Steve James returns to his hometown of Hampton, Virginia to examine the 1993 bowling alley brawl that landed Allen Iverson, the nation’s top high-school basketball player, in jail and divided the community along racial lines. —SXSW
Steve James is the director of the acclaimed film Hoop Dreams, which won the Documentary Audience Award at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win multiple major critics’ prizes and an Academy Award nomination for best editing; Stevie, which won the Documentary Excellence in Cinematography Award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival; and At the Death House Door, which won numerous festival awards. James has just completed No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson for the acclaimed ESPN series 30 for 30. –Sundance
solid doc from James, it's no Hoop Dreams but still a good look at Iverson during his early years. I knew about Iverson's rep but was totally unaware of the Hampton brawl that sent him to jail. It's actually more focused on racial tensions in Virginia and a flawed legal system than it is about basketball.
White nerd inspired to thoughtfulness by triumphs & travails of divinely gifted black man. What's interesting this time is how A.I. disappears for long stretches, & S.J. lets non-famous citizens of Hampton take the point. If they speak to one another w/ the same ease w/ which they speak to the camera, there's hope for this town. Most endearing, saddest moment is still A.I.'s: his smile upon receiving his HS diploma.
