Arnold le magnifique

Taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane, Pumping Iron brings a smile to ones face even if you can't understand Schwarzenegger with his thick Austrian accent.

Pumping Iron looks at the world of body building as a competitive sport, an art, a science, and a religion. Despite his modern day success as an actor. Arnold shows us what he was truly about, a man who hungered to win, and win at what ever lengths it took.

Unlike the unrealistic looking body builders of nowadays, these grandfathers of bodybuilding show us just what real muscle men are about. The rivalry, the pranks back stage at tournaments, the reverse psychology and the rumours they would spread to throw their fellow competitors into disarray.

There was scepticism as to whether most of the content of this movie was scripted or performed ad-lib. One get the impression it's a bit of both especially when you see a very young Lou Ferrigno throw a tantrum infront of his father Matty and telling him he's "gonna beat'im" (Arnold that is) to become the next Mr. Olympia.

Overall, it's one film to watch as a motivator, study guide to understand the psyche of iron pumpers and to note how Joe Weider marketed talents such as Arnold, Lou Ferrigno and Franco Columbu, immortalising them into the world of body building. 6.8/10

Before he was the world's greatest action movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger was the world's greatest bodybuilder, winning the Mr. Olympia contest seven times. Documentary Pumping Iron follows Arnold and his musclebound rivals as they prepare for Mr. Olympia 1975.

You don't have to be a roid junkie yourself, or even an Arnie fan, to enjoy this insightful documentary. The colourful characters it portrays and the unique world which they inhabit is so engrossing that even those who regularly get sand kicked in their face should have lots of fun with it. Arnold is obviously the big draw here, and he's as charismatic, amusing, arrogant and as driven as one might expect, but the other bodybuilders prove just as fascinating: Lou 'The Incredible Hulk' Ferrigno, who aims to be even greater than his idol Arnie; amateur Mike Katz, driven to seek physical perfection after being bullied as a child; Sicilian Franco Columbu, who makes up for his lack of stature by being able to blow up hot water bottles with his breath!

As strange as their obsession might seem to many of us, it's hard not to admire these men for the passion, dedication and sheer hard work they display in their pursuit of their dream: the perfectly proportioned body.

It's hard to imagine that, before he became a multi-million dollar movie star and the Governator of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger started his film career with one docu-drama, the aptly named "Pumping Iron."

Basically a documentary about the world of bodybuilding circa 1975, "Pumping Iron" focuses on Arnold Schwarzenegger's last effort at attaining the Mr. Olympia for the sixth time in a row, before officially retiring from the "best sport" and heading off to Hollywood for a film career. (Five years before he had starred in the mighty "Hercules in New York," which I have been quoted as calling "the funniest bad film ever.")

Not much to say about a film like "Pumping Iron," though, so I resort to going over the movie's historical impact and the so-called "controversial questions" often raised after people watch the film for a first time.

First of all, this is the movie that started bodybuilding. It's hard to think of a time when bodybuilding wasn't strange and abnormal, but when "Pumping Iron" was made, bodybuilders were considered insecure freaks with big egos. Bodybuilding ads were printed underneath the comic strips of daily newspapers. People took them as a joke.

Arnold is often referred to as the father of modern bodybuilding (he literally started the entire craze you see today), and a lot of people who criticize his intellect and films and tabloid sexual assault claims forget that everyone is flawed, but not everyone has enough self discipline and motivation to move to the United States from Austria, become the king of bodybuilding (boasting the largest chest every measured--to this day), then moving into film and grossing billions of dollars at the box office in total, then becoming Governor of California.

That's pretty amazing.

I don't believe that the majority of the sexual assault claims filed against Schwarzenegger are true. (I'm sure some of them are, though.) Interesting how they all surfaced right around election time, huh? But regardless of whether he's a womanizer or not (which I know he is, to a certain extent), he's still a very admirable guy who's participated in fitness and after school programs for years, not to mention raising four kids without ever divorcing his wife. (I'm not saying that the key to a lasting marriage is adultery, though.) And he kicks butt on-screen like no other guy in the history of action film knock-offs. There will be your pale imitators like Stallone and Van-Damme, but there's only one Conan the Barbarian.

