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Pumping Iron - The 25th Anniversary Special Edition Customer Reviews (25 - 27 of 35 Reviews)

The Original Arnold Epic
As someone who was actually in the audience at Mountain Park when the sequences featuring Arnold guest-posing there were shot, I suppose I was a bit player in this movie. I was invited by Ed Jubinville, who ran the event, and got the chance to meet Arnold after the show. Yet my fondness for this expansive and revealing look into the intense subculture of bodybuilding is based more on the way it opened up the world of physical fitness and bodybuilding, which up to that point had been the subject of crude jokes and ridicule.

This in many ways is a documentary, and photographer and videographer George Butler and author Charles Gaines (who wrote the original best-selling book, "Pumping Iron") took quite a risk in pushing this cultish film into the mainstream. Indeed, it originally played in arthouses and didn't become a hit until later. Yet it provided the spring for success Arnold needed to prove he could both emote and act (not many people understood the film was in fact scripted, such that many of the so-called stories and events were derived from the experiences of others,written into the film to provide a plot that otherwise didn't exist. thus events such as Schwarzenegger's father's death just before the Olympia (never happened that way), or Ken Waller plotting to undo Mike Katz.

Likewise, the whole Mike Katz teeshirt routine. Still, at base this remains a fascinating look into the otherwise mysterious world of competitive bodybuilding, although the story described herein depicts a world that no longer exists as it did twenty five years ago. Nowadays bodybuilding is a big-money enterprise, and it has changed in the process of so evolving. People are in it for the money and the fame, and drugs play a much bigger part in the calculation than they did then. In that sense at least, it has lost its innocence. Still, for anyone so inclined, this is a memorable and intriguing story, featuring a numbner of world class strength athletes such as Schwarzenegger, Louis Ferrigno, Franco Columbo, Serge Nubret, and Mike Katz, all then in their prime. This is a terrific movie, and one that I am sure you will enjoy.

GET YOUR FLABBY BUNS IN THE GYM, ...
Whenever I get bored with working out, I rent "Pumping Iron", the 1976 documentary that introduced the world to the sport of bodybuilding and its Grande Poo-bah Arnold Schwarzenegger. I've seen this movie so many times that I really should buy it. I mean, I've got the darn thing practically memorized!

Basically, the filmmakers shot footage of the competitors for the 1975 Mr. Universe (the amateur competition) and Mr. Olympia (the professional competition). What you see is the dizzing highs, the debilitating lows, and the creamy middles! You get an up close and personal look at the sport itself, its varying philosophies, and what it takes to be a champion.
The filmmakers go from Gold's Gym in Venice, CA to Brooklyn, NY to the island of Sardinia off the Italian peninsula and finally to Pretoria, South Africa to give you the inside scoop! ...

One thing the film does effectively is going in depth an analysing the personalities of the various athletes. Amateur Mike Katz comes across as the most troubled bodybuilder. Still haunted by the memories of being taunted by the other kids at school, he decided to hit the weights (and the horsepills) big time to "show them". It's too bad they didn't film his high school reunion! Can he overcome his demons and his Mr. Universe competitor Ken Waller? Watch and see!

Lou Ferrigno is the most sympathetic bodybuilder. He's a man who overcame his childhood deafness to be a top competitor (and, later, The Incredible Hulk) and he's blessed with an enormous physical presence. However, his dad (a retired NY cop) has decided to take over his training for the Olympia. Does father know best?

Franco Colombo is also pretty cool. He came to the United States from Italy with only his muscles and his dreams of glory. ...

Last--and certainly not least--the most charismatic figure in this film is the defending Mr. Olympia champion, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold was far and away the best bodybuilder in the world in the 1970s, and his ruthless confidence--and wickedly sly sense of humor--makes him a treat to watch. Arnold is ..., but he's incredibly charming. It's easy to see why--with his attitude--he succeeded at bodybuilding and the movie business (and why he *may* succeed at politics if he so chooses). It's truly a study of the mindset of a successful person.

Anyhoo, some of you girly-men may get grossed out by huge, greasy men in posing trunks flexing their massive muscles. All I can say is that steroids were legal in 1975 and that bodybuilding then wasn't the drugged-out freak show that it is now. I find "Pumping Iron" to be endlessly inspirational. In fact, just thinking about it makes me want to train harder! This is a must-buy for any individual who seriously exercises.

Documenting Arnold was a star before Arnold was a star
You will never get a better chance to see a movie star in embryonic form than watching 28-year old Austrian body builder Arnold Schwarzenegger in this 1976 documentary about bodybuilding. Arnold is "Pumping Iron" to win his sixth straight Mr. Olympia title and the future Terminator steals the spotlight from his competitors (including Lou Ferrigno in his pre-Incredible Hulk days) with relative ease. Directors George Butler and Robert Fiore capture the world of competitive bodybuilding on film, but it is Arnold who makes it all seem like such a noble effort. With his natural charm and his single-minded determination, it is easy in retrospect to see why he became such a box officer star. This is a man who has always been comfortable with who he is and what he is doing. Even if you find the sight of muscular men covered in oil to be somewhat disquieting (I am pleading guilty here), you will find this look at their world to be both fascinating and insightful.

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