I Am Bolt

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gabe Turner directs. Ian Arber scores. Dialogue in English, Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 10 years ago.
• 2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Portuguese.
• 3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
• 4Original score by Ian Arber. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Usain Bolt and Neymar and Serena Williams carry the top of the cast.
• 6IMDB entry: tt4647900 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 7Classified under 17 themes, including "interview", "biography", "tv reporter", "archive footage".

The technical file

Original score

Ian Arber

Runtime

107 min · 1h 47m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG

IMDB

I Am Bolt (2016) ↗

Also by

Gabe Turner

• 
  Captains of the World

  2023 · ★ 8.4
• 
  Hitsville: The Making of Motown

  2019 · ★ 7.7
• 
  The Class of ‘92

  2013 · ★ 7.1
• 
  In the Hands of the Gods

  2007 · ★ 5.3
• 
  The Guvnors

  2014 · ★ 5.3
• 
  Sex: Unzipped

  2021 · ★ 3.4

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  I Am Bolt - Trailer - Own it on Digital HD 11/29, on DVD 12/6

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Reno2017-01-24
  ★ 8/10

  A thunderBOLT that struck from Jamaica. I saw him on the television during the Beijing Olympic games and then in London, followed by in Rio. When I first came to know him in Beijing games, I thought he was a one-timer, but then during the London games, from the commentators to everyone who are familiar with his sport had great expectation on him and he delivered it. Finally, in Rio, I prepared for the historic occasion and so did it again for the last time. I am talking about the fastest man alive, Usain Bolt. It's great to be born in this generation to witness such a great achievement. If not from the arena, at least from the live telecast. I have seen and still seeing many legends from other sports and Bolt is one of them. This Jamaican sprinter is like a thunderbolt that struck in the last three summer Olympic games creating a new history. In each Olympic games, he had grabbed three gold medals. Now he's off the track and enjoying the normal life. But the film was focused to tell his rise and reign for the nearly fifteen years of his career. It all began in the Junior championship from the school days and since then he never looked back, but left behind the records the others to fetch. Especially, he still holds the world record for 100m in 9.58 seconds. By seeing his achievements, you might expect a coach who trained him would be like the one from 'Whiplash'. I was surprised to see a simple man behind him, as well as his friend-come-manager and all the other people around him. I did not know they were making a documentary about him. I only came to know just a week before watching it. I have seen some good sports documentaries, so I anticipated something extraordinary clips and inspiration. It is inspiring, good for young sports enthusiasts who wants to make big in their field. To be honest I was a bit disappointed with this film. This is not I was looking for. This looked more like a reality show. So I won't blame entirely on the filmmakers for failing to give the best product. Because I knew Bolt as a sportsman, but never knew him as a person, his character and all. He's a fun type. Seriously, I did not expect that. "All the way from Beijing to London and now to Rio. It is one of the greatest athletic achievements of all time." He worked hard for what he's now, but at a time he's so fun. Enjoys his game, life, that's what you learn the most about him if you already know him as a sportsperson. Particularly a clip from the film about a cameraman who crashed on him proves he a temperless. I could not stop from laughing at it and so he was. They have interviewed some big names from other sports. They all talked about their special friendship with him and his talent. I am really upset for not interviewing one of his close friends and a countryman, Christopher Henry Gayle. They both are common in one thing, that's the number 333. You will understand what that means if you know them both from their sports. One of the main issues was the film terribly lacks with the original clips or the photographs from his life. Everything about him on the track were perfectly aligned, other than that the rest of them were exclusively shot for the film like a feature film, including the interviews. So the recreation of those recollects were not that effective to blend with the story. Also a bit falls off the track with too much of off the track focus, but it's not boring, totally fun to watch such person. That's why even it is stretched to nearly two hours, it does not feel like a drag. After every win, he celebrates with his 'lightning bolt' pose. As his name, as his record talks, that is the defining moment. The Jamaican medal tally might dip from the next Olympic games since he got retired. But his nation will be remembered for him forever. It is a good documentary film, but should have been great. Now I am thinking about a feature film and I hope somebody would make it in the near future. I recommend this, but keep your expectations low if you already know much about him. But for others, it will make a bigger impact. 7.5/10

  Read full review ↓

Key crew

• Sound MixerDaniel Brosnan
• CinematographyPatrick Smith

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• interview
• biography
• tv reporter
• archive footage
• sports documentary
• jamaican
• track and field
• olympic athlete
• professional athlete
• semi-biographical
• celebrity interview
• sprinter
• famous people
• star athlete
• life and career
• news footage
• olympic champion

Release history · US

When it landed

• Digital2016-11-28PG

Also known as

International titles

• Yo Soy BoltAR
• Yo Soy BoltMX
• Eu sou BoltBR