The Basketball Diaries
More About The Basketball Diaries
Overview
Based on the autobiographical journals of poet Jim Carroll, BASKETBALL DIARIES follows the descent of a Catholic high school student from star basketball player to drug addict. Jim (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his friends roam the streets of New York City as goof-offs, petty thieves, and junkies. Expelled from school for using drugs before a game, Jim is also thrown out of his house and takes up street hustling. A pre-superstardom DiCaprio gives a strong performance in this gritty and uncompromising look at being young and streetwise.
Main Cast & Crew
Scott Kalvert - Director
Leonardo DiCaprio
Bruno Kirby
Lorraine Bracco
Ernie Hudson
Patrick McGaw
James Madio
Mark Wahlberg
Barton Heyman
Roy Cooper
Josh Mostel
Details
- Format: DVD
- Run Time: 102
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 660200310028
- Genre: Drama
- Rating: R (MPAA)
- Release Date: February 1999
Related Categories:
Movies > Dramas
Movies > Biography
Related Keywords:
Coming Of Age
True Story
Self-Discovery
Social Issues
Theatrical Release
New York City
Movie Reviews
More Details
Notes:
Excerpts of Jim Carroll's book "The Basketball Diaries" first appeared in "The Paris Review" in 1970. The book was published in 1978.
Jim Carroll's song "People Who Died" was a New Wave hit in the early 1980s.
Rated BBFC 18 by the British Board of Film Classification.
Additional credits: Kathie Hersch (line producer); Diana D. Schmidt (unit production manager); David C. Dean, Robert C. Albertell (assistant directors); David C. Robinson (costume design); Verne Caruso (hairstylist); Joshua Wingett (music editor); Billy Gottlieb (music co-ordinator).
Reviews:
"...DiCaprio is electrifying....A wild ride fueled by profane wit and hallucinatory power..." - 03/23/1995 Rolling Stone, p.127-8
"...[The film] pulsates as an early-'60s time capsule..." - 04/21/1995 USA Today, p.7D
"...Energetic....A glimpse of the great actor Leonardo DiCaprio is going to be." - 04/21/1995 Entertainment Weekly, p.39
"...[DiCaprio delivers] a game, highly emotional performance that further confirms previous indications of a major talent..." - 02/06/1995 Variety
"...[DiCaprio is] a stunning natural performer who hides nothing, with the wrenching expressions of a latter-day James Dean..." - 04/21/1995 New York Times, p.C12