| Collector's Corner June 2005
 Hoop
DreamsStarring: William Gates,
Arthur Agee, Sheila Agee, Emma Gates, Curtis Gates,
Arthur Agee Sr., Gene Pingatore, Isaiah Thomas
Directed by: Steve James
Theatrical release: 1994
DVD release: 2005
Video: Fullscreen
Sound: Dolby Digital stereo
Released by: The Criterion Collection
In 1994, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert
made a bold move. After screening what both considered to be the most powerful documentary
they had ever seen, they decided to go public and give it a rave review on their weekly
television program. Very few other people had seen the film, and there was the potential
that very few ever would. That’s why Siskel and Ebert kicked into action. You see,
until their two thumbs went sky high, Hoop Dreams had no distributor.
Shortly after, Hoop Dreams won the Audience Award
for Best Film at the Sundance Festival. It then became the first documentary ever chosen
for the high-status closing slot at the New York Film Festival. The Toronto Film Festival
gave it an award. Suddenly, critics everywhere began to praise the film’s poignant
power. Hoop Dreams ended up on more than 100 Top Ten lists for 1994, including
being picked by both Siskel and Ebert as the Best Film of the Year. Ebert went on to pick
it as the Best Film of the Decade and the Best Documentary of All Time.
The story follows the lives of two young African-Americans,
Arthur Agee and William Gates, who come from the poorest parts of Chicago. When a scout
from St. Joseph’s, a wealthy local private school, discovers the eighth-grade boys
playing basketball, the machinery is set in motion to get them scholarships. These
scholarships are ostensibly intended to help underprivileged kids, but in reality,
they’re used to get the boys placed on Chicago’s most successful private-school
basketball team.
Both William and Arthur dream of someday playing in the
NBA. Their hoop dreams include fabulous wealth, instant acclaim, and the kind of name
recognition received by Isaiah Thomas, a St. Joseph’s alumnus. Never mind the fact
that, of the 500,000 kids who play high school basketball each year, only 25 make it to
the NBA -- Arthur and William are willing to put in the effort. We watch them make the
hour-long trek to school each day, where their poverty is instantly obvious to the other
students. Even worse, their previous schools had done them little good: both are dismal
students.
The differences between the two soon become apparent.
William is the golden boy, whose game and grades flourish. Arthur struggles with both and,
in a cruel piece of real life drama, we see how brutal and pitiless a school can be when
it decides the time has come to dispose of its mistakes. In a scene involving
Arthur’s transcript, the unfairness and injustice are so gross that they cast a
shadow over the viewer’s heart deeper than any fictional drama. (St. Joseph’s
and its coach didn’t like the bright light shone on their faux pas; both
unsuccessfully sued the filmmakers to keep the film from being distributed.)
Hoop Dreams isn’t just the story of the two
boys. Their parents have moments of both celebration and tribulation. As William’s
grades go up and his game improves, everyone celebrates -- until an injury changes
everything. For Arthur, it’s one setback after another as his parents face the
problem of paying the 10% of the tuition required. At one point, his mother looks into the
camera and says, "I bet you’re wondering how I manage to live on $265 a month,
aren’t you?" It’s a heartrending moment, yet both Arthur and his mother
show a resilience that is truly courageous.
Filmmakers Steve James, Frederick Marx, and Peter Gilbert
had originally set out to make a 30-minute PBS project, but found the story so compelling
that they let it swell to 171 minutes. With more than 250 hours of videotape shot over six
years, there was no lack of dramatic footage. Their biggest problem was how to get the
film in front of people. Thank Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. After their rave review,
nothing could stop Hoop Dreams from being distributed. Everyone who saw it was
gripped by this emotional juggernaut, and word got around.
Hoop Dreams went on to become one of the most
successful films of the 1990s -- at least with viewers and critics. It made more Top Ten
lists than any other film of 1994, including Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction,
and went on to become the top-grossing documentary of all time. Somehow, the Academy
overlooked the film at Oscar time. When the nominations were announced, there was an
uproar among movie lovers that could be heard all the way to Hollywood and Vine. When Entertainment
Weekly, not normally a hothouse of investigative journalism, checked into what had
happened, reporter Alan Adelson found that several Academy bigwigs hadn’t even wanted
to see Hoop Dreams on the ballot. Knowing it would automatically win, they had
conspired to keep it off the list altogether. After the story came out, a hue and cry went
up from critics and fans, many of whom demanded the Oscar be withdrawn from the winning
documentary, Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision. Though no Academy recognition was
ever given to Hoop Dreams, the Entertainment Weekly story forced the Academy
to put things right by restricting the voting for Best Documentary to documentary
filmmakers.
Once again, The Criterion Collection has spent their money
to give us the very best possible release of an important film. The picture is clear and
clean, with gorgeous color renditions that probably won’t be bettered until a
high-definition version comes along. Sonically, everything is pure, and Ben Sidran’s
score has a surprising amount of bass. The extras are fascinating, especially the five
different segments with Siskel and Ebert, along with a short discussion between Ebert and
Martin Scorsese. All are cogent and penetrating reviews well worth watching. There are
also two full-length commentaries, one by the filmmakers, and one recently recorded by
William and Arthur. A music video and trailers round out the video offerings, but things
don’t stop there. Inside is a 40-page booklet with several first-rate essays and a
chapter catching us up on William’s and Arthur’s lives since the cameras stopped
rolling.
Full disclosure: I love basketball above any other sport,
which makes Hoop Dreams all the more interesting to me, although to say that the
film is about basketball is like saying Moby-Dick is about a whale. I, too, was
offered a scholarship at a private school that needed some athletic help, in this case for
their football team. I played the game, lettered, ranked in the top ten students
academically -- and lost my scholarship. The head football coach told me it was because I
had disappointed him after a particularly tense confrontation with an assistant coach. It
was a good lesson for me about little men with too much power. When I watch Arthur’s
tougher moments with his coach, it brings back a little of my own anger. You probably had
some point in your school or professional life where you felt used and abused, so
hopefully you’ll feel some empathy as well.
I recognize the fact that many people don’t like
documentaries; the idea of slogging through a three-hour film about two inner-city
teenagers playing basketball may be a tough sell. But give this one a try. There is more
drama, joy, and inspiration in Hoop Dreams than in 99% of what you see today. If
you like stories about underdogs breaking through, if you like tear-jerking tragedies, if
you like rapturously happy films, you can find all of them in Hoop Dreams.
...Wes Marshall
wesm@hometheatersound.com |
