A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 23 wins & 9 nominations total
Marlyn Hopewell
- Self - High School Guidance Counselor
- (as Sister Marlyn Hopewell)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Roger Ebert, after the film failed to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary, he and Gene Siskel learned about the nominating process. He said that members of the Academy's documentary committee held flashlights when they watched documentaries, and anyone who had "given up" could wave it against the screen. The movie was turned off if a majority waved their flashlights. This film was turned off after 15 minutes.
- Quotes
William Gates: That's why when somebody say, "when you get to the NBA, don't forget about me", and that stuff. Well, I should've said to them, "if I don't make it, don't you forget about me."
- Crazy creditsThanks to the St. Joseph High School community and Coach Gene Pingatore who agreed to participate in a not for profit Kartemquin Educational film telling William and Arthur's stories. Today, St. Joseph, with a 39% minority enrollment, remains committed to the dream of a better life for all. Awarding need based financial aid to 40% of its students, St. Joseph with limited resources continues to maintain its academic excellence. A Hoop Dreams Fund has been set up to provide academic scholarships.
- SoundtracksIn This Very Room
Words & Music by Ron & Carol Harris
© 1979 Ron Harris Music (ASCAP)
All Rights Reserved.
All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.
Featured review
Documentary film-making at its best
It runs for three hours but it feels much less, such is the power that this documentary holds. Absorbing, you get sucked in and the film has this grip on you.
If Reality TV is your thing, I'd seriously give this film a go, then you can stop watching Reality TV and start to recognise, understand and prioritise real-world situations that actually matter, like racism, poverty, drug abuse, peer pressure and well, dreams.
You'll fall in love with the characters, and there's even a bad-guy for us to boo. You can sometimes question the manipulative techniques on display, but the film is actually not as guilty as some, the makers have a genuine affection for their subjects and do as much as they can within the rules of documentary to help them out without compromising their objectivity.
Be that as it may, this film should be compulsory viewing for many younger audiences, as it shows you exactly how real life differs from the garbage that passes for representation of youth on TV and in film today.
I really can't say enough about the need for more films like this, the fact that the Academy Awards were changed because of the strength of this film goes some way to showing you exactly how powerful it is.
If Reality TV is your thing, I'd seriously give this film a go, then you can stop watching Reality TV and start to recognise, understand and prioritise real-world situations that actually matter, like racism, poverty, drug abuse, peer pressure and well, dreams.
You'll fall in love with the characters, and there's even a bad-guy for us to boo. You can sometimes question the manipulative techniques on display, but the film is actually not as guilty as some, the makers have a genuine affection for their subjects and do as much as they can within the rules of documentary to help them out without compromising their objectivity.
Be that as it may, this film should be compulsory viewing for many younger audiences, as it shows you exactly how real life differs from the garbage that passes for representation of youth on TV and in film today.
I really can't say enough about the need for more films like this, the fact that the Academy Awards were changed because of the strength of this film goes some way to showing you exactly how powerful it is.
helpful•599
- ill_behavior
- Nov 30, 2004
- How long is Hoop Dreams?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $700,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $7,830,611
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $18,396
- Oct 16, 1994
- Gross worldwide
- $11,830,611
- Runtime2 hours 50 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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