| | | | Conan the Barbarian
(1982) |
f you do not grant me revenge, then to hell with you!
Granted, Arnold only says a FEW lines in the movie, it is among the best and famous in film history.
Conan the Barbarian is the reason why the fantasy/adventure movies of the 80s began! Although many have tried to capture the success and magic of Conan, none have come close. Not even the sequel, Destroyer, retained the freshness of it's original.
Conan, based on the Robert E. Howard pulp novels, is the story of a Cimmerian warrior from the Hyboerian age. First, as a young boy he learns the "Riddle of Steel" from his father, where every Cimmerian must try and answer when they meet Crom, their God, after they die to enter Valhala. Enter now Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) and his Snake Cult.
They raid the village, kill the villagers, including Conan's father and mother, while capturing Conan's father's sword. The last thing Conan remembers is a standard of two snakes coming together over a black sun. They shackle all the children and send them to work as slaves in the WHEEL OF PAIN. This is where we meet Arnold as an adult Conan. Strong, muscular, powerful. This is also where his path to revenge begins.
First by being a pitfighter and becoming the best. Then being sent to the East to learn the secrets and discipline of the sword. Being set free, meeting an ally in Subotai (Lopez) who helps Conan become a theif. Then encountering Valeria (Bergman) where they steal the "Eye of the Serpant" from a Snake Cult Tower in a populated city. In the tower, the same standard he remembers as a child, rekindles his search for Doom. He is enlisted by King Osiric (Sydow) to bring back his daughter who is under Thulsa Doom's spell. Along the way, Conan meets the Wizard (Mako), gets crucified on the tree of woe, brought back to life, and has a GREAT, BLOODY, EPIC climactic battle with Doom and his followers.
Conan the Barbarian works on many levels, and is the best at what it is! One can even associate Conan the Barbarian with philosophical teachings, even a way of life. If you look deep enough, you can find it. Written by Oliver Stone (Scarface, Platoon) and John Milius (Apocalypse Now), who also directed, and produced by Dino De Laurentis, Conan the Barbarian is a film that is both 80's magic, cultish, a GREAT EPIC, and the ultimate guy movie!
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This is my all time FAVORITE movie. What makes this great is that every scene is vital to the story and of Conan's character arc. There are not any "filter" scenes, everything works on the level where if you think about this movie, you can automatically remember different moments.
This is Arnold's first BIG blockbuster, and it is also where we get to see Arnold's innocence. He is not over the top. We connect more with Arnold than in his other movies, because of the fact that Conan is a guy HELL BENT on revenge. He never turns into a "hero" only until the last scene. He is basically one of us who has a single purporse. One could say Conan is my generations first anit-hero before anti-heroes became popular.
With Basil Poledourus' AMAZING SCORE charging the way, Conan is truly a remarkable film! Often imitated, but never duplicated, son!
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The life of Conan oddly mirrors that of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Conan's formative years are spent in a small village, then spent in hard manual labor as a slave. Then Conan gains fame and wealth through his physical prowess. Although at first given to wine and women, he eventually abandons his hedonism and uses his skills for acts of heroism. Eventually, Conan becomes a king. In real life, Schwarzenegger was born in a small Austrian village and spent his life bodybuilding. He then becomes famous and wealthy through bodybuilding competitions and action/adventure movies. Schwarzenegger engaged in drug use and womanizing in his past, but gave those up later in life and then campaigned for social causes. Eventually, he was elected Governor of California. 
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Although Conan and Valeria are shown together frequently throughout the movie, he only speaks five words to her in the entire film - and they're all in the first thirty seconds after they meet: "You're not a guard", and "No".
Conan's response to the Mongol General is an abbreviation of a real quote attributed to Gengis Khan: "The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth and see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride their horses and clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters."
Conan's opinion of what is best in life is not all that links him to Genghis Khan. Subotai (or Subedei Baghadur) was also the name of Great Khan's general. The fact that Conan is not only chased, but to some extent orphaned by dogs also recalls Genghis Khan's well-documented fear of that particular animal. Finally, the writers' preoccupation with steel seems oddly coincidental, given that Genghis Khan's birthname, Temujin, is frequently translated as "finest steel."
The swordmaster was played by Kiyoshi Yamasaki, swordmaster for the actors in the film.
There is a long-standing (yet still unproven) urban legend about the so-called "Conan toy line". The story is that the Mattel Toy Company started to make some Conan action figures, but after viewing the film, the executives realized that they couldn't afford to be associated with a film with such graphic sex and violence. They gave their doll blonde hair, called him "He-man", and thus created "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" (1983).
The name "Valeria" comes from the heroine of the novella "Red Nails." The theft of the tower in Zamora is from "The Tower of the Elephant." The speech King Osric gives about the throne room becoming a prison echoes a similar passage in "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune," a King Kull story. The scene where Conan is crucified and kills a vulture with his teeth is from "A Witch Shall Be Born." Finally, the scene where Valeria vows to come back from the dead to save Conan and then does so is from "Queen of the Black Coast."
During the scene when James Earl Jones points to one of his priestesses and she jumps to her death, a women's free fall record was set at 182 feet by stunt woman Corrie Jansen.
