From the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, It's Retro Nerd Girl with a film review for you.
Today I'll be reviewing the movie Conan the Barbarian released in 1982.
Starring:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, and Max von Sydow
Directed by:
John Milius
Genre:
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Rating:
R
Budget:
$20,000,000 (estimated)
Current IMDb Rating When Reviewed:
6.9
The Synopsis is:
The tragic life of an orphan leads him to become an invincible Cimmerian and eventually a free man. His adventures lead him toward the path of his parents' killer, the warlord, Thulsa Doom.
Story:
The character of Conan was created by American author Robert Ervin Howard in 1932 in American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine Weird Tales. Conan’s predecessor, Kull, was invented from Robert’s first sword and sorcery story released in 1927 with his story, "The Shadow Kingdom". He wrote many stories for Kull, but after having his Kull story “By This Axe I Rule!” rejected, Howard sought to write about other characters. In 1931 he introduced the character of Conan of the Reavers in the story “People of the Dark”. A year later, Robert re-wrote the story “By This Axe I Rule replacing Kull for Conan in "The Phoenix on the Sword" which takes place in Howard’s imaginary, Hyborian Age.
- "The Phoenix on the Sword" (vol. 20, #6, December 1932)
- "The Scarlet Citadel" (vol. 21, #1, January 1, 1933)
- "The Tower of the Elephant" (vol. 21, #3, March 1933)
- "Black Colossus" (novelette; vol. 21, #6, June 1933)
- "The Slithering Shadow" AKA "Xuthal of the Dusk" (vol. 22, #3, September 1933)
- "The Pool of the Black One" (vol. 22, #4, October 1933)
- "Rogues in the House" (vol. 23, #1, January 1934)
- "Iron Shadows in the Moon" AKA "Shadows in the Moonlight" (vol. 23, #4, April 1934)
- "Queen of the Black Coast" (vol. 23, #5, May 1934)
- "The Devil in Iron" (vol. 24, #2, August 1934)
- "The People of the Black Circle" (vol. 24, #3–5, September–November 1934)
- "A Witch Shall Be Born" (vol. 24, #6, December 1934)
- "Jewels of Gwahlur" AKA "The Servants of Bit-Yakin" (vol. 25, #3, March 1935)
- "Beyond the Black River" (vol. 25, #5–6, May–June 1935)
- "Shadows in Zamboula" AKA "The Man-Eaters of Zamboula" (vol. 26, #5, November 1935)
- "The Hour of the Dragon" (vol. 26, #6 & vol. 27, #1–4, December 1935, January–April 1936)
- "Red Nails" (vol. 28, #1–3, July, September, October 1936)
Howard tragically committed suicide after learning that his mother was in a coma with no hopes of recovery. His estate was left to his father and changed hands until 1953 when his works were first published as a hardcover collection, The Coming of Conan (1953), Conan the Barbarian (1954), The Sword of Conan (1952), King Conan (1953), and Conan the Conqueror AKA The Hour of the Dragon (1950).
Conan’s legend continued with other writers like, The Return of Conan (1957) by Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp) and Tales of Conan (1955) by L. Sprague de Camp).
These books had exciting covers illustrated by Frank Frazetta which enhanced the popularity of the books. Then in 1970 Marvel turned Conan into a comic book series.
Executive producer Edward R. Pressman began collaborating with associate producer Edward Summer as early as 1970 but really made a more aggressive effort in 1975. Summer thought of franchising Conan in a six film series and co-wrote a screenplay with Roy Thomas.
It took two years to get the film rights and in the meantime they were bouncing around prospects for who would play Conan. After seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s charismatic performance in a rough cut of his bodybuilding film Pumping Iron (1977), he was hired for the role of Conan immediately.
At about the same time Oliver Stone was brought in to write the script with the possibility of directing it along with Joe Alves.
His script was going to be a four hour saga set in a post-apocalyptic future in a battle against a horde of 10,000 mutants taking inspiration from "Black Colossus" (1933) and "A Witch Shall be Born" (1934).
The film would have been too expensive for the filmmakers at about $70 million to make, so Oliver Stone was out. At one point Oliver then asked Ridley Scott to direct in 1979 and he declined.
Edward Pressman sold the project to Dino De Laurentiis and Dino’s daughter Raffaella produced the film. John Milius was hired to direct and he rewrote Stone's script to set the story in the Hyborian Age and added more scenes from Howard's stories and influences from swordplay movies like Seven Samurai (1954) and Kwaidan (1965). The rewrite also slashed the budget in half.
