Every year before the beginning of March Madness, I watch Hoop Dreams. It is the prayer before the meal for me. It helps me to be mindful of a more complete story; that the games and athletes I watch and cheer and celebrate came from somewhere that I can't totally grasp, and that there are many brave people watching the same broadcasts I do who pushed those athletes to compete, and who are full of the same dreams.

Roger,

The article your wrote about our event last is fantastic. Thank you so much for your generosity in attending, and in writing this piece, which I am sure will again bring this film to the attention of many who could benefit from watching it.

If you don't mind, I spotted a couple of mistakes in the version that has gone to press. In paragraph 11, last sentence, William Gates is described as "a monster", when it should be "a Pastor." Also, in the second to last paragraph, the author is Alex Kotlowitz, not William Kotlowitz. He is the writer/producer of "The Interrupters" with Steve James who is producer/director.

Once again, thank you for championing Hoop Dreams and Kartemquin throughout the years!

Tim Horsburgh
Kartemquin Films

Ebert: "Monster" is the fault of my spell-checker, and was corrected once, and now again. He is anything but!

William is now Alex. How did I do that? At least I got the title of his fine book right.

What a meaningful evening. Congratulations.

Wow, has it really be 15 years? Can William and Arthur really be almost 40 years old?

Thanks so much for the update, Roger. This is such a great film that over the years, I've occasionally wondered what they are up to and if they are doing OK. I even remembered their names after all these years. Thanks for the update.

I would recommend The Wire to anyone who loved Hoop Dreams. They both provide glimpses to inner city problems that you can't get from the suburbs or smaller cities.

Roger, What's the high-school coach up to these days? I know he was just another cog in the exploitation machine, but I found him absolute villainous.

Ebert: Still turning out winning teams.

http://www.ibcaillinois.org/node/183

Excellent retrospective on an outstanding film, that touched me deeply as well. I wrote about the film in a "Films U Missed" column several months back. I have a link to it here for those that are interested.

http://thefilmnest.com/2009/05/films-u-missed-hoop-dreams/

Thank you for sharing your insight into the film.

The Rake
http://thefilmnest.com

I remember watching and enjoying Hoop Dreams when it came out, right when I was graduating high school. Your article also reminded me of documentarian Frederick Wiseman; I'm curious what you think of his films.

Hoop Dreams remains the best documentary I've ever seen, let alone sports movie. Thanks for posting an update on everybody involved.

If anybodys interested in the same themes Hoop Dreams touches on, I'd strongly recommend Darcy Frey's The Last Shot, a great book about life in the ghetto and basketball as an escape. You'll never look at Coney Island the same way ever again.

One of the incredible things about "Hoop Dreams" is how many unbelievably powerful moments that it captures. That is one of the most engaging things about documentaries: the ability to be in the right place at the right time. I wonder what kind of cosmic forces aligned to allow them to capture everything that they did. During the entire film, I can really only remember one time when something significant happened that wasn't captured directly on celluloid: when one of the boys is mugged. We see the after shocks of the events, but we didn't actually SEE them.

Most great documentaries are the product of chance and good luck. How powerful would "Harlan County, USA" had been if they didn't capture all of the gun-thugs and the attempted murder on camera? That's not to say that skill isn't involved. Steve James produced a true miracle out of all his footage. It is just that I am always enamored at how much was actually captured by the cameras in this movie.

I guess truth is stranger than fiction. Well, at least if you manage to see or record the right parts.

As soon as I got done watching Hoop Dreams about two years ago, I instantly got on the computer and looked up anything I could find about these wonderful people. I was heartbroken to find out that William's older brother and Arthur's dad were murdered. Their deaths add a tragic poignancy to the uplifting quality of the story. Life must go on after the credits rolled for all of these wonderful people, and that adds to the beauty of the film.

This movie still captures the fleeting magic of life and its ability to inspire us. I am happy to see you put the iconic picture of Arthur cheering over his fellow teammates shoulders. I remember my own arms wanting to instinctually flail up, for that moment seemed so unexpected, so miraculous in its design. There seems to be artform taking place in real life, and it's so stunning to witness. I have encouraged my father, who is a wrestling coach and a high school teacher, to show this movie to his students, for I think it is sadly misrepresented to American youth. If ever there was a grown-up story that can still resonate powerfully with kids, this is it.

I look back at 1994 and all the films that came out, and I am in awe. Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, and Heavenly Creatures? And yet, Arthur and William's stories still resonates.

I finally saw Hoop Dreams this year. And it really was as wonderful and riveting as I'd heard. The world is a better place for this movie being made.

Thanks Roger for all that you have done writing about and promoting this movie. I've seen it countless times now and it still moves me like no film i've ever seen. I struggle to get college friends interested in this film up here in "progressive" minded Madison, WI despite the serious themes and events in the movie. What's the best way to recommend this movie to a friend? Did you see Nathan Rabin's "Better Late than Never Review" of the film in the The Onion's AV Club the other day as well. What did you think? I hold Nathan's reviews in high esteem so I was relieved to see him receive the film in a similar manner as I do.

I second the post above promoting The Wire. I think its acclaimed by now by almost all those that have seen it as one of the greatest shows in the history of dramtic television. Like Steve James, Wire creator David Simon has an understanding and interest in the lives of those living in the rotting inner cities of America. Also, I would have loved to hear Alex Kotlowitz talk. His books and LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman's Our America are excellent companions to Hoop Dreams.

Thanks Roger for your dedication, tireless work exthic, tremendous enthusiasm throuhout the years. Loved the post.

I only learned about this movie a couple of years ago when I read about it in your book "Great Movies". I was only 7 when it came out in 1994 so I suppose it is natural that I wouldn't have heard about it at the time. Anyway, in my small little town there was one copy to rent (which I found) and I watched it in total silence, as though I were in church or something. It makes me think of Godard's comment about Au Hasard Balthazar being "the world in an hour and a half" (or something to that effect) because Hoop Dreams seems to contain everything you need to know about life. Which makes it, essentially, a perfect film. After all, what more could you possibly ask for?

Ebert: The thought of your renting the film makes me very happy.

What a great American documentary, I envy all the brothers out their who haven't seen it;
I wish I could see it for the first time with you, to witness the price of fame unfold before you and
it's consequence; in the heart of two ambitious and truly passionate basketball players.

************************************************************************************************

Only to those who are a big fan of the great Robert Altman (not the ones who stereotype him as
that filmmaker with an operatic panache; forgetting the genres he mastered, whither its Western;
witnessing the destruction of Innocence beautifully with McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Film Noir with
The Long Goodbye, Biography of Vincent Van Gogh or a Musical like Nashville), Mr. Schickel's
review of the book, behind the look of one of Americas greatest filmmakers is captivating.

This film was the finest non-fiction film I have ever seen. In my junior of college in New York, I took a Sociology class, the name of which was "Social Stratification." The professor had recently come to teach at my college after havint been a sociology professor at the University of Chicago for several years. One day's lecture topic concerned the ease (well, difficulty, actually) with which someone born and raised in a poor neighborhood with a failing infrastructure and school system could eventually "make it" in America (not "become rich," mind you; this professor had the rather quaint notion that wealth does is not necessarily an indicator of "success" or superior morality). The professor had previously shown the class a video presentation or two to enrich our understanding of topics discussed earlier in the class. At the end of Day 1 of the "Make It" lecture, I asked the professor if she had seen "Hoop Dreams." She said, "Of course. Do you have the video?" I did and said, "Yes, would you like to borrow a copy I made from television?" She said, "Sure. I'll give it back as soon as the class finishes watching it by the end of the week." The moment when Sheila receives her degree is the happiest moment I have ever seen in a film.

*************************************************************
On a sadder (hopefully not excessively reductive) note, you mention that the Academy re-wrote its rules for the documentary selection process. As you observed in 2001, though, in your review of "One Day in September," the more things change, the more things stay the same:

"When "One Day in September" won the Academy Award in 2000, its producer, Arthur Cohn, held up the Oscar and boasted, "and I won this without showing it in a single theater!" The documentary community is still angry about that remark. Cohn exhibits his Oscar entries at screenings peopled largely by those on his invitation list and to as few other people as possible. Under the academy bylaws, only those who have seen all five nominated docs can vote, and by limiting those who have seen his, Cohn shrinks the voting pool and improves his odds. Documentary groups and many individual filmmakers have protested this Oscar to the academy."

The people on the documentary committee were not the only ones angered by that remark, and (please correct me if I am wrong), the Academy still requires that to be eligible to vote for Best Documentary, one must have viewed all five documentaries. Regardless of whether the committee members continue to smugly carry around their little flashlights, they still appear to be in the dark.

Ebert: That led to another change in the rules. If only teh features had similar requirements.

Hi Roger,

I'm an Aussie, but this is also one of my favourite docos.

I could be wrong, but wasn't it William, not Arthur, who battled the knee problems? I seem to recall that Arthur got kicked out of St Joseph's because his parents couldn't pay the 50% of the fees not covered by his scholarship. Then the school withheld his academic transcripts, preventing him from graduating at another school, until his parents could pay the fees (bastards!).

Ebert: You're right. Brain cloud. Corrected. That coach came across as a villain.

Loved it then, love it now. I agree that it's the best American doc, and the best example of several kinds of documentary. An immortal movie. I'll never forget Gates's mother looking to one of the filmmakers behind the camera late in the film, asking if he thinks William's going to make it. And her response to his response. Sweetest moment in film.

I rented Hoop Dreams one night around 10 years ago. I had seen your review of the film, and it had been on my list for a long time.

I needed to go to bed, as I had to wake up the next morning to teach some cello lessons. I made the mistake of popping in the film, thinking "I'll just start it and watch a bit until I get sleepy...."

Needless to say, I was quite tired (but inspired!) the next morning.

I can't believe I've never seen Hoop Dreams! Thank you so much for bringing it back to the forefront. Number one in my Netflix queue now.

Keep bringing us back more gems that we might have missed.

I saw this in high school, either 14 or 15 when it came out, after I saw you & Siskel review it on TV. It made a real impression.

Isn't it sad that the cameras allowed in people's lives today create swill like "The Hills" and all these stupid shows? "Hoop Dreams" makes the movies better; and I think it's a rare film that might make you alter the way you live your life.

I have a story that will horrify and shock you. I've seen Hoop Dreams only once, when I was was a teenager. I must have been 15 or 16 years old at the time, so it should have been when I was in sophomore or junior year of high school.

It was playing as part of The Museum of Modern Art's Friday Night at the Movies program for high school students (it's an excellent project of the MoMA's that is still around, look it up) and I had long wanted to see it because of your Great Movies article on it.

Several large groups of African-American and some Latino inner city high school students arrived to watch the film. They must have been taken there by their teachers only because Hoop Dreams was playing because, to the best of my recollection, I never saw them again after that. Not at any other Friday Night screening.

They were one of the worst audiences I've ever seen. Not the worst audience at Hoop Dreams, not the worst audience at a documentary, not even one of the worst audiences at the movies. One of the worst audiences at ANYTHING that I've ever seen. They were bored out of their minds. They couldn't keep still. Have you ever been in a room with 100 or 200 people behaving like they had ants in their pants for two hours? That's what it was like. The vast majority were not even watching the screen. They kept talking throughout the movie. Nonstop.

The single worst moment came when the young boy- Arthur?- who is enrolled at the Catholic school- St.Joseph's?- talks about how uncomfortable and scared at his new school. He says something to the effect of "I'm scared of all these...white people." My audience SCREAMED with laughter. I mean, HOWLS of laughter.

I couldn't wait until the movie was over. I was furious that my first viewing of Hoop Dreams would be spoiled this way.

The gentleman who ran the program for the MoMA, a decent and smart man who was clearly very dedicated to his job and whose name I sadly no longer remember, was DISGUSTED with the teenagers. I saw him when the lights went up and he looked furious and embarrassed and was shaking his head in pure disgust. He addressed himself to them and something to them along the lines of "You guys were unbelievable. I can't believe you did that. Just unbelievable." as they were all streaming out.

I don't mean to sound like a middle class Caucasian liberal here (though that's exactly what I am) but I couldn't believe that an audience of poor black New York City teenagers would behave like that at Hoop Dreams. You'd think this would have been the perfect film for them. Guess not.

Ebert: One at a time, they might not have behaved that way. My guess is: They (1) thought they were expected to learn something, (2) were away from their turf, (3) were insecure, and (4) cuing off of peer pressure from the least secure and most threatened. The movie probably had nothing to do with it.

I am ashamed to say that I have not yet had the privilege of seeing this great movie. If I had only known you had put it at number one for the nineties, Roger...;-)

What I do remember is reading your review of the film when it first came out, the stupidity of the Academy Awards for not even nominating the film, and a kind gesture by the MTV Movie Awards, who recognized the snub and awarded the film a special award (for best new filmmaker--in which there were no other nominees).

After Gandhi not winning a Nobel Peace Prize, Hoop Dreams not even being nominated for an Oscar might be the most famous snub in history. And, like with Gandhi and the Nobel Peace Prize, many people assume that Hoop Dreams won an Oscar for best documentary.

Okay, you've inspired me. Once I get a steady income, I'm subscribing to Netflix and putting Hoop Dreams at the top of my list. Kind of scary to think that I was half my age when the movie came out, along with Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption...

Ebert: The instant streaming option, with one film out at a time, is $8 a month.

And again you force me to see a movie I had little previous interest in. How do you do that?

Have you seen Dreams With Sharp Teeth, the documentary about Harlan Ellison?

The sequel HOOP REALITIES, which features Arthur Agee but not Steve James or William James, was just awful.

Though it may not be the "end-all" praise that Hoop Dreams deserves, I must say this about it's beauty as a film: I don't have much interest in basketball at all (or really any sport, for that matter), and documentaries I can watch but perhaps once if I'm completely enthralled with the subject, but this movie was so wonderfully made, so involving, so... perfect that I would count it as one of the best films ever made.

I borrowed it from a friend based solely on your praise and I was completely absorbed in the experience the entire time. It is truly a wonderful, affirming movie with more genuine drama and affecting characters than most "Hollywood" features, and it is the only documentary that I own.

Roger,

I remember watching Siskel & Ebert some weeks after Hoop Dreams was reviewed. After reviewing the week's new releases Gene concluded the show by saying, "So once again, the movie to see this week is Hoop Dreams."

