Periodically, a list comes up of the greatest film villains of all time, which contain the usual suspects like Hannibal Lecter, Cruella de Ville and Darth Vader. I'm astonished that Arnold Schwarzenegger never made these lists.
Like any good movie, the reason to see it is for the villain, and Pumping Iron makes you truly hate Arnold. His personality dominates the film, Arnold is goal-focused and very intelligent, a guy that you're not sure whether to be frightened of or admire. When asked what he thought he'd do if he thought the other competitors might be better than him, he says "I'd just talk them into losing."
There was also the detail, the one that almost everyone remembers from this film, that Arnold missed his own father's funeral so as to not lose focus on a contest. There have been debates about whether this was actually staged for the film, but considering Arnold's near-fanatic dedication and general coldbloodedness, it's perfectly in character. Additionally, Arnold talking about how a good pump at the gym is better than sex is the kind of grandiose thing a James Bond villain would say in an over-the-top soliloquy, if a James Bond villain was into bodybuilding.
It doesn't surprise me that of all the personalities in the film that Arnold was the one to go on to fame and fortune. He was clearly the smartest person there, and the most driven to the point of scary ruthlessness. It doesn't surprise me at all, after seeing this film, that Arnold went into politics, either. Arnold running for political office is only surprising to people that don't know him. He is a "great" man, the kind that makes other men seem little in comparison besides him, along with Julius Caesar, Teddy Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin.
What's more, it doesn't surprise me that Arnold got his big break as a ruthless and implacable villain, either. The Terminator was the scariest new movie monster since Boris Karloff played the Mummy. What does surprise me, though, is that Arnold got work afterward as a heroic figure.
If you're someone that's never been a bodybuilder, the movie is recommended as a great insight into what this niche sport is all about...which I think was the original purpose of the old Max Rep Astrotitan comics in M&F. The one thing you're left with is the incredible level of fanatacism needed to compete, the minimal rewards, and overpowering sense these guys are doing something very strange.
At times, us fans of muscular guys are so immersed in our interest that at times we lose perspective, and fail to see that, to a lot of people that "don't get it," the devotion to muscularity comes off as very weird. In that sense, while many people point to Pumping Iron as one of the big exposures of bodybuilding to a wider audience, it probably discouraged and turned away more people to the gym than brought in.
I'd be curious to see a followup. I'm sure the modern sport of bodybuilding is as different as an alien planet to the world of 1975.
Anyway, it was worth it to see a few shots of Serge Nubret near his peak!
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