Arnold
I’m quite sure of one thing, and that’s that Arnold Schwar… Schwarz… Shravzen… well you already know who I mean… he surely influenced how the documentary about his life would go, by the principle “what I did badly, we’ll only minimally cover, and what’s good, well we’ll really spread out on that.”
And despite that, “Arnold” is still a very interesting documentary. 😊
Formulated in mini-series form, the documentary is conceived so each episode addresses one “side of his personality,” which appeared, chronologically:
- Athlete
- Actor
- American
You may notice the first letter of each word. AAA… which you also want to say when something is the best, first-class. Good joke, right?
The first episode (“Athlete”) covers the period of his growing up (he was born in the Austrian town of Thal, near Graz). We’ll hear stories about his hard-working and patient mother Aurelia, sensitive older brother Meinhard (who apparently was the family favorite), but will touch most on his father Gustav and his discipline and often violent nature. We’ll see how the old film “Hercules” with Reg Park, by the way then-star of the fitness/bodybuilding industry, prompted Arnold to become interested in bodybuilding, join the local weightlifters association and become obsessed with training (i.e., bodybuilding). This didn’t exactly meet with parents’ and surroundings’ understanding, but Arnie pushed his story anyway. This led to him first moving to the gym in Graz where he worked as a trainer, then starting to increasingly turn to bodybuilding competitions, and after that the rest is history. Then came first place in amateur “Mr. Universe,” then he was (real) “Mr. Universe” three times in a row, and then won the “Mr. Olympia” title seven times, and meanwhile he achieved his boyhood dream and moved to America.
Since he won everything that could be won in the bodybuilding world, the next station in his career (and also episode in the series) – acting (Actor). At first it didn’t go quite right for him because, hand on heart, except for muscles, nothing was good for acting (though muscles didn’t mean much for that Hollywood period and idea of a handsome man either) – silly face with bad (no) facial expressions, bad and rough English, strange surname. He attracted attention with films “Stay Hungry” (where he played gym owner) and in the bodybuilding film “Pumping Iron.” After that he realized he must more carefully dedicate himself to improving acting abilities… and English language. And then came the film “Conan the Barbarian” and the rest is (again) history. There followed (some cult, and some just popular) films like “Terminator” (and its sequels), “Commando,” “The Running Man,” “Predator,” “Red Heat,” “Twins,” “Total Recall,” “Last Action Hero,” “True Lies,” “Junior,” “Eraser,” “Batman & Robin,” “End of Days,” “Eraser” and many others.
However, even that wasn’t enough for Arnie, hence the third episode (American). Why not turn to politics too? In the nineties he was chairman of the Council on Fitness and Sport. He’s a Republican. Earlier he “married into” the Kennedys (married Maria Shriver in 1986). Now he wants to be a politician too. And after a long (campaign) struggle, he became governor of California, where he now had to grapple with numerous challenges, both business (political) and private. And he managed to pull through two terms. And did all sorts of things (but really all sorts) during that time… both good and bad…
Now, why is the documentary “Arnold” so interesting?
For starters, Schwarzy is now 76 years old. He’s tumbled through all sorts of things, met all kinds of people. He’s done good things as well as big stupidities. He’s financially secure (his wealth is estimated at 450 million dollars). He can have an “I don’t give a damn” attitude toward life and people (in translation, “he doesn’t give a duck”). And there, he can tell some things without mincing words, and brag and criticize himself. And also tell us some great life truths and reveal interesting facts from his life.
Regardless of whether it’s bodybuilding, acting or politics, Arnold clearly makes it known he could achieve little alone and throughout his life met people who were willing to help him and provide support. There are limits to how much a man can achieve alone, and how far he can only go with others’ help.
Schwarzy will also tell us how much he was affected by others’ prejudices and failures, whether in bodybuilding, film or politics.
Of course, to a lesser extent he’ll touch on mistakes from his political career period, from statements he gave through moves he pulled… and will also touch on the affair with the housekeeper which later also led to divorce from Maria, and will mention a couple words about his illegitimate son.
What we (probably) knew during his long career is now somehow unified in this documentary.
Arnold is a man focused on results. There’s no doubt one of the key reasons for his success is precisely dedication to what he does.
The man always had a vision of himself to be a star. He precisely said how he doesn’t want to be the best (character) actor, but to be the biggest film star.
He knew how to wage psychological wars with opponents. From subtle provocations with other bodybuilding competitors, to political rivals, Arnold was aware that throwing an opponent off “rhythm” can tip the scales.
One detail I especially liked, but I don’t know if Arnold said it deliberately or accidentally how he said it. Namely, you can see Arnold really had no idea about acting, and especially not about politics and what all it encompasses. But he sold the story he can do it. Of course, he later also really delved into those subjects to become (more or less) competent in them. But his approach to new challenges reminded me of that Richard Branson saying “If someone offers you a great opportunity and you’re not sure you can use it, say YES – and then learn later how to do it.”
He also said some things he did in life were pure schmah (German-Austrian idiom, which Americans would call “bulls**t,” and we “sh*t.” But it can also refer to scheming and faking). And this especially applies to marketing and (self-)promotion. Many things he said during (all three) his careers were simple tricks aimed at gaining popularity and audience sympathy, not because he really believed in it. Realistically, when you look at today’s popular figures in the country, and especially the “influencer” category, there’s all the schmah you want, and they love to dump it on people…
Anyway… Arnold will touch on the period when steroids were legal, rivalry with Stallone, how he almost gave up on “Terminator,” how he was a millionaire before his film career (he invested money from bodybuilding into real estate on others’ advice, and later during life took on various business ventures), which people he considered friends…
In the documentary his friends, acquaintances and rivals from bodybuilding world, film (James Cameron, Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sylvester Stallone), as well as political life and journalism world will also say a couple sentences each.
I mean, what to say in the end? There’s no doubt “Arnold” is a fun documentary to watch, like his films. You shouldn’t expect any hardcore shocking confessions, nor teasing. We’ll hear some already known things, but we’ll also learn some new details from this action star’s life. There’s no doubt the timing of this documentary was planned to coincide with the premiere of his series “FUBAR,” but as I mentioned earlier, that doesn’t mean the documentary is bad, quite the opposite.
By the way, I wanted to mention one more interesting detail from the documentary for the end. Though he only talked about it for a couple minutes, Arnie also touched on how people must be more proactive and more “busy” and then won’t have so much time to feel bad, bored, depressed, to question themselves too much and have long (discouraging) conversations with themselves. That the point is just to go forward. And you know what – there’s truth in that.
All in all, an interesting documentary for everyone, and especially for fans of the character and work of Arnold the Terminator.
And soon we’re also expecting a documentary about the life of his greatest rival on the big screen – none other than the character we remember for characters like Rocky and Rambo! 😃
And you, dear reader, what would be your favorite Schwarzy film, other than “Terminator”? 😊
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s website | Trailer | Imdb | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic
Premiere: 2023 | Format: Series (mini-series) | Number of seasons: 1 (3 episodes) | Average episode duration: 60 minutes
