Conan the Barbarian

Rating:
Summary: My favorite fantasy film
Review: "Conan the Barbarian" has been my favorite fantasy film for the past two decades, and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy hasn't changed anything. I was lucky enough to see it in the theater as a teenager, and have loved the film ever since for its enjoyable script, quirky acting and incredible music.

Since just about everything has been said at this point, I'll focus on the DVD itself -- in my opinion, well worth the money. The highlight is a nearly one-hour "making of" that ranks as one of the best I've seen so far on any DVD. The commentary by Schwartzenegger and Milius I could really have done without... there's little or nothing there to enlighten or entertain, and Schwartzenegger descends to a new level of cheesiness -- he almost seems to be drunk or stoned on something as he comments on the film. The rest of the special features are nothing to write home about... there's a 50-second "special effects" scene showing a meaningless split-screen of the scene where the demons try to take Conan's life. The "deleted scenes" section is short as well, and isn't very interesting.

I would have liked to have seen a separate featurette on the music, rather than giving it a paltry five minutes of coverage in the "making of" feature... as many know, this is one of the all-time film soundtrack greats and I would have liked to have known more about Poledouris' inspirations. It would also have been nice to see a dedicated featurette devoted to the Conan books, and Rob Howard's original vision of the character. There's really a lot more they could have included.

Overall the "collector's edition" DVD is decent, but not the sort of epic production this film deserves. I guess we should be grateful that we got even this much, given that this is more of a "cult" film than a recognized classic. If you already own the older DVD, I would recommend skipping this one -- the excellent "making of" featurette doesn't quite justify laying down the dough. If you don't have "Conan" yet on DVD however, treat yourself to this epic fantasy adventure -- it's violent and bloody but also an incredibly entertaining film -- pure candy for the eyes and ears, and with an interesting story to keep the mind occupied as well.

Rating:
Summary: could have been better
Review: Let me start off saying that I enjoy movies based on mythology/fantasy and though alot of people may disagree with me, I felt that Conan the Barbarian doesn't live up to the hype that's been given to it. I have never seen an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie that I didn't liked so I decided to watch this one having high hopes that it would be an action packed movie with a great plot. Has Arnold ever settled for less? Well, apparently after doing Conan he decided that he needed better roles. Conan the Barbarian seemed a bit drawn out half way through and I was really hoping for a good fight scene between Conan and Thulsa Doom. Besides that, the ending was mediocre and left much to be desired in my opinion. I'm not saying this movie completely stinks. I just felt that more should have been done with it.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Sword and Sorcery Movie
Review: This is the film that started it all; both for Schwarzenegger's film career and for all of the sword and sorcery movies that would try (most in vain) to imitate it. Before Beastmaster; before Ladyhawke; before Sword and Sorcerer; there came Conan.

The story is simple and draws the audience into a credible yet imagined past of warriors and sorcerers. James Earl Jone's performance as the evil cult leader/sorcerer Thulsa Doom was the anchor in what otherwise could have been a complete flop. Max Von Sydow's brief role also gave weight to the acting. This is a role Schwarzenegger was born to play without a doubt. Another element which brought the movie to an epic status was John Milius' decision to retain Basil Poledoris for the music; a brilliant composition that carried the theme of the story with elegance (Oliver Stone wanted to use disco music.) Sandahl Bergman is the least convincing actress who was completely miscast as Queen Valeria; appearing to be more interested in accentuating her out-of-place Bay Watch appearance than playing her actual role. Mako and Jerry Lopez also delivered good performances in this film.

As another review mentioned, the director's cut is a bad deal. The extra scenes were deleted for a reason and the bad thing is that you don't have an option to watch the original one. Stay with the original edition even if the sound and picture isn't as good.

