Stay Hungry (1976)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Bob Rafelson

Writers:

Charles Gaines (novel)
Charles Gaines (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 April 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

If you've got an appetite for life:

Plot:

A syndicate wants to buy a whole district to rebuild it. They've bought every house except the small gym "Olympic"...

Plot Keywords:

Actress Breaking Typecast | Birmingham Alabama | Gymnasium | Spreadeagle | Female Nudity

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jeff Bridges	...	Craig Blake
Sally Field	...	Mary Tate Farnsworth
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Joe Santo
R.G. Armstrong	...	Thor Erickson
Robert Englund	...	Franklin
Helena Kallianiotes	...	Anita
Roger E. Mosley	...	Newton
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Uncle Albert
Scatman Crothers	...	William
Kathleen Miller	...	Dorothy Stephens
Fannie Flagg	...	Amy
Joanna Cassidy	...	Zoe
Richard Gilliland	...	Hal
Mayf Nutter	...	Packman
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Lester

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Germany:18 | Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2005) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Company:

Outov Productions

Trivia:

Arnold Schwarzenegger won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture", even though his debut was in Hercules in New York (1970).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Craig goes up the stairs to fight Thor, Thor throws a set of weights down the stairs, hoping that they will hit Craig, and roll towards the doorway. But in the next shot, they are right next to the stairs.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

Makes me wanna grow out my hair and buy a plaid blazer

As I watched this film last night it occurred to me that it has a certain fun, Altmanesque element of found local color. The shady southern businessmen Jeff Bridges' character is involved with all talk in a hilarious retro jive, "I'm fine as wine!" and sport really sharp looking plaid blazers. Rafelson decides to throw in random things just for sheer fun; a car race, with 70's Monte Carlos shooting through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama and getting air like it's San Francisco, a whole crew of 70's bodybuilders running through the city streets and posing on top of buses. Arnold Schwarzeneggar puts in his only true serious acting turn, although I'm not sure how much it should be considered acting as he's playing his real self; philosophical and shrewd. Sally Field is hot in this movie, there's even a scene where she jumps out of bed in the nude, displaying a great ass. Jeff Bridges puts on his usual display of fine, unselfconscious screen acting. One of the nicest and most refreshing things about this movie is that it unfolds organically; we don't feel an overarching awareness of chugging plot structure like we do at today's movies.