Conan: A musical analysis of Conan the Barbarian

Advantages: A mind blowing Classic of the highest order.
Disadvantages: There simply is none, if less than perfect sound quality doesn't bother you.

...another and audiences started to get increasingly unresponsive to many such films. This genre of film has of late been resurfacing to some extent with The Lord of the Rings, Troy, and Kingdom of Heaven, but the kind of craze involving muscular men, primal lovemaking and action on steroids is not likely to come back with quite such a force as before. One of the prime examples of the genre, as well as one of the best, came in the beginning of this phase when director John Milius came up with making a film based on Robert E. Howard's cult pulp-novels of Conan the Barbarian. The story involves the young Conan witnessing the death of his parents in the hands of the evil Thulsa Doom's servants. This sets Conan on the path of vengeance through spending a few years strapped into a grinding Wheel of Pain, becoming a gladiator and finally coming after...

berlioz 19.06.2005 · Read review
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Review of Conan The Barbarian - Original Soundtrack

Arnie's breakthrough as Conan

Advantages: Great atmosphere throughout the film
Disadvantages: Quite simple, not a lot of dialogue from the star

...In 1982, internationally celebrated strongman and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger burst onto the big screen with his portrayal as the title role in Conan The Barbarian, a film directed by John Milius. Arnie, as he has become better known, had appeared in a few films already, but this is considered to be his breakthrough film. The Plot As a child, Conan witnesses the vicious killings of his family and clansmen at the hands of a vicious warlord who is controlling of his people and of all the land, Thulsa Doom. Years later, following a childhood of slavery, Conan finds himself as a champion gladiator, and sets his life to finding Doom and exacting his revenge. He teams up with Valeria and Subotai, two thieves, in taking on Doom, his lieutenants and his fearsome warriors, the Vanir, with the blessing and aid of King Osric...

pmcds 07.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Conan The Barbarian (Special Edition) (DVD)

Arnie's First, And Still Top Ten In The Genre

Advantages: see review
Disadvantages: see review

...It is always the most innocuous movies which have the most interesting histories. I was but a young lad when this movie was released and therefore much of the kerfuffle surrounding it went over my head - indeed, movies which had anything other than Disney stamped on them were probably of very little interest to me at the time. Some years later however, Conan The Barbarian is still a name which you will hear mentioned in movie conversations and still a movie you'll find lurking in video collections alongside some of the greats. Other than being one of Arnold Schwarzennegar's first movies I didn't see that there was anything else to be interested in, as a result, it was a long time before I finally succumbed and checked out what all the fuss was about. It is odd that a movie set in mythological times would have a mythology surrounding...

wampyrii 27.04.2002 (02.05.2002) · Read review
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Review of Conan The Barbarian (DVD)

Such a clever boy

Advantages: Funny
Disadvantages: The acting

...Arnie Schwarzenegger, the Austrian who was formerly a Mr Universe, and has latterly reinvented himself as an astute, naturalised American who intends to run for government, has always been a helpless victim of the stereotyping producer/director/scriptwriter and is famed for his musclebound roles as Arnie Nice But Dim While Still Terribly Powerful. Much of that dreadful curse was ignited by Mr Muscles' appearance in the title role in the ultimate sword and sorcery epic Conan The Barbarian. It took years for Herr Schwarzkopf to outgrow the fearsome warrior garments to move on to light comedy which he proved himself able to play with a rare panache in stuff like Kindergarten Cop and Twins. He had to go via films such as Running Man, Total Recall and Terminator to get there, of course, but proved with his epic appearance in True Lies...

dave27 27.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of Conan The Barbarian (DVD)

I want your boots, your clothes and your Camel!

Advantages: Quite funny, not too much dialogue, great music score! A stunned Camel!
Disadvantages: Atrocious acting, lots of pointless groping!

...The inspiration for the character of Conan the Barbarian came from the books by Robert E Howard, the barbarian was also known as Conan the Cimmerian, as this was where he hailed from in the original books published in the 1930's. The stories were originally published in the pulp magazine ' Weird Tales '. As a literary character Conan has stature, many are the stories where tall, long haired barbarians are portrayed with there hulking muscles and barbaric ways, and the link to Conan is a strong one. With the release of Conan in 1982 finally there was a film that could do justice to the books, roughly half a century after Conan saw print the film was about to be unleashed. Although a good film in its own right, the connections with the original stories are quite loose, only a few characters get a strong mention. The film was written...