Rating:
Summary: The original "Conan" is still the best Sword & Sorcery flick
Review: "Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of...Hither came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandled feet." At least, that was what was written in "The Nemedian Chronicles," the faux ancient text referred to by Robert E. Howard in his stories about Conan the Barbarian. Conan had been a pulp fiction hero in the 1930s and the stories had been republished in the 1960s with great covers by artist Frank Frazetta, with some unfinished stories by Howard completed by L. Sprague De Camp, and Lin Carter, who also wrote some adventures to fill in the gaps in the Conan chronology. Then Marvel comics launched a comic book version, scripted by Roy Thomas and drawn by Barry Smith, with many of the stories being adapted from Howard's original stories about Conan and other sword and sorcery adventurers.

It was with that literary lineage in the realm of sword and sorcery that "Conan the Barbarian" was released in 1982, although it ended up doing more for Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting career than it did for the character he was playing, since the film spawned only one sequel, "Conan the Destroyer." Director John Milius covers the early years of Conan's career, when he was taken from his home in Cimmeria as a boy by a raiding party of Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), and sold into slavery. Eventually he began a trained gladiator and eventually earned his freedom, where he became a thief. The script by Milius and Oliver Stone essentially created a new narrative for the film, although readers of Conan will recognize scenes and elements from to "The Thing in the Crypt", "The Elephant Tower", "Red Nails," "Queen of the Black Coast", "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune," and "A Witch Shall Be Born."

Schwarzenegger's acting experience was rather limited at that point. Having appeared (dubbed) as Hercules in "Hercules in New York" in 1970, with the billing of Arnold Strong, Schwarzenegger had done a series of small roles in small films and television shows. However, in 1977 he appeared as himself in the documentary "Pumping Iron" and showed himself to be a charismatic spokesperson for the sport of body building. However, all Schwarzenegger was really required to do as Conan was flex his muscles and grunt a few lines. The key thing here is that he did look good. The showcase sequence of the film is when Conan and his companions, Valeria (Sandhal Bergman) and Subotai (Gerry Lopez), sneak into the stronghold of Thulsa Doom to rescue the daughter of King Osric (Max Von Sydow), who has joined the Snake Cult. With some pretty good background music by composer Basil Poledouris, the trio of thieves set up a diversion and launch a quick attack. There is a moment when Conan, his body painted with black stripes as camouflage, gets into position to begin a sword fight that simply looks great. The actual swordplay is rather limited, more slashing that actual swording, but we do get a sense of the power of Conan.

James Earl Jones seems a bit distant as the villain, but he was engaged in a weird acting experiment where Milius told him how to do line readings and he did it. In the end, it is Sandahl Bergman who surprisingly provides what little emotional impact the film exhibits. A trained dancer, Bergman's elegant and fluid movements contrast nicely with Schwarzenegger's raw power, and she has a great way of looking at him that makes it clear which one of them has the brains in the operation. More importantly, Bergman's Valerie seems totally at home in the savage world that the film creates.

"Conan the Barbarian" is not a great film, although it is arguably remains the best sword and sorcery film made to date, although clearly the competition for the honor is rather sparse. Despite the overall woodenness of the acting, it does have the virtue of taking its characters seriously without descending into camp. If anything it is the reluctance to find humor (although Conan does slug a camel in an apparent homage to "Blazing Saddles"), that keeps this 1982 film on the high road, relatively speaking. Consequently, while Conan fans might have hoped for something better, they certainly had ample reason to expect something much worse, and thus were relatively overjoyed by the end product.

Rating:
Summary: Do NOT BUY THIS!
Review: Do NOT BUY THIS! If you have any fond memories of the movie Conan
the Barbarian, then do NOT buy this. get the ORIGINAL. The Collector's Edition
is garbage. The deleted scenes are about 5 minutes long, and are nothing you want
to see. One is him in the city buying lizard on a stick. The Second one is the
King who sent Conan to get his daughter back, getting killed. Then then next 4 are the
same exact thing, but from different angles. They were REALLY scrapping the bottom,
for extra footage.
The end is Stupid. It all different. They save the Princess, and his girlfriend dies, then
Conan, and the princess go to get Thulsa Doom. She helps him get in. Then she sits and
waits for him, as he watches the temple burn. Then they walk off together HOLDING
HANDS. What happened to him loving the Warrior chick?
Oh, and the epilog is different. The words going up, and the guys voice... all different.
Nothing about wearing his crown on a troubled brow, just stuff about him
returning the princess to the King, and getting rich.