Thulsa Doom and his warriors are patterned after the Teutonic knights from Aleksandr Nevsky (1938). The similarities between the two are very striking. From the helmets, body armor, weapons and mannerisms. Thulsa Doom even has the same pageboy haircut as the Teutonic Knight's commander.
When the Wizard is ritually painting Conan to try to save his life, all symbols and runes are black, except for a certain symbol, shown once in the hands and a few times in his face, which is red. Such a symbol, a small man whose arms join over his head in a semicircle, is called "Indalo", and is a very common symbol in the region of Almeria (Spain), in which most of the movie was shot.
The runes on Conan's father's sword are translated as; "Suffer no guilt, ye who wield this in the name of Crom."
The name of "Zamora" is taken from the name of a real Spanish city.
Conan is mentioned to be a Cimmerian. The Cimmerians were a people who inhabited lands north of the Black and Caspian Seas, in modern day Ukraine and southern Russia, in approximately 8th century to 9th century B.C; give or take a few centuries. They were mentioned in the writings of Homer and Herodotus, who considered them barbarians who lived on the edge of the known world. Their territories were the lands of "Gomer" in the Old Testament. Herodotus writes that the Cimmerians were later displaced by the Scythians, horse-riding people against whom the unmounted Cimmerians were no match. After the Scythian invasion, it is believed that the Cimmerians spread out along sea coasts, but may have fled as far away as Northern Russia and Scandanavia. Even Irish and Welsh peoples claim ethnic affinity with the Cimmerians.
The scene with Conan practicing using his sword again after being resurrected by the old wizard, was inspired by the movie One-Eyed Jacks (1961), where Marlon Brando's character practices wielding his weapon of choice, this time a gun, after a near death experience.
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Oliver Stone's script placed the Conan story in a post-apocalyptic future rather than the distant past. This was abandoned and the original timeline was restored.
The fake blood used in the film came in the form of a concentrate, which had to be mixed with water prior to use. Due to the cold weather, it was mixed with vodka (as an anti-freeze) instead. In the scenes in which the actors were supposed to spit the blood, they would swallow it instead, then go back to the special effects man for more.
To give the characters' costumes a more authentic and "lived-in" look, Dino De Laurentiis had the cast members wear their costumes both during rehearsals and the actual scene shoots.
Schwarzenegger had to tone down his workout, as his arm/chest muscles were so big that he couldn't wield a sword properly.
It's often said that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sandahl Bergman did their own stunts, as suitable body doubles couldn't be found. This is probably just hype, as Sandahl's stunt double was Corrie Jansen.
The "Aquilonian" sword (Conan's) and his father's sword were both inducted into the Smithsonian Institute, for "Best/ Most recognizable swords in a movie,"... I think. Also, they were designed and made by swordsmith Jody Sampson, who also sells replicas! -Thanks to Ben Servin
Most of the movie was filmed in the surrounding areas of Madrid, to be exact in Villalba. -Thanks to Eduardo
The script called for Conan to throw a torch into the palace's central window/balcony. Schwarzenegger missed on the first attempt, but no retake was possible as the set proceeded to burn to the ground, as intended.
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|  |  |  | | Conan the Barbarian
Locations |
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British Columbia was also used.
Can you help? Do you know any of the Spain filming locations used for Conan the Barbarian? [Please send them in]
|  | | | | ![[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced]](16_9.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette, Notes, OutTakes |
| Our
Comments: Includes sequel |
| | | | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette, Notes, OutTakes |
| Our
Comments: 2 disc Special Edition |
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Soundtrack is AMAZING! Johm Milius first told Basil Poledouris to create the score first, and by using that template, Milius directed the film.
What else is there to say, the score for Conan the Barbarian is among the best ever created! From the melodic tones to the rousing themes, it gives the movie credibility, and in a movie where dialoge is few, the score helps progress the movie from light hearted moments to gruesome battles. EPIC! Truly, EPIC!
Track listing:
1. Anvil of Crom
2. Riddle of Steel/Riders of Doom
3. Gift of Fury
4. Wheel of Pain
5. Atlantean Sword
6. Theology/Civilization
7. Wifeing [Theme of Love]
8. Leaving/The Search
9. Mountain of Power Procession
10. Tree of Woe
11. Recovery
12. Kitchen/The Orgy
13. Funeral Pyre
14. Battle of the Mounds
15. Death of Rexnor
16. Orphans of Doom/The Awakening
The dynamic score by Basil Poledouris has been frequently used by other filmmakers as temp tracks in other films. It has also been frequently used in advanced trailers and TV spots for other films.
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Soundtrack Available:
Used On CD
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| | "Thief, Gladiator, Warrior, King!"
| | Year:
| 1982 | Studio:
| Universal Pictures | Director:
| John Milius | Starring:
| Arnold Schwarzenegger,
James Earl Jones, Sandahl Bergman, Gerry Lopez, Max Von Sydow,
Ben Davidson, Valérie Quennessen, Cassandra Gava | | - | - | Genre:
| Action | | | | + | The soundtrack score, the production values, the story, the action, the way the movie just flows without getting boresome. Even the acting. Proves why the 80's had the best movies! | - | Huh? Weakness? Crom laughs at your girlie-weaknessess! |
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Decent site with some links and pictures.
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Official Site for Conan | | |
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