Bigger Stronger Faster* (2008)

Director:

Chris Bell

Writers (WGA):

Chris Bell (written by) &
Alexander Buono (written by) ...
(more)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Tagline:

The side effects of being American.

Plot:

In America, we define ourselves in the superlative: we are the biggest, strongest, fastest country in the world...

Plot Keywords:

Performance Enhancing | Drug | Gi Joe | Stadium | Brother Brother Relationship

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Chris Bell	...	Himself - Host (also archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hank Aaron	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lyle Alzado	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joshua Amsden	...	Himself
Ben Aukes	...	Himself
Kelly Beecher	...	Himself
Mark Bell	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Mike Bell	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Rosemary Bell	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Sheldon Bell	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Joe Biden	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Sen. Joseph Biden)
Mike Blanton	...	Himself
Christian Boeving	...	Himself
Barry Bonds	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jim Bunning	...	Himself (archive footage)
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jose Canseco	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jeff Carwile	...	Himself
Carlon Colker	...	Himself (as Dr. Carlon Colker)
Rick Collins	...	Himself
Meave Cox	...	Herself
Jay Cutler	...	Himself
Eric Dodson	...	Himself (as Dr. Eric Dodson)
Jason Ellis	...	Himself
Wade Exum	...	Himself (as Dr. Wade Exum)
Norm Fost	...	Himself (as Dr. Norm Fost)
Mark Gordon	...	Himself (as Dr. Mark Gordon)
Gene Haislip	...	Himself
Orrin G. Hatch	...	Himself (archive footage)
Hulk Hogan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Donald Hooton	...	Himself
Rehan Jalali	...	Himself
Mike Jas	...	Himself
Ben Johnson	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Marion Jones	...	Herself (archive footage)
John F. Kennedy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Johnny Knox	...	Himself
Floyd Landis	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Stan Lee	...	Himself
Carl Lewis	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Willie Litvack	...	Himself
Timea Majorova	...	Herself
Mickey Mantle	...	Himself (archive footage)
Roger Maris	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mark McGwire	...	Himself (archive footage)
Marilyn Monroe	...	Herself (archive footage)
Tony Mulhare	...	Himself
Rhyanedd Murray	...	Herself
Mike Nelson	...	Himself (as Major Mike Nelson)
Joe Niekro	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jackie Ochoa	...	Himself
Jack Owoc	...	Himself
Rafael Palmeiro	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joel Paredes	...	Himself
Stephen Paulson	...	Himself
Craig Phillips	...	Himself
Harrison Pope	...	Himself (as Dr. Harrison Pope)
Lauren Powers	...	Herself
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Scott Reid	...	Himself
John Romano	...	Himself
Giovanni Roselli	...	Romeo Roselli (archive footage)
Rosie Ruiz	...	Herself (archive footage)
Babe Ruth	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rick Schaff	...	Himself
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Maria Shriver	...	Herself (archive footage)
Louis Simmons	...	Himself
Aubrey Smith	...	Herself
Bee Smith	...	Herself
Dick 'Smitty' Smith	...	Himself
Sammy Sosa	...	Himself (archive footage)
Sylvester Stallone	...	Himself (archive footage)
Paul Sullivan	...	Himself
Major Travis Swan	...	Himself
John Sweeney	...	Himself (as Rep. John Sweeney)
Lee Sweeney	...	Himself (as Dr. Lee Sweeney)
Jeff Taylor	...	Himself
Josh Robert Thompson	...	Arnold Schwarzenegger (voice)
Tim Urban	...	Himself
Gregg Valentino	...	Himself
Chuck Vogelpohl	...	Himself
Gary Wadler	...	Himself (as Dr. Gary Wadler)
Diane Watson	...	Herself (as Rep. Diane Watson)
Henry Waxman	...	Himself (also archive footage) (as Rep. Henry Waxman)
Tiger Woods	...	Himself (archive footage)
Charles Yesalis	...	Himself (as Dr. Charles Yesalis)
Andre Agassi	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Charles Atlas	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Chris Benoit	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Laura Bush	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dick Cheney	...	Himself - State of the Union Speech (archive footage) (uncredited)
Al Gore	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tom Harkin	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dennis Hastert	...	Himself - State of the Union Speech (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself - HUAC Hearing (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bud Selig	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Chris Bell

Writing credits (WGA)
Chris Bell		(written by) (as Christopher Bell) &
Alexander Buono		(written by) &
Tamsin Rawady		(written by)

