The story of 'Conan The Barbarian' has never been for children. As someone that has read all the 'Conan' books several times, i approve of Mr. Schwarzeneggers portrayal of the character. From the age 0f 17 to the age of 65.
The movie Conan is quite different from than the one from the books, if memory serves right. I liked the Conan from the books better. He was more fun and not so taciturn. But it works for the movie, I agree.
@@ramonacosta2647 As another who saw this as a child, I have to agree. It's not that this movie is too much for children, it's that modern society as a whole doesn't understand that children are a great deal more resilient and capable than what most people tend to believe. People as a whole forget that it wasn't that long ago that children weren't protected and sheltered from the horrors of life, and were often having to endure such things just as a matter of survival. A little bit of adult themes in a make believe story is nothing compared to what kids had to deal with just to get by as recently as a hundred years ago.
The blonde, Valeria, was played by Sandahl Bergman, who was a Broadway dancer. Not only did she possess the physical ability required for the role, she was also tall enough to play opposite Arnold.
If you want more of this, there is also 'Red Sonja' which does have Conan as a character. Sandahl Bergman, however, plays the antagonist in the film, and it's a pretty enjoyable watch.
@@yodieyuh Sorry, that's right. Arnold was a character, but he didn't appear as Conan. The younger me didn't care back then, that was Arnold, he had a sword, and they weren't fooling me, that was Conan. Haha. Thanks, I'd forgotten how much that irked me back then.
The tomb scene - its supposed to be a tomb of one of Atlantians who ruled those lands centuries before. As the prologue says - between the time when the ocean drank Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Aryus (this universum's legendary version of Indoeuropeans). So Atlantians ruled the land before. Conan took Atlantians sword. And the skeleton of old king crumbles as if in agreement to its new owner :)
I actually like "Hercules in New York", it was quite funny. The other movie worth mentioning before Conan was "Stay Hungry" from 1976. Mr Schwarzenegger was really good in it and received the Golden Globe Award for the most promising new actor.
Valeria (the blonde) came back from the dead to fight by his side, as she promised. She was representational of a Valkyrie (we won't mention the Thor movies ).
In Robert Howard's lore, Valeria was a mercenary not a thief. And she was not the love interest of Conan. Be'lit was. Valeria never returned from death to save Conan. Valeria in this movie was a mashup of characters. So this movie is the equivalent of a Star Wars movie where Chewbacca is the father of Luke and Mon Mothma is his sister.
@@fortunatus1Crom was a god who did not like to be disturbed. He gives humans everything they need to live their lives and then he expects not to be disturbed with prayers. This movie is not how Robert Howard lore was
In many respects, Conan was Robert E. Howard himself - a reclusive, socially inept but sympathetic and smart person, physically strong but emotionally crippled. The author was a prolific writer, mainly of short stories, who tragically took his own life after his first emotional breakdown (the death of his mother)
Conan was what Howard wished to be. He was honest enough to make another character as an actual author avatar (and his dog!) and its interesting to note that not only does this Howard avatar pretty much hero worshipped Conan but at the end of the story, he (and his dog!) died, with Conan saluting his courage. In light of his suicide, makes for an eerie reading 🤔 I hope Mr Howard (and his dog!) is at peace now wherever he is.
Not quite. Conan was not an idealized alter ego. Howard himself said in his vast correspondence that Conan's character was an amalgam of many men he had known.
As you are a resident of Spain, Duaffy, this movie was filmed primarily in Spain -locations listed in Segovia, Almeria, Andulcia, studios at Madrid. The Feb.1981 coup against the King occurred, during the filming, with Schwarzenegger going out to witness.
15:21 Mako (the actor playing the wizard) was one of those character actors who got thrown into any TV show or movie if they needed someone “Asian” (he was Japanese). He played over a hundred bit parts going back to the 1960s - anything from “MASH” to “The Time Tunnel” and “The Incredible Hulk.”
"Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow." -Narrator
Love this movie. It takes itself seriously, and really is quite deep in its themes and symbolism. The rough settings really make it feel like an ancient saga or prehistoric age, and the sparse dialogue makes what is said all the more poignant. Great stuff.
I don't think he's saying "Crom" as in he thought the dead guy was Crom, or the witch was Crom... I think he was saying "Crom" the same way I would say, "Oh, God!"
Duaffy, Did you make the connection that Conan's redhead "master" was the redhead boy that first chained him to the grinding mill when Conan was a child?
The reason that Conan's mother didn't defend herself against Thulsa Doom in the beginning is that Doom worships a snake god. He has hypnotic, bewitching powers, such as snakes are said to have over their prey. Doom tried to bewitch Conan at the end of the film, but Conan was able to resist. Conan exclaims "Crom!" the way we might exclaim "Jesus!" or "my God!" Conan's girlfriend's name is Valeria. Unfortunately the line where she introduces herself was cut from the film.
