Like many such stories, it lingers lovingly over the horrors, and ends with unseemly haste after happiness is regained. Find another region in the 1960s that experienced as much drug use. It is a stomachwrenching glimpse into the lives of those addicted to heroin and other drugs. Jim carroll, poet and punk rocker who wrote the basketball. It is a remake of the 1995 film directed by scott derrickson and starring joshua pontinelli, julie bowen, miles teller and moises arias plot. 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. A still of leonardo dicaprio in the basketball diaries from this weeks copycat killers on reelz. Based on jim carroll s own autobiographical novel, the film follows carrolls life from a young boy growing up in the bronx with his friends at a strict catholic boys school. Scott kalverts the basketball diaries, starring leonardodicaprio, opened friday, april 21, 1995, in selected cities. A study guide for jim carrolls the basketball diaries, excerpted from the gale groups acclaimed nonfiction classics for students series. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. The basketball diaries always did so well and i think it was a combination because my first record album did so well. The basketball diaries and the book of nods by jim carroll. The basketball diaries 1995 scott kalvert synopsis.
A study guide for jim carrolls the basketball diaries. It tells the story of carrolls teenage years as a promising high school basketball player and writer who develops an addiction to heroin. It is an edited collection of the diaries he kept between the ages of twelve. I dont think of the basketball diaries when i consider those two novels. Jim carroll grew up to become a renowned poet and punk rocker. A highschool shooting claimed to have been inspired by a scene from leonardo dicaprio film the. In the first entry, we learn that jim is about to play in his first organized basketball league game. 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. Additionally, the book doesnt really end, but trails off into nothingness as carroll spirals into robbing people at knifepoint to pay for his heroin addiction. Designed with busy students in mind, this concise study guide includes. Jims mom kicks him out because she cant deal with it.
Find another region in the 1960s that experienced as much drug use, prostitution, and crime as new york. The basketball diaries, reissued in a massmarket edition in 1980, became enormously popular, especially on college campuses. The basketball diaries is an autobiographical account of jim carrolls life between the ages 12. Jim carrolls cult book the basketball diaries, published in 1978, describes in grungy detail how the author passed in a few short months from.
As the leader of the jim carroll band he released three albums as well as several spoken word recordings. Its solid film with a good message that fails to be as effective as it could have been or as inspiring as. After parents day, this is the second episode to feature all of the main characters. The film focuses on jim and his friends who are on a basketball team in a catholic high school in new york city. It to beaver and woodstock, jim carroll began writing his basketball diaries at the age of 12. The main character, jimmy carroll dicaprio was a promising basketball player and through his constant diary writings he showed us he was an deep. A teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star. They get really into doing drugs and end up getting kicked out of school.
Jim carroll leonardo dicaprio is consumed by his life as a high school basketball star. The basketball diaries book summary and study guide. Jims only chance to escape addiction may be reggie ernie hudson, a. The basketball diaries is a collection of entries from the journal of jim carroll. The urban classic comingofage story about sex, drugs, and basketball jim carroll grew up to become a renowned poet and punk rocker. The basketball diaries details his adventures from 1963, aged, playing basketball and getting into scrapes and getting into reading this book, i realised that these were all his friends all people who died. With leonardo dicaprio, lorraine bracco, marilyn sokol, james madio. The basketball diaries 1978 is the memoir of jim carroll, who was both a famous. The basketball diaries is a weaktea rendition of jim carrolls muchadmired cult tome about his teenage drug addiction. Dicaprios performance is his among his best, pulling no punches while conveying the relentless thirst of a junkie.
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. 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. The film is an adaptation of poet and memoirist jim carrolls juvenile diaries chronicling his kaleidoscopic freefall into the harrowing world of drug. In a film adaptation in 1995, leonardo dicaprio played the part. The classic about growing up hip on new yorks mean streets at. Oct 06, 2004 plot synopsis the basketball diaries is the true story of jim carroll leonardo dicaprio gifted poet, talented basketball player, and hopeless addict. The film is supposedly an adaptation of jim carrolls autobiographical book the basketball diaries, which records his experiences as a teenager in early1960s new york city. Watch the film adaptation of the basketball diaries and compare it to the book. 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. Pressured by a wicked coach bruno kirby and a concerned mother lorraine bracco, jim develops an appetite for heroin. This collection focuses on carroll from ages to 16 and chronicles his experiences living in new york, attending private school, and playing basketball. First published in 1978, the basketball diaries has sold an estimated half a million copies.
