Bigger, Stronger, Faster* | 
 enlarge | Director: Christopher Bell
Actors: Christopher Bell, Mark Bell, Mike Bell, Christian Boeving, Floyd Landis
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $26.98
Buy New: $16.95
You Save: $10.03 (37%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 1511
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 107
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: MAGD10140D
UPC: 876964001403
EAN: 0876964001403
ASIN: B001B7CNW4
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Magnolia Pict Hm Ent Release Date: 09/30/2008 Run time: 106 minutes Rating: Pg13
Amazon.com
Pop culture junkies tend to think of Hulk Hogan, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as entertainment figures. In Poughkeepsie, NY, back in the 1980s, filmmaker Christopher Bell and his brothers viewed them as heroes and became bodybuilders. Like the Hulkster, Mike and Mark Bell even turned to professional wrestling. Chris, a former staffer at Venice's famous Gold's Gym, doesn't use anabolic steroids--he did try them once--but his heroes have and his brothers do, leading him to look deeper at this increasingly common practice. While Bell explores the health costs of juicing, he's mostly concerned with the moral consequences involved in the use of performance-enhancing substances. Though he refrains from judgment, he stopped taking steroids because it felt dishonest. Naturally, his burly brothers feel otherwise. Aside from his family, Bell speaks with doctors, lawyers, congressmen, gym rats, and professional athletes, like Olympic sprinters Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis and Tour de France cyclist Floyd Landis. He also includes footage of José Canseco, Barry Bonds, and Mark McGwire testifying during the federal grand jury and congressional hearings on steroid use in the major leagues (prompted by the publication of Canseco's Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big). For the most part, Bell doesn't leave any stone unturned and the personal nature of his entertaining and enlightening inquiry elevates Bigger, Stronger, Faster, i.e. The Side Effects of Being American, above your average exposé. Recommended to athletes, sports fans, health nuts, and of course, pop culture junkies. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
VERY interesting December 30, 2008
When I was young I was taught that "knowledge is power". WOOPS! I was wrong. In America, MUSCLE is power. This documentary is very interesting on many levels..really well done.
Expose of our Media Hype December 25, 2008
This documentary, while vastly entertaining, captures the sad state of our societal addiction to hype, as reflected in the history of steroids. Our media deals with the subject by hyping half truths that vacillate between physical damage and sports ethics. Chris exposes this with real truths focusing on the fact that virtually anything in excess can be physically damaging. Ethics in sports is often determined by the media hype stimulating our politicians and attendant approval bodies. An amazing amount of wasted energy is being expended to demonize steroids, which this documentary proves. It also put credible evidence in place that steroids just might be a benefit on the order of Wheaties if they are ever really clinically evaluated. One of the best documentaries I have ever watched
 Pumping Iron December 16, 2008
Growing up, Poughkeepsie natives Christopher Bell and his two brothers idolized male figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hulk Hogan, and Sylvester Stallone, who all represented the American ideals of strength, determination, and above all, victory. Consider the fact that, in a 1984 edition of "Championship Wrestling," Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik, a pro wrestler from Iran. As both Rocky and Rambo, Stallone fought against a number of foreign adversaries and won. Schwarzenegger was not born in America, but hey, he sure knew how to kick butt on the big screen. Of course, he did become an American citizen, and as we all know, he managed to be elected as Governor of California.
So what did the Bell brothers learn from all this? Aside from the fact that they all became bodybuilders after growing up overweight, they learned that ours is not only the greatest country, but also the strongest. If you want to be a hero, then you have to be the best. But as they got older, the Bells learned the truth: Their heroes became the best only through the use of steroids.
What's so fascinating about Christopher Bell's documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*: *The Side Effects of Being American" is that it exposes hypocrisy, although not in the way you might expect. We're always so vocal in our opposition to performing enhancing drugs, and yet they're needed because we demand the absolute best out of sports figures. So what's worse? Steroids or weakness? This is a question Bell himself continues to grapple with, having given up on steroids after years of believing that they were the way to go. His brothers, however, still use them to this day. One of them, Mike Bell (nicknamed Mad Dog), even tried his hand at getting into pro wrestling. The thing is, he wants to be a superstar, not an athlete. This may explain why he's only been able to achieve minor status as pro wrestling's preplanned loser. Despite the fact that he's now considered too old for it, Mad Dog continues to train; "I was born to attain greatness," he tells his brother, "and I'm the only one that's holding myself back."
The other brother, Mike Bell (nicknamed Smelly), gave up on a wrestling career to teach PE at a local school. He's settled down with a beautiful wife and has a son. But he's still a competitive weightlifter, which is to say that he must juice up to keep himself in top form. At one point, he promised his wife that he would give steroids up. Later on, when he's alone with his brother and his camera crew, he freely admits that he was lying. What's interesting is that he admits it without a shred of guilt in his voice. Bell expresses his concern, saying he's worried about his brother losing his wife, his job, and his life in general. Smelly claims that he'll have nothing left if he loses his either of those things, although I can't help but feel he was just telling his brother what he wanted to hear.
This isn't to say that Smelly was taking like an addict. Indeed, part of this documentary's mission is to tells us that, by in large, steroid use isn't all that dangerous. Consider the fact that anabolic steroids are used in everyday medical practice for the treatment of cancer, HIV, asthma, and osteoporosis. Are there side effects? Sure, but all medications have side effects. Bell seems to pointing out what marijuana advocates continue to point out: There are worse drugs out there. Bell takes a moment to point out that the United States is the only country in the world that requires its fighter pilots to use amphetamines to keep alert. In April of 2002, two pilots in Afghanistan mistakenly dropped a bomb that killed four Canadians; in all likelihood, the "go pills" they were given before the mission impaired their judgment. In spite of this, the media will pounce on professional athletes like Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire, who both made national headlines when they were caught using steroids. The question is: Would they have achieved greatness without getting that special boost?
