Pumping Iron
Overview
The original video tape cover from the 1977 release of Pumping Iron
In addition to popularizing bodybuilding, Pumping Iron was the world’s introduction to Arnold Schwarzenegger and was a contributing factor to his acting career. Franco Columbu would go on to win the Olympia in 1976 and 1981, and eventually became a practicing chiropractor, and actor. Lou Ferrigno also went on to much success: though he never won the Olympia title, he succeeded in television and movies, starring as the title character in the TV series The Incredible Hulk.
A sequel, Pumping Iron II: The Women (1985), focused on female bodybuilding.
A 25th anniversary edition of Pumping Iron included comments from Schwarzenegger and George Butler, admitting that parts of the movie were staged to make the film more interesting. At first Butler had tried to make a simple documentary highlighting the human side of bodybuilders, but somehow it didn’t quite “work”. He chose instead to take a good guy/bad guy approach. Schwarzenegger and Ken Waller were the chosen bad guys. At one point in the movie Schwarzenegger mentions that he refused to attend his father’s funeral in Austria because he was training for a contest; in the commentary he denies this ever happened, mentioning that he took the story from a French bodybuilder he once met. However, there are many sources stating that he did indeed not attend his father’s funeral. The scene where Waller discusses his plan to steal Katz’s T-shirt with Robby Robinson and Roger Callard while tossing a football was filmed after the competition. In the bonus section of the DVD, Waller claims that he did hide the shirt thinking that it was not going to be a big deal in the movie. He also revealed that he often received boos from crowds due to the T-shirt incident. Butler however has stated that the decision to blame Waller for the missing t-shirt came from footage where Katz states that he bet Waller took it. This prompted the filming of the football scene afterwards.
Plot
The first part of the documentary features the Mr. Universe contenders and begins with a profile of Mike Katz who is intending to win the Mr. Universe. Competing against Katz is Ken Waller. The two are polar opposites: where Katz is humble and unassuming, Waller is arrogant and dirty (he deliberately hides Katz’s belongings at the Mr. Universe to break his focus before going on stage). After a pose-down, Waller, due to his superior definition and proportions, eventually wins the Mr. Universe with Katz coming a distant 4th place. It should be noted that Katz is considered by some to have the greatest chest of all time, measuring at one point a huge 60 inches (152 cm), a feat only equaled by Lou Ferrigno. Nevertheless, big as Katz was, the most humanizing moment occurred when after finding out he did not make it to the posedown (the final round in determining the winner), is seen quietly fighting off tears backstage. We, the audience, are to learn that he still had not won Mr Universe after too many tries.
The second part of the film follows the Olympia contenders, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno and Franco Columbu. Lou Ferrigno, a steel worker, is trained by his father in a small downtown gym. Ferrigno is humble and trains hard, whereas Schwarzenegger trains in the luxurious Gold’s Gym, flanked by women as he performs his calf raises. Franco and Schwarzenegger both train together at the outdoor gym, Muscle Beach, where spectators are able to watch, contrasting the conditions Ferrigno is training under. It was, in fact, Ed Corney who was Schwarzenegger’s training partner for the preparation for the 1975 Olympia. The explanation is not mysterious. Columbu was often busy with his chiropractic education and his training schedule was difficult to coordinate with Schwarzenegger’s. The film makers shot as much “coverage” footage of Corney as they did of Columbu, based on their belief that there was a good possibility of Corney taking the under 200 pound title in South Africa. However, when Corney took second place in Pretoria, the film was necessarily edited to put more dramatic focus on Columbu. Franco Columbu is also documented in a memorable scene when he blows air into a hot water bottle until it explodes.
Prior to the Olympia competition the documentary also reveals Schwarzenegger’s lesser-known deceptive behavior and practices when it comes to his fellow competitors. Schwarzenegger comments that if his competitors are indeed better than him that he will get a room with them the night prior to the competition and simply talk them into losing.
The documentary then takes off to Pretoria, South Africa, to the build-up to the competition. The competitors all take part in the Pre-Judging rounds. The under 200 pounds (91 kg) class is judged first, and Franco Columbu is declared the winner. The next to be judged are the three finalists from the over 200 pounds (91 kg) class, Lou Ferrigno, Schwarzenegger, and Serge Nubret. Schwarzenegger is declared the winner and must go for a pose-down with Franco Columbu for the overall Olympia title. Schwarzenegger for the 6th time is crowned Mr. Olympia; after his win he announces his retirement from competition. He is shown celebrating his victory by smoking a Marijuana cigarette, eating fried chicken and birthday cake; potentially the most taboo combination in bodybuilding. The documentary ends with all who took part leaving for the airport on a bus.
References
^ Leigh, Wendy (1990). Arnold: An Unauthorized Biography. ISBN 0720719976.
^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E5D81230F934A2575BC0A9659C8B63
^ Interview in Pumping Iron 25th Anniversary Edition DVD extras
^ http://www.ironage.us/articles/butler.html Pumping Iron at 25: The film that almost wasn’t
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Pumping Iron
Hause, Irene L. (1977, May). Pumping Iron (film review). Muscle Digest. 1(7), pp. 40-42. Retrieved October 13, 2007.
Pumping Iron at the Internet Movie Database
Pumping Iron Gallery, 500 photos
Categories: 1977 films | American documentary films | Bodybuilding | English-language films | Bodybuilding filmsHidden categories: Articles needing additional references from November 2007 | All articles needing additional references | Film articles using deprecated parameters | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from April 2009
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