Gene was right. His comment was true for that week and every other week since Hoop Dreams came out. 15 years later, the movie to see this week is still Hoop Dreams.

I watched "Hoop Dreams" in 2006. I heard about the movie, but it took quite long time to get DVD. In 2004, some Korean DVD company announced DVD release, and I ordered it in advance. Sadly, they canceled the release and I was quite frustrated. After Criterion DVD release in 2005, DVD was also released in South Korea in 2006 minus special features. I bought it, and then bought Criterion DVD in 2007. The latter is for personal DVD collection, and the former is for people around me, especially who cannot read English. I introduced it to my father last year and I also bought DVDs for gift to people close to me when it was on bargain sale.

I visit my middle school in July and December every year since graduation(this year is exception because of my tumultuous personal/public life during this summer and fall), and I have been considering showing "Hoop Dreams" to students. Maybe this year, I will be able to make some arrangement with teachers(some left, but many teachers I have known are still teaching) to show it in classrooms. I'd like to know how these 13-15 years old students think about this great documentary. My plan is still too idealistic(In South Korean middle school, especially on Saturday, 3 hours are luxury), but I believe there is some possibility.

Renowned Korean movie critic/SF novelist Djuna wrote in her short essay for DVD booklet that "Hoop Dreams" meets standards of Great American story. I absolutely agree to that. This is the one of great "This is Life" masterpieces. I heard some people say life is third-rate storyteller, but, as we see in "Hoop Dreams", life can be very superb one and it surely provides many uplifting moments. I have watched the movie three times. I am going to watch it again with friends, or young students, or just for myself(with commentary turned on in that case).

Oh, by the way, I also second two posts above promoting The Wire. I have never been to Baltimore, but this great TV drama is so gritty, visceral, electrifying and real that I believed what I saw was really, or plausibly, happening in the city. This is powerful symphony about political/social mechanism of inner city working. Season 4 was especially memorable and heartbreaking. In the world not far from "Hoop Dreams", there is ascension to the hope for some kids. And then there is also descent into the crime for others.

Ebert: You are an inspiration. I mean that from my heart.

Thanks for being a vocal supporter of Netflix, Roger. I've noticed other critics romanticizing the end of video stores as we know them. The streaming feature of Netflix enabled me to watch Hoop Dreams and On the Ropes back to back, and I know my hometown wouldn't have carried either title at the local video store.

Roger, I saw this film last year before starting medical school. Afterward, I read a comment somewhere that this was the film that God made. I don't find that blasphemous.

Amazing film, and thanks to the awesome laserdisc rental section at the late, great Kaleidoscope Video in OKC, I got to see it the day it was released on home video. I have not, however, seen the Criterion DVD version, which might contain the answer to the question I'm about to ask.

Did the filmmakers follow Sheila around while she went to nursing school, and was the "surprise" graduation ceremony the result of editing for time? I mean, did they have to cut out her story arc to make sure that the two boys' stories got told in detail, so that the only mention of her coursework is when she finishes? Such an amazing counterpoint would seem to be something the filmmakers would want to show.

Not a complaint at all, just simple curiosity. And many thanks to you and Mr. Siskel for bringing this film to my attention early enough and often enough that I could get a locally owned video store to order it for rental just by describing it and your opinions. (Heck, they couldn't order everything on laserdisc, so they sometimes had to make choices based on what they knew would rent well, and a 3 hour documentary isn't necessarily one of those).

I remember seeing "Hoop Dreams" when it played in Tulsa during its theatrical run. At that time, we didn't get many documentaries here in T-town, and the chance to see one, especially one as highly touted as this, made seeing it a priority.

I had to overcome my disinterest in basketball...but guess what...basketball is almost a MacGuffin here. It serves as a catalyst for the story of these two young men and their struggles. I was completely captivated by this film. It remains a favorite of mine.

If I told my wife, "honey, let's watch a 3-hour documentary about two people who want to be professional athletes", I would have lost any capital I'd acquired of suggesting movies for us to watch together.

But instead, I just put it on and let the story tell itself. And she was hooked, for the entire 3 hours. That's the best way for me to summarize its impact.

I suppose you dream big when you don't have too much to wake up to in the morning.

I think, that even though they didn't fulfill their dreams of playing pro in the NBA, it was just enough that they followed their dreams with everything they had, and they became better people for it.

Roger,
I use to work at an "alternative" middle school where kids were sent (some court appointed) when they were expelled from their regular schools. It was what we call a 90-90-90 school: 90% minority, 90% free lunch, 90% below reading level. I showed Hoop Dreams to my students as a first-year teacher there. I remember the groans and looks of boredom when I uttered the word "documentary". I was a little worried at first, not knowing if they could make it through a three hour movie with no special effects or crude humor. However, within the first day, they became totally immersed and, dare I say, even reflective.

These days I work at a "normal" high school (50% minority, 60% free lunch, 60% single parent homes). We have a competitive basketball team and a surplus of young men who believe they will become professional basketball players (though, to my knowledge, our school has never produced one). I run a movie club for the students on Thursdays. After reading this post, and thinking back to the effect it had on my students years ago, I think it's time to give Hoop Dreams another showing. Thanks for this great reminder!

I've apparently watched more films than Rodge (tho' I doubt it)... somewhere around 20,000 by now... and guess what?

I HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN "HOOP DREAMS."

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

(..."I own a cranberry bog.")

("Well, I've been packing them up in little boxes to sell for cranberry shortcake, but they just don't seem to be moving...")

I remember watching the movie 5 years ago for the first time, when I was 19, based solely on your recommendation. You put it on your #1 spot of the best films of the 1990s, above Pulp Fiction. I could not at that time think that a documentary about two young boys playing basketball was better than Pulp. I'm so glad I was wrong. The film was so much more than just basketball. It really touches me, the way Grave of the Fireflies did before, the way Tokyo Story would later. I recommend the film to everyone of my friends whenever I have a chance. And I admit, Hoop Dreams turned me to documentary films the way Seven Samurai inspired me to learn more about Japanese cinema of the 1950s. It's one of my favorite genre ever since, and I seek out to watch at least one documentary film every month. The best film I think Hoop Dreams achieves, is that the filmmaker gets in and lets the events happen, let the story flows as it goes, and what a story it was. After reading your article, I think I'm gonna watch the film once again tonight. And what a great year 1994 was!
Thank you Roger.
Vu Quan, best regards from Hanoi.

Arthur's mom showing off the card that her son had written for her, that smile on her face... Gets me every time. Truly an amazing movie.

NBA'ers would do well to listen to William's words about being accessible to the kids who idolize them.

You could be right, Roger. To the best of my recollection, the talking and the squirming and the other enormously rude and disruptive behaviors seemed to somewhat stop after the first hour and a half or so.

And they were being VERY loud and restless BEFORE the film started, when we were all getting pizza and drinks courtesy of the MOMA and then later sitting in our seats in the screening room waiting for it to start, so it's really no surprise that it simply continued when the film started.

I don't know whether it got better after a while because some of the kids actually got involved in the film and started paying attention to it or if they finally settled down after an hour and a half and started to actually watch it. "Bored and restless" might have turned into "bored and still". Or maybe it was a combination of both.

I meant to say "behaved like they had ants in their pants for three hours" in my previous post.

Boy, that was a mess to have sat through. Three hours of my life that I'll never get back.

Roger, for far longer than either you or I have been alive, people have been talking about the same problems of intractable poverty, crime and despair in the slums. Sorry -- in the "inner city". Is there any sign at all that the basic problems are getting better from one generation to another?

I want to watch "Hoop Dreams" now, but don't know whether it'll be more inspiring or heartbreaking. Doesn't matter, I guess, as long as it's truthful.

Roger, reading your column just now was just as moving as the event was the other night. Sitting up there with William, Arthur, I think Peter and I felt like proud big brothers just to sit and listen to their insights and recollections. One thing we failed to say that night was that you have not just been a great champion of Hoop Dreams, but a great champion of Kartemquin and its many films over the years. We were so honored by your presence.

Ebert: Hi Steve, and congratulations again.

I've been impressed by the comments here from South Korea, Hanoi, Pago Pago and Australia. "Hoop Dreams" is truly universal.

After reading many of the comments I am completely surprised to see that many people still have not seen this great film! I remember seeing your passionate plea about this film on At the Movies and it seemed like it took years before it was released to tape.(being in rural New Mexico there was no way it was coming to a theater) I begged the local video store to order a copy and they did. I was 12 or 13 at the time, a basketball star myself on a young AAU traveling team. Like Mikki Saturn said I sat there for the running duration as if I was in church, after it was over I wept. At 13 this movie had such an impact on me, I teared up just reading your write up here as the memories of that time came rushing back. When the local video store went from video to DVD I bought that tape copy of hoop dreams. It wobbles when it plays and I since have bought the criterion release (which is remarkable) and watch this film at least once a year. In high school we won our state championship but I had no interest in pursuing basketball as a career. I have a son now who plays sports and shows signs of being great, when he gets old enough I will show him Hoop Dreams and hope it makes him realize sports is a small part of life and has very little to do with what makes us great.

I'll have to look for this one in the video store, if they have it. Sounds like a good movie to watch with my sons.

I remember everything about seeing this film for the first time. It was presented at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center as sort of a centerpiece for the festival. The evening was one of those dressy ones with a big dinner at Tavern on the Green afterward.

The juxtaposition of the troubles and grit in the film next to the posh seats and cocktail dresses was overwhelming. The Agee and Gates families were there in center front seats, and it was so difficult not to watch them squirm in their new clothes as the film was shown. I don't think I've ever felt like such a voyeur when watching a film.

Hoop Dreams is the best documentary I have ever seen, and one of my favorite films ever. This is from a non-sports interested, middle aged, upper middle class white female.
I heard about it from you and Gene and watched for it to come out, but it didnt make it to the big screen here. I waited for it on VHS, and was amazed by the story. For me the graduation scene was touching, but the best moment for me is the mother making the birthday cake and taking about her son "lived" to 18, when so many others did not.That is so far from my frame of reference, but as a mother myself I could feel her love and pride.
I am another who has tried to find out how William and Arthur are today, so thanks for the update!
If YOU have never seen Hoop Dreams, see it now!

By Greg Salvatore on November 6, 2009 12:12 AM
.....After Gandhi not winning a Nobel Peace Prize, Hoop Dreams not even being nominated for an Oscar might be the most famous snub in history.

I'm looking forward to see Hoop Dreams but as far as Gandhi is concerned the relevant prize committee snubbed itself, whether he were to have accepted or not in the event of nomination. He don't need no prize to impress his frame to world.

I've never seen the movie, but with the glimpse you've provided I've just inched closer to supporting wealth redistribution. Every person deserves a fair shot.

Let me add to the Thank yous because your support for this movie over the years will help to ensure that it is not forgotten. The NBA looks like such a glamorous lifestyle but we forget that these chosen few are essentially lottery winners, especially those like Allen Iverson who came close to a life in and out of prison. Hearing how many friends Gates and Agee lose is stunning. Between Hope Dreams and The Wire, the ineffable chaos of American ghettos has been revealed.

This movie has a special meaning for me as well. Going to high school in rural Maine, I was on the freestyle ski team at Sunday River. On rainy or exceedingly cold winter days -- days when skiing just wasn't enjoyable -- our coach would put "Hoop Dreams" on the TV.

Those were some of the most memorable afternoons I spent with the team.

And so, I've probably seen "Hoop Dreams" five times over at least. We vaguely understood why Coach Yingling wanted us to see it. Although, being high schoolers, many of us also vaguely thought it was weird to be watching a movie about basketball when we were skiers.

Of course, the more you watch the film, the more you realize that the movie isn't as much about hoops as it is about dreams. Every high school athlete, regardless of discipline, should be made to take an afternoon off so they can watch this film.

I was 9 years old when the movie came out, and didn't really hear about it until a couple years ago, when I decided to rent it. I was obviously moved, but unfortunately, it didn't effect me as much as you. I think it's because by the time I watched it, I'd seen people go through about every single possible human emotion on reality TV, and I became jaded. It's too bad, really.

I'm glad to hear that both men are doing well. I am particularly happy to hear that after William's girlfriend became pregnant, he married her and remains a family man. That's an example that the black community could use more of.

I highly recommend this film which appeared on PBS' Frontline. It's a documentary much like Hoop Dreams that follows a pair of young white kids in an Appalachian school. It's called Country Boys. I found it as compelling as Hoop Dreams. It's on dvd and you can watch it online here: [url]http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/countryboys/[/url]

There's a scene in the documentary where on of the boys asks a girl out on a date, and it's one of the most heartbreaking scenes I've ever seen on film.

"Filmmakers...mentors and role models"

From David Ansen's "Hoop Dreams" review(1994)

"There were times when it was difficult to separate the roles of filmmaker/observer and extended family friend, admits Steve James. "When the Agee's power was shut off, we pulled some money together to restore it." It was one moment when they clearly stepped beyond their roles as documentarians. "We just weren't going to exploit their pain and suffering. THEY say to be great documentary filmmakers you have to be cutthroat and not get involved. But if that's what it takes, then we don't want to be great documentary filmmakers."

The result-they hit the ultimate cinematic daily double-great documentary filmmakers and great human beings.

Hi Roger, this was one of those movies I meant to see for so long. I see it on top 10 lists, in all your books with four stars. Doesn't sound particularly interesting so I never ran out to rent it. Finally about a year ago I got to it and wow! Thanks for getting behind little movies like this. You and Gene helped add legacy to it and so many people have seen this great movie because of you!

Dear Mr. Ebert:

About a decade ago, I graduated from St. Joes, and knew Mr. Pingatore. (He'll always be Mr. Pingatore to me.)

Outside of basketball, he was a decent guy, who treated me pretty well. (He tried to recruit me to keep score as basketball games. Not my cup of Joe.) He was decent to me, but I don't think that general decency makes up for competitive fire which led him to be so amoral in the realm of college basketball.

When it came to basketball, he was something else. I remember hearing his shouts through the floor one game when he was berating his team at halftime in the basement locker room.

