PUMPING IRON: Blu-ray reissue (White Mountain/Cinema 5, 1977) ViaVision

The psychology of what it takes to become a champion is at the crux of George Butler’s Pumping Iron (1977), a documentary shot on a shoe-string, centered on the ‘then’ freakish art of bodybuilding. Originally an ensemble piece, Butler quickly found a star among the pack on which to refine his narrative focus, following the exploits – both on and off the circuit – of a 28-year-old unknown: Arnold Schwarzenegger, as he religiously trained for his sixth consecutive Mr. Olympia. Actually, Butler’s original intent was to legitimize the sport of bodybuilding by presenting a portrait of the camaraderie and competitive spirit involved to train the male physique as close to possible human perfection. Naturally, the topic of steroids never entered this conversation in 1977, the proverbial elephant in a room full of giants fetishized for their impossibly sculpted and rippling muscularity. Interestingly, the nature of sports conditioning had morphed into the sport of bodybuilding by the mid-1950’s. The physical fitness craze was kicked off by Charles Atlas. Remember all those depictions of the proverbial 90 lbs. weakling having sand kicked in his face by a beach bully? This proved the motivating factor for a cottage industry, wimps to be transformed into the epitome of masculine chic through a regiment of hard work and proper dieting. In the movies, a human Goliath was also emerging. The charismatic Steve Reeves, whose stunningly proportionate physique became the stuff of legend after his triumph in the sword and sandal quickie - Hercules (aka – The Labors of Hercules, 1958).  Yet, despite a steady string of muscle men attempting to follow in Reeves’ footsteps, bodybuilding remained a fad with the general public; a superficial pursuit quietly aligned with the closeted gay community, and, mis-perceived for the otherwise socially inept and insecure who, shielded by their sinewy girth, could pretend at playing the part of the superhero among us. Then, along came Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

In hindsight, it is easy to see why Schwarzenegger has had the career that would ultimately make him one of Hollywood’s biggest superstars of the 80’s, and, thereafter, a household name in two fields – bodybuilding and the movies. Schwarzenegger, nicknamed ‘the Austrian Oak’ is in rare form in Pumping Iron – both physically and charismatically. And, it is largely due to his enigmatic personality that the otherwise plotless and rather threadbare narrative of Pumping Iron succeeds to amuse and enlightened. Arnold gets in his digs – outfoxing fellow competitors Lou Ferrigno and Mike Waller, while equating the intense ‘pump’, derived from hoisting heavy poundage, to the act of consummating a sexual relationship with a beautiful woman. If it were only for the pastime of seeing how Schwarzenegger began his illustrious career, Pumping Iron would already have a lot going for it. However, Pumping Iron also managed to transcend the then widely held – and lowly – opinion of bodybuilding as nothing more than a carnival sideshow. Pumping Iron proved the catalyst that kick-started a national craze for ‘getting in shape’.  And this, continues to be its legacy. The muscle-building supplement industry alone is a billion-dollar enterprise today, to say nothing of the commerce derived from ‘self-help’ workout instructional manuals, fitness clothing and other paraphernalia, the mainstreaming of gym culture – and yes – black market proliferation of illegal steroid use that, in the interim, has all but swallowed and spat out the sport of bodybuilding from both sides of the controversy.

It is fairly safe to say that without Pumping Iron, Schwarzenegger’s ascendency as one of the most widely identified pop icons of the 20th century would not have been nearly half as swift or assured. Observing Arnold and his cohorts go through their slavishly regimented devotion to the ‘body beautiful’ is a bit like going to church – bodybuilding, a religion by choice for a certain sect of men who find themselves between the proverbial rock (trying to live prosperous lives outside of the sport), and, the ‘hard place’ (coming in second during those fleeting moments of competition – the net result of all their arduous months, years – and in some cases – decades of hard work dashed against their hopes to be famous – if only for the briefest of wrinkles in time). Of the multitude of memorable faces – at least for those who follow the sport of bodybuilding, only two would go on to possess an afterlife outside of the gym: Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno (TV’s forever Incredible Hulk). In their wake, others aimed to have a career outside of bodybuilding. Alas, none were to manage this holy grail of immortality.

