The Basketball Diaries (1995)

Director:

Scott Kalvert

Writers (WGA):

Jim Carroll (based on the novel by)
Bryan Goluboff (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 April 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Film adaptation of street tough Jim Carroll's epistle about his kaleidoscopic free fall into the harrowing world of drug addiction...

Plot Keywords:

Basketball | Street | Drug | Friend | Addiction

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Jim Carroll
Lorraine Bracco	...	Jim's Mother
Marilyn Sokol	...	Chanting Woman
James Madio	...	Pedro
Patrick McGaw	...	Neutron
Mark Wahlberg	...	Mickey
Roy Cooper	...	Father McNulty
Vincent Pastore	...	Construction Worker (as Vinnie Pastore)
Bruno Kirby	...	Swifty
Jimmy Papiris	...	Iggy
Nick Gaetani	...	Referee #1
Alexander Chaplin	...	Bobo (as Alexander Gaberman)
Ben Jorgensen	...	Tommy
Josh Mostel	...	Counterman
Juliette Lewis	...	Diane Moody

Also Known As:

Streets of New York (International: English title) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic depiction of drug addiction with related strong violence,sexuality and language.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Australia:MA (cable rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 (video rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Canada:14A (DVD rating) | Australia:R | Germany:12 (bw) | Norway:15 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (NO. 33624) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Forest Hills High School, Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Stephen Lang was offered the role of Jim's Basketball Coach named Swifty in the script. Lang declined citing the misrepresentation of the book in the script. The part was subsequently toned down as a result.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the cops enter the ice cream store they are not wearing 1960s police uniforms. They are actually exactly like the 1990s uniforms - when the movie is made.

Quotes:

Jim: ...did I ever tell you about the first time I did heroin?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Soundtrack:

Watusi Latin Boogaloo

St. Vitus' Dance

There is a type of disease associated with St. Vitus and this film qualifies in the comparison because it's quirky, fast, and it never stops moving. Director Scott Kalvert gives the movie a 'look' that makes the Manhattan of the period when it supposedly takes place, believable.

Leonardo DiCaprio was at his best in the film. His performance is very nuanced and in your face, at the same time. Mr. DiCaprio makes you feel the pain Jim is going through; he is a lost soul. Not being a fan of Mark Wahlberg, I must confess that in this film, be it because of the direction, or whatever, he shines, as Mickey.

As Jim's mother, Lorraine Bracco has never been better in anything she has been in recent memory. Bruno Kirby is perfectly creepy as the coach of St. Vitus High School.

As far as the connection with the Columbine School massacre, since the sequence where Jim is involved is a dream, it's easy to understand how the twisted minds of the ones responsible for the killings would have taken this scene as a model for their terrible crime.