Pumping Iron (1977)

Directors:

George Butler
Robert Fiore

Writers:

Charles Gaines (book) and
George Butler (book) ...
(more)

Release Date:

13 December 1986 (Japan)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Plot:

From Gold's Gym in Venice Beach California to the showdown in Pretoria, amateur and professional bodybuilders prepare for the 1975 Mr...

Plot Keywords:

Mr. Universe | Mr. Olympia | Gym | Bodybuilding | Contest

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Himself
Lou Ferrigno	...	Himself (as Louis Ferrigno)
Matty Ferrigno	...	Himself
Victoria Ferrigno	...	Herself
Mike Katz	...	Himself
Franco Columbu	...	Himself
Ed Corney	...	Himself
Ken Waller	...	Himself
Serge Nubret	...	Himself
Robbie Robinson	...	Himself (as Robin Robinson)
Marianne Claire	...	Herself
Frank Zane	...	Himself
David DuPree	...	Himself
Eddie Juliani	...	Himself
Danny Padilla	...	Himself
Denny Gable	...	Himself
Roger Callard	...	Himself
Paul Grant	...	Himself
Bill Grant	...	Himself
John Isaacs	...	Himself
Charles Gaines	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bud Cort	...	Himself (scenes deleted)
Tony Nowak	...	Big Tony
Dennis Tinerino	...	Himself
Patrick Reynolds	...	Himself (uncredited)
Jimmy Williams	...	Physique Photographer at Mr. Olympia (uncredited)

Directed by
George Butler
Robert Fiore

Writing credits
Charles Gaines		(book "Pumping Iron") and
George Butler		(book "Pumping Iron")
George Butler		(conception)

Produced by
George Butler	....	producer
Jerome Gary	....	producer
Leonard Olsen	....	associate producer
Dennis Sanders	....	assistant producer
David Wyles	....	associate producer (as J. David Wyles)

Original Music by
Michael Small

Cinematography by
Robert Fiore		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Geof Bartz
Lawrence Silk		(as Larry Silk)

Production Management
David Wyles	....	production manager (as J. David Wyles)

Sound Department
Francis Daniel	....	sound: New York, South Africa
Lee Dichter	....	sound mixer
Harry Lapham	....	sound
Hugh Little	....	sound: North Branford, Connecticut
Robert Van Dyke	....	sound transfer
Joan Weidman	....	sound: Los Angeles

Visual Effects by
Alan G. Markowitz	....	visual effects artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Joan Churchill	....	camera operator: South Africa
Gerald Cotts	....	camera operator: San Francisco, New York, South Africa (as Jerry Cotts)
Erik Daarstad	....	camera operator: Los Angeles (as Eric Darstead)
Kenneth Fink	....	camera assistant (as Ken Fink)
Kristin R. Glover	....	first assistant camera (as Kristin Glover)
John Isaacs	....	electrician
Kit Kalionzes	....	camera assistant
John Karol	....	camera operator: Holyoke, Mass.
Robert Leacock	....	camera operator: New York, South Africa
Michael Lesser	....	lighting director
James Signorelli	....	camera operator: San Francisco (as Jim Signorelli)
Robby Wald	....	camera operator: South Africa
Larry Wallace	....	electrician
Bob Rose	....	key grip: second unit (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Robin Chambers	....	assistant editor
Jane Kurson	....	assistant editor
Lawrence Mischel	....	negative cutter (as Larry Mischel)
Dan Sandberg	....	colorist
Howard Silver	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Patti Austin	....	singer: backup vocals
Ken Bichel	....	musician: synthesizer (as Kenny Bichel)
Randy Brecker	....	musician: trumpet
Charlie Brown	....	musician: guitar
Vivian Cherry	....	singer: backup vocals
Don Grolnick	....	musician: keyboards
Lani Groves	....	singer: backup vocals
Will Lee	....	musician: bass
Tom Malone	....	musician: trombone
Gary Muir	....	musician: drums
Chris Parker	....	musician: drums
Joe Shepley	....	musician: trumpet
Michael Small	....	composer: title song
David Tofani	....	musician: saxophone (as Dave Tofani)
John Tropea	....	musician: guitar
Joey Ward	....	singer: title song
Eric Weissberg	....	musician: guitar
George Young	....	musician: saxophone

Other crew
Peter Davis	....	consultant
Charles Gaines	....	consultant
Debbi Harding	....	production assistant
Martin S. Moskof	....	film titles
Tom Vinetz	....	production assistant

