Conan
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Conan the Barbarian is a 1982 American epic sword-and-sorcery film directed by John Milius and written by Milius and Oliver Stone.Based on Robert E. Howard's Conan, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones, and tells the story of a barbarian warrior named Conan (Schwarzenegger) who seeks vengeance for the death of his parents at the hands of Thulsa Doom (Jones), the leader of a snake cult.
- Writing/Conception
- Influences
- Casting
- Production
- Music
- Reception
- Legacy
Edward R. Pressman, fresh off producing films like Badlands and Phantom of the Paradise, first became interested in the Conan character in 1975. Pressman and his friend Edward Summer — future associate producer on the movie — were watching a rough cut of the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron. Pressman, intrigued by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s scree...
The character of Conan first appeared in the cult magazine Weird Tales, in Robert E. Howard’s 1932 story ‘The Phoenix and the Sword.” Production designer Ron Cobb, who worked on Star Wars (1977), Alien (1979) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), said that he didn’t want to be too explicit in showing historical influences: Cobb said he enjoyed “being...
Schwarzenegger was the only one who had already been cast before Milius was hired. He actually slimmed down from his bodybuilder’s physique for the role of Conan, taking up swimming and running. Schwarzenegger loved playing Conan, telling Cinefantastique’s Sammon: “One of the qualities of movie acting is that it allows you to play. And it’s fun to ...
Ron Cobb had originally scouted locations in Yugoslavia but political uncertainties following the death of Marshal Tito made filming there a risky proposition. Spain, the backup choice, proved to be a more realistic option, not least because resources were more easily available. Spanish construction crews swung into action, building most of the req...
Milius hired his friend Basil Poledouris to compose the score. The two had worked together earlier on Big Wednesday. Milius brought Poledouris on before filming had even begun, giving them time to discuss the emotional overtones that were right for the score. He asked Poledouris to begin work based on the storyboards and to anticipate recording the...
The film’s reception at the time was decidedly mixed. Even some of the positive reviews were somewhat backhanded, with Roger Ebert’s review— three stars notwithstanding — dubbing it “the perfect fantasy for the alienated preadolescent.” The New York Post and The LA Times recommended the film, the latter claiming that “Conan the Barbarian does for t...
Conan the Barbarian is now widely recognized as the gold standard for the sword and sorcery subgenre. It spawned books, comics, an animatronic show at Universal Studios and a wave of low budget knockoffs — from The Beastmaster to Gor — that proved a blight on movie screens throughout the 80s. It was also one of the few such movies to turn a healthy...
- Abhimanyu Das
Conan the Barbarian is a 1982 film by director John Milius and is recognized as the breakthrough of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is loosely based on Robert E. Howard's Conan stories. It was followed in 1984 by a lighter, more child-friendly, but less successful sequel, Conan the Destroyer. The film begins with a young Cimmerian boy, Conan, witnessing the destruction of his village and the death of his parents at the hand of warlord Thulsa Doom. The narration tells, "Who knows what they came f
Conan the Barbarian: Directed by John Milius. With Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman. A powerful warrior seeks to avenge the genocide of his people and the murder of his parents at the hands of a snake cult.
- (164K)
- Action, Adventure, Fantasy
- John Milius
- 1982-05-14
May 14, 2022 · As Conan the Barbarian reaches its 40th birthday, there’s no better time to remember the cult classic epic fantasy that helped begin Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting career. It was peak 1980s ...
He trains as a formidable pit fighter, and seeks revenge on his parents murderers, finding companions & true love along the way. There is a lot of bloody violence, and the occasional non-graphic ‘love’ scene, and, with the slavery, some implied non-consensual sex. Conan is generally a ‘gentleman’ in that regard.
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Oct 5, 2003 · Conan the Barbarian is one of the best sword and sorcery films ever made. Like superhero movies, they are to often played for laughs and are not treated seriously (see the subsequent Conan sequel for an example). However, this first Conan installment is a near perfect action film. Conan's village is pillaged and destroyed when he is a child.