Do not get this.
Get the ORIGINAL.

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate edition of the ultimate sword & sorcery movie
Review: This is the sort of DVD fans dream of. To begin with, there's the crisp, bold visual & audio transfer and the wide-screen format. These stand out even more after years of suffering through the murky, muddy video release with its dull colors and muted, blurred soundtrack --- further disfigured by the indignity of pan & scan presentation. Here Ron Cobb's gorgeous visual design and the epic boldness of the staging & cinematography are given full scope. And in this DVD, the dialogue is never lost, and one can even hear subtle sound effects. Basil Poledouris' magnificent score roars and sings, never distorted and never washing out the actors --- which is refreshing after the disappointing videotape version.

But wait, it gets even better. This version features extended scenes integrated into the feature (as well as deleted scenes in the fine Bonus Materials section, which features interviews with Schwarzenegger, Bergman, Jones, Lopez, Milius, Cobb, Von Sydow and others, as well as a marvelous gallery of production art, publicity materials, & production photos). This new footage includes an additional scene before the climactic Battle of the Mounds, and an extended use of the kidnapped Princess during Conan's final confrontation with Thulsa Doom. This footage (including alternate takes never before released) adds a weird note of eerie beauty and pathos to the dramatic final fight and Conan's ritualistic attempted suicide.

This is a gorgeous presentation of a powerfully dramatic film that obviously was a labor of love to all concerned in its making. CONAN THE BARBARIAN is what all DVD's should be.

Even if you've invested in a previous release of this film, don't pass up this version. Movie fans and Robert E. Howard admirers won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: The Tonight Show with Conan the Barbarian!
Review: "Conan the Barbarian" is part of John Ulmer's Arnold Schwarzenegger Film Remembrance. One Arnold film will be reviewed a day for as long as it takes to pay an homage to the Austrian Oak and his film career, in honor of his political run.

"Conan the Barbarian"

I would bet that Arnold Schwarzenegger barely says over 100 lines of dialogue in "Conan the Barbarian," yet it is one of the most famous films in history. The question is whether it is any good. Sadly, though I am a big fan of Arnie's, I just cannot get into "Conan the Barbarian." I think it's boring, dumb and odd. That's just me. I know many people like it, but it's just not my piece of cake.

Arnie plays Conan, a fierce barbarian warrior who is bred a gladiator, and upon reaching ultimate manhood, runs amock to try and avenge the death of his father, mother, and tribes-people, who were all killed by James Earl Jones (not James Earl Ray!) when he was just a small boy.

Through this he gains a trusty comic sidekick, a trusty, lusty babe, and so on and so forth. And a totally cool-looking shield and sword, making him the most fearless warrior of all time.

This film was the ultimate in campiness, a small budget film with a leading man larger than most barbarians probably were back then. Arnold fits the part perfectly, but the film is just not fun to watch. The beginning tribe massacre is bloody and violent, but feels like one of those old 80s movies like "The Blademaster," where there is lots of fighting and lots of violence for no reason but to entertain - and like films with explosions throughout ("Rambo III"), it gets old after a while.

If you haven't seen "The Blademaster," it is an even worse film than this. You always know when a film is really bad if the title has been changed. "Cave Dwellers" to "The Blademaster," "Angels Revenge" to "Angels' Brigade," "Weekend at Kitty and Stud's" to "The Italian Stallion," etc. All terribly awful pictures lacking a certain something - maybe a plot, I don't know. "Conan the Barbarian" is ten times better than these films combined, but it is still much like them. Maybe there aren't as many continuity problems, or cheap filming techniques (in "The Blademaster," they use the same fight scenes twice), but it still has that genuine repulsiveness, the dumbness.

The script was co-written by pre-stardom Oliver Stone, whose other directorial and scriptwriting credits go to such films as "Platoon" and "Wall Street." Stone uses a lot of campy dialogue here, and though it fits the film, somehow it just isn't as fun as it could have been. Take, for instance, the opening scene where Conan's father is teaching him about the earth gods and whatnot. Barely quality dialogue, yet almost too campy - it's like "Star Trek" geeks talking about the meaning of life.

