1994: YEAR IN REVIEW : No Weddings, No Lions, No Gumps : This critic's best film of the year, the documentary 'Hoop Dreams,' handily slam-dunks superstar box-office performers in an otherwise indifferent year.

While the studios may feel differently, with both "The Lion King" and "Forrest Gump" headed for the $300-million domestic gross mark and several more lined up at $100 million or better, those whose pockets aren't being lined almost universally consider 1994 a grim stretch for mainstream pictures.

Making this year seem even worse is the absence of quality product in the holiday season, traditionally the time for the best the studios have to offer. That something called "Dumb and Dumber" might be the hit of the moment certainly tells you the direction in which Hollywood is pointing.

But no matter how inept these studio warhorses might be, many people still can't imagine that a documentary could be a better choice. Still regretting the time spent watching drab items like "My Friend the Atom," audiences mistakenly think they know what documentaries are like: undeniably worthy but inevitably soporific.

Which is one of the reasons "Hoop Dreams" is such a revelation. A window into the lives of a pair of standout Chicago high school basketball players that took seven years to make, it combines the excitement of competition with a provocative examination of the complexities of urban life. Rife with incident, filled with compelling personalities and the ups and downs of outrageous fortune, "Hoop Dreams" is as out-and-out entertaining as any film of the year, and it offers more substance than almost any that could be named.

There is yet another reason to anoint "Hoop Dreams," and that is to call attention to the critical mass of exceptional documentaries that visited Los Angeles this past year, a group whose strength was matched only by the timidity of most audiences.

Besides "Hoop Dreams," "Freedom on My Mind," "The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl," "High Lonesome" and the brilliant "Black Harvest" all suffered from the refusal of moviegoers to believe that nonfiction films can be as satisfying as they are. If "Hoop Dreams" does no more than help convert the heathen, it will have done a great deal.

Trailing behind at a respectful distance:

2) Red. An adult fairy tale that focuses on the need for human connection even the most detached lives are prey to, this last installment of the "Three Colors" trilogy underscores Krzysztof Kieslowski's position as the most accomplished director working today. A master whose hallmark is unobtrusiveness, Kieslowski is that rare artist with a virtuoso's exhilarating grasp of all aspects of filmmaking.

3) Quiz Show. Though it did not catch on with ticket buyers, this examination of the rigged TV programs of the late 1950s is the best film to come out of the studio system this year. Directed by Robert Redford from a script by Paul Attanasio and starring Ralph Fiennes as a trapped Charles Van Doren, "Quiz Show" is a Hollywood rarity: a thoughtful, absorbing drama about moral ambiguity and the affability of evil.

4) Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. Audacious, playful, as confident as it is smart, this unconventional biography of the virtuoso pianist was superbly orchestrated by Canadian director Francois Girard. A glimpse into what it might be like to be a genius, "Gould" not only knows exactly what it wants to do but also just how to go about doing it.

5) Heavenly Creatures. Hysteria and obsession are staples of moviemaking, as are strong emotional attachments and sensational crimes. But what director Peter Jackson and stars Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet have done in this nervy look at the most celebrated criminal case in New Zealand history is different. They've shown those states from the inside, made us feel sensations as intensely as the protagonists, and that is quite an accomplishment.

6) The Blue Kite. Though it got less publicity than last year's "Farewell My Concubine" or this year's "To Live," Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang's look at recent Chinese history is the most authentic, the most accessible and the most powerful of the three. Other Asian films worthy of honorable mention are the delightful "Eat Drink Man Woman" from Taiwan and Vietnam's glowing "The Scent of Green Papaya."

7) Four Weddings and a Funeral. A light, smart romantic comedy of the type Hollywood used to specialize in but can't seem to manage anymore. Deftly written by Richard Curtis and directed by the versatile Mike Newell, "Weddings" made Hugh Grant into an international star and reminded everyone how much simple fun going to the movies could be.