Gildor_Inglorion 09.09.2005 (31.05.2006) · Read review
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Review of Conan The Barbarian (DVD)

Conan the repeater

Advantages: It can be quite funny (without intent) in places
Disadvantages: Too much of the original movie is reused

...This must have been filmed very quickly after the first film. Both Grace Jones and Arnold have got almost nothing to say, the lines seem to have been passed to those who could speak them more clearly. Despite being a sequal theres no real continuity with the first movie other than its still Arnold playing Conan and that clearly a little bit of time has passed since the end of the first movie. Basically the plot is this:- Conan doing a favour to try & retrieve a magical gem and get his lover brought back to life which devolves into a rescue movie as only 1 person can touch the gem and Conan has to get her back from the evil wizard who actually has the magical gem they've gone to steal which is rather handy as it kills 2 birds with 1 stone. The film recycles music from the original (the stuff used during the snake cult which is reused...

atytyut2434 12.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Conan The Destroyer (DVD)

Conan goes on the hunt again

Advantages: Great scenery, Arnie's English improves slightly
Disadvantages: Lacks the brutal punch of Conan

...Following the success of Conan the Barbarian in 1982, 1984 saw the sequel, Conan the Destroyer, with Arnold Schwarzenegger once again taking the lead role. The film was toned down a little to attract wider and younger audiences than Barbarian did, and it was released in the same year as Terminator, which is perhaps Arnie's most famous role. The Plot Queen taramis summons legendary fighter Conan to her in order to send him to retrieve a special gem and a magic horn that will give life back to the God Dagoth. Conan leads a band of adventurers on the quest, and encounters his old friend Akiro the wizard as well as some other friends and foes. Wondering whether the rebirth of Dagoth is a good idea or not, his troop put their lives ont he line for their quest, for in return, Taramis has promised to resurrect Conan's dead lover, Valeria...

pmcds 09.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Conan The Destroyer (DVD)

Schwarzenegger in operatic love story shocker

Advantages: Arnie, big sword, a glorious masterpiece
Disadvantages: There are none!!!

...The term 'classic' is used for far too many films (probably by me alot of the time) but here is another one. Conan the Barbarian is a fantasy epic that broke the mould on its release in 1982, combining a simple story of love and revenge with the might of the then, relatively unknown, big Arnie, whose film it undoubtedly is. It is said by many that the Terminator was Arnie's most awesome role but I disagree - that honour goes to Conan. Directed by John Milius and starring the aforementioned Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones and Sandahl Bergman (and a brief Max von Sydow), it is a powerful display of great film-making. Supplemented with a stunning score, with themes of revenge, love, greed, survival, brainwashing, sorcery and goodness knows what else; some solid acting and dialogue (considering the material - hardly anywhere near...

rvb13 18.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of Conan The Barbarian (DVD)

Lord of the loincloth!

Advantages: Bloody good entertainment
Disadvantages: Dodgy dialogue

...but what there is hasn?t stood up well. A decent remastering wouldn?t go amiss. On the other hand the musical score fits the mood perfectly; it?s rousing and potent and sticks with you for a while after the end credits. Now we come to the movie?s strongest suit by far, its imagery. The most memorable moment for me is not the bloody ending, but the scene early on when we first see Conan as a boy, his village has been attacked and the men murdered. The only survivors are Conan and his mother. I have no idea who the actress is that played the mother but without uttering a word she manages to convey everything from fear through bloody determination to understanding. And when she holds the deathly cold stare of James Earl Jones (another great face for wordless emotion) there is more gravitas in that one moment than in the rest of the film...

MyPOV 23.09.2003 · Read review
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Review of Conan The Barbarian (DVD)

True to the Stories

Advantages:
Disadvantages:

...It is a great disappointment when a movie diector decides he or she can completely change a story from the way it was written. This sort of professional arrogance usually messes up the story and turns people away from the books. Conan the Barbarian as a movie portrays the big guy exactly the way you would imagine him. Conan was a foreigner, so Arnold's accent didn't get in the way here. There's action, blood, adventure, and a whole lot of excitement. You see Conan becoming a man and then hunting down the man who killed him family and slaughtered his village. Predictable story, but what a ride....

JeffSumm 25.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Conan The Barbarian (DVD)