One of Bell's most fascinating interviews was with Donald Hooton of Plano, Texas. In 2003, his teenage son, Taylor, committed suicide. He was a baseball player who used anabolic steroids to improve his game. When he quit using, he fell into a deep depression and never came out, even though he was prescribed an antidepressant. Ever since then, Hooton has been on a mission to raise awareness and provide counsel for teen athletes and their parents. Bell makes an observation: If Hooton wants to raise awareness, why not include information on other abused substances, like antidepressants, some of which are known to induce suicidal thoughts? Hooton asserts that it was steroid use and nothing else that killed his son, which is to say that he doesn't want to focus on other substances. He claims that it's not just about putting an asterisk next to the names of every professional athlete that's ever used; "The primary issue is the kids," he said in an interview with Bob Greene of WFAA TV. "Their idols are making the choice to use performing enhancing drugs and the kids are following their lead."
Not at all unlike what happened to Bell. But if the facts and figures he presents in "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*" are accurate, if his resources are reliable, then there must come a point when we need to stop playing the blame game. Then again, the decriminalization of steroids wouldn't change the fact that Americans are far too fixated on an ideal that, in most cases, won't be met. Bell interviews a number of older bodybuilders who never advance yet always seem to be in training; there's something so depressing about them, the way they stare at old billboard-sized photos of Arnold Schwarzenegger as they continuously lift and lower their barbells.
Godspeed Mike Bell December 16, 2008
"Mad Dog" Mike Bell, a Northeastern independent talent best known for enhancement work in the WWF and a regular performer during the latter end of ECW's run, passed away this afternoon at the age of 37, according to several who were contacted by his brother, former WWE creative team member Chris Bell.
Bell broke into the business in the early 1990s, often teaming with future ECW Baldies and ROH Carnage crew team member Tony Devito doing jobs during Northeastern WWF TV tapings and a lot of the early Monday Night Raws at the Manhattan Center. Bell usually worked as a heel, so he was in the ring with a lot of the top babyfaces of the period.
Bell regularly worked the Northeastern independents and later earned a regular roster spot with the original ECW, in a lower card position, during that company's run on TNN. I don't believe he ever worked any PPV bouts for the company but worked a number of house shows and TV tapings.
At one point, Bell relocated to the West Coast and worked for Rick Bassman's UPW as both a wrestler and trainer (including working with a very young John Cena and one-time WWE talent turned actor Nathan Jones) while also appearing for Dave Marquez' New Japan satellite events in the Los Angeles area and other California-based companies.
Despite all the years he worked in the business, Bell may best be remembered by fans for an incident that took place in May 2001 at a WWF TV taping. Bell was to do the job for then-WWF wrestler Perry Saturn at the Nassau Coliseum. When a spot went awry during an enhancement bout being taped for the Metal/Jakked syndicated series, Saturn threw Bell out of the ring with reckless abandon, then stiffly smacked his head into the metal steps outside the ring. Saturn ended up with a lot of heat over the incident at the time. The beating pretty much aired unedited shortly after it happened.
Bell was used in dark matches as late as 2003 by WWE but was never signed by the company.
Bell was featured in the steroid documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" which came out last year on the festival circuit before a short theatrical run and DVD release earlier this year. The film, which was directed by his brother Chris and featured a look at how steroid use affected all three brothers in the family, two of which looked to get into the wrestling industry and one, who was a professional bodybuilder.
There is no known cause of death at this time, although in the documentary, he had previous health issues that were noted It was also reported when the film began getting reviewed in the national media that Bell had previously attempted suicide.
Our deepest condolences go out to Bell's friends and family during this sad time.
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Mike you will be missed.....
Compelling! December 7, 2008
From STRONGANDFIT.NET
Synopsis:
Christopher Bell and his two brothers were typical kids of the 80's. They grew up watching Hulk Hogan, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Like their idols, all three of the Bell brothers began lifting weights. Christopher's brothers even pursued wrestling careers, and used steroids to enhance their performance. Bigger, Stronger, Faster explores the impact of steroid use on Christopher's family and America as a whole.
My Reaction:
This movie hits close to home on many levels. Christopher is my age, and like me, he's a formerly chubby kid who to turned to weights in his teenage years. I can also relate to his admiration of Hogan, Stallone, and Schwarzenegger (I bought Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding) when I was a teenager.
I think this is the best documentary I've ever watched. Here are a few of my impressions:
*I'm embarrassed by the amount of time and money our government has put into the "steroid problem"--is this really a national crisis? All we have to show for their efforts is legislation based on zero research.
*There's a great deal of hypocrisy in the way America looks at steroids. Getting corrective eye surgery is not cheating, but steroid use is. We pay millions to watch athletes to perform at super-human levels, but we get upset when they use every means necessary to do so.
*The people you "meet" in this movie are fascinating case studies. They represent our obsession with both physical perfection and false hopes.
*I love the way Bell exposes the media hysteria regarding steroids. Bell neither promotes nor condemns steroid use. Instead, he attempts to present both sides of the issue.
If you want to see a brutally honest look at the steroid issue, buy this movie.
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