Bruce V Arnold...part III

Iconic Status

Enter Bruce

I can remember images of Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon from around the age of 8 or 9. I remember marveling at his abs and ripped physique and wondering why he made those high pitched screams and whoops in between beating someone to a pulp. Of course this was some 5 or 6 years after Bruce had passed away and the film must have been on TV or Video.

Bruce always portrayed a coolness which I know was influenced by his friends Steve McQueen and James Coburn who were both served chilled themselves. However, with any great athlete who is confident in their abilities, a coolness creeps into their persona that cannot be faked. Bruce had that from his martial arts and it showed greatly in his supreme on screen presence. He's one of those rare actors that can remain still and yet you're still riveted by his performance.

However, what Bruce did in his action sequences is what made him the man we remember so fondly today and who was revered in the 60's and 70's. He was an enormous hit with the Asian communities and was mobbed during the screenings of The Big Boss. Ironically his greatest success with Hollywood came after his death and only then did the west really embrace Bruce for the action star he was. His incredible athleticism and  leaping jump kicks inspired many a martial arts actor and his weapons work, especially his most famous nunchaku work, was a revelation to the western world.

Today Bruce Lee's image is seen on t-shirts, posters, mugs, jewelery, you name it Bruce is on it! Not only that he is still on the cover of magazines and books are still being written about him. In 1993, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story opened to much success. Although the movie was highly inaccurate, it was extremely entertaining and was endorsed by Bruce's widow Linda Lee. More recently I heard there was an Untitled Bruce Lee biopic in development. We await in anticipation.

Bruce Lee remains an icon and someone to admire and emulate. His iconic status is intact and he will remain that way for lifetimes to come. There was only one Bruce lee.

The Terminator!

My first recollections of Mr. Schwarzenegger were from the bull worker or Weider Spring Exercise ads in the early 80's. Not long after that it was Conan and soon after that was The Terminator. It wasn't until the string of films that he had such as Commando, Raw Deal, Predator, The Running Man, Twins, Total Recall and Kindergarten Cop that Arnold became such a household name. The revolutionary T2 sealed his fate even more and Arnold never needed that strange surname again.

The first gym I ever went to was Bodyshapers in Cheltenham (around 1984) and in there a full size image of Arnold would be hanging on the wall for inspiration. Total Rebuild (His comeback video) was free with some protein powder at the time and I soon got hold of Pumping Iron. That film just mesmerized me from start to finish. Not just because of the way he looked but because of the way he talked. This guy was star quality from day one. I bought The Education of a Bodybuilder, his biographies and of course watched all his movies like thousands of others. We helped make him what he is today but you just couldn't help watching the guy.

Shrewd in every way, Arnold was not always a nice guy. He was cruel at times to fellow competitors and if you showed a weakness he would dive on it. Everyone I have met who has had contact with Arnold though says his sense of humour was infectious. He was known to play practical jokes on a daily basis and you can see, even in Pumping Iron, that although deadly serious about his work, he also was ready for fun at any moment.

If you're a gym nut then no doubt you've quoted Arnold many times. If you're a film goer you must have said "I'll be back!" at least once. I could probably write the scripts to the whole of Pumping Iron and Predator down on paper I have watched them so many times. I'm sure many a bodybuilder or business man and even actors have modeled themselves on parts of Arnold. I know he is still considered the best bodybuilder of all time by many despite his obvious weak points. He was smart enough to invest in much of Los Angeles real estate in the 70's and boy did that pay off. Of course the biggest investment he made was in himself. His drive and enthusiasm coupled with quick wit, charming character and immense presence has made Arnold a one man amusement park.

Right now Arnold is the Governor of California and who know what next. His movie career may be over but he certainly isn't done with his 'master plan'. Whatever the man does next the world awaits. Till then I will leave you with a small snippet of the man himself from one of my top ten films of all time.

Comments

[Allen]

This article series inspired me to brush off the Tao of Jeet Kun Do, which I haven't read in years. I had forgotten how applicable many of the things he says are to everyday life.

[Chris D.]

Predator...totally forgot about that movie. So who did play the predator? Rumor has it that Jean Claude van Damn did, but I'm guessing that you'd truely know?

And what is your top 10 list of movies?

[Nick McKinless]

Allen...the Tao of Jeet Kune Do has some fantastic snippets of martial arts wisdom. Bruce certainly knew his stuff..

Nick

[Nick McKinless]

Kevin Peter Hall played the Predator. Originally Jean Claude had been used in test shots but later turned down the full part. At that point they also changed the whole look of the creature and he would have been too small anyway.
Kevin was 7ft 2 1/1" and learned to move brilliantly as the Predator.
He has a small cameo role at the end of the movie as the helicopter pilot.

Nick

[Steve Gardener]

Alas now passed on. He gets quite a mention on the special edition collectors double DVD set (I have it)

[Blueshirt]

Nice site you've got here, Nick!

[Nick McKinless]

Thanks Blueshirt..spread the word!

Nick