Pumping Iron

This article is about the documentary. For the Beavis and Butt-head episode, see Pumping Iron (Beavis and Butt-head episode).

Pumping Iron
Directed by	Robert Fiore George Butler
Written by	George Butler Charles Gaines
Produced by	George Butler Jerome Gary
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger Lou Ferrigno Franco Columbu
Distributed by	Cinegate Almi Cinema 5
Release date	1977
Running time	83 min.
Language	English

Pumping Iron is a 1977 documentary film about the run-up to the 1975 Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition. The film focuses on Arnold Schwarzenegger and his competitors, Lou Ferrigno and Franco Columbu. The documentary was co-directed by Robert Fiore and George Butler. It was based on the book of the same name by Charles Gaines and George Butler (Simon and Schuster, 1974).

Pumping Iron is a movie documenting what is commonly referred to as "The Golden Age" of bodybuilding, a time when mass and size mattered less, and symmetry and definition of the body was preferred. The documentary follows the two main bodybuilding competitions, the IFBB Mr. Universe (for amateurs) and the Mr. Olympia (for professionals) in Pretoria, South Africa. Though the documentary focuses on Schwarzenegger, many notable bodybuilders make appearances, including Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbu, Mike Mentzer, Robby Robinson, Mike Katz, Albert Beckles, Ken Waller, Frank Zane, Paul Grant, Ed Corney, Serge Nubret and Danny Padilla — all talented champions in their own rights. Ed Corney appeared on the front dust jacket of the hardcover edition of the book and the front of the softcover version, as well as on the poster for the movie.

The film was re-released on DVD in 2003 for the 25th Anniversary of the original. The DVD featured behind the scenes footage and recent interviews with the cast.

Overview

File:Pumpingiron1977.jpg

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 Arnold trains in the luxurious Gold's Gym, flanked by women as he performs his calf raises. Franco and Arnold 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 Arnold'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 Arnold'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. Arnold 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, Arnold, and Serge Nubret. Arnold is declared the winner and must go for a pose-down with Franco Columbu for the overall Olympia title. Arnold 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 marijuana, 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.

Quotes

• "Come on Franco, you Lazy Bastard." - Arnold Schwarzenegger
• "I want to see two more, no matter what." - Arnold Schwarzenegger
• "I don't have anything to say, I just want to eat my cake." - Lou Ferrigno
• "Franco is smart but Franco is a child, and when it comes to the day of the competition, I am his father. He comes to me for advices. And you know, it's not that hard for me to give him, the wrong advices" - Arnold Schwarzenegger
• "The greatest feeling you can get in a gym, or the most satisfying feeling you can get in the gym is... The Pump. Let's say you train your biceps. Blood is rushing into your muscles and that's what we call The Pump. You muscles get a really tight feeling, like your skin is going to explode any minute, and it's really tight - it's like somebody blowing air into it, into your muscle. It just blows up, and it feels really different. It feels fantastic." - Arnold Schwarzenegger
• "It's as satisfying to me as, uh, cumming is, you know? As, ah, having sex with a woman and cumming. And so can you believe how much I am in heaven? I am like, uh, getting the feeling of cumming in a gym, I'm getting the feeling of cumming at home, I'm getting the feeling of cumming backstage when I pump up, when I pose in front of 5,000 people, I get the same feeling, so I am cumming day and night. I mean, it's terrific. Right? So you know, I am in heaven." - Arnold Schwarzenegger
• " You got arms; he's got spaghetti arms" - Matt Ferrigno to son Lou, comparing arms to Arnold
• " Don't ever feel sorry for yourself. If you're training hard, he may be training twice as hard. You just gotta keep coming back stronger. Right. All the way, Lou. You'll never get this chance again. All the way." - Matt Ferrigno
• " Now THAT...that is what I call posing." - Arnold Schwarzenegger, after watching Ed Corney's routine
• " Look, feel hers. She wants you to feel her muscle. Don't jump on me, Michael!" - Mike Katz playing with his children
• "Can I sign up here? I want to start gaining some..uh...muscle." - Arnold Schwarzenegger to Gold's Gym employee Ken Waller

External links

• Hause, Irene L. (1977, May). Pumping Iron (film review). Muscle Digest. 1(7), pp. 40-42. Retrieved October 13, 2007.
• Pumping Iron at IMDb
• Pumping Iron Gallery, 500 photos