Arnold was in a film called "Red Sonja" a bit after "Conan's" sequel came out. It was a rip-off of "Conan the Barbarian," even though it starred Arnold. I will be submitting a review of that film as part of the Arnold Film Memorial, but the point I want to make by bringing it up is that "Red Sonja" might as well be called "Conan the Barbarian III," because everything about it is similar. Just wanted to point out that little-known film to the "Conan" fans out there.

Anyway, "Conan the Barbarian" is just not one of my favorites. Skip this one. Even if you're an Arnold fan like me.

Rating:
Summary: One of the All-Time Greats
Review: If you ever wondered how Arnold Schwarzenegger became the man he is today, it's this movie that did it. In 1982 Arnold would play Conan the Barbarian, the popular Robert Howard novel character and would make himself a movie star.

Conan the Barbarian tells the story of Conan of Cimmeria. His parents are Killed By Thulsa Doom(James Earl Jones)when he is just a child. His goal is vengance and he will get it.

Conan does get some companions along the way. He gets the warriores Valeria, a mongol companion and a wizard. They aid him in his quest for vengance.

Arnold is great in the movie. If any one was ever born for a role this was his role. He is in probaly the best shape that you see him in since he started acting. He kills plenty of guys and is very barbaric. A must see for Arnold fans.

There is plenty of blood and gore in the film. There is a lot of great sword play. There is nothing better than watching well choreoraphed sword fights. They are spectacular in Conan. The movie is rated R for bloody violence and some nudity.

I also like the music score to Conan. It's one of the better movie scores ever written and I think ranks up there with Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Godfather in that department.

I love Conan the Barbarian. It's the movie that helped launch the sword and fantasy movies of the 1980's and it's probaly the best. This DVD is a must to any collection. Don't miss out on this movie. I promise you won't regret watching it.

Rating:
Summary: WELL DONE SPECIAL EDITION
Review: Considering I never thought this DVD would see a special edition, i was very pleasantly surprised.

As a huge Conand and Robert E. Howard fan, I've always found some very good and very bad things about this movie.

Among the bad things: First, Thulsa Doom was a skull-faced villian of Conan pre-cursor King Kull. Why they decided to use him as Conan's nemesis still escapes me other than the fact that maybe the name sounded cool.

Second, I really really hated Thulsa Doom as some sort of pre-civilization leader of a cult of hippy flower children. And beyond that James Earl Jones just seemed totally out of place in that role.

Third, REH wrote many great Conan tales. While the movie borrowed elements from some of his stories such as "The Thing in the Crypt" and "A Witch Shall be Born", I would have preferred them to use a straight Howard story, perhaps extended to fill a movie. Many of the tales of Conans youth could have been woven together for one larger tale.

On the good side, Arnold does look good as Conan, even if he is a bit wooden in the acting department. The movie does a great job of capturing the look and brutality of the Hyborian age and the fighting scenes were all well-done.

I'm greatly looking forward to getting this special edition.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Adventure Fantasy Movie!
Review: This movie shouldn't have worked. It's a sword and sandle movie that mainstream Hollywood quit making decades ago. But what they did right was hire talented young film makers(director John Milius and writer Oliver Stone) who respected the source material (old pulp fiction stories from Robert E. Howard) cast the perfect actor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to play the mighty barbarian warrior hero Cimmerian, Conan. Conan is enslaved as a child grows up to be a great gladiator, wins his freedom, and then hunts down Thursala Doom, the man who killed hs family. For a first movie, Schwarzenegger dose a very good job, even though the most he's asked to emote is anger. Also casting an accomplished actor (James Earl Jones) to play the villian (he also dose the voice of that other famous bad guy, Darth Vader) was a stroke of luck. The story (and genere) was treated with respect and is played streight and it showed. The violence is bloody and thick, but not so over the top that it's silly. The action is excellent, and it's just a great movie all the way around. They don't make movies like this anymore, and that's a shame.