#1097: PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD, Gina: Love & Basketball (2000)

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PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD, Gina (United States)
Love & Basketball (2000)
Spine #1097
Blu-ray


Sparks fly both on and off the court in this groundbreaking feature debut by writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard), which elevated the coming-of-age romance by giving honest expression to the challenges female athletes face in a world that doesn’t see them as equal. Sanaa Lathan (Alien vs. Predator) and Omar Epps (Higher Learning) make for one of the most iconic screen couples of the 2000s as the basketball-obsessed next-door neighbors who find love over flirtatious pickup games, fall apart under the strain of high-pressure college hoops and families, and drift in and out of each other’s lives as they pursue their twin aspirations of playing professionally. Aided by stellar supporting performances and an eclectic R&B soundtrack, Love & Basketball captures the intoxicating passions, heartbreaking setbacks, and sky-high ambitions that mark a young woman’s journey to the top of her game and to lasting love.

125 minutes
Color
5.1 Surround
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2021
Director/Writer


Gina Prince-Bythewood was 31 when she wrote and directed Love & Basketball.

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by author Roxane Gay.

Commentary
  1. From 2000, featuring Prince-Bythewood and actor Lathan; and
  2. From 2000, featuring Prince-Bythewood, editor Terilyn A. Shropshire, and composer Terence Blanchard.
Making-of documentary

Featuring Prince-Bythewood, actors Lathan, Epps and Woodard, producer and writer Reggie Rock Bythewood, and basketball adviser Colleen Matsuhara.

Editing “Love & Basketball”

A program featuring Prince-Bythewood and Shropshire.

Conversation

Among Prince-Bythewood, WNBA legend and Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes, and writer-producer-actor Lena Waithe.

Deleted scenes

With optional audio commentary by Prince-Bythewood and Shropshire.

Audition tape excerpts

Two short films

By Prince-Bythewood: her UCLA thesis film, Stitches (1991), and Progress (1997), with an introduction by the director.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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