Australian Penthouse

Our new film and DVD reviews for this month: Pumping Iron, Gomorrah, The Baader Meinhof Complex, Body of Lies and Man on Wire

PUMPING IRON (1977)

SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT
DIRECTORS: GEORGE BUTLER & ROBERT FIORE
STARS: ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, LOU FERRIGNO, FRANCO COLUMBU, MIKE KATZ, KEN WALLER

THE LOWDOWN:
FILMED throughout the lead-up to the 1975 Mr Universe and Mr Olympia bodybuilding contests in Pretoria, South Africa, the major reason this well-made documentary is considered a classic is because it features Arnold Schwarzenegger long before he became The Terminator and the Governor of California. At 28, he’s out to win his sixth My Olympia crown, and doesn’t mind talking up his chances: “I have no weak points,” he quips on the eve of the tournament. However, despite his extraordinary arrogance—and inch-thick Austrian accent—you can see his star quality, transforming this honest little film about muscle men into a fascinating historical piece.

NUTS AND BOLTS:
Although the focus is definitely on Arnie, many other notable bodybuilders also appear, including future actor Lou Ferrigno, who starred in the 1980s television series The Incredible Hulk (and recently in the Ed Norton big-screen remake). Just as intriguing as the rivalry between Arnold and Lou is the competition between Americans Mike Katz and Ken Waller, both battling it out for the amateur Mr Universe title. Then there’s Franco Columbu, a charismatic Italian who goes bicep-to-bicep with Arnie and impresses the crowd by blowing up a hot-water bottle like a normal person would inflate a balloon. This is the ‘golden age’ of bodybuilding, and the fans lap it up.

DVD EXTRAS:
The 25th Anniversary Edition includes behind-the-scenes footage, biographies, outtakes, recent interviews with the cast, and a reunion between the bodybuilders and director.

VERDICT:
We let Arnold have the last words: “It’s as satisfying to me as coming is, you know? As having sex with a woman and coming. And so can you believe how much I am in heaven? I am like getting the feeling of coming in a gym, I’m getting
the feeling of coming at home, I’m getting the feeling of coming backstage when I pump up, when I pose in front of 5000 people, I get the same feeling—so I am coming day and night. I mean, it’s terrific, right? So, you know, I am in heaven.”

GOMORRAH

Madman
DIRECTOR: MATTEO GARRONE
STARS: SALVATORE ABRUZZESE, GIANFELICE IMPARATO, CARMINE PATERNOSTER, TONI SERVILLO, SALVATORE CANTALUPO

A FICTIONALISED account of what goes on in the Italian provinces of Naples and Caserta, Gomorrah is a brutally honest gangster movie. Based on the book by Roberto Saviano (who lives under 24-hour guard), it’s essentially five stories in one, each exposing a different facet of the ‘Camorra’—the oldest criminal organisation in Italy.

The hopelessness of the situation is palpable. Boys like 13-year-old Totò (Abruzzese) are shot while wearing a bulletproof vest as part of their initiation into the clan, and from there all they can expect is death. How long they live is almost irrelevant as there are others ready and willing to take their place. The Camorra wields its corrupting power at every level of society, from petty drug dealing in crumbling tenement buildings, to sweatshops turning out copies of designer clothes, to the dumping of toxic waste.

Gomorrah is far more realistic than any Hollywood mafia flick, and far more frightening.