The documentary Arnold (about Mr. Schwarzenegger) just launched on Netflix recently. It’s a surprisingly candid look at the action movie star, bodybuilder, and former politician.

Schwarzenegger turns 76 shortly and, in his older years, has been more of a contemplative and less bombastic than in previous decades. For example, he’s openly supported Greta Thunberg’s global efforts.

The star of hugely popular films such as Predator (1987) and Terminator 2 (1991), he’s also the God of One-Liners and an intriguing global figure who’s iconic for various reasons. Let’s explore the world of…

Arnold (Schwarzenegger the Documentary)

Born Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger on 30th July of 1947, he grew up in the beautiful village of Thal in Austria.

That was in the aftermath of WWII, where Schwarzenegger and his brother suffered at the hands of their alcoholic and abusive father (Gustav). He was ultra-competitive to the extreme, which obviously had a big impact on young Big Arnie’s temperament.

Unfortunately this wasn’t the same for his brother Meinhard, who drank heavily to deal with his issues and died in a car crash (aged 24) in May 1971.

That’s one of the surprising details we got from his documentary.

Gustav Schwarzenegger died not long after in December 1972 of a stroke. During WWII he’d aligned with Nazi ideologies and been a member of the SA (Sturmabteilung) military wing of the Nazi party.

Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t aware of his father’s fascist links until the early 1990s, after which he investigated his family background.

His hasn’t spoken publicly about the death of these family members openly, but Arnold the documentary offers extra insights about the man, myth, and the legend. This is the appeal of the film as he’s on hand, in characteristic upbeat and no BS fashion, to spill the beans.

That’s an intriguing side to Arnold as most of the time we associate with Schwarzenegger stuff like this.

You think of Big Arnie and you think of big stuff.

Everything about the guy is big—from his muscles, to his bank balance, and the preposterous brilliance of his poster-dominating surname.

And it’s soon clear where his desire for all that stuff came from. Having worshipped English bodybuilder and actor Reg Park (1928-2007), he was inspired to hit the gym.

He promptly dominated US bodybuilding competitions and used his earnings to establish a business, all with the goal of shifting into acting and becoming a big movie star.

The documentary Pumping Iron (1977) offered Schwarzenegger a route into other films and, after some acting training, he bagged the role for Conan the Barbarian (1982). The Terminator (1984) followed and turned him into a legend, which also started his various collaborations with Canadian film director James Cameron.

It’s also The Terminator that began Big Arnie’s lifelong association with pithy one-liners. The most famous of which is “I’ll be back” (a line he’s since repeated at least 371 billion times).

After he grew bored of his film career in the early 2000s, he then branched out into politics and became Governor of California.

All that side is well documented. The success. The money. The one-liners. Yes, the many, many one-liners! See our post yesterday on the many puns of Mr. Freeze.

Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to acting in his 60s and 70s, reprising various Terminator roles and often playing on his “ageing action film star” roots. This led to many one-liners such as getting involved in an explosion and quipping, “I’m getting too old for this!”

Yes, so in recent years he’s been less active as an actor and more present as a motivational speaker promoting health and fitness.

He’s been an advocate for all sorts of initiatives, praising Greta Thunberg as “fantastic” and offering to fund her an electric car to travel around America.

But also his response to an online troll in 2017 shows where Mr. Schwarzenegger’s head is at these days. And it’s an amazing response.

Online trolls are so incredibly irritating and often respond with ongoing 😂 emojis. But the above as a putdown… there is no way to respond to that.

So whatever you make of Schwarzenegger and his acting abilities, his past (including accusations of groping women—something he’s addressed openly and has made steps to stamp out sexism), and the political stuff… the guy is a global icon.

There’s no denying some of his behaviour in the past was a bit creepy, but he has mellowed in later life to provide the type of life lessons as you can see with the troll above.

In 100 years people will still be looking back at his career and they’ll be dropping one-liners left, right, and centre.

Arnold the documentary is an intriguing watch.

It’s on Netflix only and spread out over three feature-length episodes that address his bodybuilding, acting, and political endeavours.

There are familiar segments to this documentary, such as his insights on his involvement in various major blockbusters. Any film buff will likely know a big chunk of those details anyway.

However, Arnold really intrigues where the man himself reveals more intimate secrets about his family life and approach to life itself. All we can add is if the trailer piques your interest, give it a go.