Pumping Iron (1977) review

Early introduction to Ah-nold in his youthful bodybuilding days as he competes against Lou Ferrigno, explains how lifting weights is like having an orgasm (to him) and shows how good at psychological warfare he was when competing (he was also skilled at taking anabolic steroids). Wizened Arnie may not look at this version of himself now without wincing a bit, but it does show off the charisma and physique that would turn him into a famous movie star and (questionable) governor of California: it's been quite a life (so far) for the Austrian. While it is slight in examining the finer points about sculpting your form to look like something out of a comic book (being a twig, these individuals look post-human to me), it does at least cover some of the backgrounds of its participants, particularly how Mike Katz took up the sport to compensate for feelings of inadequacy as a child and Ferrigno as a coping mechanism for losing part of his hearing at a young age.