“Pumping Iron” vs “Generation Iron”
When it was announced last year that a new “Pumping Iron” was being made, I rolled my eyes after hearing the news. “Pumping Iron” was released way back in 1977 and, since the release of that soon to be classic film, there has always been talk of another “Pumping Iron”. However, it was always just talk and it never came to be.
Finally, in 2012, a full 35 years after “Pumping Iron” was released, it was confirmed that a sequel to that classic film was going to be made. Focusing on the athletes preparing for the Mr. Olympia contest, the new film, called “Generation Iron”, was going to shoot footage all over the United States to capture the lifestyles of a selected group of bodybuilders who were going to featured in the movie.
In 2013, after a year of anticipation from the bodybuilding community, “Generation Iron” was released to a select group of theaters around the country. Bodybuilders flocked to see the movie, pushing the per screen average to the second highest viewed movie that weekend. Now that the dust has settled and the movie prepares for its DVD release, let’s compare the new “Generation Iron” with the classic “Pumping Iron”.
The Champ and the Challenger-Both films focused on the reigning champ, portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Pumping Iron” and Phil Heath in “Generation Iron”, being challenged by a potential rival, in the form of Lou Ferrigno and Kai Greene, respectively.
The directors of both films (George Butler for “Pumping Iron” and Vlad Yudin for “Generation Iron”) were wise to create a rivalry that audiences who may not understand the sport could relate to. The cocky champion versus the less privileged underdog theme goes back to Ali vs Frazier or even Apollo Creed vs Rocky Balboa.
What made “Pumping Iron” so unique was that the champ, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was so charming and charismatic, it was hard to dislike him. His challenger, Lou Ferrigno, although physically imposing at 6’5” and 275 pounds, just didn’t have the confidence or experience to ever really challenge Arnold for the title.
This was dramatically illustrated in the movie as we watch both competitors prepare for the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest. Arnold is pumping iron at the sun-drenched Gold’s Gym in Venice, California. He is tan, happy and loving life. In between photo shoots with beautiful girls, playing in the ocean and sleeping on the beach, Arnold is building his magnificent body with all the confidence and self assuredness of a man who has already won. The other champion bodybuilders stand back and watch Arnold with awe as he trains and struts his way through the gym.
In stark contrast, Lou Ferrigno works out at a small, dark gym in Brooklyn, New York. Training with his overbearing father, Matty, and an excited training partner, Lou seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown as he pushes himself to train harder. At one point, Lou is even shouting Arnold’s name in the middle of a set to psych himself up.
While Arnold is relaxed and happy, Ferrigno is tense and uptight.
One of the highlights of the film is a breakfast shared by Arnold with Lou Ferrigno and his parents on the morning of the contest. With perfect timing and a shrewd awareness of the situation, Arnold takes control of the conversation and lets Lou know that he is not ready to defeat the champ. You can see the confidence in Ferrigno fade away like a deflated balloon before the breakfast is over.
Unfortunately, “Generation Iron” does not follow the example set by “Pumping Iron” in showing the rivalry between Phil Heath and Kai Greene. Although much screen time is spent talking about each other, there is no actual interaction between the two bodybuilders. There is a brief posedown between Phil and Kai at the very end of the movie but nothing before that.
Kai talks about taking Phil’s head off and Phil seems mad that everyone believes he is Mr. Olympia only because of his genetic gifts and not his work ethic. However, there are no actual conversations between the two of them. We don’t get a chance to see the two of them in a situation where one can psych out the other one. Which bodybuilder is more mentally strong and confident? We can’t figure that out from watching “Generation Iron”.
Another missing dimension to “Generation Iron” is the training footage. Although Branch Warren is shown training like an animal in his gym in Texas, there is not much screen time devoted to the intense training regimen of Phil or Kai. Part of the big build-up in “Pumping Iron” was seeing how much work both Arnold and Lou were doing in preparation for the contest.
Again, although both bodybuilders in “Generation Iron” talk a lot about how hard it is to compete in a contest like the Mr. Olympia, we don’t get to see it. All you have to do is watch a couple of the “Rocky” movies to understand how important the training is to the final outcome. The training footage was always the most fun part of all the “Rocky” movies. Who can forget the “Gonna Fly Now” sequence from the original “Rocky”?
Are We Having Fun Yet?-Another very notable difference between “Pumping Iron” and “Generation Iron” is how the bodybuilders interacted with each other. In 1975, bodybuilding was a small sport that was not recognized by the general public. The fitness industry had not yet arrived and very few people in America even worked out on a regular basis.
By 2012, bodybuilding was now part of a gigantic industry in which millions of dollars are generated. The bodybuilders from “Pumping Iron” would never be able to conceive of the Mr. Olympia contest being held in a giant auditorium in Las Vegas (compared to the small theater in Pretoria, South Africa where “Pumping Iron” was filmed) or the massive expo, the hundreds of vendors and the thousands of fans that surround the event.
Watching the two movies, it seems like the camaraderie and fun that was so present in “Pumping Iron” is now absent in the world of bodybuilding. The sport is now a big business with potential sponsorship dollars on the line and big prize money for the top contenders in the Mr. Olympia. Compare this to the paltry sum of $1000 that Arnold received for winning the Mr. Olympia in 1975 and you can understand why the bodybuilders are so serious now.
In “Pumping Iron”, we got to see most of the bodybuilders training together at the famous Gold’s Gym in Venice, California. In one of the opening scenes of the movie, Arnold walks into the gym after having been away for several months while shooting the film “Stay Hungry”. He is soon greeted by bodybuilder Eddie Giuliani who literally jumps into Arnold’s arms. Handshakes and hugs follow as Arnold is welcomed back to the gym.
