''Pumping Iron II: The Women'' is a 1985

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about

female bodybuilding Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.

, focusing on several women as they prepare for and compete in the 1983 Caesars World Cup.

Background

''Pumping Iron II'' was made as a follow-up to the groundbreaking 1977 film ''

Pumping Iron ''Pumping Iron'' is a 1977 American docudrama about the world of professional bodybuilding, with a focus on the 1975 IFBB Mr. Universe and 1975 Mr. Olympia competitions. Directed by George Butler and Robert Fiore and edited by Geof Bartz and Lar ...

''. 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 film but not identified, and had never previously seen a female bodybuilding contest. The 1985 production focuses primarily on

Bev Francis Beverley "Bev" Francis (born 15 February 1955) is an Australian gym owner and retired professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, and national shot put champion. Early life Beverley Francis was born on 15 February 1955 in Geelong, Vi ...

and

Rachel McLish Rachel Livia Elizondo McLish (born 21 June 1955) is an American female bodybuilding champion, actress, and author. Early life and education McLish was born as Raquel Livia Elizondo in 1955 in Harlingen, Texas, the second-youngest daughter born. ...

. Francis was actually a world champion

powerlifter Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

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 The Mr. America contest is a bodybuilding competition started by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). It was first held on July 4, 1939, and the winner was named "America's Best Built Man". In 1940 this was changed to what is now known as the Mr. A ...

, 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 The IFBB Ms. Olympia is both the highest ranking professional female bodybuilding competition and the title of the winner of the competition. It was first organized in 1980, and was held as part of the Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance ...

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". Other bodybuilders featured in the film include Kris Alexander,

Lori Bowen Lori may refer to: *Lori (given name) *Lori Province, Armenia *Lori Fortress, a fortress in Armenia *Lori Berd, a village in Armenia *Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget, a historical Armenian kingdom from c. 980 to 1240, sometimes known as the Kingdom of L ...

Lydia Cheng Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...

Gladys Portugues Gladys Portugues (born September 30, 1957) is an American former professional female bodybuilder and actress. As a bodybuilder, she twice placed in the top 10 in the Ms. Olympia contest. She was married to Belgian actor and martial artist Jean-Cl ...

, and the contest winner,

Carla Dunlap Carla Dunlap-Kaan (born October 22, 1954) is a professional American female bodybuilding champion. Early life and education Dunlap was born in 1954, in Newark, New Jersey. She started competing in sports with gymnastics at age 10. She later com ...

. The film was based on the book ''Pumping Iron II: The Unprecedented Woman''. The film was released on DVD April 8, 2003 by distributor

Central Park Media Central Park Media, often abbreviated as CPM, was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York and was headquartered in the 250 West 57th Street building in Midtown Manhattan (on the corner of Central Park, hence ...

. The DVD is currently out of print, as the distributor went bankrupt in April 2009, subsequently having to close for the foreseeable future.

Reception

''Pumping Iron II'' has been criticized for not providing an honest look at the sport.

References

External links

* * * {{George Butler 1985 films American sports documentary films 1980s English-language films Documentary films about female bodybuilding 1985 documentary films Central Park Media 1983 in bodybuilding Films directed by George Butler (filmmaker) Films with screenplays by Charles Gaines 1980s American films