benjaminweber This would be a slightly dull documentary about muscular men, save for one thing: Arnold Schwarzenegger. Every line of his interviews in this film is amazing. It's worth watching just to listen to him babble and accidentally spout dozens of comedic gems!

MarkAmovie It,s a body building documentary. The only draw to watch this film is to see Arnold in his days of physical perfection. He does talk about some very funny topics and comes across as a genuinely awesome guy but unless your into the sport there's no need to watch it. That being said, if you are a fan of the sport then you are going to love watching some of the all time greats posing and talking about the sport and industry. It is filmed fairly well and you do get a lot of information, but for me one viewing was enough.

peefyn Pumping Iron is a strange documentary, and an example of how documentaries can take some liberties in how it portrays its subjects. There's an interesting parallel to be made between this and other documentaries following competitions, like The King of Kong, as they usually try to heighten the intensity, and reduce the subjects to good/bad.Thankfully it's not that simple in Pumping Iron. Arnold is definitely shown in a bad light, but rather that of one that gives everything for the competition, rather than one that is genuinely evil. At the same time, Lou is not shown to be a hero, but rather a young, rather passive, man under a lot of pressure. This dynamic works really well, even though (as it turns out), much of it is fabricated.Despite the fabrications, the documentary succeeds in creating a story that is not only compelling, but also humanizing. It takes these huge men and gives them a personality that you don't see on the stage. I'm sure this is why this documentary managed to have such a big impact.I don't really find body building that interesting, so parts of this documentary did little for me. It was the characters that saved it, and made this into an interesting movie.

ebiros2 The movie is about conditioning professional and amateur body builders went through to get prepared for the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest.The centerpiece of course is 28 year old Arnold Scwartzenegger who was the five time Mr. Olympia going in. This is also the movie that made Arnold widely recognized in America. Akso new comer into the contest was the 24 year old Lou "the Hulk" Ferrigno. You see other body building legends like Dr. Franco Columbu, Mike Kats, Ken Waller, Serge Neubret, and Mike Mentzer. You see the mind game before the contest going, and you really need to keep your courage up otherwise, your performance suffers.All of the contestants looked like champs, and in their own ways they were. It was close in my opinion between Arnold and Lou, but Arnold had more experience, and strength of will. That's how close these competitions are. In the end two best friends Arnold and Franco goes on the pose offs to decide the overall winner. One of the finest moment in body building history.George Butler did a masterful job of directing and producing this little gem of a movie. A classic in all definition of the word.