What we got is one of my favorite sword and sorcery stories ever. It is quite violent, because of the nature of the character and the savagery of his age, so I am warning you that I will be talking about some pretty vile events that happen in the film.
The dialogue is done with simplicity and at times inserting life lessons in poignant prose, reminiscent of the source material. There is something very ancient and authentic about the dialogue and narration. I thought that this was an excellent story with lots of adventure while not one character was wasted.
The film has some strong philosophical messages that will take me some time to get through all of it so please bear with me. If you enjoy diving deep into these story elements and themes, “let me tell you of the days of high adventure”.
Pacing:
At 2 hours and 9 minutes, it’s a little long, but I never felt the time because I was so engrossed in the story. I thought the slower parts of the story were vital to fully drink in Conan’s challenge, motivation and philosophy. Every frame means something and I enjoy watching every second of it, even the gory parts and I am not that much into gore.
Challenge:
The challenge in the film is the leader of Vanir raiders by the name of Thulsa Doom. According to Norse mythology, the Vanir were gods of fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future.
The origin of the character of Thulsa Doom was an Atlantean necromancer created in 1928 which predates the creation of the character of Conan. Sadly, the segment he was to appear in was rejected by Weird Tales but he was later featured in King Kull published by Lancer Books in 1967. There he was portrayed as having the face of a skull, with eye sockets of fire. Wow, how cool was that? Perhaps he was the inspiration for Skeletor. Rumor has it that Heman was a character modeled after Conan and was originally a nameless barbarian toy.
In this film, Thulsa was changed to be a version of a Conan villain Thoth-Amon, who was a servant of the serpent-god Set. And as confirmation, that is who he’s inspired by, there is a line in the film where Thulsa utters that he worships the snake god Set. As well, there are snakes and snake motifs all throughout the film to represent his sect.
In the beginning of the film it shows Vanir raiders storm Conan’s village killing all of the adults, enslave the children and burn the location to the ground. Conan’s father’s sword is somehow valuable to them, so it could have been a raid to acquire weapons since they were after the riddle of steel. They also made off with slaves, and whatever valuables they could find there. These are all valuable things in the Hyborian Age. However, later on, Thulsa doesn’t even remember why he attacked the village. It could have been due to some kind of revenge or offense, which seems quite possible as at the end of the scene we can see that the heads of the villagers, including Conan’s parents were posted on pegs as perhaps a warning to other tribes.
Though his methods were savage, Thulsa Doom is no ordinary man. He can straighten out snakes and use them as arrows. That takes a special kind of talent, I would say.
In the beginning of the film, he is introduced by facing off with Conan’s mother who is determined to fight before she’ll give up her son. He has a moment with her, where he looks into her eyes and hypnotizes her for a moment.
About twenty years later, Thulsa’s powers seem to have grown to the point he has changed his focus from gaining steel and wealth to becoming a spiritual leader. He says that real power is the power to be able to control people that follow him. The power of the flesh is what he calls it.
It’s not certain whether or not Thulsa was inspired by anyone in particular, but the world was still in shock over the mass murder-suicide that left 909 dead, 304 of them children by cult members led by Jim Jones on November 18, 1978. There are shadows of that kind of human mind control as he commands a young girl to come to him from a cliff. Instead of walking down the side of that cliff, she takes the shortest route and jumps to him, falling to her death as if in a trance. His powers have come a long way from his interaction with Conan’s mother.
He has been convincing many young people, princes and princesses to follow his snake cult and through the process they are ready to abandon and even kill their parents. One such character is the daughter of King Osric of Shadizar, Princess Jasmina. The King explains that his daughter left home to find her soul with Thulsa.
Thulsa uses sex and cannibalistic rituals to gain greater magical powers, as many of the people who follow him are sacrificed as food for his rituals. At one point, in Thulsa Doom’s kitchen in the Mountain of Power, there is a gruesome scene of dead bodies being prepared for a nasty putrid green soup. It’s a tough scene to get through. Some insane follower is so zombified that she chews on a hand in the soup that is filled with many body parts of their victims. Yuk! Somehow this is part of enhancing his magical abilities.
