The basketball diaries has an excellent cast that makes up for it plot which lack depth. In the movie, the basketball diaries, a pretitanic leonardo dicaprio plays the role of a freespirited high schooler named jim carroll who gets pulled in by the lure of addiction. Carrolls work includes several collections of poetry as well as a asecond memoir, forces entries. As the leader of the jim carroll band he released three albums as well as several spoken word recordings.
The basketball diaries definitely provides a gruesome reality of this disease instead of the glorified and glamorous depiction some hollywood movies portray drug use to be. Jim carroll started writing what would become the basketball diaries when he was just 12 years old. The basketball diaries 1995 jim carroll leonardo dicaprio is consumed by his life as a high school basketball star. Like many such stories, it lingers lovingly over the horrors. Jim carrolls bestselling memoir the basketball diaries was first released in 1978 and adapted as a film in 1995. In the movie jim develops a serious drug addiction. The basketball diaries is a 1995 drama film directed by scott kalvert and based on the memoir of the same name by jim carroll the film depicts carrolls life growing up in new york city as a 16yearold with his group of best friends. The son of irish bartenders, carroll grew up in upper manhattan.
The diary begins in the fall of 1963 and describes the activities that take place in jims life. Released on february 18, 1994, blue chips was, at the time, the. The basketball diaries by jim carroll, paperback barnes. Financial analysis of the basketball diaries 1995 including budget, domestic and international box office gross, dvd and bluray sales reports, total earnings and profitability. As a member of a seemingly unbeatable high school basketball squad, jims life centers around the basketball court and the court becomes a metaphor for the world in his mind. Many heavy factors in his life including a friend dying of leukemia, an invasive coach, and a growing unhealthy appetite for heroine. Carroll describes growing up in new york city and the challenges he faces trying to stay out of trouble. This article is within the scope of wikiproject film. At 20, dicaprio has already won an oscar nomination for. Home background the basketball diaries the basketball diaries film guide scenebyscene reference. The basketball diaries is a weaktea rendition of jim carrolls muchadmired cult tome about his teenage drug addiction.
Like many such stories, it lingers lovingly over the horrors, and ends with unseemly haste after happiness is regained. The basketball diaries 1995 scott kalvert synopsis. It was later claimed he may have been inspired from a dreamsequence scene from 1995 film the basketball diaries in which dicaprios character jim carroll shoots students at his school. Later adapted into a movie, the story depicts the consequences of drug. Feb 21, downloadread the cats that surfed the web the cats that. The basketball diaries was another opportunity for dicaprio to prove he could take on anything thrown at him, and his performance is the reason. Jim carroll grew up to become a renowned poet and punk rocker. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Although it masquerades as a cautionary tale about the horrors of. Certain download the basketball diaries ebook pdf free.
Basketball diaries vhs vintage 90s cult classic heroin junkie movie. I wrote this analysis for the jim carroll website and not for the leonardo dicaprio fan club or the filmic technique appreciation society. Remembering the teen athlete who wrote basketball diaries. Film adaptation of street tough jim carrolls epistle about his kaleidoscopic free fall into the harrowing world of drug addiction. The basketball diaries is a tale about a young and new york high school student, jim carroll, whose drug addiction unleashed a series of events and poor decisions, almost costing him his life. Leonardo dicaprio as jim carroll in the basketball. His life centers around the basketball, and his dream is being a basketball star. Over the past few days in class we have watched a movie called basketball diaries this movie about a young man named jim carroll.
The 1995 film the basketball diaries is set in the slums of manhattan where a high school basketball player, jim carroll dicaprio, and his friends ultimately take a sharp nosedive into the tragic world of drug addiction. He has been king of the world and the toast of oscar night, but back in 1995, leonardo dicaprio just had some hoop dreams. The basketball diaries is a 1995 american biographical crime drama film directed by scott kalvert and based on an autobiographical novel by the same name written by jim carroll. Distributed by new line cinema, the basketball diaries stars leonardo dicaprio. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the basketball diaries by jim carroll.
Expelled from school for using drugs before a game, jim is also thrown out of his house and takes up street hustling. The next generation this disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title the basketball diaries. This study guide consists of approximately 85 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the basketball diaries. To use this banner, please refer to the documentation. Simply put, the basketball diaries is one of the best films ive ever seen that implores a literal poetic narrative.
