45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
Brilliant sports documentary on body building's Golden Age.
The 1970's was definitely the halcyon days of international bodybuilding...two forward thinking brothers, Ben & Joe Weider, took a novelty sport, propelled it to stellar heights, built a publishing & business empire and gave the phrase "pumping iron" respectability and recognition worldwide. However, the Weider's would never have been as successful, if it had not been for...
7 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Not for girly men
Extras on the DVD version of "Pumping Iron" mostly play like promos for the film and its star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, but there is an odd and compelling new element.
In "Iron Insights," Gov. Schwarzenegger sits alone for the camera, reeling off a 13-minute monologue about what he did and didn't do during the making of the hit 1977...
The 1970's was definitely the halcyon days of international bodybuilding...two forward thinking brothers, Ben & Joe Weider, took a novelty sport, propelled it to stellar heights, built a publishing & business empire and gave the phrase "pumping iron" respectability and recognition worldwide. However, the Weider's would never have been as successful, if it had not been for a brash, young, quick talking bodybuilder from Austria (with a super hero, chiselled physique ) named Arnold Schwarzenneger who was the "golden boy" of bodybuilding's golden age.
This tremendous documentary primarily follows four elite bodybuilders in their lead up to the 1975 Mr Universe & Mr Olympia titles in Pretoria, South Africa. Mike Katz, Ken Waller, Lou "The Hulk" Ferrigno & Arnold Schwarzenneger are all shown training hard, posing down and attempting to psych each other out in the quest for the sport's top prizes. Also featured in the film are some of the other key identities from bodybuilding in the 1970's...Ed Corney, "The Black Prince" Robbie Robinson, Danny "The Giant Killer" Padilla, "The Sardinian Superman" Franco Colombu, Frenchman Serge Nubret & Frank Zane. George Butler's intriguing film is based around the book of the same name by fitness author Charles Gaines, who also wrote the novel "Stay Hungry" that was filmed a year earlier to "Pumping Iron" with a young Schwarzenneger as bodybuiler, Joe Santos !
Butler's probing camera focus's very much on the psychological aspects of the sport and much of "Pumping Iron's" running time is shown on the behind the scenes issues and mental preparation by the athletes and all important confidence boosting by their family and peers. Especially interesting is the intensely close relationship between ex-NYC cop Matty Ferrigno and his shy 24 year old son Lou, as the two ferociously train and methodically prepare to topple untouchable Arnold off his perch as the world's number one bodybuilder. However, we soon see why Arnold achieved the heights of fame and numerous titles, as he psychologically dismantles his opponents confidence and rattles their faith with his laid back & unnerving comments on their physiques !
Although "Pumping Iron" looks a little dated (lots of flared pants and bad haircuts), it is easily the best documentary ever made on competitive bodybuilding and is still compulsive viewing for anyone genuinely interested in one of the oldest, and often most mis-understood sports on the planet !
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I just watched this DVD and can confirm that it is NOT edited. If you really want to see Arnold smoking, eating pastries and carrying girls on his shoulders, it is still here. More importantly, the movie itself looks great as are the extras. One great extra is the making of documentary including a "Pumping Iron" reunion and shots of Arnold's bachelor pad from the 70s. Pretty funny.
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My husband is a big Arnold Fan. He started weight training after reviewing some Arnold's earlier times. He really has fun in the video and shows you an all around good time around the gym. It makes yu really realize that your goals in life are not just around the corner but very easy to reach once you've given a little hard work. I'm still amazed when I see him in a new movie. At his age he still looks great! Plus, he has one of the best minds bussinesly speaking not to mention comically. We love him! I really wish they would bring back Pumping Iron to DVD since our VHS copy is really showing it's age.
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I bought the Pumping Iron back in 1987 when I started bodybuilding at 16 years of age and from that time all the heros of that movie were an insperation and motivation in my life not only in bodybuilding. Arnold, Franco Columbo, Lou Veregno, Serge nubret, dany padilla, mike katz, robby robinson, Ed Corney, Ken Waller and every body that appeared in that movie were my heros until know I still cry when I see this movie, bodybuilding was at it's best and all bodybuilders were artists too not like the todays budybuilders and Judges, the only thing that matters to them is size and they forgot the buity of the sport of bodybuilding. THIS VIDEO IS A MUST FOR EVERY BODYBUILDER AND EVERY ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER FAN OR ANYONE LOKING FOR INSPARATION IN ANY SPORT OR IN HIS LIFE. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS MOVIE IN DVD.
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Its really amazing seeing Pumping Iron again after so many years and seeing again why Arnold was my idol when I was a teen and getting into weight lifting. I used to anxiously await the arrival of the next issue of Joe Weider's Muscle magazine in the local health food store so I could be inspired by the awesome force that was Arnold Schwarzenegger. Then Pumping Iron came out, and I couldn't believe it! Actually seeing him on the screen...this dude was awesome...immense,beautiful, sculpted, so much charisma he didn't even seem human and even better, the confidence, the master of mind games, and also he said whatever he felt like, and he was so much better than anyone else.
