Hoop Dreams 1994

Critics score:
98 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Caryn James, New York Times: The film's great achievement is to reveal the relentless way in which coaches and recruiters refuse to see Arthur and William as anything other than social cliches. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: A heady dose of the American dream and the American nightmare combined -- a numbing investigation of how one point on an exam or one basket or turnover in a game can make all the difference in a family's fortunes. Read more

Entertainment Weekly: Read more

David Ansen, Newsweek: Hoop Dreams has shown us that the rules of the game are stacked against kids like Gates and Agee. Even better, it shows us how they fight back, with the inside moves of hope. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: This picture has a legitimate dramatic structure that is equally as compelling as a scripted slice of fiction. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Along the way it becomes a revealing and heartbreaking story about life in America. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A documentary that breathes new life into the subject by showing the everyday reality of that dream. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: It's about three hours long. But it moves like Isiah, fast and smooth, and it's over in a heartbreak. Read more

Derek Adams, Time Out: Unforgettable. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: A prodigious achievement that conveys the fabric of modern American life, aspirations and incidentally, sports, in close-up and at length, Hoop Dreams is a documentary slam dunk. Read more

Hal Hinson, Washington Post: The most powerful movie about sports ever made. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: An extraordinarily affecting documentary. Read more