The morality of it strikes me as trickier than simply painting Mr. Pingatore as a villain. Yes, the basketball industrial complex is awful- but St. Joes is a way of progressing up it. I can remember Bobby Knight skulking around the parking lot looking for prospects. I don't know- my suspicion is that the problem isn't with schools like St. Joes- which does give kids a good education (just don't fall behind on payments- a friend of mine completed his courses, but couldn't receive his degree till his family paid up.) and more than the hoop dreams are shadows. As silly as it sounds, why are these the dreams the kids have?

I've never been much for documentaries, but this one sounds very, very interesting. I was only two-years-old when it came out, so I'd never even heard of it, but now I'll have to see if I can rent it.

So I don't really have much to say other than thanks for pointing me at this one, I'm excited to see it!

The reason I watched this film was because of you and Gene. I'm very grateful for that. What an amazing film. If I remember correctly you also did an episode of At the Movies about how you felt the film was snubbed by the Academy when it wasn't nominated for an award. I remember thinking what balls you had for doing that but it made me trust your opinion even more. Meaning, if you were willing to go to bat for this doc and call foul then you'd obviously go to bat for other filmmakers who make great art. It was inspiring.

I'm off to buy the Criterion edition now.

--

There are three documentaries that are truly riveting and stand the test of time. "Shoah", "Crumb", and "Hoop Dreams" are the three that my wife and I will still sit and discuss because of the sheer strength of their messages and the quality of their stories. These three are about totally disparate subjects and yet tell a story that we can all immerse ourself in. Keep pushing this Roger because everyone should see "Hoop Dreams". Just a personal aside, I did not like William in the movie, I related more to Arthur. However, I'm glad that William is involved with something that is bringing such a positive to this world.

People forget that though Hoop Dreams was snubbed by the Documentary branch, it was not ignored by the editors, and was in fact nominated for Best Editing.

And since the Hoop Dreams debacle was the big scandal leading up to the Oscars, and the entire Academy gets to vote for Best Editing, naturally the editing award went to ... Forrest Gump.

If you want to argue that comparing the editing of a documentary shot over five years to a dramatic work, fine. But then why didn't Pulp Fiction win?!

Sorry Roger, I guess I'm still worked up about that. Yes, I know it's been almost fifteen years, but that was the year of "Uma ... Oprah", and people still talk about it too.

For Agatha J

I will try to answer you.

Try to imagine that you live a life without possibility. Everything you know and care about will be destroyed randomly until your existence ends similarly. A life where "fair" means nothing and where you can show your pain and fear or man up and show the world an uncaring and tough exterior.

Imagine that you are forced to attend a movie, a movie that will be inspiring and provide a lesson for your life. You attend with many other people like you, both friends and strangers. You watch a movie that is about two kids that are almost like you. They are fearful and hurt and vulnerable. Things that hit very close to home.

And they are only almost like you because you can see that they might make it out. They are on a path that you can hope for but cannot really comprehend.

So, here are your choices. You can sit there, silent and crying in the dark- the butt of everyone else' spain and jokes. Or you can laugh, fidget, and yell a little louder.

Can you imagine watching a movie about someone like you. They know all your pain and fear and hopelessness. Their family lives in chaos and anger and fear. Imagine thinking that the person on the screen was the luckiest bastard you had ever known- because they had a possibility of making it out.

What you saw was horrifying and shocking. You also had the 'luck' of seeing the movie with the texture of the world Arthur and William lived in. Can you imagine the ridicule and uncertainty they suffered when the cameras were not around?

Arthur and William made it out with luck and perseverance- and a talent that no one in the audience had or shared with anyone they cared about. No one would ever make a film about any of them, and they knew it.

Ebert: Thank you.

After my response to Agatha, I was called a "typical liberal." I guess liberals do have a common trait, empathy.

Fans of the film should definitely check out the Criterion edition of Hoop Dreams, which has a director's commentary, and a commentary with Arthur and William.

I absolutely love this movie, I feel so lucky to have seen it in the theater in 1994 when I was 17. For what it's worth, this was one of the great movies I learned about from your show. It was one of the many movies that I probably would not have seen, were it not for the Siskel & Ebert show. Thank you.

I remember this movie very well. I always thought about how effectively it brought me inside these small but crucial moments in people's lives. Later I saw another documentary—We Used To Be Kings—that brought me inside a gigantic, almost world-changing event. In my mind the two movies became companion pieces to each other, almost polar opposites. One was about big dreams in what people tend to think of as small lives, and the other was about small details inside an event so huge it was almost like dream itself. They work great as a double feature (for those that would watch two documentaries back-to back).

Hoop Dreams is one of those movies, like "Passion of Joan of Arc," or "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," that is too painful for me. Not painful because of their content, but painful because of how great they are. I aspire to be a filmmaker, especially, but not limited to, documentaries. I went to SIU Carbondale, Steve James' alma mater, in large part because he went there.

Since then, it's been a lot of failure. My doc can't get screened anywhere, and I just got laid off from my job at a production company. And all the while I am faced with these films that are SO good. I dream of making just ONE memorable film, and I watch films like "Hoop Dreams," and realize how unlikely that is, how pathetic my own efforts are. I realize some just have IT. Some are blessed, and the rest...ignominy, which I suspect is my fate.

Oh, I'd give everything right down to my immortal soul to create something as great as "Hoop Dreams," or "McCabe" or "Passion." I'd give anything.

I've heard you praise this film many times over the last 15 years, Roger. But I've never bothered to see it because it didn't seem "my type" (documentary, basketball, inner city, etc.) of film.

You win. It's in my next order from Amazon.com.

Roger,

I should have known you would come up with some liberal excuse for a bunch of boys acting out in a theater (see Agatha's comments from Nov 5) At least admit they were wrong, and THEN make excuses for them! Manners are manners. The person running the show should have stopped the movie and kicked them out. I'm sure they absolutely ruined the movie for everyone else. But - let's not hurt the boys' feelings.

William Gates and Arthur Agee represent our country well. I've seen many a kid like them from a distance growing up or have known a few and virtually all of them realize very early/are constantly reminded throughout their life that they better get an education and not hold their breath, either by tough love/witnessing much more gifted players) --but it's also a universal story in how indifferent the universe is and how we can somehow still find meaning in spite of that. One of my friends plays college football and had an extremely small role in the movie, "The Comebacks" (the former and latter BOTH not giving him any illusions of its significance, or rather insignificance.)

I have to add my name to the list of people who have been hearing about this movie for ages but have never actually sat down to watch it. As often seems to happen, this blog has forced my hand. Into the queue it goes.

I had forgotten about this movie! its on my list of dvd's to buy.
Thank you Mr. Ebert!!!

"Hoop Dreams" is my favorite movie. When I first saw it, I was 14 years old and hadn't seen many documentaries. I was so amazed by "Hoop Dreams" that after the first two hours, I stopped believing it was a documentary. I thought it was fictional.

You said:

I selected it as the best film of the 1990s. Gene died on Feb. 20, 1999, but if there's one thing I'm sure of...

I've just watched the film [thanks for the link, by the way], and I agree: it's a very good film--better than most; but, I can't agree that this is the best film of the '90s. Best documentary, perhaps [though Lorenzo's Oil refuses to let me make that statement easily]; but for me, the best film would have to be Dark City.

Anyway, in a discussion with Martin Scorsese about the best movies of the '90s, you said:

To me, the greatest value of film is that it helps us break out of our boxes of time and space, and empathize with other people -- it lets us walk in someone else's shoes. Hoop Dreams, made by Steve James, Frederick Marx and Peter Gilbert, gave me that gift.

See, I agree with you regarding a film's greatest value, but I disagree with that excerpted quote's implication [and correct me if I'm wrong] that Hoop Dreams accomplished this more than other films of the decade. I wonder, do you still agree with your placing this film above all others of the '90s?

And since I mentioned the movie earlier in this post... do you think you could make a blog entry devoted to Dark City? Considering the readership of your blog, I think it would spark some very worthwhile discussions.

Roger, I must say that I am a bit ashamed that I still haven't seen this film. I was a small child when this documentary was released and have memories of you and Gene profusely recommending it. I look forward to the screening at IFC...I am sure that it will be a wonderful experience.
Thank you for another captivating entry!

I would have only been zero years old when this documentary came out, but now I'll make an effort to see.

This blog post also confirms my theory that black people like basketball.

Thank you for giving this film the recognition it deserves, Mr. Ebert. This doc is such a courageous and moving film, which as you noted was overlooked at the Oscars, and I still feel is overlooked by many simply because of it's subject matter. I'm not saying anything new here, but I'd wish that anyone could watch this film and empathize with Arthur and William. Few films tell us like Hoop Dreams that there is truly beauty everywhere.

Ebert: The instant streaming option, with one film out at a time, is $8 a month.

Not necessary :-) One of the people I'm staying with got so interested in the film after I told him what I had read here that he loaded it onto his XBox 360 using the Instant Queue option on Netflix (he's a member). We'll be watching it tomorrow (Saturday). I'll be sure and leave another comment once I've seen it!

S M Rana on November 6, 2009 10:53 AM wrote:
I'm looking forward to see Hoop Dreams but as far as Gandhi is concerned the relevant prize committee snubbed itself, whether he were to have accepted or not in the event of nomination. He don't need no prize to impress his frame to world.

I agree, and neither did Hoop Dreams need an Oscar to prove how great it was. Both committees snubbed themselves, though I would argue, the Nobel Committee much more than the Oscar committee. Then again, I might change my opinion after watching Hoop Dreams. ;-)

Hoop Dreams played on PBS after its release, with an additional reunion segment. I wish they would release that, as well as any taped footage from the 15th anniversary showing, on dvd in a special features section.

I wrote corny movie reviews when I was 17. Somewhere on my blog you can find one for "Hoop Dreams." It wasn't really a review of the film, but a thank you to the one theater that showed it in Albuquerque.

I've seen it three times and what's amazing is how the director earned the trust of his subjects by loving them.

I want to remind New York readers that they can see HOOP DREAMS on the big screen on Mon, Nov 9 with filmmaker Peter Gilbert in attendance. It's part of my weekly documentary series Stranger Than Fiction at the IFC Center.

This season of Stranger Than Fiction contains many more treats including sneak previews of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS and HOW TO FOLD A FLAG, two docs that I recently programmed the Toronto International Film Festival.

Roger, you really foster an amazing dialogue on this blog. Keep up the great work!

Ebert: I tweeted this event, and hope it helps. Also mentioned at the bottom of the entry.

Dark says: watched more films than Rodge (tho' I doubt it)... somewhere around 20,000 by now... and guess what?
I HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN "HOOP DREAMS."
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Including TV I've seen may be 3000, and that would be liberal given the numerous re-viewings of the good one's.
I haven't seen hoop dreams either, nor do I plan to.
Basketball is kinda like watching seals at the zoo -- kinda fun at first with all the smooth moves, but it just gets boring to me after a while.
There ought to be 'height - leagues' too; restricting height to about three or four classes as with weight classes in boxing, of players for us non-giants.

Ebert: "Hoop Dreams" isn't about basketball any more than Hamlet is about royalty.

My question for Andres is: what is to become of those kids that misbehaved through the screening? Are we to simply dismiss them as hopeless? Each one lives “a life without possibility,” so I suppose there’s nothing we can do about it. I guess they’ll just tread water through life until they get shot or simply die in the streets. And all the while, I’m sure my tax dollars will be supporting them.

The best thing I can do for myself to protect my delicate sensibilities is shield myself from these people. I’ll shake my head at those hoodlums on the local news, and I’ll definitely avoid movies like ‘Hoop Dreams.’ If I turn a blind eye to these problems, they won’t exist for me, and I can go on enjoying life in my suburban home and shopping at Target.

Roger,

Good read as always. Hoop Dreams is the standard. I know we don't talk tv in shop but HBO's The Wire is one of the few pieces of work that gives me that same feeling Hoop Dreams did. There is nothing on film or tv that i could ever recomend more than season 1 or 4 of The Wire although all seasons are excellent such as the final season which dealt with the decline of the newspaper business.

Thank you for reminding me of this masterpiece, Roger. You've made me realize that I need to see it again--with my kids.

I'll tell you, though, it makes me angry. When will we stop exploiting these children and give them a real education along with their athletic championships? Can we? We MUST.

Roger,
The blogger who wrote about the unfortunate MOMA screening reminded me of a relevant anecdote from the time the film came out. After Fine Line bought the film for distribution, they did a test screening in Harlem to gauge response in the black community there. They recruited the audience by handing out flyers at Harlem screenings of ABOVE THE RIM, saying basically that this was like that film. The audience had seen a HOOP DREAMS trailer, which carefully avoided the dreaded "D-word", giving them the expectation of seeing another fictional basketball drama.

After the screening, Fine Line sent the results to Kartemquin, and we were thrilled. An overwhelming number of the viewers had rated the film excellent. But then Fine Line called, depressed, to point out a detail we had missed: Nearly half the audience had walked out! Those that stayed may have loved it but those that left said things like:

Too depressing
What's this PBS shit?
Nobody told me it was a documentary
Too much like my life
I live this, why do I want to see this?

Based on this single test screening, Fine Line never really pursued a theatrical release strategy in the black communities around the country. Which really upset us because our contention was that they deluded the audience to get them to come, and that accounted for much of the negative response.

Our view was borne out by screenings that were later done around the country as part of outreach to inner city schools. The screenings and discussions were conducted by the esteemed Center for Study of Sports and Society out of Boston. And the response of inner city high school students was incredibly positive. Essentially, they said things like:

I've never seen a documentary about this.
This is so much like my life
It's real. Not fake like Hollywood movies.

In other words, its all about context.

Ebert: I've heard several stories about good films derailed by stupid test screenings. The error of the studios is that they tend to recruit their "dream audiences, "tentpole fans, because they can't get their heads around the notion of specific audiences for a specific film.

Another problem -- it costs less than $1000 to rent a theater for a night, but marketing "consultants" add a fortune to that for counting the cards and reading the results to the studios. And in this case, misinterpreting them. A competent executive should be able to discover what he needs to know by simply sitting in the damned theater.

I remember watching Hoop Dreams right after you and Gene Siskel recommended it on your show. Now you've made me want to see it again. The film left enough of an impression that I've periodically Googled the names of William Gates and Arthur Agee to see what has happened to them since the film. I'm glad to read that they're doing well.

