Love & Basketball (2000) [The Criterion Collection]

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writer: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Glenndon Chatman

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.

Extras:
- Two audio commentaries from 2000: one featuring Prince-Bythewood and actor Sanaa Lathan and the other featuring Prince-Bythewood, editor Terilyn A. Shropshire, and composer Terence Blanchard
- New making-of documentary featuring Prince-Bythewood, Lathan, actors Omar Epps and Alfre Woodard, producer and writer Reggie Rock Bythewood, and basketball adviser Colleen Matsuhara
- Editing “Love & Basketball,” a new program featuring Prince‑Bythewood and Shropshire
- New 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 a new introduction by Prince-Bythewood




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