{"id":4146,"date":"2022-01-10T22:17:50","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/?page_id=4146"},"modified":"2025-07-31T17:02:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T00:02:14","slug":"the-basketball-diaries-film-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carrolls-films\/scott-kalverts-the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-film-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Basketball Diaries Film Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

These pages offer reviews and commentary of Scott Kalvert’s The Basketball Diaries<\/em><\/a> (1995), a film based upon Jim Carroll’s autobiographical <\/a>book<\/a> of the same title. Because the film is at best tangential to Jim Carroll’s work and biography, what you will find here is not especially praiseful of the film. Leonardo DiCaprio is a wonderful actor, but these pages are not going to discuss DiCaprio’s work or talent. If you are a die-hard DiCaprio fan looking for effusively positive reviews of his work, go to the beautifully-done Official Leonardo DiCaprio Website<\/a> or the Unofficial Leonardo DiCaprio Website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott Kalvert’s The Basketball Diaries<\/a>
Details about the 1995 film itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scene-by-Scene Guide<\/a>
Compares each scene in the film to entries in the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim Carroll’s Comments<\/a>
Carroll offered comments on the film following a spoken-word performance in 1996.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems with the Film<\/a>
Cassie Carter points out the many biographical inaccuracies in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another Fan’s Perspective<\/a>
Robin Ladrach reviews the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Book<\/a>
Information about Jim Carroll’s book, The Basketball Diaries<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Controversies Surrounding the Book and Film<\/a>
Articles, discussion, and links concerning the shootings in Kentucky and Colorado and
other controversies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These pages offer reviews and commentary of Scott Kalvert’s The Basketball Diaries (1995), a film based upon Jim Carroll’s autobiographical book of the same title. Because the film is at best tangential to Jim Carroll’s work and biography, what you will find here is not especially praiseful of the film. Leonardo DiCaprio is a wonderful … Continue reading The Basketball Diaries Film Guide<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":7316,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[49],"class_list":["post-4146","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-14S","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9047,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/the-basketball-diaries-film-in-context\/","url_meta":{"origin":4146,"position":0},"title":"The Basketball Diaries Film in Context","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"March 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"These pages offer reviews and commentary of Scott Kalvert's\u00a0The Basketball Diaries, a film based upon Jim Carroll's autobiographical\u00a0book\u00a0of the same title. What you will find here is not especially praiseful of the film. Leonardo DiCaprio is a wonderful actor, as are all of the actors in the film, and they\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/background\/","url_meta":{"origin":4146,"position":1},"title":"Background & Context","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"These are some special feature areas on individual topics to provide more in-depth information on Jim Carroll. About Jim Carroll Overview of Jim Carroll's life and works (see also Biographies). In Memoriam Acknowledgment and documentation of Carroll's death Behind The Basketball Diaries These pages offer background and context for\u00a0The Basketball\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/carroll-dicaprio-bd-film.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/carroll-dicaprio-bd-film.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/carroll-dicaprio-bd-film.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/carroll-dicaprio-bd-film.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7316,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carrolls-films\/scott-kalverts-the-basketball-diaries\/","url_meta":{"origin":4146,"position":2},"title":"Scott Kalvert’s The Basketball Diaries","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"March 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Fair use, Leonardo DiCaprio as Jim Carroll The Basketball Diaries Released: 1995Director: Scott KalvertStudio: Island PicturesGenre: DramaFormat: VHS, DVD, LaserdiscRating: R (Restricted)Run Time: 102 Minutes Leonardo DiCaprio stars as \"Jim\" in this controversial, very loose adaptation of Carroll's autobiography. Also features Mark Wahlberg as \"Mickey,\" James Madio as Pedro,\" Bruno\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art - Scott Kalvert's The Basketball Diaries (1995)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/The_Basketball_Diaries_Poster.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8657,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/diaries-and-fiction-by-jim-carroll\/the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-1995-film-tie-in\/","url_meta":{"origin":4146,"position":3},"title":"The Basketball Diaries (1995 Film Tie-In)","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"March 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Basketball Diaries: Fourth EditionBy: Jim CarrollPublished: 1995Publisher: PenguinFormat: PaperbackCover photograph: Leonardo DiCaprio by John Clifford The 1995 Penguin edition of\u00a0The Basketball Diaries\u00a0is a tie-in with the\u00a01995 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The cover features photo of Leonardo DiCaprio (by John Clifford. Film credits and a new blurb are on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/bd4cov.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/","url_meta":{"origin":4146,"position":4},"title":"Words | Music | Film","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Jim Carroll's published ouvre includes literary works, recordings, and films. In the index below, the main headings link to broad overviews for individual categories, while the subcategory headings link to more detailed subcategory overviews (where you can also order items online). The subcategory indexes link to details about individual works.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4704,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carrolls-films\/scott-kalverts-the-basketball-diaries\/the-basketball-diaries-film-guide\/the-basketball-diaries-problems-with-scott-kalverts-film\/","url_meta":{"origin":4146,"position":5},"title":"The Basketball Diaries: Problems with Scott Kalvert’s Film","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Disclaimer: I wrote this analysis for the Jim Carroll Website and not for the Leonardo DiCaprio Fan Club or the Filmic Technique Appreciation Society. I don't like this film, and I have no obligation to say anything nice about it, so please do not send me e-mail protesting my critique\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4146"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10561,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4146\/revisions\/10561"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=4146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}