Hoop Dreams

One of the most widely discussed and well-received documentaries of the decade, HOOP DREAMS is a powerful and moving film that intimately chronicles the lives of two Chicago teenagers as they struggle with the pressures of potential basketball stardom. For five years, independent filmmakers Steve James, Frederick Marx, and Peter Gilbert recorded both the private moments and public experiences of Arthur Agee and William Gates. The result is both a sympathetic portrait of two human beings and a stunning expose of the system that exploits "student-athletes."

The film begins in 1986, with a talent scout discovering Arthur and William as 14-year-old stars of the pl...