The basketball diaries 1995 jim carroll leonardo dicaprio is a high school basketball player. March 20, 20 i saw this girl next to me who wasnt beautiful until she smiled. Taken in the correct context, this is an amazing work full of meaning and emotion while fully symbolizing a time and place thats become culturally historic. Leonardo dicaprios committed lead performance deserves a better context. Dicaprios performance is his among his best, pulling no punches while conveying the relentless thirst of a junkie. Aided by a strong supporting cast, including mark wahlberg as his closest junkie pal mickey and lorraine bracco as his mother, dicaprio is able to create empathy for a character that seems to lose all sense of morality very early on. Jim carroll lived in new york city and passed away in september 2009. Starring leonardo dicaprio, bruno kirby, lorraine bracco, ernie hudson. Start this article has been rated as startclass on the projects. Jim and his friends roam the streets of new york city as goofoffs, petty thieves, and junkies. In this scene from the basketball diaries, jim carrol leonardo dicaprio has a complete. This document attempts to link each scene in scott kalverts film the basketball diaries to specific entries in jim carrolls autobiography of the same title. Very loosely based on the memoir of the same name, the basketball diaries transposes the late 60s adolescence of writerartist jim carroll to some unspecified time period at least 15 years later, further confusing the timeframe with three decades of rock music, some by carroll himself. The basketball diaries 1978 is the memoir of jim carroll, who was both a famous poet and punk rocker.
Whether hippie, sociologist, historian or someone looking for an offbeat but still mesmerizing read, the basketball diaries is the for you. The basketball diaries is made up of a series of entries in the diary of jim carroll, a thirteen yearold boy living in the lower east side of manhattan. Killings said to have been inspired by leonardo dicaprio. Pressured by a wicked coach bruno kirby and a concerned mother lorraine. But in this memoir of the mid1960s, set during his comingofage from 12 to 15, he was a rebellious teenager making a place and a name for himself on the unforgiving streets of new york city. Though basketball is its central conceit, basketball diaries is not a sports film at least not in the conventional sense. With leonardo dicaprio, lorraine bracco, marilyn sokol, james madio.
The urban classic comingofage story about sex, drugs, and basketball. In the first entry, we learn that jim is about to play in his first organized basketball league game. And although the movie ends on a somewhat optimistic note, fans of carrolls work know that the mans struggles carried over long into adulthood. Very loosely based on the memoir of the same name, the basketball diaries transposes the late 60s adolescence of. The publication of jim carrolls diary, entitled the basketball diaries. To improve this article, please refer to the guidelines. New york film locations from the movie the basketball diaries starring leonardo dicaprio.
The basketball diaries 1978 is the memoir of jim carroll, who was both a famous. Its solid film with a good message that fails to be as effective as it could have been or as inspiring as. The way that the lives of addicts are depicted in this movie is accurate. It tells the story of carrolls teenage years as a promising high school basketball player and writer who develops an addiction to heroin.
When it was finally brought to the screen in 1995, jim carrolls the basketball diaries was updated to the present. I dont like this film, and i have no obligation to say anything nice about it. It is a stomachwrenching glimpse into the lives of those addicted to heroin and other drugs. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see lists of open tasks and regional and topical task forces. Teenager jim carroll is a high school basketball player who regularly gets into mischief with his friends pedro, mickey and neutron. As a member of a seemingly unbeatable high school basketball squad, jims life centers around the basketball court and. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. The 1995 film the basketball diaries is set in the slums of manhattan where a high school basketball player, jim carroll dicaprio, and his friends ultimately. One of the most heartwrenching, emotional clips ive ever watched. Conveniently, this left the producers with the option to assemble an allstar alternative rock soundtrack for the film and have it not seem out of place. Carroll is a member of an apparently unbeatable high school basketball squad. The basketball diaries is a story of the harsh realities of drug addiction and the ease in which occasional drug use turns into a daily must. The memoir is very popular with both carrolls fans and critics, and it was eventually made into a 1995 film starring leonardo dicaprio.
Perhaps the book has an immediacy, a poetry, that just cant be captured on film. The book of the basketball diaries was published 1978. A teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction. But basketball movies will always hold a special place on our list of alltime great sports films. Once in a while he gets stoned with his friends, and step by step, he falls. Jim carrolls cult book the basketball diaries, published in 1978, describes in grungy detail how the author passed in a few short months from being a catholic high school basketball star to being a strungout heroin addict who turned tricks for drugs. 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 carrolls cult book the basketball diaries, published in 1978, describes in grungy detail how the author passed in a few short months from. Check out leonardo dicaprio in the basketball diaries for a lesson in how its done. Like carrolls own words, kalverts film is unflinching and raw. A scenebyscene reference guide this document attempts to link each scene in scott kalverts film the basketball diaries to specific entries in jim carrolls autobiography of the same title. The story, the basketball diaries, tends to focus on the adolescent stages of development, due to the reason that the story is centered on the life of a teenage boy. I have studied carrolls work for ten years, and after viewing.
More movie shopping save money with nextcard visa t hough basketball is its central conceit, basketball diaries is not a sports filmat least not in the conventional sense. Mostly being hoodlums and delinquents already, jim gets introduced to drugs and eventually gets kicked out of high school as he starts to spiral down. Home background the basketball diaries the basketball diaries film guide problems with the film. The basketball diaries is a 1995 american biographical crime dramafilm directed by scott kalvert and based on an autobiographical novel by the same name written by jim carroll.