Bodybuilding since Pumping Iron – and regrettably so – has unraveled into what it desperately feared to avoid – becoming a freak show. Body aesthetics have given way the ‘mass monsters’ and an insidious cult to become grotesquely musclebound; tragically, with an incredible loss of life directly correlated to the overindulgence of synthetic drugs. Today’s bodybuilder is neither interested nor concerned with achieving proportionate musculature; rather, consumed by an obsessive quest to pack on as much synthetically enhanced mass so the resultant architecture of the male body does not even remotely resemble its human form. While Schwarzenegger and his compatriots were circumspect about steroids, no bodybuilder today pretends they are ‘naturally’ blessed with good solid genetics, triggered to bulk with the advent of hard work promoted in the gym. They merely skirt the issue in silence and pray their transparency will not find its way into a federal indictment for illegal possession/distribution/use and abuse of these powerful anabolics, temporarily to have lent them their girth. Perhaps most alarming of all is the rising death toll within the bodybuilding community since Pumping Iron, many dying in their early thirties or even late twenties from this fanatical pursuit to achieve cartoonish/superhero physical infamy, plastered on the covers of every Muscle & Fitness magazine.       

In retrospect, Pumping Iron is a time capsule and cultural touchstone, bridging the gap between bodybuilding’s ‘novice era’ and our present age of meaner, steroid-inflated bo-hunks intent on achieving infamy with their morbidly massive physiques. Pumping Iron hails from a moment in time when bodybuilding had the potential to go mainstream. Most definitely, Schwarzenegger’s congenial promotion of the ‘attainable’ was a myth. Decades later, shorn of much of his girth, and having segued from movie hulk into a political leviathan, Schwarzenegger was far more open to discussing the liberal use of the more primitive steroids that helped to build him into the role model for an entire generation of fitness freaks. Nevertheless, Pumping Iron today remains a fascinating documentary about bodybuilding as both a sport and an aesthetic value - long before either were considered chic. It is a captivating snapshot of these forerunners to a craze that spawned an industry, but was then swamped by its own manic pursuit of ‘bigger is better’ in search of human perfection.

Some years ago, HBO Home Video released a 25th Anniversary of Pumping Iron on DVD. The results, to say the very least, were wanting. Lionsgate has since released a ‘region free’ Blu-ray, distributed by Australian provider, ViaVision/Madman Home Video. Be aware: there is a competing version of Pumping Iron with different cover art. The contents and quality are identical. Pumping Iron was shot on a shoe-string for about $1 million – even by 1977’s standards, a paltry sum. And while cinematographer, Robert Fiore has managed a document with a certain crude, though no less visceral visual finesse, Pumping Iron was never intended to yield high key-lit sequences on par with a fully-funded/Hollywood-made exposé on the sport of bodybuilding. That said, there are moments in this 1080p Blu-ray transfer where the grainy texture of the cinematography takes on a slightly digitized appearance – the grain, more gritty than indigenous to its source. Flesh tones are rather problematic. Yes, the competitors here all sport a combination of genuine sun-kissed, and born from a bottle tan. So, ruddy orange to dark brown is rather the norm when Arnold and friends step on stage for their pose-downs. But color fidelity on the whole is wanting, the entire image exhibiting a less than robust palette. Contrast too anemic. Could this have looked better? Marginally, perhaps. Does it look awful? Well, no. It looks like a cultural artifact from the 1970’s – a little worse for the wear with the passage of time.

The DTS mono audio is adequate, with obvious limitations. Again, not a lot was spent to create stellar soundtracks. HBO’s DVD reissued Pumping Iron with a re-channeled 5.1 Dolby Digital. This Blu-ray contains only the theatrical 2.0 mono. It is sufficient. Sorely missed: a plethora of extras that accompanied the 25th anniversary DVD. The only extras here are ‘Hard Science of Bodybuilding’ and ‘Still Pumping’ – two truncated featurettes made in the mid-1990’s and plagued by horrendous video upscaling, resulting in all sorts of digitally harsh imagery that ought to have been corrected – or at least stabilized - before either was slapped to disc. We also get the movie’s original theatrical trailer. Bottom line: Pumping Iron remains as a fascinating glimpse into the art and science behind bodybuilding. Its audience appeal is farther reaching than that, and, for those who are still fascinated by Arnold before he became California’s Governor Schwarzenegger, this is at least part of the story behind the man and the sport on which he built a movie-land career to last the ages.  Recommended for content. The Blu-ray is a bit of a disappointment, however.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

3

EXTRAS

1