Conan the Barbarian

1982 "Thief. Warrior. Gladiator. King."
6.9| 2h9m| R| en| More Info
Released: 14 May 1982 Released
Producted By: Universal Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.

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AlexMedario I'm reading Schwarzenegger bio, and he relates how this film was done. I get intrigued and watched again the movie, after so many years. No doubt that today so much blood is no scandal, but the film has the right gore, violence and sex that Conan deserved.Best compliment for a film is that gets old in good shape, and Conan does. The film has the right mixture, fiction and epic, violence and sex, fights and blood.The plot is simple, revenge, but it's very well dressed and set and background are interesting in themselves. This does a film captivating, interesting and you get stick to it from the minute it starts. So sad that the sequel didn't kept the pace, because from today standards it could have been an incredible saga.
Scott LeBrun Robert E. Howards' pulp hero got envisioned for the big screen in a majestic way, with this initial starring vehicle for champion weightlifter and future action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger. Its extremely impressive production values, and vivid storytelling, make it absolutely tops for its genre, and indeed superior to many of the imitative sword and sorcery epics that it spawned. Conan is orphaned as a boy when evil cult leader Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) and his minions slaughter the people of Conans' village, including Conans' parents (played by Nadiuska and the legendary movie tough guy William Smith). The film charts Conans' odyssey from young slave to pit fighter to thief to avenging hero, giving him some faithful companions in the form of Valeria (Sandahl Bergman), Subotai (surfer Gerry Lopez), and the Wizard (Mako, who also serves as narrator).With a screenplay credited to director John Milius and Oliver Stone, "Conan the Barbarian" is grand in its scope. Excellent location shooting (entirely in Spain) helps a great deal in creating the atmosphere, along with eye popping production design by Ron Cobb and cinematography by Duke Callaghan. Unlike some of its imitators, "Conan the Barbarian" is definitely a fantasy feature for adults, with a fair amount of female skin bared and some effectively nasty violence. Milius keeps optical effects to a minimum, and employs some enjoyable practically done effects along the way. The action scenes are nicely executed. But soaring above a lot of the other assets is the grandiose score composed by Basil Poledouris. It is simply perfect for the material.Arnold is of course an ideal choice for the title role. His physical prowess, and physique, are on full display. The supporting cast is also up to the task. Jones is a wonderfully odious, yet charismatic, villain. Bergman is not much of an actress, but she too shows off an effective athleticism. Lopez (who is actually dubbed by actor Sab Shimono) is engaging, and Mako a hoot as he so often was. Smith is seen much too briefly, but Max von Sydow makes the most of his limited screen time, relishing a rare opportunity to ham it up. Arnolds' weightlifting associates Franco Columbu & Sven-Ole Thorsen, and football player Ben Davidson, play assorted heavies. Cassandra Gava makes a memorable appearance as a witch. Expatriate actor Jack Taylor, a familiar face to fans of European horror and exploitation, has a cameo as a priest.If one is looking to delve into this genre, they simply can't do better than this.Nine out of 10.
xxxNomadicxxx Watched it when I was four and just watched again at 40.This is a solid movie, the fight, the love, the companionship is real in this movie.One of Arnold's best, It's has aged well The score is outstanding today.Great score!Final fight scene is legendary.
chaswe-28402 There is no point in complaining that artworks don't succeed in being what they are not trying to be. A lot of people seem to want this picture to be what it isn't. It is in fact a very straightforward "Bildungsroman", and/or an "Odyssey", where the hero grows up and travels through many trials and tribulations towards his triumphant revenge. Just like Odysseus.Visually it's tremendously effective, and it certainly doesn't need special acting skills. The hero just has to grow up to look like a hero, and he sure does. All the stars in this movie have what it takes, and how. Arnold looks great --- yes, that's the word; and so does Sandahl, a Valkyrie personified; and the rest all fit perfectly. What's to knock, or dislike ? It's just a comic, or what these days they call a graphic novel. A tremendous coming-of-age. The baddies get truly thumped, just like that nosy camel. Luckily, I've never read anything by Howard.