Pumping Iron
1977 Directed by George Butler, Robert Fiore
Synopsis
Pumping Iron is a 1977 documentary film about the run-up to the 1975 Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition. The film focuses on Arnold Schwarzenegger and his competitors, Lou Ferrigno and Franco Columbu. The documentary was co-directed by Robert Fiore and George Butler. It was based on the book of the same name by Charles Gaines and George Butler (Simon and Schuster, 1974).
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Let's start hitting the gym everybody, so that we can get huge. I'm not talking let's go get a gym membership at World Health, so we can exercise along side middle aged women. I'm talking working out in the inner-city. I'm talking working out at a gym that will most likely give us diseases, because of how disgusting the equipment is. I'm talking a gym that we don't drive to, because the neighborhood is so rough that our car will be stolen. I'm talking a gym that has more rats in it than people. I'm talking a gym in which the most advanced workout machine is the old broken down car that has been out back for twenty years. That…
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Intriguing documentary released in 1977 following the exploits of a sparkling and youthful Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Delving in to the lives of iconic characters from the World of 1970s competitive body building such as Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbu and the awesome Mike Katz, it is the charismatic and frankly awe inspiring Schwarzenegger who dominants much of the footage shot in the build up to the 1975 Mr Olympia title.
Schwarzenegger is in perfect physical condition and the confidence absolutely flows as he prepares for a sixth consecutive title.
At times funny, playful and charming Arnie is also cool, calculating and ruthless particularly during the physchological jousting with his fellow competitors as they attempt to undermine each other in the thinly disguised…
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A very good documentary made great by history.
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Need one motivation to ditch that potato chips you're holding and head on down to nearest gym and pump up the irons? I'd recommend this great documentary to start with.
A fascinating, eye-opening (literally at times, your eyes just can't help but be amazed by these guys), humorous and amazing insight into the early life and background of one Arnold Schwarzenegger in his rising (and eventual retirement) career as a body-builder and a look inside the sport itself.
The determination. The rivalry. The darkest motivation. And the never-ending dream. It's all there.
The making-of documentary, 'Raw Iron' (available as extra in DVD) is equally great as well. Well worth checking out.
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Another off the list on my campaign to watch every Arnie film.
This is a first time watch. I'd seen clips of Ahnolt making fun of Lou Ferrigno before and those are still great but Ahnolt just owns this documentary. Owns it. I thought Pumping Iron would be a bit, well, gay. It's basically a movie about oiled up dudes posing in front of people for some bizarre competition called Mr Olympia. Which is only for "professional" bodybuilders. In that all they do for a living is sculpt their abs, pecs and delts. And other muscles I don't have, or can't locate. But it turns out to be just another sports documentary.
Arnie is so wonderful. Almost every line is…
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Never get tired of this Docudrama. Best there ever was!
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Another off the list on my campaign to watch every Arnie film.
This is a first time watch. I'd seen clips of Ahnolt making fun of Lou Ferrigno before and those are still great but Ahnolt just owns this documentary. Owns it. I thought Pumping Iron would be a bit, well, gay. It's basically a movie about oiled up dudes posing in front of people for some bizarre competition called Mr Olympia. Which is only for "professional" bodybuilders. In that all they do for a living is sculpt their abs, pecs and delts. And other muscles I don't have, or can't locate. But it turns out to be just another sports documentary.
Arnie is so wonderful. Almost every line is…
-
Never get tired of this Docudrama. Best there ever was!
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Interesting insight into the, frankly wierd, world of bodybuilding.
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A crushingly sad portrait of ego-battered body builders sculpting their way to more failure and judgement. The bittersweet irony of some of these men reaching a state of relative physical "perfection" and still falling short (or in Ferrigno's case, big) is that special sort of heartbreaking. Sure, the film is full of humor, too (mostly provided by the irrepressible Arnold, who is at his charismatic best patronizing everyone who isn't Numero Uno). Highlights: Franco Columbu picking up a car and moving it out of a tricky parallel parking job; Mike Katz's genuine and vulnerable response to his archrival's victory; everything Arnold says and does.
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God Arnie is a diiiiiiiiiiiiiick.
Also when Chris Katz came fourth, honestly one of the saddest moments in any film ever. Just heartbreaking
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Let's start hitting the gym everybody, so that we can get huge. I'm not talking let's go get a gym membership at World Health, so we can exercise along side middle aged women. I'm talking working out in the inner-city. I'm talking working out at a gym that will most likely give us diseases, because of how disgusting the equipment is. I'm talking a gym that we don't drive to, because the neighborhood is so rough that our car will be stolen. I'm talking a gym that has more rats in it than people. I'm talking a gym in which the most advanced workout machine is the old broken down car that has been out back for twenty years. That…
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Within the first shot, an element of elegance and poise is introduced that one would not expect in a documentary about hulking masses of men. This continues throughout the film as concepts of art, will, and the mind are used as contrast to the images of the Herculean bodies in Pumping Iron. The art of body building, as said time and time again in the film and many reviews, is about so much more than just form, but also the elegance and the correct mindset. Pumping Iron is a solid documentary that brilliantly showcases the means and methods of professional body building.
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Need one motivation to ditch that potato chips you're holding and head on down to nearest gym and pump up the irons? I'd recommend this great documentary to start with.
A fascinating, eye-opening (literally at times, your eyes just can't help but be amazed by these guys), humorous and amazing insight into the early life and background of one Arnold Schwarzenegger in his rising (and eventual retirement) career as a body-builder and a look inside the sport itself.
The determination. The rivalry. The darkest motivation. And the never-ending dream. It's all there.
The making-of documentary, 'Raw Iron' (available as extra in DVD) is equally great as well. Well worth checking out.
-
Intriguing documentary released in 1977 following the exploits of a sparkling and youthful Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Delving in to the lives of iconic characters from the World of 1970s competitive body building such as Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbu and the awesome Mike Katz, it is the charismatic and frankly awe inspiring Schwarzenegger who dominants much of the footage shot in the build up to the 1975 Mr Olympia title.
Schwarzenegger is in perfect physical condition and the confidence absolutely flows as he prepares for a sixth consecutive title.
At times funny, playful and charming Arnie is also cool, calculating and ruthless particularly during the physchological jousting with his fellow competitors as they attempt to undermine each other in the thinly disguised…