--- title: "Hoop Dreams: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/hoop-dreams/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/hoop-dreams" critics_score: 87 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Hoop Dreams (1994): what the critics said Critics' score 87 from 14 reviews: 13 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Almost every critic writing about Hoop Dreams reaches the same conclusion: the film’s real interest lies away from the court. The reviews praise the patience of the filmmakers, who follow two Chicago teenagers and their families for more than four years, and the way ordinary scenes of school grades, injuries and money worries build into a portrait of poverty and opportunity in America. Several find it says more about class than most sociology, and more than the fiction films made about the same sport. The reservations are few and small. A handful of critics mention the near three-hour running time, though most decide it earns its length. The one real dissent comes from Sight and Sound, where bell hooks finds the film moving as drama but argues it is not a great documentary, objecting to a white filmmaker’s view of black life and an uncritical faith in competition and the American dream. Nobody else follows her; the spread is narrow. ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★★. 25 October 2019. This is the original modern sports documentary, an Oscar-nominated epic that shows what happens behind the sport is more interesting than the action on court. It follows two inner-city players through recruitment, injuries, bad grades and social inequality. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/hoop-dreams-1994-review-a-sports-documentary-rich-in-backstage-tension-ws3mpjd0b) ## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd Rating A. 1 April 2015. The critic praises the film's intimate, epic chronicle of two Chicago teens pursuing basketball dreams amid systemic obstacles. It singles out the director's focus on everyday moments and family dynamics for revealing the harsh realities of chasing athletic success. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/two-teens-reach-for-their-hoop-dreams-in-this-nonfictio-1798183295) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic calls it an extraordinarily compelling documentary that follows two Chicago boys' basketball aspirations over four years and outclasses fictional basketball films of the era. It praises the film's focus on the personal and social pressures they face while raising fundamental issues about 1990s America. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/hoop-dreams-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 October 1994. The critic hails the film as a landmark American documentary that zips by entertainingly while telling more about society than sociological studies, thanks to the filmmakers' years-long commitment to following the two players' real lives. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-19-ca-51975-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 October 1994. The critic calls it one of the great moviegoing experiences of his lifetime, praising how the film captures the ebb and flow of the two boys' lives over years while revealing the texture of daily existence in poor black city neighborhoods and broader social issues. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hoop-dreams-1994) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 March 2015. The critic hails the film as a great American movie and a nuanced portrait of class inequality and the American dream through the lives of two aspiring basketball players. It singles out the restrained, humane observation of the subjects and their families without sentimentality or exploitation. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/hoop-dreams/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 October 2019. The heartfelt documentary follows two Chicago teenagers over five years as they pursue basketball scholarships and a better life. The critic praises its candid look at poverty and opportunity alongside the pure poetry of the sport itself. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/25/hoop-dreams-review-basketball-doc-slam-dunks-the-power-of-hope) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 22 April 1995. The critic finds the documentary gripping, moving and eye-opening, fulfilling most high expectations from other reviews. They single out its length as a minor drawback but praise its dramatic power and lament the small audiences it drew in London cinemas. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/cries-and-whispers-5426812.html) ## The New Yorker — Terrence Rafferty Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 October 1994. Festival review. The review finds the nearly three-hour documentary engrossing for its patient observation of the pressures on the two teens and their families, ultimately shifting the viewer's focus from predicting NBA success to rooting for their personal resilience and growth. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1994/10/17/1994-10-17-113-tny-cards-000149492) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 1994. Festival review. The review praises the film's intimate portrait of two young basketball players from Chicago's inner city as they pursue their dreams amid socioeconomic challenges. It highlights the documentary's realistic depiction of their struggles and aspirations over several years. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/07/movies/film-festival-review-hoop-dreams-dreaming-the-dreams-realizing-the-realities.html) ## Time Out — TCh Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). The critic calls the film an essential inner-city epic that chronicles the diverging fortunes of two young basketball prodigies from a Chicago housing project over four years. They single out the cumulative emotional power from over 250 hours of footage and the devastating portrayal of sport as the only ticket out of the ghetto for praise, declaring it unforgettable. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/hoop-dreams) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 February 1994. Festival review. The review calls it a prodigious achievement and documentary slam dunk for its intimate epic chronicle of the boys' lives, families, and communities over 4½ years, noting the filmmakers' tenacious commitment despite the long running time. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/hoop-dreams-1200435881/) ## Sight and Sound — bell hooks Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). The critic finds the film moving as a real-life drama but argues it is not a great documentary and critiques its ethnographic approach from a white standpoint that commodifies black life. She singles out the positive portrayal of black mothers for praise while complaining about stereotypical representations of black fathers and an uncritical embrace of the American dream of competition. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/dreams-conquest-bell-hooks-hoop-dreams) ## Collider — Andre Dellamorte Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2015. The critic declares Hoop Dreams one of the greatest films ever made and one of the greatest documentaries, calling it one of the greatest films about the American dream. He singles out how the long-form portrait lets viewers watch the two boys grow into men over years. [Read the review](https://collider.com/criterion-blu-ray-reviews-sullivans-travels-cries-and-whispers-hoop-dreams/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/hoop-dreams.md