He Got Game [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Amazon.co.uk Review

As a filmmaker and passionate fan of basketball, Spike Lee was the perfect director for He Got Game, an ambitious and heartfelt sports drama, which brought out the best in both Lee and his well-chosen cast. In his third film for Lee, Denzel Washington plays Jake Shuttlesworth, who is in prison for the manslaughter of his wife. His estranged son Jesus (well played by Milwaukee Bucks basketball player Ray Allen) is the nation's best high school basketball star, and Jake receives a compelling offer from the state's governor: if Jake can convince Jesus to sign a letter of intent to attend Big State University, the governor will reduce his sentence. Lee turns this back-room bargain into a fascinating examination of capitalism in college and professional sports, but the film also works as the moving story of a father's desperate attempt to regain his son's respect. Lee handles the basketball angle with an insider's awareness, and takes a few stylistic risks (including a memorable final image) that pay off with considerable emotional effect. He Got Game fully explores the visual poetry of basketball and the greed that fuels this particular vision of the American dream, but Lee never loses sight of the sport's inherent beauty, or the higher priorities of redemption and family that form the solid foundation of this exceptional film. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant portrayal of a basketballers' struggle.......2004-03-30

(yahoo review) :
Denzel Washington does some of his best work as a prison inmate trying to earn himself an early release by talking his estranged son into playing basketball at the governor of New York's alma mater.
My review :
I gave this film 5 stars for its brilliant acting and gritty, real atmosphere. It is about a young basketball player (played by nba star ray allen) whos father is sent to prison for accidentally killing his mother, his father (denzel washington) is then told by his warden that he can get him out of prison if can pursuede his son to play for the wardens favorite college basketball team. For anyone has a faint interest in basketball or is a fan of this genre, i would advise seeing this film. It is clever, touching and a engaging watch.

Shake Shake your booty!.......2002-02-07

Public Enemy resurrected themselves with this soundtrack album and showed they can still put out a hardcore beat.

The most favourable track is "Shake Your Booty" with Flava Flav rapping like he did in the old days to a wicked dance beat. "House Of The Rising Son" provides that familiar hardcore sound and Chuck D still shows he got lines with "Politics Of The Sneaker Pimps".

However the rest of the album falls off, MastaKilla from Wu-Tang makes a low-form appearance on the first track "Resurrection" as does Smooth Da Hustler on "Game Face". The other tracks just don't live up to what you expect from PE.

Chuck D as always is still a tight rhymer and worth listening to on any track. PE have not pulled themselves back up to the level you would expect but they have shown they've still got game.

Excellent!!.......2001-10-21

Not being the greatest Denzel fan I was a little aprehensive at watching this for the first time. But to my suprise this was a well made, well acted story; about a young man's journey; caught between his father and the sport that he loves. Couple this well produced film with a sound track made up of the phatest Public Enemy tunes, you can't go wrong. The only question I have is why has it taken three years for this film to make it to the video sales market? If you have a few quid burning a whole in your pocket, and you want to buy a movie that you can watch over and over again, then this is the one for you. Enjoy!

Impressive.......2001-10-16

Spike Lee's most potentially commercial film since Malcolm X failed to ignite at the box office. This was surprising as the film featured one of Lee's obsessions (basketball), the best Lee performance from his favourite actor (Denzel Washington), a beautiful score (courtesy of Aaron Copeland) and an uplifting, sensitive script. Add a soundtrack written specially by Public Enemy and you have Spike Lee's best film since Do the Right Thing, which is no mean feat.

They most definelty got game.......2001-07-15

Wow, im a huge PE fan from the old school days and missed their unique sound and voices (flav). How happy was I to learn they were releasing this album? Words couldnt describe it. Anyway its great to hear them change their style and it works. I have all of their albums and can honestly say I enjoyed this one the most. From the title song "He got game" to my favourite "Politics of the sneaker pimps" the tracks are mellower than previous efforts. And I could listen through the whole album without getting a headache. The best and probably last PE album ever. By it just to say goodbye to hiphops finest. Gelfo

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