The Basketball Diaries (film)

The Basketball Diaries

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Scott Kalvert
Produced by Liz Heller
John Bard Manulis
Written by Jim Carroll
(Novel)
Bryan Goluboff (Screenplay)
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio
Lorraine Bracco
James Madio
Mark Wahlberg
Bruno Kirby
Music by Graeme Revell
Cinematography David Phillips
Edited by Dana Congdon
Production
company
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Release dates
  • April 21, 1995 (1995-04-21)
Running time
 104 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $2.4 million[1]

The Basketball Diaries is a 1995 American coming of age crime drama film directed by Scott Kalvert, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, James Madio, and Mark Wahlberg. The film is an adaptation of Jim Carroll's autobiographical work of the same name, telling the story of Carroll's teenage years as a promising high school basketball player and writer who developed an addiction to heroin with his misguided friends.

Jim Carroll's original "Basketball Diaries" was written in the 1960s (and later published in 1978), but the film is set in the 1990s.

Plot

The film is an adaptation of poet and memoirist Jim Carroll's (Leonardo DiCaprio) juvenile diaries chronicling his kaleidoscopic free-fall into the harrowing world of drug addiction. As a member of a seemingly unbeatable high school basketball squad, Jim's life centers on the basketball court and the court becomes a metaphor for the world in his mind. A best friend who is dying of leukemia, a coach ("Swifty") who takes unacceptable liberties with the boys on his team, teenage sexual angst, and an appetite for cocaine and heroin all begin to encroach on young Jim's dream of becoming a basketball star.

Soon, the dark streets of New York become a refuge from his mother's mounting concern for her son. He cannot go home and his only escape from the reality of the streets is heroin for which he steals, robs and prostitutes himself. Only with the help of Reggie, an older neighborhood friend with whom Jim "picked up a game" now and then, is he able to begin the long journey back to sanity, which ultimately ends with Jim's incarceration in Riker's Island. After months in prison, he leaves and later does a talk show about his drug life, after turning down free drugs from his old friend, Pedro.

Cast

Reception

The film currently holds a 46% "Rotten" rating at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.[2] Roger Ebert gave two stars out of four, concluding, "At the end, Jim is seen going in through a "stage door," and then we hear him telling the story of his descent and recovery. We can't tell if this is supposed to be genuine testimony or a performance. That's the problem with the whole movie."[3]

Lawsuits

After the 1997 Heath High School shooting, activist Jack Thompson brought this film into a $33 million lawsuit in 1999 claiming that the film's plot (along with two internet pornography sites, several computer game companies, and makers and distributors of the 1994 film Natural Born Killers) caused the 14-year-old Michael Carneal to shoot members of a prayer group. The case was dismissed in 2001.[4][5]

The film became controversial in the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre and the Heath High School shooting, when critics noted similarities between these shooting attacks and a fantasy sequence in the film in which the protagonist wears a black trenchcoat and shoots six classmates in his school classroom. The film has been specifically named in lawsuits brought by the relatives of murder victims.[6][7][8][9]

Soundtrack

The Basketball Diaries soundtrack was released in 1995 by PolyGram to accompany the film, featuring songs from Pearl Jam and PJ Harvey. AllMusic rated it three stars out of five.[10]

No. TitleWriter(s)Artist Length
1. "Catholic Boy"  Jim CarrollJim Carroll with Pearl Jam 3:05
2. "Devil's Toe"  Jim CarrollGraeme Revell with Jim Carroll 0:56
3. "Down by the Water"  P J HarveyP J Harvey 3:14
4. "What a Life!"  Glyn "Bigga" Bush, Richard "DJ Dick" Whittingham, Rob McKenzieRockers Hi-Fi 4:02
5. "I Am Alone"  Jim CarrollGraeme Revell with Jim Carroll 1:33
6. "People Who Died"  Jim Carroll, Brian Linsley, Steve Linsley, Terrell Winn, Wayne WoodsThe Jim Carroll Band 5:00
7. "Riders on the Storm"  Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray ManzarekThe Doors 6:56
8. "Dizzy"  Ty Willman, Mari Ann Braeden, Danny K, Bob "Mink" Martin, Steve RossGreen Apple Quick Step 3:10
9. "It's Been Hard"  Jim CarrollGraeme Revell with Jim Carroll 0:53
10. "Coming Right Along"  Jon Auer, Ken StringfellowThe Posies 6:17
11. "Strawberry Wine"  Salvadore Poe, Adam FlaxMassive Internal Complications 3:59
12. "Star"  Ian Astbury, Billy DuffyThe Cult 5:00
13. "Dream Massacre"   Graeme Revell 1:23
14. "I've Been Down"  FleaFlea 4:38
15. "Blind Dogs"  Chris Cornell, Kim ThayilSoundgarden 4:40
Not featured on CD
No. TitleWriter(s)Artist Length
1. "Dancing Barefoot"  Patti Smith, Ivan KralJohnette Napolitano  
2. "Watusi Latin Boogaloo"  Joey AltrudaThe Joey Altruda Latin Explosion  

References

  1. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=basketballdiaries.htm
  2. ↑ "The Basketball Diaries". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  3. ↑ Ebert, Roger. "The Basketball Diaries". Chicago Sun-Times.
  4. ↑ Chalk, Andy (2007-07-07). "Legally Insane: A History of Jack Thompson's Antics". The Escapist. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  5. ↑ AP (April 13, 1999), Media Companies Are Sued in Kentucky Shooting, The New York Times
  6. ↑ Carter, Nick (1999-05-06). "Linking of 'Basketball Diaries,' Columbine Shootings Upsets Author". CatholicBoy.com. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  7. ↑ "Moral Panics and Violence in the Media". Mediaknowall.com. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  8. ↑ "Media Companies Are Sued in Kentucky Shooting". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  9. ↑ Sink, Mandy (2002-03-06). "National Briefing: Rockies; COLORADO: COLUMBINE LAWSUIT DISMISSED". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  10. ↑ The Basketball Diaries (film) at AllMusic

External links

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