The basketball diaries by jim carroll, paperback barnes. Problems with scott kalverts film basketball diaries. Jun 01, 1978 the urban classic comingofage story about sex, drugs, and basketball. Pressured by a wicked coach bruno kirby and a concerned mother lorraine. The basketball diaries is based on an autobiographical book by jim carroll who is played in the film by leonardo dicaprio. In the first entry of the basketball diaries, a thirteenyearold carroll uses a fake birth certificate from his coach, lefty, to get into a twelveandunder basketball league.
Sep 14, 2009 the basketball diaries, reissued in a massmarket edition in 1980, became enormously popular, especially on college campuses. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the basketball diaries by jim carroll. The basketball diaries i heard the book was better. This episode shares its title with with a 1995 drama film and a book, basketball diaries, written by jim carroll. The basketball diaries is a 1978 memoir written by author and musician jim carroll.
The basketball diaries was another opportunity for dicaprio to prove he could take on anything thrown at him, and his performance is the reason. The urban classic comingofage story about sex, drugs, and basketball. Carrolls work includes several collections of poetry as well as a asecond memoir, forces entries. Jim carrolls bestselling memoir the basketball diaries was first released in 1978 and adapted as a film in 1995. Learn about the book and the historical context in which it was written. 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. There are more scenes of drug use and teen violence in this movie than i have almost seen in any other place. The basketball diaries 1995 jim carroll leonardo dicaprio is consumed by his life as a high school basketball star.
The basketball diaries begins with carrolls acceptance into an authentic basketball league, which for him is the first time he plays basketball for real. The basketball diaries came out before the catholic boy album came out. Jim and his friends scrounge, steal and prostitute themselves to score drugs. Franks spoiled movie endings the basketball diaries 1995. Buy the basketball diaries new edition by carroll, jim isbn. Soon, the mean streets of new york city have replaced the basketball court as his main destination. The character has the same name in both the book and the movie. Plot synopsis the basketball diaries is the true story of jim carroll leonardo dicaprio gifted poet, talented basketball player, and hopeless addict. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. The next generation this disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title the basketball diaries. Differences between the basketball diaries book vs movie. Write a twopage portrait of what life was like for individuals who grew up in this area during this time. The diary begins in the fall of 1963 and describes the activities that take place in jims life.
The basketball diaries 19631966 book by jim carroll. The basketball diaries by jim carroll study guide consists of approx. Dec 31, 2012 the basketball diaries is the true story of jim carroll, teenager growing up in new york. Leonardo dicaprios committed lead performance deserves a better context. 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. The basketball diaries synopsis favorite movie button. 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. Carroll and his friends sniff cleaning fluid to get high, steal purses, and steal from another basketball team. It becomes obvious that the main character jimmy carroll fails many of the stages of childhood and adolescent development, and this leads to a decline in the quality in his life as. The basketball diaries 2015 remake fanon wiki fandom. An introduction to the basketball diaries by jim carroll. The first scene of the movie is after being beaten for some offense or another at his. Even with these flaws, though, the basketball diaries is a classic of american literature for a reason. 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.
A teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction. Killings said to have been inspired by leonardo dicaprio. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Jun 30, 1995 first published in 1978, the basketball diaries has sold an estimated half a million copies. Carroll lives and works in new york city, where, as of 2002, he is working on his first novel. The character featured in the final freezeframe for this episode is jimmy first time. This 1995 film portrays the highly autobiographical novel by jim carroll about his free fall from great. The basketball diaries is american crime sport film based on the jim carroll book of the same name.
For those that say the book has no plot or structure, keep in mind that this is a diary. Jim, pedro, and mickey are all friends that play basketball together in high school. Today was my first biddy league game and my first day in any organized basketball league. The basketball diaries has an excellent cast that makes up for it plot which lack depth. From the start of the film, the boys demonstrate a totally hedonistic and immoral attitude toward life. One of their good friends ends up dying from leukemia. The basketball diaries book vs movie add a difference.
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