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Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: This Movie is a True Classic, but......
Review: Ever since I was a little kid I have loved this movie. The story is fluid, the fight scenes are brutally entertaining, costumes and sets are top notch and best of all that adrenaline rushing soundtrack. Which brings me to the reason I gave one of my favorite movies a three instead of a deserving five. This DVD is in mono. Which begs the question, what the heck were they thinking. If you want this movie because you love it,by all means buy it. If you want to feel that music pound through you with the power of DVD, I would wait until it is re-released in a deserving sound setup. Hopefully the studios will realize their folly. Just remember this movie is FIVE stars itself, but the DVD is only worthy of a three.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The ultimate movie for the typcial male!
Review: What a great movie! In this world of political correctness it is good once in awhile for males to forget their troubles kick off their shoes and pop in this great movie in the VCR for mindless entertainment that is what all guys need once in awhile. Arnold delivers a great movie with fantastic action, good looking women, and not to bad special effects. The soundtrack is outstanding and compliments the movie well! You can tell that Arnold didn't take this movie that seriously and had a great time making it, and that is what we as Males, and Women who love men should do as well, as we relax, laugh and cheer heartily to CROM while watching this! James Earl Jones does a great job portraying Thulsa Doom the evil snake wizard, and Ben Davidson of the Oakland Raiders is one of Thulsa Dooms evil sidekick. Mako is great as well as the good wizard trying to help Conan along his journey and Conan's wench(portrayed by Sandahl Bergman) is a definite HOTTIE! Overall great fun!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Almost Conan
Review: I've noticed a dichotomy in the customer reviews. Those who never read the books before seeing the movie love it, and those who were slightly disappointed after reading the books. I had years of Conan's exploits in my head before the movie appeared, and IMHO, no movie yet made really represents our greatest pulp hero. But credit where it's due, this one is closer than anyone else has gotten. Arnold has the build to be Conan, but there's less of the wolf and more of the bear in his portrayal of Conan. Instead of picking on this, the best real effort yet, let me instead point out the video "The Whole Wide World". This 1996 film tells the story of Robert E. Howard, and there's a magical 15 seconds in it where Vincent D'Onofrio as REH is telling his date about Conan for the first time. And THAT'S the best Conan you'll ever see on film. See for yourself.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Accurate translation of the comic book.
Review: Thanks to his larger-than-life ego even in those early days, Arnold Schwarzenegger made for a dandy Conan -- his accent is accounted for, his physicality showcased with panache, and his sense of humour well presented.

Conan the Barbarian is not a great film, but it's notable for being one of the most unrepentantly red-meat films in history, a roster that would probably include First Blood and The Wild Bunch. Brutal, obnoxious, sexist, garish, and aimed at a completely male audience, Conan the Barbarian delivers in spades what it promises -- swordplay, gore, torture, booby traps, sex, quirky macho humour. Most of the time the characters are left to express themselves in body language or even primitive grunts and snorts, which fits the context remarkably well. Obviously this also keeps the film's intellectual appeal to a minimum, but credit the film for being able to stay true to the black-and-white, garish visual quality and dark tone of the comic books.

This is why the one moment of romanticism in the film is also its one weak moment -- when the Sandahl Bergman character suddenly comes back as a shining valkyry to save Conan from certain death. The relationship didn't warrant such romanticism, and the sequence broke the tone of the film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A MASTERPIECE
Review: I think this is a film that only intelligent, passionate people can truly appreciate. Its much more than a Sword and Sorcery flick. Though its not very true to REH's character, I don't think it matters. Milius did an excellent job that his previous and later films never came close to. I've been a huge Conan fan since I read the original stories when I was very young. CTB captures the overall feel of the Hyborian age much better than the comic book style sequel, Conan the Destroyer, which was based on a novel by Robert Jordan. I wonder if Milius chose not to direct it, or more likely being the case, the 80's era Hollywood producers probably thought his image was too dark. As a true Conan fan I don't even acknowledge the existence of the second one. Some people say Arnold was not a good fit as Conan; that he was too lumbering and didn't seem intelligent enough. I think he was a good pick, because I don't think anyone can accurately portray the awesome image of REH's Conan that I have in my head. I rank this film in my top 10 list and that is quite a lofty standing. It includes 2001, Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai, A Clockwork Orange, Vertigo, and Raiders of the Lost Ark to name a few.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best of the genre
Review: Perhaps the greatest work of both Schwartzenegger and Milius, "Conan" brings the pulp classic to life in a way that goes well beyond its pulp origins.

This film is full of wonderful characters and memorable dialog- the great James Earle Jones as the marvelously evil leader of the snake cult, Mako as the wizard, and of course Arnold himself, before he became the comic-book persona in a long line of forgettable trash.

Who can forget that first scene when Conan speaks? We've seen Conan grow from a child to a young man, and after nearly twenty minutes he has yet to speak a single word. "Conan!" cries the interogater. "What is best in life?" He stirs slowly. Then the deep voice intones: "To crush your enemy! To see him fleeing before you! And to hear the lamentations of his women!"

Now that's film. ;-)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best movies...
Review: Ever since I was a little kid, Conan the Barbarian has been one of my favority movies. It has been said that director John Milius "strived to create a film in which the audience would make its dramatic connections through the fusion of images and music rather than dialogue."

Well, he certainly succeeded. Don't watch this film looking for deep intellectual speeches. Instead, come prepared to feast your eyes and ears on the beautiful, awful, and visceral visuals and the outstanding music by Basil Poledorous.

This movie made not only Poledorous' career, but it started Arnold's as well. Before this he was Arnold Strong I think.

While this is not the Conan the REH created, it is the best we have got. The best S&S movie made yet. The swordfighting, gore, the imagery is all outstanding, and James Earl Jones is amazing as the hypnotic archvillain Thulsa Doom.

What is surprising is the dramatic side to this movie. You can really sympathize with Conan, watching his parents viciously murdered in front of him, having his life shaped by years as a slave working a grist wheel and then as a pit-fighting slave.

This movie is a rousing, blood-pounding, and even emotionally involving movie that I recommend to everyone.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One classic DVD
Review: I first watched this movie about 1985 and was only ten years old. I had almost forgotten the story and expected the film to be a little cheesy. After watching though, it was clearly the movie that had shaped my subconscious imagery with which to compare all later fantasy films of similar style. Definitely one of the better DVD's in my collection!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is possibly the greatest movie ever made.
Review: This movie is the epitome of genius. It is, close to, if not the greatest movie ever made. I cant put into words what this movie has achieved in the world of action drama. See it for yourself, you'll know what I mean.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One Exciting Flick!
Review: I really enjoyed this movie. It is the classic 80's sword and sorcery adventure. The 80's spawned a bunch of fantasy flicks, this is one of the best. A barbarian seeking revenge about 12000 years ago.It doesn't get much better than that. Though it isn't true to Robert E. Howard's Conan stories(which are great) it is still good for what it is. Lots of fun, not a family movie unless you think kids should be exposed to rape, pillaging, and cannibalism.


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