn't treat its documentary material like a traditional documentary would. Though they're there, the interview sound bites aren't excessive, and the film doesn't bother overloading the audience with facts and statistics. Rather, Hoop Dreams presents its subject in the most real way possible, following these people and letting us see their struggle to get a strong sense of who they are. This leads to Hoop Dreams not only being one of the most absorbing documentaries ever produced, but also one of the most absorbing films period for its ability to make you care for the subject manner and people in a way that even most fictional films fail to do.Joey T Super Reviewer
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Feb 27, 2013Hoop Dreams is sprawling, ambitious and surprisingly engaging, managing to endear its central subjects to the viewer in a way that's rare to see in documentary cinema, though its daunting length leads it to occasionally feel over-saturated.Isaac H Super Reviewer
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Jun 24, 2012Two Chicago-area teens undergo a myriad of struggles as they hope to one day play in the NBA. I remember when this film came out and Siskel and Ebert almost creamed themselves over it and had a collective apoplectic fit when it wasn't nominated for Best Documentary. Conflating themes of race, poverty, urban violence, parenting, education, and the illusory American Dream, <i>Hoop Dreams</I> offers a lot to chew on, making it understandable that professional critics would find it so riveting. I agree that it is an extraordinary film that has a profound and wide scope (though I wouldn't go so far as Hal Hinson who calls it "The most powerful movie about sports ever made"). And though Gates and Agee are occasionally unlikable, they are interesting, flawed and human in readily identifiable ways. The one thing I didn't like was the "degree of embeddedness." It seemed like the documentarians checked in on their subject regularly, and thus we don't get to see some of the profound changes like the birth of Gates's kid or the histrionics of Agee's father. Overall, even though nothing could live up to the hype that originally surrounded this film, <i>Hoop Dreams</i> is a profound portrait of American life and our pursuit of happiness, which often gets confused with the pursuit of money and fame.Jim H Super Reviewer
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