To amplify your point a little bit, I would say that Hoop Dreams is even LESS about basketball than Hamlet is about royalty. Charlie Chaplin wrote in his autobiography that he didn't care for Hamlet's preoccupation with royal honor. "In my pursuit of bread and cheese, honor was seldom trafficked in. I cannot identify myself with a prince's problems," he wrote. "Hamlet's mother could have slept with everyone at court and I would still feel indifferent to the hurt it would have inflicted on Hamlet." I can see his point. The play is great when it delves into Hamlet's existential dilemma, with which I can identify, but the royal court themes do seem artificial and stagey to modern sensibilities.

Hoop Dreams, though, doesn't require any interest at all in basketball to engage an audience. I actually kind of hate basketball. I was no good at it in school, and I never watch the games on TV. But that didn't prevent me from loving this film.

Roger, I've been wanting to tell this to you for a long time; I didn't like Hoop Dreams nearly as much as you did!

However, because of you and Gene I love documentaries. It took me SIX years to see The Day After Trinity because even though I saw your glowing review I missed the one or two times it was shown on PBS. I finally got a chance to see it in Aug of 1995 but it was my first day ever in Vegas! Incredibly, I chose to stay in my small hotel room and watch it instead of go out to the casinos. You and Gene were absolutely spot on how good it was.

Anyway, because of you two I've made it a point to see as many documentaries as I can; docs like Shoah, Berga, In the Shadow of the Moon, Man on Wire, Grizzly Man, Deep Water, and LBJ (my personal favorite). Sometimes I think I've seen something you may have missed but there's no question that I give you and Gene credit for turning me on to such a fascinating form of education and entertainment. Thank you!

I wrote a review of this film back in July and had the pleasure of Kartemquin posting a link to my page from their site. It should have been the other way around. They are wonderful filmmakers with such passion for their work. "Hoop Dreams" is one of the best movies I have ever seen, and without the people at Kartemquin willing to take risks and chances there is a very good possibility that William's and Arthur's story of rising above would have gone unnoticed. Such inspiration needs to be shared.

In honor of this blog post, I went back last night and gave Hoop Dreams my second viewing. I think Agatha's comment has a lot of bearing on how best to reach youths through this movie. I'm opposed to simply plopping them in front of a screen and believe that magical connection will be naturally be made. ESPECIALLY in a group setting, kids that age are more interested in impressing their peers and making comical remarks. This isn't a shot against adolescents, I'm simply describing the general psychology of kids that age.

I believe they will naturally come to the film themselves when they are ready. The film's reputation ensures that we need not hold public screenings for it to reach inter-city youths, it has and will reach those who are willing to receive it.

In my case, I watched the film when I was slightly younger and it didn't connect with me on a human level as much as I thought it would. When I watched it last night, I was close to tears at many parts. Like you say, a film like this deserves patience to unfold, it requires that we not project our own preconceptions and just simply feel, rather than think. It will continue to inspire countless lives, thanks greatly to your efforts in promoting the film, Roger.

I fell in love with this movie when I was very young and it inspired me to reach for my dreams. Although many years later my interests have gone from sports to the performance art, the dreams still linger inside of me the same way they did when I was about 8 years old when I first saw 'Hoop Dreams'. I also believe that 'This Is It' will inspire others as this film inspired me.

I remember the morning of the announcements of the 1995 Oscars and the newscaster mentioning Hoop Dreams not being nominated as Best Documentary. I thought to myself, "Boy, Gene and Roger must really be ticked off about this latest scandal concerning the documentary branch." I was right, wasn't I? I'm not sure if Gene would've picked it as the best film of the 90's had he lived into 2000. He might've picked Fargo, which he said was an American masterpiece and saw 4 times. Personally, my favorite film of the 90's? It was Schindler's List. Can you blame me for picking that, being Jewish and all? Getting back to the documentary scandals, it is good they cleaned it up and some people like Michael Moore and Errol Morris have won the Oscar for Best Documentary. Gene must be smiling from heaven.

Your caption incorrectly lists "Arthur Agee playing for Arkansas State." That's actually William Gates at Marquette. Hence the "MU" on his right leg.

Ebert: Hence indeed. I have fixed that, finding a new Agee photo in the process.

Steve James went to my college, and all of his films' posters are in the hallway of the cinema department, signed by him. I pass by them on my way to class and every time I pass by the Hoop Dreams poster, I think about it. I'm no sports guy, but Hoop Dreams just completely blew me away. It's a rare film that makes me want to know what happened to the characters afterward, but thankfully, Roger has kept up with them and made that task easy for me.

I can't believe it came out fifteen years ago, and yet no documentary has topped it. Some have come close, but theres nothing like Hoop Dreams.

I watched "Hoop Dreams" for the first time several years ago, in my film school. It has definitely stayed with me. It's wonderful how those two young boys were able to not only rise above the low expectations presented by their surroundings and exploitative "betters," but actually come back to their beginnings, and make it possible for their future counterparts to break free of the system they were once prisoners of. Absolutely inspiring, and proof that a well-made film can have a deep, prolonged impact for the good on many different levels of society.

On another note, thanks to my friends at retrocrush.com, I was watching this on youtube and caught a surprise cameo! I must say, your singing voice was much better matched with this group than on "The Critic..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maYnqbdo2jw&feature=related

I haven't seen it since we showed it when it came out, but I remember being extremely disappointed with it. The two memories that most stand out: 1) The filmmakers were almost never in the right place at the right time when something big happened -- they are always being told about it. 2) The mom is the real hero and the most interesting character in the movie, I wished they'd made the whole thing about her.

Nonetheless, glad the kids came out of it ok.

No go on finding Hoop Dreams at my local video store tonight. I'll look elsewhere.

I did go to see "This is It" last night. I felt like the old guy in the theater on teen date night. I wanted to tell those restless teens Hey, I was a Michael Jackson fan 40 years ago! Picture me in 1970 in a Central Illinois town that's 99% caucasian riding my bike downtown to the KarmelKorn store to buy my copy of "Right On!" magazine to read about the Jackson Five. Hey, I even had my copy of Jermaine Jackson's solo album playing on my turntable upstairs.

Picture me also in Air Force Basic Training in November 1983. Unable to watch any TV for 4 weeks in the barracks. Then, one night, allowed to march over to the NCO club for a moment of freedom in the evening. What was on TV that week in club? The premiere of "Thriller". Awesome!

I was amazed, and a little perturbed at the ambient noise level in the theater from the date night teens. All flipping their cell phones open to text endlessly and pay no attention to the movie. For a concert movie, it is fairly quiet between songs and the ambient noise level was noticeable. Oh well.

It was a decent movie. Tiresome in places, as you would expect a two hour rehearsal to be. But, worth seeing. A decently made documentary.

Still looking for Hoop Dreams.

Just saw Hoop Dreams, want to see it again. What a great film! Not only was I at no time bored with the film, I wish it had been longer. I didn't even like pausing it to go to the bathroom!

Thank you, Roger, for pointing out another great film for me to see. It's going on my Christmas list :-)

Now, what other documentaries would you suggest that I see? The only other documentary I've seen is American Movie.

Brian Rose on November 6, 2009 2:44 PM wrote:

Hoop Dreams is one of those movies, like "Passion of Joan of Arc," or "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," that is too painful for me.....I dream of making just ONE memorable film, and I watch films like "Hoop Dreams," and realize how unlikely that is, how pathetic my own efforts are. I realize some just have IT. Some are blessed, and the rest...ignominy, which I suspect is my fate.

Struggling filmmaker, meet struggling writer. I have been rejected more than fifty times for my poetry and short stories going back fifteen years, which is half of my life. The numbers are less if you don't include contests, but you get the picture. Much of what I thought was good when I wrote it no longer looks that good to me. I graduated college in 2001 and have been working on the same novel since 2002. In fact, I've written two complete drafts independent of each other--the first one so bad that only bits and pieces of what was written can be found in the second draft. And even if I finish the novel, it's not going to be War and Peace.

So why do I keep writing? Because I love to write. And while I do hope to someday write a great novel, or a great poem, or a great play, as long as my writing continues to improve, I'm happy with what I do. Every rewrite of my novel is better than the last one. My later poems tend to be better than my earlier poems, and with revisions, better still. I haven't written enough plays to measure improvement in them from one to the other, but I know that my short stories are getting much better, even from the few I've written. I am the only benchmark that matters, and I can't tell you how long it's taken me to realize that.

And yet you're thinking of giving up because your work isn't at the same level as Hoop Dreams? Or McCabe & Mrs. Miller? Or Passion of Joan of Arc? It's okay to want to make a great movie, but none of the directors of the films mentioned above did it on his first try. And besides, your motivation for making films should be that you love making films.

As to your talent, only you know how talented or untalented you are, but just because you fall short of a Theodor Dreyer or a Robert Altman is no reason to stop making movies. There will always be directors who are better than you. There will always be directors who are worse than you. All you can do is tell the stories you want to tell, make the films you want to make, and hope that somebody watches and appreciates them.

Oh, and the funny thing about memorable films? They're where luck meets talent. Theodor Dreyer got lucky in finding Maria Falconetti. Robert Altman got lucky in finding "a perfect film" (to quote Ebert). And Steve James got lucky in finding William and Arthur.

"Hoop Dreams" really is "The Great American Documentary," the perfect counterpoint to "Citizen Kane." Both interrogate the American success dream, forcing it to reveal its beauty and inspiring power--and its avarice, the venality lurking behind winning-as-the-only-thing. Thanks for reminding us of an indispensable film.

p.s. As for that MOMA noisy/restless audience: I teach a required first-year course, filled with interesting texts--and films, most Tuesdays. This term we've watched, among other things, "The Lives of Others," "Hotel Rwanda," "Born Into Brothels," a doc about a Hmong family living in Wisconsin, and a new film, Patrick Mureithi's "Icyizere: Hope," which documents reconciliation workshops being held in Rwanda; we were lucky enough to have Mr. Mureithi accompany his film to provide background and answer students' questions. It all sounds wonderful, yes? But some students chat, and laugh at inappropriate moments, and text and IM and Tweet and twiddle and act like twits--again, some, not most. Whatcha gonna do; it's a pack of young people in a mandatory situation. Just don't watch an eagerly anticipated film in such a setting.

Ebert: I googled that film and found this fascinating entry:

http://patrickmureithi.blogspot.com/2008/04/gisenyi-prison-viewing.html

It's not even listed on IMDb. How can I get a DVD?

Just finished this marathon of a film, and I must confess the feeling is one of exhaustion and a "I must be dumb feeling". I usually find your evaluation in movie matters to be an un-erring guide. I normally see only your four-starrers or greats (three starred "In the Mood for Love" which I saw for the novelty of its Hong Kong origin) was disappointing except for the beautiful heroine.

For one thing I could not follow the sequence of events in "Hoop Dreams" closely. Secondly, I think it's highly American-specific even if it is universal. Perhaps I kept forgetting it's a documentary and everything is actually happening.

Ofcourse, perhaps it needs to be seen again. Synecdoche was quite comprehensible and rivetting the second time round.

And ofcourse I admire people chasing impossible dreams and finding the inner resources like the mothers in the film to surmount all obstacles for the sake of their children's happiness. Women are so admirable and seem to get a raw deal everywhere.

Don't ignore your local library as a great source for classic and important films. Our library in my town in Canada has two copies of it. Our library also has a feature that allows you to recommend purchases which I often do. As an extra bonus the recommender gets to be the first one to loan the material out.

My son coaches basketball in a local high school and Hoop Dreams remains a very special film for him. They're going to a tournament in Philadelphia in January and my film group donated $500 to help subsidize the cost of travel and expenses for students/players on the team that cannot afford to pay for any costs that remain after their fund raising.

There is no doubt that Basketball is one of the major sports that helps youth develop high levels of skill, pride, sportsmanship, dedication and team spirit.

On another note, Roger, I hope to screen Me and Orson Welles in the new year and am looking for where to rent a 35 mm print of Citizen Kane. I've read that remastered copies were made around 2000 and that there have been some screenings since then including the Newport Film Festival in 2004 (I've emailed them as well). I know you've screened it also. Any idea on distributors? If I can't get a 35 mm print what is my next best choice for screening on a large theatre screen. Any help/suggestions are appreciated.

Another great American documentary on our health care system.

Watch it exclusively this month for free!

http://www.moneydrivenmedicine.org/watch-in/watch-now

Roger,

This has nothing to do with your blog post, but I need you to read it. When I clicked your review of "The Men Who Stare at Goats" a moment ago, a pop-up advertisement appeared called "Alpha Online Scan" telling me that my computer had viruses and Alpha would scan my computer from the Internet. I hit the 'X' button, but a dialog box asked, "Are you sure you wish to leave your computer unprotected?" Choosing OK, Cancel or 'X' all failed to close the pop-up ad. A new tab on my Firefox opened with a faked image of an anti-virus program, and Firefox opened a new window asking me permission to install software on my computer. I had to perform a full force-quit and delete my current session of Firefox, including e-mails, a GRE study guide and streaming music from Radio France. A quick Google search reveals that "Alpha Online Scan" is a "rogue software" from China, probably a virus itself.

Obviously you have no control over this problem and I actually feel bad about what's being done to, and in the name of, your site. But your web host needs to know that there is malicious advertising, and possibly viruses, in the advertisements your web host sells. Optimist that I am, I'm going back to try to read the review again now. But if you could notify your webmaster or whoever is in charge of such things, that would be appreciated.

Thanks - and my next comment will be about movies, I promise!

Ebert: Those come in from some third party, and I have loudly complained, thanks to you.

Like you, Roger, and everyone else who has seen this film, Hoop Dreams was one of those rare films that actually changes your life. It's unforgettable, getting you involved with these people forever, even if you never see the film again or hear about their lives. You can never unlearn how people in this part of the world live, or forget that we are all alike, all with hopes and disappointments and hard work ahead of us. I also think that Kartemquin is a miracle we are lucky enough to still have and hold.

I remember recommending this to someone whose done very well in life financially who refused to see it because he didn't want to be depressed. I shook my head. Poor man. He doesn't know what it is to be really human, only what it's like to be safe.

Overlooked fact from Ebert's Great Movies Collection:

Coach Pingatore and the school were parties to a suit to prevent the film from being released theatrically.