Produced by
Terrance J. Aarnio	....	executive producer
Pamela Aguilar	....	archive producer (as Pamela A. Aguilar)
Alexander Buono	....	producer
Jim Czarnecki	....	producer
Andy Dellenbach	....	executive producer: Mind Over Eye
Kurt Engfehr	....	co-producer
Gail Paget-Wilkes	....	associate producer: Mind Over Eye
Tamsin Rawady	....	line producer
Tamsin Rawady	....	producer
Richard S. Schiffrin	....	executive producer
Dave Wein	....	producer: post-production, Mind Over Eye
Robert Weiser	....	executive producer
Andy Zare	....	archive producer

Original Music by
Dave Porter

Cinematography by
Alexander Buono		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Brian Singbiel

Makeup Department
Hope Zarro	....	hair stylist (segment "The Juice Ad")
Hope Zarro	....	makeup artist (segment "The Juice Ad")

Sound Department
Christopher Alba	....	sound effects editor: Danetracks
Zack Allen	....	sound recordist
Mark Arees	....	location sound recordist
Michael Bellacicco	....	location sound recordist
Stephanie Brown	....	supervising sound editor: Danetracks
Larry Clifton	....	location sound recordist
Todd Dayton	....	location sound recordist
Tim Dutton	....	location sound recordist (as Timothy Dutton)
Steve Epstein	....	location sound recordist
Lee Frank	....	location sound recordist
Robert George	....	location sound recordist
Aleksandr Gruzdev	....	sound re-recording mixer
Alder Hampel	....	sound effects editor: Danetracks
Matt Hedges	....	sound editorial coordinator: Danetracks
Patrick Holloway	....	location sound recordist
Marianna LaFollette	....	location sound recordist
Dave Losko	....	location sound recordist
Del R. Martin	....	mix stage engineer: Danetracks
David McRell	....	chief sound engineer: Danetracks
Eric M. Moorman	....	location sound recordist
Tom Ozanich	....	sound re-recording mixer: Danetracks
Anthony Rosa	....	sound effects editor: Danetracks
Steve Smith	....	location sound recordist
Gary Tole	....	location sound recordist
Bryan O. Watkins	....	sound designer: Danetracks
Dale Whitman	....	location sound recordist
Joshua Wilkinson	....	location sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Derek Drouin	....	additional graphics designer
Mat Fuller	....	graphic artist: main titles, Mind Over Eye
Ben Hurand	....	graphic artist: main titles, Mind Over Eye
Matt Madison-Clark	....	photo retoucher (segment "The Juice Ad")
Iain Marcks	....	digital imaging technician: iO FILM (as Iain Stasukevich)
Bill Wadsworth	....	graphic artist: main titles, Mind Over Eye
Nathan Adams	....	post coordinator (uncredited)
Christopher Dusendschon	....	digital imaging supervisor: iO FILM (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Armando Bareño II	....	additional camera operator (as Armando Bareno)
Chris Bell	....	additional camera operator (as Christopher Bell)
John Bourbonais	....	additional camera operator (as John Bourbanaise)
Christopher Klonecke	....	additional camera operator
Jim McDonald	....	additional camera operator
Tamsin Rawady	....	additional camera operator
Rick Schaff	....	photographer (segment: The Juice Ad")
Bret Sigler	....	additional camera operator
Norm Silverman	....	additional camera operator

Animation Department
Christopher Klonecke	....	animator (segment Steroids 101)

Editorial Department
Andrew Andersen	....	format conversion: Mind Over Eye
Aaron Cullen	....	technical support
Derek Drouin	....	additional editor
Derek Drouin	....	assistant editor
Joe Faissal	....	colorist
Elisabeth Gillott	....	apprentice editor
Zachary Haydon	....	apprentice editor
Dylan Highsmith	....	editorial intern
Julie Janata	....	additional editor
Al Kamalizad	....	editorial intern
Michael John Koetter	....	software engineer
Kenny Madrid	....	editorial intern
Shannon Leigh Olds	....	additional editor
Darrin Roberts	....	additional editor
Eric O. Schusterman	....	assistant editor
Dorothy Street	....	editorial intern
Bill Wadsworth	....	on-line editor: Mind Over Eye
Dave Wein	....	on-line editor: Mind Over Eye

Music Department
Christine Bergren	....	music legal and clearance
Shannon Erbe	....	music editor
Julianne Jordan	....	music supervisor
Jen Pray	....	music legal and clearance
Andrew Richards	....	music coordinator
John Rodd	....	additional score mixer
John Rodd	....	additional score recordist