Yes, I admire Arnold Schwarzenegger, as do millions of people across the world. There's a reason that he started the bodybuilding craze of the past few decades, as well as grossing billions of dollars at the box office (many of his films some of the greatest pieces of action cinema ever made), appearing on thousands of magazine covers, and becoming Governor of California. First of all, he exceeds where most screen heroes fail: he's got bigger muscles (see Stallone), a more likable personality (see Van-Damme), and--even though many people criticize him for it--I think his acting is quite good. It's easy to smile watching one of his comedies and easy to have fun watching his macho man action films. "Commando" is one of the cheesiest films ever made, but would it work without Arnold?

"Pumping Iron" is not exactly a "documentary," since a lot of it was staged just for the film, but as Arnie said before, most of it is true--the competitions, the training, etc. The tension between the bodybuilders, and some of the dialogue, however, is not true. It was all for cinema.

But this is the movie that made people flee to the gym during the 70s and 80s, and it continues to do so. I myself am a bodybuilder, with a gym built into my house, and this movie is a big inspiration for me--there's a lot of great inspirational material in it. And it doesn't matter if your sport is bodybuilding or not even a sport at all: the motivational message stays the same for whatever you do.

In a recent 25th Anniversary Interview (included on the newly-released DVD of the film), Schwarzenegger separates the fact from the fiction. His "psyching out" of Lou Ferrigno was just for the camera; so was the statement about losing his car and not returning for his father's funeral because he was training. Yes, he used steroids, as did everyone back then, since they were in an experimental stage and not illegal. And he handled the biggest question of all in two sentences:

Schwarzenegger: "Yes, I smoked a joint. And yes, I inhaled."

Twenty-five years later, he now also claims that when he said the pump (blood flow to the muscles resulting from weight lifting) was better than "coming in a woman," he was just saying this to get attention and to get people to lift weights more. "It's not better than coming," he says now. "Trust me."

4/5 stars.

• John Ulmer

Everyone has seen the Austrian Oak's massive body, but "Pumping Iron" reveals the man behind the muscles. It is a compelling look at one of the most famous American icons in history. Arnold demonstrates a determination and confidence that has obviously propelled him to the superstar status he obtains today. The documentary is true and realistic, like all great documentaries of the 70's, and it provides a captivating window into the bodybuilding world. Although a true story, it manages to be intense and suspenseful during the final rounds of the Mr. Olympia competition. Will it be Lou Ferrigno or Arnold? Although most people probably already know the answer, getting to that conclusion is all the fun. A must see!

Every now and then a film comes along that changes cinema or an aspect of it. In the way Enter the Dragon changed films, in that almost all film fight scenes now have martial arts in them. Pumping Iron changed the attitude of many towards muscles and muscle men. It is true to say that before Schwarzenegger came along, men with muscles in film were often portrayed as stupid or slow. Arnold showed in this film that he had tons of personality, his charisma was as big as his chest and he made Bodybuilding seem cool. Look at films made since Pumping Iron, the lead actor often has to have muscle. Stallone, Van damn etc all owe a lot to Schwarzenegger for their success. Pumping Iron itself is an interesting exploration into the strange world of competitive bodybuilding and it successfully shows the variety of characters that exist within the 'sport'. Since it was made bodybuilders are even bigger and certainly more muscular today than they were in Arnolds day. Truth is his build would not win today but at the time he was the best their was. There were more muscular men ( Franco is much more muscular )but he had the ability to show his body to the best advantage, hiding weaknesses and pushing his strong parts to the fore. Certain sides of bodybuilding are omitted ( drug taking, homosexuality ) but the film itself is very entertaining and crams a lot into a relatively short film.

I recommend the DVD edition that others have mentioned as you get a lot more from it.