Of the many things about his abilities he can live for a long time. Tales have it that he is over 1,000 years old and there is a theory that he is immortal. In the film Conan is able to kill him, but there are theories that the character’s actual skull can live on. You might be able to see his mouth continue to move after he is cut down by Conan. This takes us back to the original rendition of the character having a skull for a face. I thought that was fascinating.
That’s not all. Thulsa can also transform into a giant snake. It could be a display of the god Set rewarding him with more powers for his loyalty and human sacrifice. He is also very upset when Conan kills one of his pet giant snakes. I mentioned that because it is connected to his god. Thulsa had to have an orgy and human sacrifice ritual to please his god Set.
He is accompanied by two impressive henchmen that are prominent in the destruction of Conan’s village, Rexor and Thorgrim. They display no magical abilities, but act as high ranking priests and soldiers.
I think that they are no ordinary henchmen in relation to Thulsa Doom. All three share a distinctive look and the same hair design signaling some kind of brotherhood, either by religion, tribe, or blood. I had always imagined that they were brothers, Thulsa being the older half brother. When the two characters fail to kill Conan at the ritual temple, Tulsa does not reprimand them as other villains would do. However, they stand in unity. There is a deep brotherly bond between them. Seeing the three together is a great visual.
When Rexor and Thorgrim are ultimately killed, switches his technique. He gives a speech to his urge followers to commit mass murder against his nonbelievers to inherit the earth. It’s a sign of his desperation to feel vindicated for their deaths one way or another.
Once he is struck down by Conan, his followers are in shock but immediately leave to go back to their homes. I think at that point his spell had been broken over them.
Needless to say, I think Thulsa Doom was an incredible character surrounded in a shroud of mystery and fear. He really is one of my favorite all time villains because he is realistically scary. What's scarier than a leader who can make a person go against their own family and trust in that leader enough to do anything they ask? This was the same warning that was presented in the book Dune, where men followed Paul Atraedies into a holy war. It happens constantly, whether on a big plane or in small groups.
What an excellent challenge for our protagonist… who technically might still be alive by the end of the movie.
Empathy:
For me, the empathy for Conan as a protagonist is incredible.
The accurate history of Conan is nowhere near as tragic. He was born on the battlefield, the son of a blacksmith, becoming a respected warrior at fifteen and voluntarily leaving home to become a thief, outlaw, mercenary, pirate and eventually a king. The story and character development of Conan in this film was changed and taken from Kull the Conqueror’s storyline to insert more drama into the story… and I love it! Yes, it fundamentally changes Conan’s character from what it is in the books, but this Conan could be an ancestor. It can still work together.
Conan is a Cimmerian which is a group of people that according to the ancient Greeks were a nomadic Indo-Europeans who existed about 1000 BC with little to no record of their existence remaining. However, this may be the very reason that Howard chose to write about them because where he lived there was not a great deal of access to history research. So he made up their culture and the Hyborian Age in which they lived.
In the story, "The Hyborian Age" Howard describes it as having a rich culture with influences of Celtic and Norse with strong links to Atlantis. We don’t get to spend that much time in Conan’s village but we do get to hear some important teachings from his father about what’s important in life. This is where his father teaches him about their god, Crom and introduces him to the riddle of steel in an epic monologue.
Conan's Father : Fire and wind come from the sky, from the gods of the sky. But Crom is your god, Crom and he lives in the earth. Once, giants lived in the Earth, Conan. And in the darkness of chaos, they fooled Crom, and they took from him the enigma of steel. Crom was angered. And the Earth shook. Fire and wind struck down these giants, and they threw their bodies into the waters, but in their rage, the gods forgot the secret of steel and left it on the battlefield. We who found it are just men. Not gods. Not giants. Just men. The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle, Conan. You must learn its discipline. For no one - no one in this world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts. [Points to sword] This you can trust.
One of the first things we experience in the opening of the film is the fashioning of a sword. You get the feeling that this is the kind of sword that might have been given to him when he becomes a man. It’s a family affair, with his father forging it and his mother binding the leather on the handle as little Conan watched. It seems like a simple moment with little to no dialogue, but it sets up the importance of the sword and its relationship to Conan.
Conan’s father loses the sword and is killed savagely by dogs during the Vanir raid. And in a move of black irony, his mother is killed by the very same sword she has helped to create. There is a visually arresting moment in this gruesome scene where Conan can’t believe what is happening that he stares at his hand, which she once held is now empty. He realizes that he is truly alone and everything he had is now gone and all he has is an empty hand.
