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The Basketball Diaries (1995)
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Overview
Tagline:
The true story of the death of innocence and the birth of an artist morePlot:
Film adaptation of street tough Jim Carroll's epistle about his kaleidoscopic free fall into the harrowing world of drug addiction... more | full synopsis (warning! may contain spoilers)User Comments:
Very scary and realistic movie. As real as it gets. moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 | |
| Bruno Kirby | ... | Swifty | |
| Jimmy Papiris | ... | Iggy | |
| Nick Gaetani | ... | Referee | |
| Alexander Chaplin | ... | Bobo | |
| Ben Jorgensen | ... | Tommy | |
| Josh Mostel | ... | Counterman | |
| Juliette Lewis | ... | Diane Moody | |
| Michael Imperioli | ... | Bobby |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for graphic depiction of drug addiction with related strong violence,sexuality and language.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
102 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreCertification:
Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Finland:K-15 (video rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | 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 (certificate #33624) | Iceland:16Filming Locations:
Forest Hills High School, Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USA moreMOVIEmeter: 
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
After being nominated for an Oscar for Running on Empty (1988), MTV asked River Phoenix what he wanted to do next. He responded by pulling out a beat up paperback of "The Basketball Diaries" and stated "I wanted to play Jim Carroll." Later, the Los Angeles Times declared, "River Phoenix may have wanted it too much." Leonardo DiCaprio was a fan of Phoenix's. moreGoofs:
Continuity: At the beginning of the film, Jim Carroll is being brutally beaten with a cricket paddle on the buttocks by one of his teachers. The amount of strokes he gets are enough to cause severe bruising or at least serious redness of the skin, yet minutes or hours later, when Jim and the boys are mooning a public ferry from a cliff, not one single bruised or red bottom is to be seen in the row of nude boys. This is inconsistent with Carroll's own words in his book. moreQuotes:
Jim Carroll: You're growing up. And rain sort of remains on the branches of a tree that will someday rule the Earth. And it's good that there is rain. It clears the month of your sorry rainbow expressions, and it clears the streets of the silent armies... so we can dance. moreSoundtrack:
Down By The Water moreFAQ
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Beings that this was Leonardo's first leading role, he was very impressive as Jim Carroll. The movie also stars Lorraine Bracco, Marc Wahlberg, James Madio and Patrick McGaw as his mother and sidekicks respectfully. As an ex-addict myself, I could relate to his story and everything he went through. The movie was so real it brought up a lot of old memories that I thought I had forgotten. I wish every young person was made to see this movie as it takes the fun and games out of even recreational drug use. Not even the strong survive. I give it two thumbs way up and my sincere thanks to Jim Carroll for fighting off his demons to write "The Baasketball Diaries".