Other crew
Pamela Aguilar	....	researcher (as Pamela A. Aguilar)
Prudence Arndt	....	archive researcher
Ginger Brown	....	intern
Lisa Callif	....	clearance counsel
Raymond Chong	....	intern
Rick Collins	....	consultant
Peter D. Coogan	....	archive researcher (as Peter Coogan)
Ashley Coyle	....	intern (as Ashley Cole)
David M. Crabtree	....	intern
Nyssa Dickman-Frank	....	intern
Michael Donaldson	....	clearance counsel (as Michael C. Donaldson)
Winston Emano	....	publicist: David Magdael & Associates
Vinson Ferrer	....	production assistant
Ruth Fertig	....	transcriber: Writers' Resource
Glenn Gimutao	....	intern
Matt Golad	....	intern
Milica Jellicic	....	production assistant
Brandon Krajewski	....	production assistant
Nonny de la Peña	....	researcher
Aaron Lebovic	....	intern
Ryan Loughlin	....	intern
David Magdael	....	publicist: David Magdael & Associates
David Markman	....	legal counsel
Eve Marson Singbiel	....	research coordinator (as Eve Marson)
Emily Melhorn	....	archive clearance assistant
Jennifer Ellen Mohr	....	office coordinator
Nikolas Namikas	....	intern
Lynne Osborne	....	legal counsel
Jessica Pinney	....	production assistant
Paul Porter	....	intern
Aneetha Rajan	....	researcher
Susan Ricketts	....	archive clearances
John Romano	....	consultant
Anthony Rosas	....	production assistant
Matteo Saradini	....	intern
Hashem Selph	....	production assistant
P.J. Smith	....	production assistant (as PJ Smith)
Joanne Tai	....	intern
Brooks Teevan	....	intern
Bill Wadsworth	....	head of creative services: M ind Over Eye
Ben Walton	....	production assistant
Jack Wignot	....	president: Mind Over Eye
Winnie Wong	....	insurance: errors & omissions, DeWitt Stern Group
Andy Zare	....	production coordinator
Anne Stulz	....	publicist (uncredited)

Thanks
Matteo Saradini	....	thanks
Rhys Thomas	....	thanks

Production Companies

• BSF Film

Distributors

• Cinescope Entertainment (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Magnolia Pictures (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• NonStop Entertainment (2008) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Home Entertainment (2011) (Germany) (all media)
• HD Net (2009) (USA) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sony Music Entertainment (2009) (Japan) (TV)
• VVS Films (2008) (Canada) (all media)

Other Companies

• iO Films  color grading
• Axium International  payroll services
• D.R. Reiff & Associates  insurance
• Danetracks  sound design: editorial and mixing
• David Magdael and Associates  publicity (as David Magdael & Associates)
• DeWitt Stern Group  insurance: errors and omissions
• Eagle Eye Digital Film  AVID technical support (as Eagle Eye Digital)
• Mind Over Eye  archival conversion and title graphics and on-line and color correction
• The DR Group  digital intermediate
• Writers' Resource  transcriptions

Also Known As:

"Bigger Stronger Faster*: *The Side Effects of Being American" - USA (long title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving drugs, language, some sexual content and violent images

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-11 | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Columbus, Ohio, USA

Company:

BSF Film

Quotes:

Fighter Pilot:In sports you should play fair. In war, you shouldn't play fair at all.

Movie Connections:

Features "World News with Diane Sawyer" (1953)

A nice surprise.

This doc outlines the current situation regarding the use of steroids as performance enhancers, bodybuilding drugs and in conventional medicine. The film does a pretty good job of outlining the facts and the pseudo-science behind some claims as well as letting us hear peoples views on steroids, where they are actually being used and to what effect.

Where this film becomes unique and interesting is in the story of our narrator and filmmaker Mike Bell. Mike is one of 3 brothers who all grew up watching pro wrestling and 80's action movies. Into their teens they became football players, then wrestlers and eventually competitive power lifters. Today, his 2 brothers use steroids to enhance their performance whereas Mike is totally anti steroids.

The agenda of the film is clearly setup as a predictable anti steroids expo but as the debate opens up the film progresses into something different and much more interesting. At times evidence is in defence of steroids and though I wouldn't go as far as to say it is a pro steroids film, it's certainly open-ended. The film itself is presented and produced really quite well. We even touch on some wider issues of genetic modification in livestock, which somehow comes out in defence of steroids as they are quite simply not to blame for these monstrous beef hulks.

Without conclusion, the film gives us a well-rounded outline of the debate as well as introducing us to some tragic and not so tragic characters along the way.

This film succeeds in entertaining and provoking debate and is really well paced. The mix of factual investigation and personal stories and interviews strikes a balance rare in documentary and quite satisfying to watch. Worth a look.