The Basketball Diaries (film)

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The Basketball Diaries

Directed by	Scott Kalvert
Produced by	Liz Heller John Bard Manulis
Written by	Jim Carroll (novel), Bryan Goluboff (screenplay)
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date(s)	April 21, 1995
Running time	102 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Basketball Diaries is a 1995 film based on the book of the same name by Jim Carroll. Since its release it has achieved a somewhat cult film status.

Tagline: The true story of the death of innocence and the birth of an artist

1 Plot
2 Controversy
3 Cast
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Jim Carroll (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a high school basketball player. His life centers on basketball, and his dream is being a basketball star. Once in a while he gets stoned with his friends, and step by step, he falls into the dark world of crime and drugs. Once his mother expels him from the house, he goes into the streets of New York, and together with his friends they take drugs for which they steal, rob and even kill. As the time passes, Jim's situation becomes worse. It looks like he will never escape his drug addiction.

[edit] Controversy

Upon the film's release it gained heavy controversy. Due to its portrayal of drug addiction, prostitution and many other controversial subjects, the film was cut in order to receive a R Rating at the MPAA, and was banned in South Korea. The uncut version was later released on DVD in the U.S.

Controversy arose again in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. The film contains a dream sequence in which Jim enters his school while wearing a black trenchcoat and shoots several students and teachers with a shotgun while his friends cheer him on.