Then Conan watched helplessly as Thulsa Doom gave his father’s sword to Rexor, who was happy to have his blood drenched prize.
If that is not enough, all of the children of the village were taken to be enslaved at the Wheel of Pain to die or to be sold. Conan is there for what seems like possibly twenty years building his body into a hulk and tempering his anger.
This is what gives Conan his motivation throughout the film as he remembers the bold symbol of their clan, a black sun and moon between two facing snakes.
He is bought and forced into gladiatorial fighting when Conan learns he’s actually a good survivalist, fighting with his raw anger. The more he wins battles, the more his slave master gives him an education in weapons training, poetry and philosophy. This is technically his upbringing because he is still undeveloped mentally indoctrinated into a way of life of extreme violence and a lack of tenderness.
When asked what is best in life he says, “To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.” He is retorting something that was taught by his teachers and slave master.
This is a reference to the warlord Genghis Khan who once said something to the effect of: "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."
The gladiator days are important because they are the formative years of his development. Through each victory you can see the scared boy turn into a confident man. It even seems he enjoys the limelight of the crowd, showing some style in his salute to them with arms outstretched and then folded across his body with his weapons of doom at hand. This is his way of taking a bow for his blood thirsty audience.
There is also an important moment when Conan is training alone with a sword and we get a glimmer of happiness on his face. He loves the sword, possibly because it reminds him of home, but also perhaps thinking that he has learned the riddle of steel that his father spoke of and you can see his eyes light up dreaming of what he could do with the sword. It’s moments like these that seem fleeting, we are learning more about what is going on in Conan’s mind since he speaks so little.
Out of sympathy, love, guilt, who knows, Conan’s slave master released him into freedom right into the path of wild wolves that chased him into an Atlantean tomb where he took the sword of the rotting corpse of a giant king. These were the giants that his father spoke of.
Finally Conan has a sword of his own and is still chasing the riddle of steel. He kills the wolves chasing him as his first act of revenge, from the dogs that killed his father, which leads him to a she-wolf witch. I always imagined that she arranged for the wolves to lead Conan to her and as a gift she had a chained man nearby for them to eat. It’s not explained, but my theory is possible because the tale gives you room to imagine some things for yourself. As a witch, eating a man who would be king at his own hand would give her more strength to keep her youth and beauty.
He meets his first friend Subotai, a Hyrkanian thief and archer of the great order of Kerlait. The two become friends almost instantly and Conan adopts the lifestyle of a thief in the city of Zammora. They meet Valeria, the queen of thieves on their mission and all three decide to join forces and rob the temple of the snake.
The mission was not without its mishaps with Conan accidentally waking the giant snake used to guard the gemstone called the eye of the serpent, thus having to kill the sacred snake and gaining the personal attention of Thulsa Doom. This is the pet snake I spoke of before that requires him to have an orgy and cannibalistic ritual to please his god again. This is another example of where it isn’t explained, but you can see how this is completely possible. The dots connect. If you believe in this world, the mind will begin to fill out more detail and the film does a great deal to set this up for you.
Conan finds romantic love for the first time with Valeria, an anti-damsel in distress who is excellent with the sword, confident, with a love of jewels and a great catchphrase, “Do you want to live forever?!”
I love that she isn’t noble or self righteous which is often a mistake when writing good characters. She’s realistic, although she has a tough exterior and seeks riches, she is plagued with a deep longing to be in a loving relationship. The relationship between Conan and Valeria comes as a surprise in the film but happens very naturally. Knowing how Valeria lusts after gems, he gives her his prize, the prize he risked his life for, the eye of the serpent. From that act alone she knows he likes her and that opens the door to something more. It’s all unspoken but done visually matching the tone of the film wonderfully.
For the first time both of them have met someone they can share all manner of things with, battles, stories, trauma, and pain. There is a moment in their montage where Valeria stares compassionately into Conan’s eyes, rises up and caresses him. You could almost imagine that he has just shared the story of his traumatic loss and she is comforting him at this moment. The scene is brilliant.
And yet with his new found friends, Conan cannot forget his father’s warning about not trusting others over the sword. He decides to go after Thulsa Doom alone and unfortunately he is caught immediately because he carries one of the jade symbols of the temple that he robbed. When he is confronted by Thulsa Doom, the megalomaniac explains his answer to the riddle of steel, which he discards. He was never able to find it. He says there is no power in steel, but true power comes from controlling flesh. He didn’t have the riddle of steel, but he was on the right track when he said, “What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?” Wow, those were powerful words that stayed with the audience, but also Conan because never forgets this.