Fascinating.
Would love to see the court paperwork regarding that...
What part of "film reality" were they objecting to?

Also I wonder how Pingatore (et al.) feel about the film now?
I suspect, since "fame" is such a coveted golden egg in our culture, that they are probably glad their lawsuit got quashed.

Dear Roger,

I haven't got the slightest clue of how to start this comment, so I'm just going to break out and say everything I need to say:

My name is Agustín Carmona. I live in Montevideo, Uruguay. I'm pretty certain that a person as cult as you knows what country, insignificant as it is, Uruguay is, but just in the craziest of cases, It's that small piece of land at the south of Brazil and southeast of Argentina (look up in YouTube for "Homer Uruguay" and you'll see what mean by insignificant).

I always loved movies, but I wasn't really aware of it until I discovered you. It was in early 2006, no doubt. I was surfing on the Internet (Wikipedia, in order to be more exact), checking information about "Crash", since it had recently won the Oscar for Best Picture, and looking down the title "Critical reception", I came across your name, and your thoughts on the film. You named the best film of 2005. I didn’t knew that movie critics existed by then, and therefore you. There was link to your page on Wiki. I clicked it. And suddenly, a new world open to me, yours and the one of film criticism.

I became quite fascinated with your reviews and your life. Started out as a columnist for the Sun-Times, became slowly a television star with you co-hosting on the shows you did with Siskel and later with Roeper, and now, you even have a Hollywood Star of Fame. You have become a celebrity on the field of film criticism, and yet you’ve never lost you have never lost your humbleness, nor the wisdom or insight that you have always brought to your reviews in print. That’s one the things I admire of you the most: As you climbed each stair of success, neither your intellect nor eloquence nor prose in your writing decreased in quality; the only thing that changed is that you voice on national broadcast seem to bring more people in this wonderful world of strong, opinionated writing.

I first knew you as Roger Ebert the journalist, rather than Roger Ebert the television commentator. You said in your blog as a response to a reader’s post that reading the comments received on your blog entries are your cup of coffee in the morning. Your reviews were mine, and still are. Personally, I haven’t read your reviews often lately, because I want to watch the film before I read your review, so I can have a formulated opinion of my own without being altered by yours. In fact, that’s why I don’t read reviews of films that often recently. But when I first started reading your reviews on your website, it could have been the only I did for an entire day, because it was so stimulating and entertaining at the same time (besides, I mostly read reviews of films I had already seen, in order to see if you agreed or disagreed with me about the film and why)

And maybe that’s why, reading all the old reviews of yours (and later, watching clips of you with Gene in of your shows together), is that I didn’t realized quickly that when I searched reviews of recent films, I couldn’t find any, and that meant that something strange was going on. Not much more time later, I discovered that you had surgeries because of a thyroid cancer. I was in shock and profound grief. Later, I discovered that you had lost the ability to speak. But then something that filled my heart with joy happened: In your website, there were new comments and reviews, and not written by your editor, Jim Emerson, but by you!
And so you have since continued to write reviews, comments, done interviews and post entries of the most impressive sharpness and range on your blog, which I have followed as much as someone does it with a Twitter account. And you have done it like if nothing had happened to you, but it did, a have shared your stories about it as much as anyone can. And I admire you because of it. In your blog entry about the film “Wit”, you commented that while many people always say how much courage is involved in cases like yours, but that in fact there is no choice. And yet, it comes to your case, I believe that they’re different reasons why people admire you so much. No, there’s a much better word in the dictionary that defines how you’ve gone through all that happened to you, and that is: Will. How many people would have gotten depressed (maybe even suicide), just knowing that there are not able to speak any more? Only God does (and the Library of Congress).

But you haven’t. You have continued to write and write for your column and your blog, proving that while you may have lost your voice, you haven’t lost the wit nor the insight that’s has been on your print’s reviews since you became a critic for the Sun-Times, in 1966. And I have decided to post a comment for you blog because something stroked me a few days ago: I realized that you’re not going to be here forever and I that if I want you to know how much I admire you, it has to be now. My praise can’t hide in the shadows no more. You have made me realized what I want to be when I grow up.

I want to be a movie critic.

So therefore, let me give you two big thumbs up from Uruguay, and hello!

Thank you, Roger.
Love,
Agustín

PS: I would really thank you eternally if yo responded my comment. Nothing big, just a few words. Remember, I've waited a long time to do this, and now, I've finally summoned the courage to do it.

Ebert: How could I not respond? You are a reason I write. You love films, I love films. It can get lonely out there. It must be hard to find some titles in Uruguay, but the same internet that connects us is now allowing a lot of online streaming. "Hoop Dreams," for example, is now on You Tube.

Please keep returning. There are people from all over here. We'll look for you.

Reply to: And yet you're thinking of giving up because your work isn't at the same level as Hoop Dreams? Or McCabe & Mrs. Miller? Or Passion of Joan of Arc? It's okay to want to make a great movie, but none of the directors of the films mentioned above did it on his first try.

They didn't do it on their first try... but they didn't have a DVD of earlier efforts in the same genre to study frame-by-frame, either.

Modern directors should be able to improve on the movies they study in Film School, but the schools aren't getting the job done. The problem? The audience doesn't want to pay for "classics." They want genre films within their particular comfort zones.

The Ponzi Scheme of Bernard Madoff would be a compelling topic for a documentary, but the subject isn't as "genre compelling" as high school basketball.

I was just looking at the release schedule for next summer. "Iron Man 2" caught my eye. So did "The Expendables" with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Jet Li. Talk about Genre Heaven for action fans.

A remake of "Footloose" with professional dancer Julianne Hough. Jonah Hex with Josh Brolin and Megan Fox. Toy Story 3. Robin Hood with Russell Crowe. Shrek Forever After. Prince of Persia.

One documentary on the list, "Oceans" by Buena Vista.

Also, "Hubble 3d" from WB.

Are we still seeing the effects of the Writer's Strike? The stated purpose of the strike was to bring movie development to a screeching halt. Is that why this summer was missing the breakout hits?

Reply to: Ebert: I believe "Hoop Dreams" is the great American documentary. No other documentary has ever touched me more deeply.... as inner city neighborhoods sink deeper into the despair of children murdering children...

Reply to: Kotlowitz quoted Nelson Algren: "American literature is a woman standing in a courtroom and asking, Isn't anyone on my side?" One noble purpose of documentaries, he said, is to be on the side of the kinds of people asking that question.

Isn't anyone on MY side?

I guess we can all ask a similar question.

But if you're focusing on "the despair of children murdering children," the thing that jumps out at me is, "A lot of people are on the wrong side and need to change."

It might be interesting to have a drug dealer from an inner city neighborhood explain his side of the problem. Does he think the entire world is against him? Well, yes.

It just so happened that I read your article on Hoop Dreams the very day I take my ritualistic walk to the video store. My quirky, small, independent Winnipeg video store (Movie Village on Osborne), with all it's great finds (shameless plug there). So I made my mental notes and off I went, returning with "Diary of a Country Priest", "Early Summer" and of course "Hoop Dreams". It' so true that you can know a country through it's films.

Hoop Dreams unfolded progressively, without flashback or deliberate hindsight. Each experience of these young men was laid down as a brick in your consciousness, one on top of the other, always building upwards to the final monument of their personal struggle to grow out of the life fate had in store for them. Yet they were not the only ones dealing with 'life', every character in the movie was faced with opportunity and consequence. The scout, the coaches, the families and friends. We watch them all. The families touched me most, especially the scene with the mother receiving her diploma in nursing. A triumph witnessed by an empty room. The struggles were so personal in this movie, we weren't shown the overall image of class or racial discriminations. We were shown the bricks and the mortar, the details of individual lives, and from those lives the bigger picture came into focus, offscreen, in our own minds. What does it mean to struggle and overcome, or struggle and fail? Just what exactly are the obstacles in our lives and who put them there? I think this film shows that some obstacles are placed in front of us by others and some are of our own making. It shows that some failures are really successes and some successes can easily be turned into failures. Like the coach, clinging to his memory of Isiah Thomas. He seemed so trapped to me. I could almost hear Bruce Springsteen's 'Glory Days' playing in the background when he spoke.

By the way, I would highly recommend the Criterion release of this film. It comes with a commentary track by Will and Arthur. As adults they give a wonderfully insightful dialogue about what they were feeling at the time of the filming. They also delve into the feelings and motivations of the other characters, like the coaches and family members. Don't skip this! They are articulate and revealing.

Ebert: Coming home with those three films is not so much a ritual, more of a worship service.

Now there's a film I have to see again. I loved it when it first came out and intended to see it again. So many years and so many films later, it's time to revisit this amazing documentary. I too had thought it won the Oscar, which must have been wishful thinking evolved into false memory.
Thanks for reminding me.

I found myself inspired to watch 'Hoop Dreams' after watching your end of the millennium special with Scorsese on the best films of the 90's. I was young then and only just getting into film. I'm glad to say that it was one of the most powerful cinematic experiences I've ever had. I've watched it several times since and 'Hoop Dreams' remains a favorite film of mine. I suppose everyone has a pocket sized collections of movies that turned them on to cinema. To appreciate film as an art form and not just entertainment. Thanks to you Roger this was one of them.

Mr.Ebert:

This is a film that has moved me to my core. I love Hoop Dreams. What a pleasure to be able to share the film with others online.

My name is Shaun Henisey. I am an online film critic living in Oklahoma. I aspire to some day become a film critic in print.

I know that you are a busy person, but I was wondering if you could give me any feedback on my work. I would also appreciate any advice that you may be able to share about breaking into the business.

In the interest of keeping this email brief and respecting your time, I will simply give you a link to my work. I run a website called A Movie A Week. It explores an important piece of cinema each week. I love the movies. They are the one thing in life (aside from my family) that I am most passionate about. I respect them as an art form. I think that film criticism is extremely important and I cannot think of a more fulfilling career path for me to pursue. I have attached links for two sample reviews. If you have the time I would love to hear what you have to say about them. Please be honest and relentless.

Any feedback or advice would be appreciated. I will understand if you do not have time to respond.

Sincerely,

Shaun Henisey
Critic- www.amovieaweek.com
shaun.henisey@gmail.com

Links:
Almost Famous Review:

http://www.amovieaweek.com/almostfamous.html

Apocalypse Now Review:

http://www.amovieaweek.com/apocalypse.html

I screamed out loud when I read the comment calling you a typical Liberal!!

Thanks to Andres for trying to explain to Agatha "what's goin' on" and to you Roger for never needing the explanation.

You can not review a film about Black youth in the "inner cities" of the US or poor kids in the favelas of Rio if you have a chip on your shoulder or fear in your heart. You have to have empathy, tolerance and an open, non judgmental heart to do what you do. You also need that same stuff to exist alongside the many variations of humanity on our planet. I'm just saying...

I saw Hoop dreams 15 years ago. My friend James Stern (another Chicago film maker) introduced me to the film. I was lucky. And of course I loved it. Thanks for reviving the enthusiasm for the film and introducing it to some new film lovers! You rock!

I've always held Hoop Dreams in the most highest of regards. However, it seems far too frequently neglected in the discussions of great films. I have seen it quite a few times (I can't comprehend why anyone would object to its length), and followed up with reading on the lives of the boys, now young men.

Hoop Dreams isn't just a great documentary, I think it sits with the greatest of all of them. Hoop Dreams represents all that film can and ought to do.

Mr. Ebert, you have been my go-to critic for a few years now. I check out your blog from time to time and I religiously read your reviews. I wanted to take a second from my day to let you know that I'm grateful for the work you do. So, thank you.

Quote...koreyel ;...I wonder how Pingatore (et al.) feel about the film now?

Will Gates revealed in the DVD commentary that he is friendly with coach Pingatore. In fact, the coach now shows the movie Hoop Dreams to his new team at the beginning of every season. I believe Will also said that he is invited to speak to the team after these viewings. Will had some other interesting things to say about the way Pingatore had changed over the years, not necessarily because of the film, but simply because that's what people do, change. You'll have to rent the Criterion version to hear it!

Bill Hays on November 8, 2009 2:32 PM wrote: Modern directors should be able to improve on the movies they study in Film School, but the schools aren't getting the job done. The problem? The audience doesn't want to pay for "classics." They want genre films within their particular comfort zones.

That, and schools cannot teach genius, or how to improve upon one's work. They can only teach the techniques that have been discovered through the works of other directors and films, which also means that they can't teach innovation, and innovation is what keeps movies fresh. Great movies either tend to be a high point of all that has come before, or a breaking away from old forms and ways of doing things. Both require their geniuses, and the latter requires innovation.

Since "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" was mentioned in Ebert's last blog, I'll mention it here in relation to what I'm talking about. While Eliot certainly read many poems, had he used only that knowledge in creating "Prufrock," it would not be as acclaimed as it is. "Prufrock" is a great poem not only because it's well-written, but because it breaks convention (some of that imagery is wild--"When the evening is spread out against the sky/Like a patient etherized upon a table"--and he repeats this line throughout the poem: "In the room the women come and go/Talking of Michaelangelo"). And, as far as I know, Eliot never took a poetry class.

Also, since geniuses buck the system, genius directors are not as likely as "safer" genre films are to have their projects green-lighted. I mean, even Clint Eastwood had trouble convincing Warner Bros. that they should finance Million Dollar Baby. Maybe some of these movie executives should start taking film classes.

My dad introduced me to Hoop Dreams a couple years ago. I was so glad he did. It's true that the film is universal. I always wanted to be an actor on film and stage and I felt just like Agee and Gates. They have all this talent and a desire to have their dreams come true. They had families and friends and life all around them. I really responded to their story because I could really relate to that. I never grew up in poverty but my family was not exactly upper middle-class either. So getting to place where you can be successful and want to take care of your family is a hard task. And sometimes you dont make it. I just love the line in the film when Gates talks about his friends saying "dont forget about me when you make it"; then Gates replies "well dont forget about me if I dont make it." Thats tough stuff and Hoop Dreams is a tough film.

Several years ago my wife and I were watching TV and came across Hoope Dreams. Even though it was very late at night, we simply could not stop watching. It remains one of the most powerful, fascinating, and engaging films I've ever seen. The scene where Arthur plays one-on-one with his dad, and it quickly escalates from a friendly game to "It's my turn now!" is some of the most painful and raw emotion you'll ever see on screen.

