Documentary Movie Reviews
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Pumping Iron (1977)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
7/11, 12/20
7/11:
LOOK AT ME!
I AM POSING! DAMMIT.
LOOK AT ME!! F-F-F-F-F-uuuuccckkkkkk!
Pumping Iron is a somewhat good documentary but isn't as deep as I hoped for. While Arnold Schwarzenegger makes up
many stories about himself and how he plays mind games with others, he and his buddies aren't forthcoming about how they're
able to achieve the muscular gains and become massively big.
More specifically, these bodybuilders don't explain their training regimen, diet plans, or anything else.
They're sometimes shown working out although there's not very much to see. Today, we know why, and it's because of the
anabolic-androgenic steroids, human growth hormones (HGH), and other performance-enhancing drugs.
The movie poster is ridiculous. Instead, the tagline should be: "Mind and Steroids: I discovered that the
secret was inside the pills. It was the power of the pills over my body. Only those who are stupid enough to attempt them
have this power."
In all honesty, bodybuilding is a joke, leading to heart attacks and kidney/liver failure. Many don't take the "sport"
seriously which explains why it has stayed underground. Back then, I remember reading Muscle & Fitness, and it
comically tried to promote bodybuilding as an accepted sport for the Olympic Games given that the only way to do well at it is
to ingest massive doses of illegal drugs.
All in all, Pumping Iron would be better if the guys were honest about what it entailed to become a bodybuilder.
12/20:
Rightly so, Arnold Schwarzenegger is famous for two reasons: The Terminator and his
bodybuilding career.
In fact, he's the standard-bearer of the sport, having the most perfect physique although Frank Zane can
give him a run for his money. He was one of the three who ever beat Arnold; the other two were Chet Yorton and Sergio Oliva.
To make his mark in Hollywood, Arnold Schwarzenegger was featured in Pumping Iron, and the world was never
the same again afterwards, contributing to the tremendous rise of participation in weightlifting and fitness gyms.
What sucks about the seminal bodybuilding documentary are the stupid made-up stories and the lack of any insight
into how these guys became big. Now, we know that steroids played a huge role. Arnold himself was a user starting at age 13,
having injected himself with Primobolan, Deca-Durabolin, and Dianabol. The tales about Mike Katz's missing T-shirt and
what Arnold did while dealing with the death of his father are fake.
At least, it made Lou Ferrigno famous. He would be cast as the Incredible Hulk shortly afterwards.
During the '75 Mr. Olympia contest, you can see clearly why he lost to Arnold if you compare their backs side by side.
Franco Columbu was simply too short although he went on to win Mr. Olympia two times.
All in all, Pumping Iron is a one-of-a-kind bodybuilding documentary that continues to fascinate people.