During the film, we see Arnold and Franco training at the Venice Beach gym. Arnold makes Franco laugh during a set of bench presses which causes Franco to temporarily drop the weight. Back at Gold’s, Arnold and Ed Corney are training together while Robby Robinson and Denny Gable are training beside them. Arnold does donkey calf raises with two girls on his back as they laughingly count out the reps in German. Ken Waller and Arnold hit some poses together in the gym mirror. The friendship and support system of the bodybuilders is clearly evident throughout the film.
In “Generation Iron”, we don’t get to see that friendly camaraderie. The bodybuilders now train all over the country because good gyms are everywhere in 2012. Phil Heath works out in Denver, Kai trains in Brooklyn, Branch Warren pumps iron in Texas. Although they all have training partners and coaches, the fun and joy in working out and pumping up the muscles (“Getting a pump is better than cumming”) has been replaced by anger and intensity. Branch Warren throws the weights around as he explains that being a champion is all about hard work. I wonder how he would react if you asked him if getting a pump was better than sex?
Even at the competition itself, there is no fun and joy among the bodybuilders in “Generation Iron”. The backstage area is all business as the bodybuilders get their color and oil applied by hired experts. There is little conversation backstage among the bodybuilders as seen in the movie.
In “Pumping Iron”, the backstage pump up room is one of the highlights of the movie. Confined to a small space, Arnold, Lou Ferrigno and Serge Nubret all pump up within feet of each other. Arnold continues his psych-out routine, at one point telling Lou that he is making too much noise. As Lou and Arnold do upright rows at the same time, Lou begins grunting and Arnold starts cracking up. Within minutes, the whole room is laughing. Maybe they cut those scenes out of “Generation Iron”.
After the contest is over in “Generation Iron”, Phil Heath heads out to an upscale night club in Vegas wearing a custom designed suit that he had made for the occasion. Confetti and sparklers go off all around him as he and his wife walk in slow motion down the stairs to his victory party. The other bodybuilders he competed against are no where to be seen.
After the contest is over in “Pumping Iron”, Arnold is seen smoking a joint while laying on a couch and wearing an “Arnold is Numero Uno” t-shirt. He is about to dig into a piece of cake when he yells out to Lou that today is his birthday and everyone needs to sing Happy Birthday to him. The whole room of bodybuilders (who all competed in the contest) joins in and sings Happy Birthday to Lou. Can you just feel the love?
There is only one Arnold- When it was announced that a new “Pumping Iron” was going to be made, the first thought I had was “Who will be the new Arnold?” As anyone who has seen “Pumping Iron” can attest, it was the charisma and personality of Arnold Schwarzenegger that made that movie the classic that it is today. It was a great documentary about the little known sport of bodybuilding, but without the screen presence of Arnold, it wouldn’t have generated 1/10th of the attention that it did.
Love him or hate him, Arnold Schwarzenegger is an icon. He defined and popularized the sport of bodybuilding like Ali did with boxing. Like Ali, it was not only his physical performance that made him a champion. It was his personality, his charisma and his sheer force of will that allowed him to transcend the sport itself.
Back in 1975, Arnold Schwarzenegger was unknown to the outside world. When critics saw the movie “Pumping Iron”, however, they immediately recognized a star in the making. Film critic Gene Siskel took note of Arnold’s attractive face and sunny disposition as the reason for his tremendous success.
In “Pumping Iron”, Arnold is the ultimate winner – confident, smiling, calculating, funny and charismatic. There is no doubt that Arnold is going to win the Mr. Olympia contest at the end of the film. Although his arrogance was a turn-off to some, his charming manner and easy laugh won over everyone watching the movie.
When director George Butler tried to bring out a sequel to “Pumping Iron” eight years later, it did not receive the critical reception that his first film did. “Pumping Iron 2: The Women” was released to lukewarm reviews and little interest. In an interview after the movie was released, Arnold admitted that the sequel to “Pumping Iron” failed because he wasn’t in it.
He was right on the money. Arnold transcended the film “Pumping Iron” just as he transcended bodybuilding itself. Without Arnold, “Pumping Iron” would have been reduced to an oddball film about a bunch of individuals who develop their muscles to compete in bodybuilding contests to see who is the best.
In “Generation Iron”, the producers have elevated Phil Heath to the “Arnold role”. As the reigning Mr. Olympia, Phil is the champ that everyone has to beat. He thoroughly enjoys his role as the king of bodybuilding. He lives in a beautiful house, drives expensive cars and even takes a luxurious bubble bath for the cameras.
However, instead of the easy confidence of Schwarzenegger, Phil is portrayed as arrogant and often insecure. He seems to have the greatest desire and confidence of all the Mr. Olympia competitors but the joy and happiness of being the champ is curiously absent.
Now, it’s possible that Phil has a lot more personality and charisma than what was shown onscreen. Hundreds of hours of film were shot in the making of “Generation Iron” but the final product was less than two hours.
What is clear is that Arnold Schwarzenegger was one in a million. A bodybuilder with his physical talent, charisma, intelligence and personality will only come along once in our lifetime. It’s unfair to expect any other bodybuilder to fill his shoes. He is the one responsible for bringing bodybuilding into the spotlight and, in the process, making himself one of the most famous individuals on the planet.
In the end, “Generation Iron” was a solid effort and director Vlad Yudin should be commended for working so hard to bring the sport of bodybuilding to the big screen. He treated the bodybuilders as real people and showed each of them as individuals who all have great challenges to overcome to be a success.
“Pumping Iron” is a classic movie that will always be remembered as the definitive movie about bodybuilding. Director George Butler took a big gamble and bet his life savings on this small film about a sport that was misunderstood and ignored by the general public back in the mid 1970’s. Thanks to the charisma of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the expert guidance of the director, the film became larger than life and helped to initiate the fitness revolution. There is no comparison.
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