The Basketball Diaries

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

1995 1h 42m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 2,298

DramaCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A high school basketball player’s life turns upside down after free-falling into the harrowing world of drug addiction.

“The true story of the death of innocence and the birth of an artist.”

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Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio
Jim Carroll
Bruno Kirby
Swifty
Lorraine Bracco
Jim's Mother
Ernie Hudson
Reggie
Patrick McGaw
Neutron
James Madio
Pedro
Mark Wahlberg
Mickey
Barton Heyman
Confessional Priest

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Scott Kalvert
Writers: Bryan Goluboff, David Cooney
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Scott Kalvert, shot by David Phillips. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Graeme Revell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dana Congdon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Leonardo DiCaprio and Bruno Kirby and Lorraine Bracco carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The true story of the death of innocence and the birth of an artist.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0112461 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Scott Kalvert directs. David Phillips behind the camera. Graeme Revell scores. Dana Congdon cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
231 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Scott Kalvert, shot by David Phillips. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Graeme Revell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Dana Congdon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Leonardo DiCaprio and Bruno Kirby and Lorraine Bracco carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The true story of the death of innocence and the birth of an artist.".
8IMDB entry: tt0112461 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 12 themes, including "new york city", "sports", "heroin", "addiction".