Ebert: Readers:

This is a sneak preview of a page I will Tweet later.

For sale: The house that Ferris Bueller drove the Ferrari out of.

http://j.mp/3Ctymc

R

After seeing the film a second time in two days, I am somewhat clearer about it's contents.

The fact that it is a true account makes it a most authentic and insightful account of the way the "system" works in the US, and by extention, everywhere else. It is the system in which everybody is caught in one way or the other, perpetrators and victims alike. We are both butchers and meat. Both our cowardice and heroism is within and part of the system.

The comparison to Gatsby and Kane is quite appropriate and it is a mercy that both the youngsters outgrow the "dream". Perhaps the sadness lies in the fact that we lack a dream big enough to live through, like Aguirre or Fitzcarraido. MLK would be a more appropriate example, may be. Service is more rewarding than stardom.

One thinks of the last paragraph of Gatsby.

Hey Roger - I was the poster who suggested that you vote for "HD" on the next Sight and Sound poll. How did I miss this last Wednesday?! Argh!! I live in the Chicago area and I still seem to find out about cool screenings like this after they happen.

Mr. Ebert, I would like to thank Mr. Siskel and you for this film. There is little or no chance that I or most of the readers here I suspect would have ever seen this film but for the glowing reviews from you two. It is that type of informing that will be YOUR LEGACY. You should be proud to have brought a film to an audience and an audience to a film. As for this film, is there a finer moment of filmmaking or "performance" if you will than Arthur's supernova smile when he is invited onto the court for a short one on one with his idol, Isaiah Thomas at an orientation/recruiting assembly? Is there a more dramatic moment than Shiela's nursing results? Is there a more sinister moment that one of the prep school's coaches trolling a playground of 11 year olds like some sexual predator, talking about a child's "explosive first step"? What a film.

That MOMA anecdote reminded me of the well-publicized incident where Oakland high school students laughed inappropriately during a public screening of "Schindler's List." After other patrons complained, the cinema stopped the projector, and the students were asked to leave.

The incident provoked a media firestorm, and Steven Spielberg came to town to meet the students (lesson: we should all laugh inappropriately during Steven Spielberg movies). When he asked one o the students why they laughed, one of the inner-city black students responded that the violence wasn't realistic enough.

Hello Mr. Ebert,

I am a faithful follower of your blog and reviews, reading every little morsel that you post online, but this is the first time I have written a response to anything.

I first saw Hoop Dreams on its initial showing on PBS back in 1994 on television with my older brother Eric. I was 8 and he was 12 at the time. We made sure we taped it the next time it was shown (good old reliable VHS, which I still use on a regular basis). Immediately, it went right up into my list of favorite movies I had seen. I was only 8, but that list included the original Star Wars trilogy, Die Hard, Blazing Saddles, Dick Tracy, Arsenic and Old Lace, Stalag 17, Batman, Duck Soup, The Wizard of Oz, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Obviously my parents respected a film's quality over the MPAA's inane ratings system. They exposed my brother and me to a wonderful range of films as children, rather than spoon-feeding us children's movies with little to no depth, and I am forever grateful to them for this.

That tape of the PBS screening was watched at least once every year by me for the next decade. Its meaning to me changed throughout the years of course, without ever making the film less enjoyable or losing its significance. I bought the Criterion DVD a couple years ago, and it was the single most satisfying purchase I have ever made (even more than my brand new car I bought last year). Hoop Dreams has become my favorite film of all time, and I try to get as many people as possible to see it. I hope you keep this film in the spotlight for years to come, because I feel that films like this can truly make a difference in people's lives.

P.S.
I am so glad that you were one of the handful of people to give Richard Kelly's wonderful new film The Box a positive review. My father, at the tender age of 54, and after many years of extra work on numerous films, finally received his big break with a featured role. He played Martin Teague, the NSA's deputy director, and had a couple big scenes with James Rebhorn and the great Frank Langella. Our family is overwhelmed with joy at seeing him on the big screen and his name eleven feet long and luminous. I guess it is at least somewhat true that good things come to those who wait.

Re> Whatever happened to that coach in "Hoop Dreams?"

Congratulations to Coach Pingatore on becoming the winningest coach in Illinois high school history.

Thought it appropriate to give equal time to Luther Bedford. A 1959 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, Coach Bedford died in January, 1996. He had retired in 1993, but had stayed in touch. In fact he attended a Marshall game the Friday preceding his death.

Randy Kindred(IWU) wrote at the time:

WINNING IN THE MOST IMPORTANT GAME THERE IS

"We will never know his total win total. Not even Bedford could have known, and if he had, he wouldn't have told us.

Bedford didn't look for awards or accolades as a teacher, coach, and athletic director on Chicago's west side. He looked for potential in student/athletes and how best to draw it out in a neighborhood of drugs, violence, and dropouts. Victory in those terms were not as clear or immediate, but far more lasting.

Consider him a hero, though Bedford never saw himself in that light.
In a 1995 feature in Illinois Wesleyan Magazine, he dismissed the notion he was a hero to the underprivileged he taught and coached.

'I'm not trying to be a hero,' he said. 'I'm just trying to help them as much as I can.'

'He loved kids, but was always firm with kids,' longtime Marshall girls basketball coach Dorothy Gaters said then. 'He was always telling them what was right from wrong instead of trying to be their friend. I think they always appreciated that...maybe later than sooner.'

'They realize when people have their interest at heart. You can respect a person for being truthful, because you know the truth when you hear it.'

IWU athletic director, Dennie Bridges concurred. He knew Luther from their college days. Bridges had been a a freshman when the Coach was a senior.

'Luther took his Illinois Wesleyan education and went back to the Public League and did a lot of good things. The things that got publicity are going to the the elite eight. But helping kids deal with life was the most important thing Luther did.'"

Coach Luther Bedford:1936-2006, R.I.P.

Postscript: A few weeks after Coach Bedford's death, his colleague, Dorothy Gaters was noted in the Chicago Sun-Times as the winningest coach in Illinois history-at either the high school or college level.

Coach Gaters had very little to say on the matter.

substancenews.com/content/view/381/381
pantagraph.com/sports/article

Hi Roger,

I once told you personally, and only half-jokingly, what I'll now make public: "As long as you're around I'll still have a career." Thank you for continuing to support our film. You've figured in no small way into the film's success. Unfortunately, I only recently heard about the Chicago and NY events. It would've been great fun to join you all.

You may be interested in my new film that I hope to premiere at Sundance in January: "Journey from Zanskar." http://www.warriorproductions.tv/JourneyFromZanskarTrailer.asp Frankly, I never thought it had the remotest connection to Hoop Dreams til Pico Iyer sent me a note about it saying this: "It actually seemed to me to be a perfect, and highly imaginative, complement to Hoop Dreams, with many of the same themes and stories, told in equally human, wrenching (and riveting) ways."

All the best to you.

Ebert: And of course it was your father the professor who involved me in those bull sessions at the Illini Union after Cinema Internationale screenings. Speaking of careers...

After reading this entry, I got nostalgic about "Hoop Dreams," a favorite film of mine that I'm certain I first learned about from you and Gene, and one that was instrumental in inspiring my continued interest in the documentary form. I took a look back at your original review of it, where you wrote this about William's (and briefly, Arthur's) coach at St. Joseph's:

"As for Pingatore, I think he comes across pretty well."

Here though, you say "he came across as a villain." And I point this out not to call you out on the contradiction, but because I always thought he came across as a villain too, so I think you are right this time. Maybe the reason for the contradiction is clearer in your complete description. Here's what you wrote about him, in full:

"As for Pingatore, I think he comes across pretty well. He has his dream, too, of finding another Isiah Thomas. He wants to win. His record shows he is a good coach. He gives William sound advice, although perhaps he's too eager to see him return after his injury. William tells the filmmakers that the coach thinks sports are all-important, but I covered high school sports for two years and never met a coach who didn't. After saying farewell to William, Pingatore observes ''One goes out the door, and another one comes in the door. That's what it's all about.'' There is sad poetry there."

I was really disgusted with this guy, feeling like he had made his career through the lucky discovery of finding Isiah Thomas (and probably a few other lesser stars) amidst a giant huge pool of talented but eventually discarded kids. Maybe what you meant back then is that he comes off as well as many successful coaches would in this situation (you also point out that Pingatore and his school tried to block the film's release, apparently believing -- or rather *knowing* -- that he would look like an asshole in the film).

I guess to me, it's true that he's exactly the cold-blooded, selfish opportunist you would expect him to be. Maybe this means he came across well -- no worse than you might expect. In the context of American amateur sports, he's just a typical figure while in the broader social context he is emblematic of the win-at-all-costs mentality that is so wrong with American amateur sports and society.

The year this came out, based on Gene's and Roger's commentary, we drove the whole family 25 miles to the only theater in our county showing it.

Close to New Year's Eve, old box-style theater layout, uncomfortable seats. After the first few minutes, we didn't notice the bad seats.

One of maybe half a dozen films I've seen that during some quiet scene in mid-film, where there's time to reflect, I've thought and almost said aloud, "Wow, is this good!"

Another film in that class, my personal favorite of the 1990s, was "Lone Star". Another 25 mile drive, rundown theater, uncomfortable seats, unforgettable movie.

Continuing the sports-theme analogies, "Hoop Dreams" is about basketball in the same way that "Bang The Drum Slowly" -- or more recently, "Sugar" -- is about baseball.

Odd timing, like sychronicity. I had not thought of "Hoop Dreams" for years, but last week, while reviewing "The Blind Side," it kept nibbling away at me. "Blind Side" is a "true story" and all that, and a pleasant film with a great, showy performance by Sandra Bullock, but once again we get the impression that only way out for a black kid is professional sports.
Nice moment in "Blind Side," Bullock talking to Quinton Aaron, who plays the football prospect: "You know, I never asked you if you actually like playing football."
Aaron, resignedly, "Well ... I'm good at it." And makes a full-body sigh.

"Serious players experience the power of desire, how high desire elevates the body, how low you go if desire is defeated..... The goal of becoming a great basketball player guarantees nothing. No dream does. What counts is making plans, confronting challenges, experiencing the action. Process, not product. Learning to play with desire, seriousness, and determination, playing for rewards that reside inside the heart not outside it, playing not only for material benefits that come and go like weather, like seasons, but for “intangibles” that last."...Wideman

First, I hate to get off topic, but I wanted to respond to this:

Greg Salvatore wrote:
[film] schools cannot teach genius, or how to improve upon one's work. They can only teach the techniques that have been discovered through the works of other directors and films, which also means that they can't teach innovation, and innovation is what keeps movies fresh.

As a teacher, a film-maker, a student and a sociologist (yes, all of these things) I take offense to this statement.

First off: 'genius'. It's an over-used term in our culture, and I think it's use is destructive. We tend to apply the term in hindsight once someone has exhibited remarkable talent or craftsmanship. We rarely consider the effort that went into the development of such remarkable talent. Talent is thought to be a divine gift. This is not the case, however.

Most of the people we call 'geniuses' are just like you and I. They just apply themselves to a greater degree. There is no evidence to suggest that anyone is predisposed to being a genius. What we call genius can come from anywhere. If it were somehow biological, then our society would have long since stratified into different levels of intellect. Perhaps we could debate the reasons why some people are more motivated than others, but even that must be more environmental than biological. A person's motivations must surely come from one's needs and desires.

The second point I'd like to make is about schools. I absolutely believe that schools, regardless of the subject, can teach students to be remarkable, innovative, creative, fresh. Arts programs in particular are designed to help students realize their full potential. Now, not all teachers are good at teaching, and some pedagogies may work better than others for specific individuals. But a good teacher does not stifle talent, they encourage it.

Addendum:

I incorrectly referred to Lorenzo's Oil as a documentary: an error I'm sure you noticed, but were polite enough to refrain from commenting on; I suppose it's a testament to that film's quality that I remembered it as a documentary, though.

Hello Mr. Ebert,

Pardon my off-topic query, but how's the rice cooker cookbook coming along? I inadvertently caused the disintegration of the one cooker cookery book I own. Not being a fan of kitchen shelf clutter, I would love to fill its spot with your upcoming book rather than buying an intermediary replacement.

Ebert: Steaming right along.

Mr. Ebert,
Another off topic query. Is there a reason you have not reviewed 'In the Loop' yet? I would be very interesting in knowing your thoughts on this movie.

Regards,
Voiceless

I just wanted to say: thanks for reminding me to rewatch this great film. In addition to providing a human drama, it documented aspects of inner city life, high school, etc. I'm sure people in China, Africa and Mars would find these aspects as fascinating as the story itself.

I can't wait to watch the commentary. Documentaries and commentary tracks offer a great opportunity to add different kinds of insights into a film. I'm sure the subjects can add counternarratives to the filmmaker's narrative.

I find this commentary tracks fascinating, especially for great films like this one. Probably the most amazing commentary track was for 42 Up, where the director talks about the backstory for the filming. I'm glad we had a commentary track for that, but Apted stopped doing this for 49 Up (which seemed wise; it added too much editorializing and seemed redundant anyway).

Roger,

I yield to no one in my defense of "Hoop Dreams", yet I would have to put this one at number two. The great documentary is the Up series, but the second greatest and the great American documentary is "Grizzly Man". The only problem is it's American-ness, which I defend as a kind of outskirts of society, yet Alaskan, American reality. My main defense over Hoop Dreams comes in "Grizzly Man" power created through a singular portrait. The focus and gaze is unwavering on this one man. The documentary art as the connection between one subject, one object. The struggle with brute nature, sometimes psychotic, obsessive determination, beauty, all make this film particularly American.

By Mark Milner on November 5, 2009 7:34 PM
I'd strongly recommend Darcy Frey's The Last Shot, a great book about life in the ghetto and basketball as an escape

I had read The Last Shot before I saw Hoop Dreams, and that's probably why I couldn't get as into Hoop Dreams. Never have felt so many different emotions during one book.

Good review of it here.

Like Bill Simmons says in his review (second entry down), "It's an amazing book, with one overriding theme: When you're a talented basketball player from the projects, there are a million things that can go wrong, and only one thing that can go right."

Ebert: I googled that film and found this fascinating entry: http://patrickmureithi.blogspot.com/2008/04/gisenyi-prison-viewing.html It's not even listed on IMDb. How can I get a DVD?