Thanks
Christy Barnes	....	thanks
Bill Benenson	....	thanks
Porter Bibb	....	thanks
Helen Bransford	....	thanks
Victoria Butler	....	thanks
David Chard	....	thanks
Marion Leiter Charles	....	thanks (as Oatsie Charles)
Bud Cort	....	thanks
James Currie	....	thanks
Patricia Gary	....	thanks
Susan Gary	....	thanks
Vicki Goldberg	....	thanks: Whitney Museum of American Art
Dan Green	....	thanks
Rusty Guinzburg	....	thanks
Cindy Hay	....	thanks
Denny Holmes	....	thanks: Denny's Body Shoppe
Dan Howard	....	thanks: Gold's Gym
Ed Jubenville	....	thanks: Mountain Park
Annie Leibovitz	....	thanks: Rolling Stone
Julie Levine	....	thanks: R&J Health Club
Brian Lockwood	....	thanks
Pat McBaine	....	thanks
Charles McGettigan Jr.	....	thanks
Teri McLuhan	....	thanks
Tommy Minichiello	....	thanks: Mid City Gym
Ann Morton	....	thanks
Marion Park	....	thanks
Reg Park	....	thanks
Abe Peck	....	thanks: Rolling Stone
Phillip Pillsbury	....	thanks
Delfina Rattazzi	....	thanks
Charles Roman	....	thanks: Charles Atlas Ltd.
Adelle Romano	....	thanks
Mary Rose	....	thanks
Dan Sandburg	....	thanks
Peter Schmidt	....	thanks
Larry Shaw	....	thanks
Ken Sprague	....	thanks: Gold's Gym
Dennis Stallard	....	thanks
Oscar State	....	thanks
Jim Stingley	....	thanks
Palmer Wald	....	thanks: Whitney Museum of American Art
Ben Weider	....	thanks: President, IBFF
Joe Weider	....	thanks: Muscle Builder Power Magazine (as Joseph Weider)
Ellie Wyeth	....	thanks
Christine Zane	....	thanks
Robert Zarem	....	thanks (as Bobby Zarem)
Lucinda Ziesing	....	thanks (as Cindy Ziesing)

Production Companies

• Rollie Robinson (South Africa)
• White Mountain Films

Distributors

• Cinema 5 Distributing (1977) (USA) (theatrical)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1978) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• New KSM (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Rhino Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Camera Mart  equipment
• Charles Atlas Ltd.  thanks
• Denny's Body Shoppe  thanks (as Denny's Body Shoppe, San Francisco, Cal.)
• Du Art Film Laboratories  prints (as Du Art)
• EFX Unlimited  optical blow up by (as E.F.X.)
• Feature Services  sound editing
• Gold's Gym  thanks (as Gold's Gym, Venice, Cal.)
• International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB)  thanks
• Mid City Gym  thanks (as Mid City Gym, New York, N.Y.)
• Mountain Park, Holyoke, Mass.  thanks
• Muscle Builder Power Magazine  thanks
• R&J Health Club  thanks (as R&J Health Club, Brooklyn, N.Y.)
• Rolling Stone  thanks
• South African Bodybuilding Federation  thanks
• TVC Laboratories  film processing (as T.V.C.)
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY  thanks (as The Whitney Museum of American Art)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

California Hall, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Rollie Robinson

Trivia:

Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted that he had made up several stories in the movie for attention because the producers told him that without drama it would be boring. One of the stories made up was the fact that he did not attend his father's funeral because of a body building competition that was going to happen in a couple of months. Arnold did actually attend his father's funeral and spoke to him shortly before he passed.

Quotes:

Lou Ferrigno:Arnold! Arnold! Arnold!
[When motivating himself to do extra reps]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the '70s: Volume 2: 1977 (#1.8)" (2006)

Still Fascinating, Almost 30 Years Later

This was an extremely well-done "documentary" about men's bodybuilding, and the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest in particular.

The film, of course, features the most famous bodybuilder of all time - Arnold Schwarzenegger. There are also profiles of his handful of competitors, most notably Lou Ferrigno, who gained notoriety by being the green monster in "The Incredible Hulk" TV series.

Anyway, this film really shows the hard work (but not the steroids, by the way), the dedication and the egos of the bodybuilders, particularly Schwarzenegger. Arnold is the defending champion in the field and also has the biggest ego and is pictured as a man obsessed with winning. (To this day, has he ever lost in anything? Like him or not, what this man has accomplished is amazing.)

Ferrigno's story is more about his dad than anything else, a man living out his dreams through his son. However, unlike other driven sports parents (i.e. Jimmy Piersall's father in "Fear Strikes Out"), he gives "Big Louie" nothing but encouragement.

However - please note, because I was fooled for years, too , until the DVD came out - that it turns out that much of the dad's role was made up just for the film, which is why I put "documentary" in quotes. In reality, he had little to do with his son's training, according to a feature on the DVD disc. There is a 25-year reunion with some of the people involved here, and it's very interesting, as they point out what was added for "dramatic effect." (These filmmakers must have inspired Michael Moore).

Also featured in the film were several contestants in another competition, Mr. Universe, which was held at the same venue as the main attraction. In here, we see good guy (Mike Katz) battling bad guy (Ken Waller). Katz was particularly an intriguing study and provides a good example of what motivates many of these guys to build such incredible bodies.

A lot of what these contestants do - and Schwarzenegger was a master at this - was play mind games at these contests, trying to "psych out" their opponents. All of that is pictured.

The physical work, the mental games, the families of these guys, their social life, outlooks on life, and the behind-the-scenes look at a unique sport - all are fascinating. I found it such when I saw it over 25 years ago, and it's still an extremely entertaining film.