Customer Reviews

Pumping Iron: The 25th Anniversary

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is something I've been wanting to buy for my collection for awhile. I always remember what a big deal Arnold was at this time. I got it for a great price and the extra features are just as fascinating - if not more - than the movie itself. If you are an Arnie fan or a bodybuilder enthusiast, this is a great DVD to have.

Say what you will about Arnold politically, he is an amazing man. He has such dedication. This is a man that has, since this movie, re-invented himself twice. This is THE movie that showcases this amazing individual. He is clearly completely tireless and relentless. He works harder than anyone else.

My husband is a fitness nut...running, weight lifting, hiking. This DVD was a great Christmas gift for him! We wathced it on Christmas evening, and we loved it. Go Arnold!!

I knew what to expect, and wasn't disappointed. It's a really interesting documentary, and Arnold is super entertaining. What really surprised me was that the "making of" special feature was possibly more interesting than the movie itself, which is really saying something!

The 25th anniversary edition of Pumping Iron is loaded with special features and behind the scenes footage of the making of the self-titled "docudrama." All the bodybuilders and filmmakers are interviewed, looking back 25 years ago to what really happened. It's amazing to see that a good portion of the film was actually complete fabrication. Nobody ever hid Katz's t-shirt, for example - the scene with Waller saying he was going to hide it actually was shot well after the competition where he lost it. Ferrigno's father wasn't actually involved in his training - they asked him to fake that so they could paint Lou's character differently. These are just a couple of the secrets that are revealed on the DVD. If you are a fan of the film, you need to get this to see how much true info was left out.

If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it, even if you have no interest in bodybuilding. It's a fascinating look into the world of bodybuilders from a safe distance. This is also the dawn of the golden age of the sport, when it was really just getting started in Venice Beach.

This edition of the DVD exposes some remarkable secrets about the original, as well as all the info you could ever want about Arnold. Very entertaining.

Best documentary EVER. Arnold mentions in the extras they called it a "docudrama" rather than a documentary, but it is--even if some if fictionalized. It's great, captures the essence of the sport and the drive to be the best. And Arnold's attitude brings along great humor!

this movie wasnt that bad,if your into weight lifting,bodybuilding.this is the movie for you.There are all the classic lifters,lou,franco,aronld,and more.I recommend it as a buy it movie , more then a rent it.

A lot of other people who reviewed this movie wrote about the "psychological" aspect of it and how Arnold was able to psych out Lou Ferrigno to win the 1975 Mr. Olympia title. The fact is that most of what happens in the movie is acting, except for the training scenes and the actual contest outcome. This is what I want to focus my review on. Arnold retired from the sport of bodybuilding before I was born, so like many people my age the only way we could see Arnold training was through black and white photos in his Bodybuilding Encyclopedia book. However, this DVD brings those pictures to life and now you can see Arnold training "in motion" for the first time (although it is less than 10 minutes of the movie). Two scenes in particular that really give you an idea of how hard he used to train is when he does T Bar Rows and Squats. Its unbelievable, the guy was a machine. I have watched this movie so many times before I went to the gym and it is a great way to get motivated. And as good as the movie is the extras are even better. The interview with Arnold is very interesting and so are the behind the scenes footage. The movie itself is very well done, Arnold has some hilarious quotes but the best thing about it are the training scenes.

A film by George Butler and Robert Fiore

This DVD was my first look into the world of professional bodybuilding and it provided the opportunity to Arnold Schwarzenegger back when he was a body builder. I only know Arnold from his movies (and now that he is governor), so it was nice to see where he came from. This documentary leads up to the Mr. Olympia competition. Mr. Olympia is the pinnacle of professional bodybuilding. If you can win this, you are the best in the world. At the time of this film, Arnold had won for the previous 5 years and he was trying for his 6th Mr. Olympia title. Also trying to win the title is Lou Ferrigno (who most people know as "The Hulk" from the television show). Ferrigno is young and is entering his very first Mr. Olympia competition.

It is easy to see why Arnold became such a success. He has a magnetic personality, he is likable, and he already knew how to play the type of mind games (or political games) that would serve him well later in life. In the documentary, Arnold talked about how he would get in the heads of his fellow competitors, no matter if they were better trained or in better shape, he would ultimately win the competition because he psyched them out. He also talked about how some body builders would come up to him and ask for advice, and he would often give them bad advice so that they would not do as well in competition.

It is also impressive to watch these body builders and see just what kind of shape they are in. I think I saw muscles in places that I didn't know there were supposed to be muscles. These are big men, but for the most part, they are not ridiculously muscled. This documentary shows their personalities so that the men are more than just muscle-heads, and it shows their hopes and dreams as they have varying amounts of success and failure. I thought this was a very interesting documentary and a fairly fast moving film. This is good stuff and if the subject (or just Arnold) interests you at all, this is one to check out.

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.