When he came to Knox he told that story about showing ICYIZERE: hope in the prison; he is an engaging young man.

Roger, I'd be happy to pass along Patrick Mureithi's contact information. Just email me--I don't want to post it online.

--Paul

Dear Roger,
I have watched and loved you, (and Dear Gene) for most of my life.
I hope you are well/better.
I have not seen this great movie, but plan to soon.
A couple of years back, a book came out entitled,"Getting Open" by Tom Graham and his daughter Rachel Graham Cody.(Copyright 2006, Atria Books 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York,NY 10020)
The subtitle states,"The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball".
There is a chapter titled,"Gentleman's Agreement" that mentions my Great-Grandparents (Sam and Rachel Kaufman), Grandmother (Belle) and Great Uncle Nate Kaufman, their journey to America and in particular my Uncle Nate's efforts to help a young man, Bill Garrett kick the "Door" open to become the first ever black college basketball player.Once upon a time, there were none.
Publishers Weekly said,"Bill Garrett was the Jackie Robinson of college basketball...a striking and honest portrait of a man overcoming rascism in a place that barely acknowledged its existence".
Thought this might be of interest to you and the readers as fans of this movie, sports and basketball.
Regards,
Steve

Ebert: ...Brain cloud....

"Brain cloud?!?" A connoisseur of film like yourself quoting Joe Versus the Volcano?!?

Ebert: Oh, yes. It may be at Ebertfest 2010.

Andres, your response was thoughtful but I really don't think that was the case.

Maybe PART of it was acting out as a defense mechanism because of feeling moved and therefore feeling threatened but, as I said, these kids were loud and restless BEFORE the film even began. That simply continued as the movie was being played. They were bored, they were probably annoyed at being taken to something meant to be "educational", they were probably in schools where that kind of disruption in class is as normal as the air, they had never been to the MOMA before, they had just plain bad manners. And of course, there's the fact that they were teenagers and were in an all teenager setting.

Of course, this did happen a very long time ago (I've since figured out that it must have been when I was in junior year of high school, so when I was 16) so my memory could be not totally reliable.

I thinks it's good.

You think it's great - because you're Chicago.

Roger,

You aaid Spike Lee was a realist...that may be and is true, but the same could be said about his profession...he is there to make money for others. What's worse is that granstanding rightousness by Lee cast a pall on these kids dreams and demeaned them. What does it serve them to be a disgruntled player in college based on Lee's beliefs? To defy the coach? Sit on the bench, never play, washout? Would that make Lee happy?

That's the reality of leadership in the african-american community...what can get me ahead? Keeping my own people down by destroying their dreams...that's what Spike was doing...they already have enough problems in the inner-city, they don't need Spike's politics to make them feel like dirt for accepting a scholarship.

He acts like a champion for black athletes but he is really just a bigot. He doesn't care about them, he cares about his agenda...even if following his agenda makes these young men get expelled from their schools. And then where would he be?

We don't need more black youth in America being disillusioned in America by people like Lee telling them they are worthless human beings and are only a commodity. How does that help them? It doesn't, it only helps Spike. He might be a realist but he is uncaring to the men he supposes to care about.

Afterall, isn't his profession to make money for others? I wish someone would give a lecture to Spike to quit the Uncle Tom foolery, just like he asked of these young poor kids.

I guess it's easy to hate the system when you make a good living off of it...and very easy to tell others they are just a product.

Roger,

You aaid Spike Lee was a realist...that may be and is true, but the same could be said about his profession...he is there to make money for others. What's worse is that granstanding rightousness by Lee cast a pall on these kids dreams and demeaned them. What does it serve them to be a disgruntled player in college based on Lee's beliefs? To defy the coach? Sit on the bench, never play, washout? Would that make Lee happy?

That's the reality of leadership in the african-american community...what can get me ahead? Keeping my own people down by destroying their dreams...that's what Spike was doing...they already have enough problems in the inner-city, they don't need Spike's politics to make them feel like dirt for accepting a scholarship.

He acts like a champion for black athletes but he is really just a bigot. He doesn't care about them, he cares about his agenda...even if following his agenda makes these young men get expelled from their schools. And then where would he be?

We don't need more black youth in America being disillusioned in America by people like Lee telling them they are worthless human beings and are only a commodity. How does that help them? It doesn't, it only helps Spike. He might be a realist but he is uncaring to the men he supposes to care about.

To Matt RK

A documentary about a narcissitic clown in a part of the country that everyone who lived there hated the guy and called him clueless and dangerous and who helped murder his girlfriend by his idiocy and lack of respect for nature cannot be the basis for "the greatest American documentary ever."

Unless we Americans are all fools. I lived in Alaska for many years. This guy was a joke in the community. Crazy people who have no skills and respect nothing are not worthy of respect in return.

The people in hoop dreams were real people with real struggles and real dreams...not crazy fantasies like that "Care Bear" guy who tried to make fools of Alaskans and yet was made a fool of himself. It's a harsh country, and he assumed we were fools by keeping away from bears. Looks like he was the ultimate fool.

I like Herzog but this film is his ultimate poppycock! All directors get one and this is his. Complete crap.

Roger, I saw Hoop Dreams many years ago, and loved it as much as everyone else, but the thing that struck me about these two young men is, they never missed!

I don't know if it was due to judicious editing, or if their play really was that good, but whether they were on a high school court, or in a parking lot with a hoop at one end, every shot went in.

I think part of what made the documentary so special, at least for me, was to think that these two certainly had the talent for the NBA, but still never made it.

It just drives home the role that luck plays in achieving our goals. Talent and drive certainly play a part, but not every kid who has talent and drive is going to play professional sports.

This movie should definitely be part of the curriculum for the "Communications" major. It would be a real wake-up call.

-Ralphie

Hi Roger, why does the link to the "Whatever happened to that coach in Hoop Dreams?" article not work? I've been wanting to read it for days now, but it never works for me; I always receive a 404 error message.

Since tithian commented on my comment, I feel compelled to comment on his.

tithian on November 9, 2009 10:19 PM wrote:

Most of the people we call 'geniuses' are just like you and I. They just apply themselves to a greater degree. There is no evidence to suggest that anyone is predisposed to being a genius. What we call genius can come from anywhere.

True, though I think that no matter how hard I apply myself, I will never write music at the level of Mozart's. I did read a few interesting articles about genius, though, and they basically agree with your argument: that geniuses are made, not born. Maybe a better word to use would have been "prodigy," though that's not quite right, either. Anyway, on to your second point.

The second point I'd like to make is about schools. I absolutely believe that schools, regardless of the subject, can teach students to be remarkable, innovative, creative, fresh. Arts programs in particular are designed to help students realize their full potential. Now, not all teachers are good at teaching, and some pedagogies may work better than others for specific individuals. But a good teacher does not stifle talent, they encourage it.

While I totally agree with your last sentence, I'd quantify this point about schools a little differently. Going back and reading my original entry, I could see how it could be read as a knock against schools, more than a belief that...well, I'll get back to the point I was trying to make (unsuccessfully) later. So let me cross out what I wrote, crumple it into a ball, and start again.

First, from personal experience: I am in awe of teachers. Not all of them, but the vast majority of them. I worked in a Japanese school system as an assistant language teacher for a year, and I was amazed at how dedicated those teachers were to their students' well-being. When I was a student, myself (in America), my burgeoning writing career was vastly aided by high school teachers and college professors (even some elementary and middle school teachers). In fact, I think it's safe to say that I wouldn't be writing and reading poetry today if it weren't for my teachers, nor have such a love for writing stories without having had creative writing assignments (where we had to write stories), and the praise that went with my finished products helped me to be where I am today, hoping to become a professional novelist, poet, and playwright. On the other hand, I loved books long before I was made to read them in school.

Now one statement that I want to revise is that innovation cannot be taught. What I meant was that since innovation is something new, a teacher can't "teach" his or her students an innovation, since it would cease to be innovative once it's no longer new. What a teacher can do, however, is to show his or her students what has come before, for what I carelessly disregarded in my emotional reaction to Bill Hays's comment is that innovation always comes from past and present experiences. These experiences tend to come from the creator's background, but when these experiences combine with knowledge of past techniques in a particular art form, innovation can occur.

So what was I trying to say in my previous comment? Basically that while teachers (especially great teachers) can help students to reach their potential, no film teacher is going to be able to teach his or her students how to become the next Steven Spielberg, unless the next Steven Spielberg is in his or her class. Look at Hoop Dreams. Coach Pingatore wanted another Isiah Thomas so badly, he couldn't see the William Gates in front of him.

Also, as many great writers (and directors--look at Ozu) have proven, one doesn't need to go to school to become great at one's craft. The whole idea of school is to expose the students to experiences and ideas that they may not encounter on their own, and to have someone there (the teacher) to make sense of it all--but you can still be creative, innovative, and brilliant in a subject without taking any classes, so long as the knowledge necessary for you to become great is learned somewhere else. Less naturally talented individuals, or those who have had little exposure to their craft, would do well to go to school to learn how to become a director, or a writer, or a painter, while others may not need those classes to unlock their potential.

Now, you are right with your earlier comment about potential. If every single person could unlock his or her potential, perhaps every film would be a masterpiece, or at least a classic. I also was trying to say (and I was not clear on this at all, so I apologize) that going to film school alone is not going to make someone a great director. That comes--like everything else--from experience, and learning the right lessons from each experience (right lessons would be anything that will make the next film much better than the last film). Even "self-taught" filmmakers only get better through experience.

So, I hope that clears everything up. And even if, as you say, it's just a difference of degree and determination that separates, say, an Eliot from lesser poets (I happen to think that natural talent plays a role, too--or would Arthur have been as good as William at St. Joe's if he had applied himself more?), it still separates an Eliot from lesser poets.

I viewed Hoop Dreams for the very first time yesterday and sat in amazment. When the movie was over, I took out the VHS and I didn't know what to do. Hoop Dreams is one of those rare movies where once you watch it, you can't do anything execpt think about the movie. And that is what I did. I was sick that day and I had the house to myself; all I thought about was Hoop Dreams. A hour before I viewed Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums and I muched as I loved that movie, I don't remember the feeling I felt watching that movie than Hoop Dreams. And that feeling is still sticking with me as I type this.

I saw Hoops Dreams back in the day and while I'm not a fan of Basketball, I was no less moved by it and for all the reasons so eloquently articulated by Karl Heinz:

"Hoop Dreams unfolded progressively, without flashback or deliberate hindsight. Each experience of these young men was laid down as a brick in your consciousness, one on top of the other, always building upwards to the final monument of their personal struggle to grow out of the life fate had in store for them. Yet they were not the only ones dealing with 'life', every character in the movie was faced with opportunity and consequence. The scout, the coaches, the families and friends. We watch them all. The families touched me most, especially the scene with the mother receiving her diploma in nursing. A triumph witnessed by an empty room. The struggles were so personal in this movie, we weren't shown the overall image of class or racial discrimination. We were shown the bricks and the mortar, the details of individual lives, and from those lives the bigger picture came into focus, off-screen, in our own minds. What does it mean to struggle and overcome, or struggle and fail? Just what exactly are the obstacles in our lives and who put them there? I think this film shows that some obstacles are placed in front of us by others and some are of our own making. It shows that some failures are really successes and some successes can easily be turned into failures. Like the coach, clinging to his memory of Isiah Thomas. He seemed so trapped to me. I could almost hear Bruce Springsteen's 'Glory Days' playing in the background when he spoke."

So eloquently in fact, I couldn't add to it. Then I heard this track off a CD called Mushroom Jazz 6. It's a compilation of hip-hop/Jazz tunes re-mixed by DJ Mark Farina. "This Beat" features poetry by Jack Kerouac.

"This Beat" by Jazzual Suspects (Mushroom Jazz vol.6: Mark Farina)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8C-LzFARjQ

"...and everything is going to the beat
It's the beat generation, It's the big ....,
It's the beat to keep
It's the beat of the heart
It's being beat and down in the world
And like old time low down
And like in ancient civilizations
The slave boatmen rowing galleys to a beat
The servants spinning pottery to a beat...."

You mentioned Bruce Springsteen. When I think of Hoops Dreams, I think of "This Beat". And I can hear music to lines you wrote Karl, lines like "A triumph witnessed by an empty room."

Hell, that paragraph is one of the best things I've ever read inside the blog. I'll never write that well - but it's nice to know where to aim when I try. :)

Just wanted to share the following in response to Roger's 3 star review of "Pirate Radio"...

If you don't have iTunes, you can go here to listen to Radio Caroline which is still broadcasting from the ship and online via Flash, WMP or VLC player; smile.

http://radiocaroline.servemp3.com/

P.S. they're playing a Beatles tune as I type. :)

I know others have said it, but I'll say it as well.

I saw Hoop Dreams in the theater. And in the year of some great movies (Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, Quiz Show...), I thought that Hoop Dreams was my favorite film that year.

And this was before I knew of your campaigning for the film--I just happened to catch the film without knowing of your fervent love and constant promotion on your show. The first I heard of it was in reading your Top 10 list that year, and I was gobsmacked with the news that you thought it more highly than those other instant-classics.

So, thanks for your promotion. It seemed to have paid off.

More on the doc "ICYIZERE: hope":

Roger, I emailed Patrick Mureithi, and he sent me to the film's trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAN_-Ylpjuw. And of course he said he'll mail you a copy immediately. I gave you his email earlier; I hope you contact him. Thanks so much.

Perhaps this comment will act something like a confession, but I still haven't seen Hoop Dreams. I've been aware of this film since you and Siskel first reviewed it years and years ago when I was still in Elementary school and David Letterman hosted the oscars.

I'm going to Netflix it or look it up on tv. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. This is the service the best critics give to their audience, not just promoting new movies but reviving the old ones too.

Mr. Ebert, have you watched the documentaries Refugee and A.K.A. Don Bonus, both directed by Spencer Nakasako? If you haven’t you simply MUST watch them as they are both excellent! Both are about the American experience. I believe A.K.A Don Bonus was broadcast on PBS and won an Emmy. I saw them both once at my college but later wanted to see them again. After searching the internet I finally found where to get access to them. I’m sure there are other places to find them but I found them here: http://vydc.org/arts_media/0media/6films/0aka/index.html .

link i posted to book review of The Last Shot didn't go through (forgot to put address in quotes in the html tag, should have previewed first!)

