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Pumping Iron II: The Women

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Director
  
Producer
  
Language
  
English

5.8/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Documentary, Sport

Duration
  

Country
  
United States

Pumping Iron II: The Women movie poster

Writer
  
George Butler
,

Release date
  
May 3, 1985 (1985-05-03)

Cast
  
Rachel McLish, Bev Francis, Steve Michalik

Screenplay
  
George Butler, Charles Gaines

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Pumping Iron II: The Women is a 1985 documentary film about female bodybuilding, focusing on several women as they prepare for and compete in the 1983 Caesars World Cup.

Pumping Iron II: The Women wwwgstaticcomtvthumbmovieposters8731p8731p

Background

Pumping Iron II: The Women Pumping Iron II The Women 1985 Trailer YouTube

Pumping Iron II was made as a follow-up to the groundbreaking 1977 film Pumping Iron. The Caesars World Cup was a contest created specifically for the film. The competitors were a mix of professional and amateur bodybuilders, which was actually a violation of IFBB rules. Charles Gaines, one of the writers of the film, was included on the contest's judging panel. He was interviewed for the movie but not identified, and had never previously seen a female bodybuilding contest.

Pumping Iron II: The Women Pumping Iron II The Women Luka Niklas Sport 1985 YouTube

Pumping Iron II has been criticized for not providing an honest look at the sport. The 1985 production focuses primarily on Bev Francis and Rachel McLish. Francis was actually a world champion powerlifter with no bodybuilding experience (though she later became one of the top competitors in the sport in the late 1980s). She arrived in the US and was trained during filming by 1972 AAU Mr. America, Steve Michalik, who also guest posed in the film. Francis was easily the most muscular woman in the contest, but lacked the "feminine" physique of female bodybuilders of the time, and finished only eighth. McLish, a two-time Ms. Olympia winner, was the most successful woman in the sport's history at that time. Though she had done more than any other woman to popularize the sport, the producers chose to portray her as the "villain".

Pumping Iron II: The Women Pumping Iron II The Women Original Soundtrack Grace Jones OST LPCD 2

Other bodybuilders featured in the film include Kris Alexander, Lori Bowen, Lydia Cheng, Gladys Portugues, and the contest winner, Carla Dunlap. The film was based on the book Pumping Iron II: The Unprecedented Woman.

Pumping Iron II: The Women Pumping Iron II The Women SideIronpart 1 YouTube

The film was released on DVD April 8, 2003 by distributor Central Park Media. As of January, 2009, the DVD of this movie is out of print.


Pumping Iron II: The Women Pumping Iron II The Women YouTube

References

Pumping Iron II: The Women Wikipedia
Pumping Iron II: The Women IMDb Pumping Iron II: The Women themoviedb.org