CONAN THE BARBARIAN — This 1982 sword and sorcery adventure starring the Austrian Oak Arnold Schwarzenegger was a landmark rendition of the character created by Robert E. Howard, appearing in novels and comic books.
Directed by John Milius and written by Milius and Oliver Stone, the film also stars the legendary James Earl Jones, and tells the story of the young warrior Conan, who seeks vengeance for the death of his parents at the hands of Thulsa Doom (Jones), the leader of a snake cult.
The final screenplay integrated scenes from Howard’s stories and from the Japanese films Seven Samurai (1954) and Kwaidan (1965).
Production took place in Spain over five months around Madrid and the province of Almería. The sets were based on medieval cultures and Frank Frazetta’s epic paintings of Conan.
The story follows a young Conan (played by Jorge Sanz Miranda), who, as a boy, becomes a slave after his parents are killed and his tribe destroyed by the savage warlord and sorcerer, Doom.
Conan is enslaved on the brutal Wheel of Pain, which he has to pushes in circles for years, for which the only purpose is apparently to get him super-jacked and ready for action. Conan grows up all pumped up (as Schwarzenegger), to become a savage and fearless warrior. Set free, he plots his revenge against his nemesis, Thulsa Doom.
The film also stars Gerry Lopez as Subotai, Sandahl Bergman as Valeria, Max von Sydow as King Osric, and Mako Iwamatsu as the Wizard of the Mounds.
While some have criticized the script and dialogue, I think the tone and execution of this film is perfect.
The look is epic and realistic, with a noticeable lack of optical effects in favor of practical sets and cinematic techniques.
The story is engaging and the characters are all interesting, with terrific performances — especially by Arnold — who was born for the role.
Perhaps no actor was ever more perfectly cast. Schwarzenegger’s Adonis physique, distinctive voice, and fierce on-screen presence and bravado, made for the best possible Conan imaginable.
Schwarzenegger performed most of his own stunts, and two types of swords, costing $10,000 each, were forged for his character. The editing process took over a year, and several violent scenes were cut out.
The icing on the cake that makes Conan so good is the sweeping musical score by Milius’s friend Basil Poledouris, especially when Conan wields his massive sword, twirling it as the bombastic orchestral notes of “Anvil of Crom” spur on the action.
According to Poledouris, Milius envisioned Conan as an opera with little or no dialogue. Poledouris composed enough musical pieces for most of the film, and was able to modify the tempo of his compositions and synchronize them with the action in the film to great effect.
Although the Conan the Barbarian received mixed reviews, with many criticizing the script and excessive violence, the film has stood the test of time and emerged as a true cult classic. It spawned a terrific sequel Conan the Destroyer (1984) which introduced a bit more humor, and made for a great continuation of the saga. In some ways, Destroyer was more fun than the original, and teased at a third film, ending with Arnold on the throne as King Conan.
Schwarzenegger went on to play a very similar character in the film Red Sonja (1985) starring Brigitte Nielsen as Sonja, also a character created by Robert E. Howard.
Unfortunately, the Conan series was not made into a trilogy, although Schwarzenegger and others have hinted that a King Conan movie is still a possibility.
And there is still hope for a Schwarzenegger-Conan sequel. In 2019, Arnie reunited with original Conan the Barbarian director John Milius, and the two discussed the script and possibility of moving forward on the highly-anticipated King Conan sequel. Schwarzenegger remains optimistic that the film will come to fruition.
The success of Conan the Barbarian led to the production of an inferior 2011 re-boot of the same name starring Jason Momoa, a very likable actor but who seemed too restrained by a bad script and was too wooden for his natural charisma to come through.
But Momoa was great in Game of Thrones (2011), and in the Aquaman series (2018, 2023) and the Justice League Snyder Cut (2021), he found the perfect balance of brains and brawn.