After being crucified on the tree of woe to die and being brought back to life by his loyal friends, he is resurrected still seeking vengeance, but now he knows the riddle of steel. It is his will. That is the answer to the riddle of steel. He stares at his hand as he did once long ago as a child. He has will power, which he can accomplish anything with.
In order to bring Conan back from the dead, Valeria fights demons. This is how much she loves Conan. The wizard who befriends Conan and who is also the narrator of the tale even warns her that the gods extract a heavy toll to bring Conan back, and she said she would pay them. And sure enough Valeria pays the toll with her life as a victim of one of Thulsa Doom's vicious snake arrows. I think that is another reason why I adore the story because like the original Star Wars movie in 1977, there are big stakes in the film where not all of the characters get to live through the tale. It only works if the character is not a pathetic victim. Valeria knows the risks and is willing to take it for love. Obi-Wan sacrifices himself to be able to inspire and teach Luke. We are getting a story writing lesson right here in this movie.
Another motif for Valeria is that she refers to love or relationships as warmth. When she dies she says she feels cold and asks Conan to keep her warm. I’ve always considered that to be the love between them and that she is asking him if he should keep it alive. At her funeral rites, the wizard says nothing burns at the top of the stone mound. And yet easily her pyre burned, representing the love between Valeria and Conan. There is lots of heat, there were sparks, mini explosions and it burned brightly throughout the night. What fantastic symbolism for their love.
Another reason for the fire was that the wizard says that the spirits and gods were watching this place, so it could also be interpreted that the spirits that dwell there allowed the fire because she had shown valor when she fought off the demons threatening to take Conan.
At the big battle between Thulsa’s militia against Conan, Subotai, and the Wizard, Conan shows off his intellect by using the ancient mounds as a battle ground full of booby traps that help to pick off the aggressors one by one until there was only the three who Conan needed to face in order to get his revenge.
First Thorgrim, who never said a word throughout the film, dies easily by a gruesome trap, then Rexor, who looks to be devastated by the loss, goes toe to toe with Conan with his father’s sword. Rexor gets the better of Conan, but his life is spared by Valeria’s ghost who is dressed as a Valkyrie. This calls back to a time when she announces that their bond is so strong that she would come back from the dead to save his life for a second time. There are lots of wonderful setups and payoffs in this story. I love it.
After getting a second chance at Rexor, Conan is successful and either on purpose or by accident, he breaks his fathers sword that his opponent is holding. After his long journey I saw this as an act of defiance against his father’s life advice and deciding to pave his own way. Before the battle Conan prayed to Crom for vengeance and says if he doesn’t listen, then to hell with him. Again, Conan is determined to be his own master and proves that he has learned the riddle of steel. After winning the fight he holds up his fathers sword and the Atlantean sword as he did during his old gladiatorial days. He is taking a bow before the gods and spirits, who he was told were watching. So he still respects the gods, but he is also ruled by his own will.
And to close out the final confrontation with Thulsa Doom, Conan uses his fathers sword to strike him and once the ordeal is all over, he drops his fathers swords as if to finally end his thirst for vengeance to find his own destiny in the world. Again, it’s all done as if to be a grand performance to show Crom.
Technical:
Yugoslavia was the original location for the film, but due to the political instability at the time the production moved to Spain utilizing deserts, beaches, and mountains. Roman and Moorish buildings helped to set the scenes. Production designer Ron Cobb, who previously worked on Alien (1979) took inspiration from the Dark Ages, the Vikings, and the Mongols to define the look of the Hyborian Age.
There was a limited amount of sets built due to the budget which is startling to me because this film has some of the most authentic looking fantasy sets of it’s time. Gorgeous stuff here with so much detail filling in the storyline of this make-believe age. I loved it.
There were quite a few miniatures used to play on perspective to create the illusion of background landscapes instead of matte paintings. I honestly can’t tell where because it looks so realistic.
The big set piece was Thulsa Doom's temple, The Temple of Set built on the mountains out of various woods, lacquers, and tons of concrete on a stairway of 120 steps.