And now, with this 25th anniversary release, we get the original, showing the Force of Nature That Was Arnold...unbelievable, really, he was strength and beauty and charisma and you can't take your eyes off the 28 year old Arnold...to compare to the recent specially- filmed material, which represents: Number one, A lot of Arnold, since he does own this film now... Number two, Arnold the future politician, seemingly doing damage control,and despite soon to be the governernor of California, speaks as a politician does, equivocating and explaining things away. The young Arnold didn't care, he spoke his mind, you had to take him as he was, and he didn't care what people thought.
I don't know, I'm surprised that this guy, who had sooo much charisma, is now a movie star /politician who chooses his words carefully (watch the Iron Insights portion of the additional material)and has got an agenda, just half his previous charisma (which is still a lot), but dyed hair and a botoxed forehead and waxy skin, and you compare him to that young Force of Nature that he was... I kind of wish he kept being himself, and didn't change, didn't get plastic surgery, or go into politics where you're forced to speak politically and have to choose carefully your words...instead kept saying whatever he wanted because he was ARNOLD...I kind of wish that guy were still around, older, but realer, gray hairs, wrinkles (didn't Mike Katz and Luo Ferrigno and others look great, and older and REAL?)
Watch the original movie on the dvd, then the additional material, and reflect...Arnold did incredibly in his life, becoming wealthy and famous and powerful...but that 28 year old kid had something that the 55 year old Arnold has given up. THATS why I love the original movie, for the cameraqderie, the just-breaking out of this weird 'sport' of bodybuilding and the god who made it all possible.
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Here's the deal: this movie IS redundant, as one of the other reviewers states. It will drop you off to sleep unless you are a.) a competitive bodybuilding fan b.) a Schwarzenegger fan that is interested in what makes him who he is or c.) interested in what makes greatness. I am all three, so the movie is interesting to me, although moments of mid-70's corniness still shine through rather brightly at times throughout the movie. Consider the antiquated parts of the movie as a time warp into another time and take themm for what they are. The real beauty of this movie is watching young Arnold dominate so thoroughly ALL his competition. I'm not talking about the condition of his body, which is of course staggering. I am not a bodybuilding judge, so I can't give a truly knowledgable view of whether or not he was truly deserving of a sixth Mr. Universe title. I am talking about the way he shows that he never really doubts that he will win; the way he completely disembowels Ferigno, probably his main competition in this event; the way he dominates the minds of everyone, by the time the movie is over, from competition to the judges. Simply put, this movie is a treatise on competition. It should be shown in boardrooms (other than the sexist values of the days would likely get someone in trouble), locker rooms and classrooms. The man is a competitor - the original Predator AND Terminator. Get this movie - it's inspiring to watch what one can do simply through force of will.
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One of the most entertaining documentaries ever made, this film follows Arnold Schwarzenegger in his quest to become the Mr. Something-or-Other of international body-building. As he gradually drives his major competitor [Lou Ferigno, the "Incredible Hulk"] crazy with his brilliant psychological tactics, you will be both amused and come away with tremendous respect for Arnold's intelligence. Great fun!
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This is a fascinating docudrama, a "blend of fact and fiction" that centers on the preparation for the Mr. Olympia competition in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1975. The months before the competition is where the story has been enhanced for added dramatic effect, and follows the bodybuilders as they get ready from Muscle Beach in California to a gym in Brooklyn.
Lou Ferrigno (later to be better known from his "The Hulk" character) is one of 5 time winner Schwarzenegger's main challengers, and their determination and discipline is extraordinary, and gives one admiration for what bodybuilders go through, and appreciation of their ability to change the human form, even if like me, one finds the look rather reptilian and gross.
It's hard to not like Arnold Schwarzenneger, "The Austrian Oak", here 28 years old, 6'2 and 240 lbs. He has a disarming charm and bravado, and a natural intelligence, and the mental aspect of bodybuilding cannot be underestimated.
Conceived, directed and written by George Butler, this is a marvelous look into the "no pain, no gain" challenge of sculpting with muscle. The pacing is great without a single scene lacking interest, and the editing excellent. Total time is 85 minutes.
The DVD "Extras" are not to be missed, especially "Raw Iron", which includes many outtakes and tells how the film was made, and "Iron Insights", an interview with Schwarzenneger where one finds out which scenes were created and which were actual events.
A film that will be of interest to anyone who likes success stories and how it is achieved by those who challenge themselves and keep focused on the positive, it will also be enjoyed for its pure entertainment value.
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This is truly the first and only movie of its kind. Arnold shows exactly what grit and gridiron determination is needed to be the icon in the sport of body-building. Arnold not only captivates his audience with his incredible charm, but also lets the world know that it is attainable, but the price is high. "Pumping Iron" remains the stand out, and break out classic that exemplifies the sport of body-building.
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It is, as Arnold would typically say, simply terrific to finally discover the movie re-released as a DVD. Curiously enough, as someone who is featured as a member of 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. As it turned out, 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, Dave Draper, Serge Nubret, and Mike Katz, all then in their prime. This is a terrific movie, and one that I am sure you will enjoy
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