Speaking of documentaries, I saw "Food Inc.", yesterday. Super depressing. Today I saw "The Age Of Stupid" and I'm just about ready to slit my wrists, especially considering the following comment from someone with whom I've recently been discussing politics and now have completely lost the will to speak with -

"Nonsense. Liberal enviro-religious dogma. Global Warming dogma is a liberal power grab, which GWB rightly refused to kowtow to. Man did not cause "catastrophic climate change" anymore than we can "prevent" it. By the way, I'm buying sweaters to prepare for what I expect to be an especially hard winter in Illinois."

The future is looking incredibly bleak. The calamities of the first decade of the twenty first century, seem to be just a prelude and I dare not put into words what horrors I envision the future to bring about. Suffice it to say that the thing in this present moment which brings me most satisfaction about my future, is that in it at some point I will be dead and will not leave any offspring to either fight, or to be fought over anything, by anything.

I am ashamed to belong to a species so self-aware and yet so selfish.

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

Sorry if that previous comment ruined your morning Rog, or anyone else's. These are troubled times we find ourselves in.

Roger, is it possible that you'll do another Best of the Decade with Scorsese? I know TV is impossible for you now, but maybe just a correspondence that could be posted on the site.

This entry inspired me to watch the documentary on Netflix - well, the title inspired me, since I didn't read the entry until after I had seen the film. Perhaps it's not quite as impactful fifteen years later because with the advent of ESPN these kinds of stories are commonly shown on TV, but it still amounted to one of the best documentaries I've seen.

The filming probably started with a lot of uncertainty - anything could have eventually happened to Arthur and William, and so it has the effect of observing them in real time. When Arthur had a near death experience, it really hits you how precarious their lives are. It also ended in uncertainty, because college was on ongoing struggle. In between it seemed as if their abstract, near impossible dreams were altered by reality. It's a testament to their perseverance and character that they made it, but the reality of their situations is a very sobering thing to watch. I agree that Sheila's graduation was probably the most astonishing thing about the film. The way in which the camera was positioned behind all of the empty chairs was provocative. Thanks for recommending the film with another great entry.

I haven't had a chance to see "Hoop Dreams" yet, but I just added it to my shopping cart on Amazon, hopefully to purchase soon. I remember reading your review of it a long time ago, and while I remember that it had been an enormously positive review, I didn't realize it had this big an impact on you. I recently bought "Gates of Heaven," almost solely due to your review, and found it to be a strange experience. The film had an almost spiritual-like quality that's hard to put your finger on, and it left me in a mood of quiet reflection upon finishing it. I'm not sure what mood I'll be in after I watch "Hoop Dreams," but I'm looking forward to finding out.

On a (sort of) related note, I finally watched "Sugar," which seems to have a couple small parallels to the story of "Hoop Dreams." I was actually pretty disappointed with it. There were things I liked, but overall I felt like it was a little too safe and overly sanitized, as if the filmmakers were reluctant to get their hands dirty with any real drama. I appreciated that it wasn't all about the "big game," as most sports films are, and instead focused on the story of this one man, but I felt that his particular story had just as many cliches as if they had chosen to follow a more traditional path. None of it really rang true for me; even the baseball scenes, which I had read were extremely authentic, felt pretty over-simplified.

Like I said, though, there were things I liked. Algenis Perez Soto was incredibly real and charismatic in the title role, and at times he actually made you believe what, for me, the writing never could. And there were a small handful of individual scenes that I really liked. But overall I just thought it didn't work.

Anyway, I don't think I'm going to have any of those problems with "Hoop Dreams," because it actually IS real life. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

LOL! OH MY GOD! I was sitting on my bed when I saw it, but had I been on a chair I would probably have fallen off I was laughing so hard. Thank you for that Roger. Thank you for making that video Doug Walker. I grew teary-eyed too. That was sooooooooo funny! I love watching old videos with Roger in them and wish I had seen or known of Gene.

That's a documentary I will watch again. It really lifted my spirits. :)

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

Ebert: Indian Idiot refers to:

http://j.mp/1z4pVJ

I promised myself that I would watch Hoop Dreams after seeing you and Siskel review it when I was a kid (yes, I was one of those youngsters who loved S&E). This blog post reminded me of that promise and so I watched it on Netflix. What a great, rewarding film. I'm still replaying that basketball game between Arthur and Bo in my mind. One of the great moments in film, I think. Immediately after the movie ended, I went online to read as much about William and Arthur's last 20 years as I could.

I was just looking at old Siskel and Ebert clips from 1994 (www.siskelandebert.com). What a year for movies! In addition to Hoop Dreams, here is a partial list of great movies that came out that year (in alphabetical order):

Clerks*
The Crow
Ed Wood
Forrest Gump
Four Weddings and a Funeral*
Heavenly Creatures* (Kate Winslet's first film role)
The Madness of King George*
Natural Born Killers*
New Nightmare
Pulp Fiction
Quiz Show
The Shawshank Redemption

(The starred movies are ones I have yet to see). Must have been something in the water that year.

and not just relevant today because of the further decay of inner city neighborhoods, but the subversion of sports recruitment practices. it's the great american documentary because it continues to reveal that nothing has changed and in fact much has worsened. pro sports has egomaniac juveniles instead of self-confident adults.

Hi Roger.

I am currently a student of documentary at the University of WI Milwaukee.

I am interested in how you define 'documentary?' In your opinion what makes a movie a documentary? When is a movie not a documentary?

And in reference to your article, I would say that Hoop Dreams is certainly great. I have my reservations about calling it the 'great American documentary' simply because there have been too many great and varied documentaries made in the past 100 years in this country. It would be a useless act to pick just one.

Though, if I were to pick just one...

I implore you and your readers (and any fan of Hoop Dreams) to seek out Joel DeMott's and Jeff Kreines' suppressed 1983 masterpiece 'Seventeen.' I would like to see this movie on your Great Films list one of these days.

Ebert: In general, a doc purports to show the real world.

On your recently posted cartoon by Walt Kelly we are agreed. But, wouldn't you also agree that we might just happen to have lesser enemies and on rare occasions, they might also to be us? Good t-shirt. No scratch that..great t-shirt!

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

Ebert:

We could be several of our enemies.

Readers, all these pages for Twitter ae linked down at the bottom of the right-hand column.

Roger said: "We could be several of our enemies."

&

Indian Idiot (H.W.) nodded respectfully in deference to the wisdom of elders & then thought maybe the mother of all inventions dictates to one to be ones own enemy once in a while..

Y'know, time and again I come back to Roger's site to read reviews on some movie or another that comes across my way. It is always a pleasure. He's an excellent writer that has the unique ability to put the feelings you experience from movies onto the page. Thank you.

Meanwhile, today they released the list of the Best Documentary short list for the 2009 Oscars, and Anvil: The Story of Anvil was not on it. I haven't seen all the films (well, ANY of the films) that did make the list, and I'm sure they're all fine. But it is a bit disappointment that a film as crowd-pleasing as Anvil! does not make the cut. I don't know anyone who didn't love that movie.

What ever they be tokin',
her followers sure are smokin',
I wonder what they're inhalin'
puppy lovers of Sarah Palin,
Palin for President if you want the world broken.

I think that follows the general form of the limerick Rog, although I was so tempted to go ABBA on her and the Republicans again. LOL.

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

Her followers are a little nutty
Her running gear's a little slutty,
all red white and blue
designed to deceive you,
and mould you like silly putty.

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

How I loved Pogo. I still have the strip Roger posted up on my browser. The great cartoonists have been replaced by smiley-face artists from Wal-Mart. (Tho' I admit I'm fond of Rose is Rose and Dilbert)

http://www.animationarchive.org/pics/pogo03-big.jpg

Nice write up. I just found a used copy of the Criterion version cheap so I'm going to watch it again after a couple of years of not.

I found this to be as said to be more than a documentary about the subjects. American Movie also works on for me as a view of our country and that movie is heart breaking and warming simultaneously as is this.

I remember having finally checked this out from the Davidson (university) Library during my freshman year at UC Santa Barbara (2002-3) completely because of your high recommendations, including your Top 10 lists that you cited.

P.S. - I had a really bogus dream about the Sears Tower a couple nights ago (fitting since I've never been). Short version- a female office employee informed me that there was no way to get anywhere near the top, the only elevator was for employees and it only went up 30 floors. I was relieved and disappointed.

Steve James made another great documentary called "Stevie." It's in the same vein -- he follows the life of a kid whom he tried to mentor when he was in college. The kid, now as an adult, gets into some major trouble. It's as beautiful a documentary as "Hoop Dreams."

Things you probably never think of -

Film/s:Demented ratio of Mr. Werner Herzog = 5:1

The above is a rough estimation from Herzog's recent interview with Andrew O'Hehir of November 20th 2009 at Salon dot com titled - “Werner Herzog among the demented iguanas” in which he mentions “film/s” 15 times and “demented” three times, ergo out of the next five films he makes, at least one of them is bound to be utterly “demented”.

In case anyone was wondering..

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

Ebert: In a scary way I suspect this probably applies.

Roger said: “In a scary way I suspect this probably applies.”

Tell me about it, Roger. Fancy reviewing “The Wild Blue Yonder”? That is one strange film, which in a very peculiar way manages to be both very cold and detached, as well as an impassioned, fantastical journey along a bizarre time continuum in which past, present and future all coexist in the same instant and serve to show us the unmistakably demented path we have led ourselves on to. There's an inevitability in it, which makes me suspect that it was in a strange way autobiographical and his way of making some sort of peace with the errors of humanity, being a participating member of which, he probably felt, or maybe still feels, responsible for contributing towards its many follies and presents this as a mystical semi-cautionary tale to the rest of us. The visuals are mesmerising to the point of making you feel that indeed there might be some alien sorcery at play here. “The Wild Blue Yonder” was for me one of the ultimate cinematic out of body experiences and remains one of the most interestingly devised films I have ever seen. I know you couldn't review it when it came out, because you weren't well, but how about now? I would be very interested in seeing what you thought of it, even if your opinion of it turned out to be negative, so take us “deeper into movies” please Roger, take us into “The Wild Blue Yonder” of film-land as you understood it. He'll probably write you again to tell you how way off you are, but who cares, I like both his films and your analyses of them :)

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

P.S. Also Roger, “the festering fringe” and the new “longest thread” haven't updated.

I first discovered this film in the weirdest, most round about way: a junior novelization offered in my book order. I, an avid reader of such "books" as a kid, opted to get it simply because I knew Ebert loved the film and fell in love with the story. I was 11. I watched the film and loved it, of course. Watching that film introduced that kid to the possibilities of the documentary. It took 7 years or so for my love of the format to kick in, but films like Man on Wire and The King of Kong prove the adage of truth being stranger than fiction.

I recently ordered Hoop Dreams off of Amazon and watched it for the first time. For one reason or another, just never saw it when it first came out. I am 39, a couple years older than William and Arthur, but seeing the film brought back vivid memories of that time, when Isiah Thomas, then Michael Jordan ruled the NBA. How sad it is to see what Isiah let himself become, but that's another story. Anyway, the film is enlightening and keeps your interest the whole way through. The NBA is such a crapshoot, there are so few players that will ever make it, yet there are thousands of kids throughout the country that legitimately think they're going to be stars. YOu hate to see their dreams squashed, but realistically they need to have something to fall back on. Arthur and William look like they've turned into fine young men.

"Hoop Dreams" really is "The Great American Documentary," the perfect counterpoint to "Citizen Kane." Both interrogate the American success dream, forcing it to reveal its beauty and inspiring power--and its avarice, the venality lurking behind winning-as-the-only-thing. Thanks for reminding us of an indispensable film.

p.s. As for that MOMA noisy/restless audience: I teach a required first-year course, filled with interesting texts--and
all star shoesfilms, most Tuesdays. This term we've watched, among other things, "The Lives of Others," "Hotel Rwanda," "Born Into Brothels," a doc about a Hmong family living in Wisconsin, and a new film, Patrick Mureithi's "Icyizere: Hope," which documents reconciliation workshops being held in Rwanda; we were lucky enough to have Mr. Mureithi accompany his film to provide background and answer students' questions. It all sounds wonderful, yes? But some students chat, and laugh at inappropriate moments, and text and IM and Tweet and twiddle and act like twits--again, some, not most. Whatcha gonna do; it's a pack of young people in a mandatory situation. Just don't watch an eagerly anticipated film in such a setting.

Quick question about a great documentary by Frederick Wiseman. Is there any review or post that talks about "High School" (1969). I'd like to see any writings regarding it.

One of the incredible things about "Hoop Dreams" is how many unbelievably powerful moments that it captures. That is one of the most engaging things about documentaries: the ability to be in the right place at the right time. I wonder what kind of cosmic forces aligned to allow them to capture everything that they did. During the entire film, I can really only remember twice when something significant happened that wasn't captured directly on celluloid: when one of the boys is mugged and when the girl was trying to get pregnant. We see the after shocks of the events, but we didn't actually SEE them.
Most great documentaries are the product of chance and good luck. How powerful would "Harlan County, USA" had been if they didn't capture all of the gun-thugs and the attempted murder on camera? That's not to say that skill isn't involved. Steve James produced a true miracle out of all his footage. It is just that I am always enamored at how much was actually captured by the cameras in this movie.

Nice write up. I just found a used copy of the Criterion version cheap so I'm going to watch it again after a couple of years of not.

One of the incredible things about "Hoop Dreams" is how many unbelievably powerful moments that it captures. That is one of the most engaging things about documentaries: the ability to be in the right place at the right time. I wonder what kind of cosmic forces aligned to allow them to capture everything that they did. During the entire film, I can really only remember twice when something significant happened that wasn't captured directly on celluloid: when one of the boys is mugged and when the girl was figuring out how to get pregnant. We see the after shocks of the events, but we didn't actually SEE them.

Most great documentaries are the product of chance and good luck. How powerful would "Harlan County, USA" had been if they didn't capture all of the gun-thugs and the attempted murder on camera? That's not to say that skill isn't involved. Steve James produced a true miracle out of all his footage. It is just that I am always enamored at how much was actually captured by the cameras in this movie.