At the end of the film Conan was supposed to throw a lantern into the palace's central window/balcony, but Arnold Schwarzenegger missed his mark. Which by the way, was a long way to throw something. So because it couldn’t be redone, the set proceeded to burn to the ground, as intended.
The mounds as they are referred to by production resemble Stonehenge and was specifically created for the film using Styrofoam pieces with fiberglass exteriors to look like stone.
You can see how much work it took to make all of these sets and set pieces look real and grounded to the Hyborian age. The detail is incredible.
Thulsa Doom's iconic transformation into a giant snake was incredibly jaw dropping. The illusion was achieved by editing the transformation in stages. At first we see serpent eye contacts, then a fake head of Thulsa Doom animated into a stretch, then a head of a mechanical snake, then a real snake was filmed on a miniature set.
The giant snake that Conan has to kill was a mechanical 36 foot long puppet that cost $20,000 and took ten weeks to build. At one point arrows had to be shot at the snake right above Arnold's head. Since he was the best archer in the crew, John Millius did the honors of shooting those arrows.
The Tree of Woe was another feat. The tree was actually a built structure mounted on a turntable. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a seat mounted into the tree. Real birds were used on the tree branches, but the one that interacts with Conan was a mechanical one. However the feathers on the bird were real.
There is some contradiction about this because Arnold said in interviews that the vulture was real but it was deceased. Nevertheless, Arnold rinsed his mouth out to avoid disease right after he bit it. And it’s another scene showing us Conan’s defiance.
If you like swords this movie has two of the most iconically epic swords in movie history. The first sword is Conan's father's sword, also called the Master's sword and the blade he finds in the tomb, the Atlantean sword. It was created by prop maker Tim Huchthausen and swordsmith Jody Samson. Four copies of each sword were made costing about $10,000 each and the gorgeous ancient markings on the Master’s sword were etched through electrical discharge machining. It reads, “Suffer no guilt, ye who wield this in the name of Crom.” It pretty much gives the wielder permission to kill anyone for any reason, no matter how petty or unjust, in the name of their god. That is pretty savage. It was the age of barbarians after all.
The film is more of an origin story for our protagonist than it was an all out action film. We get a lot of adventure and some extremely brutal moments, but not a whole lot of exciting fight scenes compared to what modern audiences are used to in today’s age.
For me, it was perfectly done and used appropriately to match the pace of the story. I loved the fact that the film didn’t shy away from the realities of the gore and a few times you get some glimpses of dummies but you can see the effort being made to portray a realistic result of violence with all of the blood and blood sprays.
The fake blood was a concentrated mixture that had to be mixed with water and in cold weather, it was mixed with vodka. The film used squibs on the actors and they also used blood sacks attached to the swords to achieve the look of slicing blood sprays. Not all, but many scenes were quite convincing. We have this warrior that has been hacking up people left and right and he is covered in blood. That makes sense for this story and I appreciated that.
The brilliant final battle against Thulsa Doom's men was an excellent example of Conan’s cunning and it was inspired by Seven Samurai (1954).
The composer Basil Poledouris was hired for Conan before the filming started and worked on the score based on initial storyboards. Later on, John Milius sent Basil Poledouris scenes set to classical music to further illustrate the style and emotional pacing he wanted so it could play as an opera with little or no dialog. Basil included several inspirations from his personal life including a dream and his daughter. The emotional riffs of whimsy and grandeur enhances the beauty of the story telling.
The score has been frequently used by other filmmakers as temp tracks, advance trailers and TV spots for other films.
The film’s opening with bombastic powerful drums set the tone of the Hyborian age. The theme for Thulsa Doom had a very supernatural sound with a choir singing in Latin. To create it, "Dies Irae" (Day of Wrath), a Latin hymn of the 13th century known for being part of the Requiem Mass of the Roman Catholic Church and being frequently quoted by many composers.
This is one of the most underrated scores of all time.
Performances:
I enjoyed the performances immensely even though there are a mixture of acting proficiency in the film. We have incredible greats along with acting novices but the skill of the direction and editing, it works!
Arnold Schwarzenegger for instance, is great as Conan. You can see why he was hired immediately because besides the Terminator, some say this was a role he was born to play.
