It’s a good thing that Austrian muscleman Arnold
Schwarzenegger was already drifting toward a film career by the time this
compelling documentary was released in 1977, because Pumping Iron was a key step in defining his cinematic persona: Even
though the movie amply displays the staggering physique that made
Schwarzenegger a world champion, it also reveals the ruthlessness at
the heart of Schwarzenegger’s machine. Watching him torment sweet-natured
fellow bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno, diminishing Ferrigno’s confidence prior to
major competitions, provides a case study in winner-takes-all competitiveness—just
like in the action movies Schwarzenegger made throughout the ’80s and ’90s,
only the strong survive in Pumping Iron.
Filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore exhibited herculean resolve of their
own in getting the film made. Basing their project on a nonfiction book about
bodybuilding that Butler co-wrote with Charles Gaines, the filmmakers started
shooting in 1975, following competitors Ferrigno and Schwarzenegger (among
others) toward a pair of contests, Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe. After a
stop-and-start production process, the movie was finally completed in 1977, by
which point Schwarzenegger had already completed his first major role in a
Hollywood movie, the offbeat 1976 release Stay
Hungry. So, whether by circumstance or inevitability, Schwarzenegger became
the focus of the documentary.
Throughout the picture, which contains sequences
of competition, private life, and training, Schwarzenegger commands attention
by expounding on various philosophical notions. In some scenes, he comes across
like an easygoing athlete whose supreme confidence renders him invulnerable to
stress. In others, he’s the consummate arrogant jackass. (The most notorious
scenes involve the future Governator toking on a joint and comparing muscle
burn to “cumming day and night.”)
Other textures in Pumping Iron are nearly as memorable as the star’s megalomania.
Ferrigno’s dysfunctional dynamic with his smothering father is heartbreaking,
the sad saga of a son unable to get the type of approval he desperately needs,
and the filmmakers provide amusingly blunt sketches for the personalities of
various other competitors. The best testament to Pumping Iron, of course, is that it’s fascinating even for viewers
who consider themselves uninterested in bodybuilding. A sequel, titled Pumping Iron II: The Women, followed in
1985.
Pumping Iron: RIGHT ON
ReplyDeleteGrowing up on Venice Beach, I got to have several (mostly distant) encounters with Ah-Nuld. At muscle beach or jogging along the shore, he had a sort of singularity of focus. No time for kids. My best friend in Jr. High was nuts for him, a wanna be body builder (a little Hispanic guy who never seemed to really be able to put on any bulk) and talked about him non-stop, and about this movie, and would drag me down to watch him lift. My mom, who back in the day volunteered at local church thrift shops, would see him come in and pinch the bums of cute girls who shopped there. With all the arrogance and almost sinister personality, it added up to some kind of charm in all his films, and I became quite a big fan. Still am.