1977 American blockbuster ‘Pumping Iron’ featuring bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger and his biggest rival Lou Ferrigno has inspired a generation of bodybuilders and athletes worldwide. In fact, with an IMDb rating of 7.3/10, it is considered one of the best sports documentaries to be made. However, even though the competition and characters in the documentary are real, Arnold claims it contains some dramatic sprinkles.

It was ‘Pumping Iron’s immense popularity that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name. Or in other words, it was the beginning of something special for the bodybuilding legend. The documentary followed several acting opportunities, and in no time, Arnold was the leading face of action movies in Hollywood.

What was real, and what was a lie? Hear it from Arnold Schwarzenegger

Pumping Iron was shot during the three months leading up to the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia competitions. Now, obviously, the competition and physical elements of the film were all real. However, in the documentary, ‘The Making Of Pumping Iron’, Arnold revealed, “Every time anyone sees the Pumping Iron, they love the movie, get inspired by the movie but at the same time they ask themselves wow, was all this stuff true?“

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The bodybuilding legend further added, “there were certain things that were not true and that’s why we never call it the documentary. We call it always a docudrama because certain things were created in order to make it more interesting because it was the only way to raise money for the movie.”

Subsequently, Arnold is saying the truth since the lack of funds was the prominent reason behind the delay of the film for about two years.

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It was the need of the hour

In the documentary, Arnold further points out that in order to make it more appealing, they had to script various elements of the film. To everyone’s surprise, Arnold not attending his father’s funeral was one such element. Apparently, the creators wanted to present Arnold as a machine. Someone who has no emotions and empathy. Someone who is only focused on his goal and doesn’t care about the rest.

Pumping Iron is indeed a masterpiece and will continue to inspire athletes in the future as well. However, knowing that parts of the film are nothing but a dramatic charade. Does that change your overall perspective of the film as a fan?

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