If you aren’t quite sure, in an interview with Fortune in 2004, Schwarzenegger he told them, "My hair was pulled. I was hit with belts. So was the kid next door. It was just the way it was. Many of the children I've seen were broken by their parents, which was the German-Austrian mentality. They didn't want to create an individual. It was all about conforming. I was one who did not conform, and whose will could not be broken. Therefore, I became a rebel. Every time I got hit, and every time someone said, 'You can't do this,' I said, 'This is not going to be for much longer because I'm going to move out of here. I want to be rich. I want to be somebody.'"
I love how honest he is when he talks about his ambition. He started lifting weights at 15, started competing professionally at 17, won his first Mr. Universe title at age 20, won the Mr. Olympia title 7 times including the last time for which he came out of a 5 year retirement at the age of 33.
He had a few acting credits with movies such as Hercules in New York (1970), Pumping Iron (1977), and The Comeback (1980). He worked so very hard to take advantage of his opportunity to be a star by totally surrendering to what was needed to address every criticism he encountered. His Austrian accent was the biggest issue and although he doesn’t get rid of it, his language is pretty clear. He had to read the Conan comics and fantasy novels to learn period dialogue. He was too bulky in the pectorals to make certain movies with his sword so he was asked to slim down and he did. He had weapons, martial arts and horseback riding training. He learned extreme climbing, falling, rolling, and jumping. and roll and jump from fifteen feet in the air. He even learned how to sleep and live outdoors.
On set the shoot was extremely dangerous for the cast and crew. One of the main reasons for that was the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sandahl Bergman who played Valeria had to perform their own stunts because they couldn’t find stunt doubles to match their body types.
The scene where Conan is running from the wolves was from real terror because the dogs they used was so uncontrollable and wild the they attacked their trainer. It provoked Arnold to fall down the rock he was climbing and seriously injured his back as a result.
He sustained injuries while being thrown into the fountain at Thulsa’s temple and he also got badly sunburned while shooting the scenes hanging on the Tree of Woe. This was how badly he wanted his success and all of that dedication is on screen. I think naturally, Arnold has a charisma in front of the camera that shines in every role he’s in.
The filmmakers made the decision to have all of Conan's enemies bigger than Arnold Schwarzenegger which isn’t easy since he is 6’2”.
Sean Connery was also 6’2” and a former body builder was considered for the role of Thulsa Doom. I am not sure what happened there or if they ever approached him, but I see why they would consider it. He had a wonderful booming voice that would be perfect for an ancient world.
Even through scheduling conflicts the filmmaker wanted film, theater, and television actor James Earl Jones, who was 6’2”, ready to go toe to toe with Conan. At the time he was doing a Broadway play "Lesson to Aloes". I love it when dramatic actors take on roles like this and he plays the role seriously. He doesn't get hammy with it, but he’s just grand by nature.
Many people thought that he wore contacts in his eyes to make them blue, but that James Earl Jones has blue eyes naturally. I am not sure if there may have been contacts added to make them appear bluer on screen than they are naturally, but from other pictures of him, it appears he didn’t need it. His look in particular in this film is so intriguing. Accompanied with the wig and costume, he looks so different than anything he’s ever done or done since, so there is something special about him appearing in this movie and what he does with the role. It really elevates the material.
There was some physicality for him as well. He had to learn how to ride a horse and he had a workout regimen to keep in shape. Arnold helped James with that and in turn he coached Arnold with his acting and so did Max von Sydow who plays King Osric. Max also has an amazing cameo in the film and delivers some of the best lines in the movie like a boss. Max said that he took the role because his son was a lifelong Conan fan.
John Milius was looking for someone tall and resembled a Valkyrie for the role of Valeria. His search led to 5’10” professional dancer Sandahl Bergman when Bob Fosse recommended her. Bob worked with her in All That Jazz (1979) and she had just finished working as a dancer in Xanadu 1980 as Muse #1. She’s not a dramatic actress, but I thought her work in this was timed just perfectly. I think she was also born to play this role because I can’t think of anyone else doing it as well. She trained for the role similarly to Arnold and even had one of her index fingers severed in one of the scenes where an extra replaced a stunt person and made a mistake. She was able to have it reattached so you can’t even tell that it happened. I am sure that must have been horrible, but that gives you an example of how dangerous it was on set.
Arnold was originally supposed to narrate the film, but the executives thought that someone else should do it. Accomplished actor Mako, who plays the Wizard was asked to do it and there is so much gravity he brings to the words making it feel ancient and full of wonder! He’s amazing in this, being able to flip between dramatic and comedic portrayals of the character naturally with a charm.
Thulsa Doom’s henchmen were played by 6’5” bodybuilder Sven-Ole Thorsen who played Thorgrim and 6’8” former American football player Ben Davidson who played Rextor. Sven-Ole Thorsen was recommended by Arnold and appeared in a total 15 films starring Schwarzenegger, either as an actor or as a stuntman.
Enjoyment:
There were two endings shot. The American version which is the one I have and the one I prefer shows Conan setting fire to the temple.
The alternative ending was the International cut featuring princess Jasmina leading Conan to Thulsa Doom and bowing at his feet. He picks her up and carries her off somewhere, along with everything else in the American version.
So depending on what version you saw, you got a different idea of who Conan was even after his whole ordeal. And in my opinion, the scenes with Jasimna are reminiscent of the source material version of Conan, but having just lost Valeria, the first is more appropriate.
One big problem for audiences was the violence and it started with the studio. Sid Sheinberg, the president of Universal saw a rough cut and moved it out of a holiday release in 1981. John Milius was asked to tone the violence of certain scenes like Conan chopping off a pickpocket's arm, close-up shots on the decapitated head of Conan's mother, Subotai slaying a monster at the top of the Tower of Serpents, and in a bazaar.
There was still a lot of violence that split critics and audiences alike, but big fans of Conan thought that there wasn’t enough. However, that didn’t stop the film being a huge success with people lined up around the block in 16 cities for up to eight hours to see the film.
I remember seeing Conan the Barbarian in the theaters and that first time I really enjoyed it. It was a little bit violent to me because I was only 12 but what really got me hooked on the character and the movie, is other things that I got along with the trip to the theater. I got a Marvel illustrated version of the film and a Cinefantastique Magazine that featured the behind the scenes of the film. Both of them were well loved the the point the covers have ripped and they are super fragile, but I always love revisiting them.
The film finishes with a scene of a bearded older Conan with a crown sitting on the throne of Aquilonia. There is a tease that the story of Conan becoming a king will eventually be told someday.
The film was going to be the first of an intended four or five part series of movie sequels with Arnold Schwarzenegger committed to star in them all. As well his contract restricted him from starring in other sword and sorcery films.
The film’s direct sequel was Conan the Destroyer released in 1984, with Schwarzenegger and Mako returning. I saw this in the theater too. For many years my Mom and I just loved popping it in the VCR. I’ll be reviewing that one too. This movie was geared more for a wider audience with a lot less violence and sexual references. There was also a big emphasis on comedy, but it still had a good story.
At the end of the film it teased Conan the Conqueror and it was to be released in 1987. In the meantime Arnold did Red Sonja in 1985 and Raw Deal in 1986 with Dino De Laurentiis and his contract was up. By then Arnold was a hot ticket in Hollywood and his contract expired. A script for Conan the Conqueror was written, but since Arnold was not happy with it, the studio went ahead with the movie but changed it to Kull the Conqueror, released in 1997 starring Kevin Sorbo.
Hollywood was like, what about Conan the Barbarian. We haven’t done anything with Conan the Barbarian, so they did a hard remake / reboot of the film 2011 starring Jason Mamoa. It was a mixture of Robert Howards version of Conan and the 1982 movie, but left out all of the deep philosophical undertones. It’s a straight up action movie with a few cheesy moments.
After a long lustrous career as an actor and serving as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011 by 2012, Universal Pictures Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the role of Conan for the film The Legend of Conan, a direct sequel to the original film, dismissing the existence of Conan the Destroyer and the 2011 remake. However, in April 2017, it was dropped by the studio.
The rights are currently in the hands of Fredrik Malmberg who may be working on a series with Netflix as of 2020.
There is a way to insert Arnold into a project while rebooting it which is to have him Conan give up his throne for a noble cause and his grandson who is named after him can be the center of the story. It would be nice to have Arnold in it, but you don’t have to. There are so many ways to go with it, but I think that really showcasing Conan as a great mind is very important.
Conan is not just a big dumb brute with a sword and I think you really get that with Conan the Barbarian 1982. It starts with an adaptation of a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger”. This describes Conan’s mental and physical journey in the film. He grows from a helpless child to a man who commands his own destiny and wont be a victim of destiny or rules from anyone. He learns the riddle of steel and how to be his own man. In my opinion, this is an underrated brilliant film.
My Rating:
9.2
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