Valeria (the blonde lady) died and went to Valhalla and became a Valkyrie and thus the garb and coming back as a spirit to save him. On his many ladies he had four loves. Red Sonya, Valeria, Belit and Zenobia. Valeria was my favourite. The reason why Conan and his mother were stunned and unable to move when Thulsa Doom was staring at them (her before being beheaded and he during the "who is your Father if not me" speech) is being Thulsa doom is hypnotizing them. Conan broke the trance, shook his head and slashed him in the throat and the spell was broken.
Actually you were very close. Conan did not start the "Lizard people hide among us." The first poplar story of it, was from the same writer/creator Robert E. Howard. Before he made Conan, he tested his ideas out with a character that was around about 1,000 years before Conan, named Kull. That talk about the sinking of Atlantis at the start of the movie? Kull was one of the survivors, and a lot of the Atlanteans that survived would become Nomadic Clans, and later on would become known as Cimarins, and that's where Conan comes from. But Kull much like Conan later on, would come to inherit a Kingdom of his own, and Kull would find out from someone who was normally one of his enemies, that a lot of the Court he inherited with his Kingdom was actually run in large part by lizard people in secret. Forcing Kull to find them out, destroy them, and bring in new ruling families he could trust.
@@Ambaryerno I forget the time, but it was a long time before Conan. Yes, though Doom also came back as an Enemy to Conan if you count the comics. In either case he's nothing like the movie outside of being a sorcerer. I have no proof, but I'd swear Doom heavily inspired modern day Fantasy Liches.
There's a movie "Kull the Conqueror" from 1997 which is a little hammy but a good action/adventure romp, starring Kevin Sorbo from TV shows "Hercules: the legendary journeys" and "Andromeda" fame.
@@steveross8364 Yes there is. There should have been a lot more build up to that movie before Kull jumped into being King, but what happened is that Kull was the intended 3rd Conan script that kept getting rewritten due to filming delays (Arnold in particular wasn't interested in one more run at the time, and soon after would start trying to run for Gov.) and finally they just gave up on the Conan part of it and went "Oh, this could be Kull instead, he went through similar things to become King" and the movie finally moved foreword from there. Yes it's very cheesy, but still a fun romp, and an interesting look at what could have been.
Yeah, the Thurian Age (the age Kull lived in) takes place between 35,000 to 40,000 bce where as the Hyborian Age (the age Conan lives in) takes place after the Great Cataclysm which ended the Thurian Age and lasted until around 10,000 bce. So there clearly had to have been more than 1,000 years between the two of them as the first of the Hyborian Nations came about some 3,000 years before Conan and that was not even the beginning of the Hyborian Age. Now as for the "Reptilian" conspiracy theory. This was started after Robert E. Howard died. Yes, it is highly theoriezed, and very likely, that Maurice Doreal took a great deal of his "theory" from both the works of Robert E. Howard as well as Clark Ashton Smith (a friend of Robert E. Howard who also used the Serpent Men from "The Shadow Kingdom" as he, Howard and H.P. Lovecraft all shared their ideas and works with one another). It did not gain a huge amount of traction until David Icke started to write about it and talk about it starting around 1999. Now that crap is everywhere....
There's so many things many people miss or are barely shown. The guy with all the tattoos that jumps on the rock is bodybuilder Franco Columbo. The redheaded kid that chains Conan to the mill is the same person who frees him. The camouflage they wear at the end was a tribute to a woman he fought in the pit, you only see her legs because they cut the scene. Didn't think killing a woman would go over well with viewers. The sword master who kicks the guy during training was the sword master who taught the actors. They were going to use pop music for the soundtrack but luckily that was changed. There are lots more but thought you would enjoy these.
Don't forget Sven-Ole Thorsen as Thorgrim. He comes back as the Capt of the guard in the next movie, Conan the Destroyer. He was in a lot of films with Arnold.
@@JayM409 Bro, we can't forget Ben Davidson (the tall barbarian in the Doom cult). He was a former defensive end for the Raiders and stood 6'8. He did a lot of small parts in various films where they needed a huge mean looking guy.
This movie was supposed to be the beginning of a long running franchise, like James Bond. They made a second movie, which is a direct sequel to this one, called Conan The Destroyer. It was reasonably profitable, making a $100million BO on a $20million budget, but was panned by fans and critics for being a less violent/more family friendly PG rated movie. As a result, the third film in the series was put on near indefinite hold. When they finally got around to trying to make the third film, Arnold was such a huge star that his fee was several times what it was for the first two movies (his fee was only around $1million/film when he made the first two Conan movies, but when they wanted him to make the third film his asking price was something like $20million/movie). The movie ended up being made without Arnold, but was changed from Conan The Conqueror to Kull The Conqueror, and the role of Kull was played by Kevin Sorbo (of TV’s Hercules fame). That too was panned by fans and critics alike. There is a third “Conan movie” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s called Red Sonja. For legal reasons, Arnold’s character had to be changed from Conan to an original character named Kalidor. However it is set in the same cinematic universe as the Conan films, so it kinda counts as a Conan movie. Be warned before reacting to it though. It’s really, REALLY bad. Although, it’s also very entertainingly bad, so you might enjoy it. I certainly hope that you choose to react to Conan The Destroyer and Red Sonja in the future. It’ll be a fun movie to watch along with you on.
They originally planned a trilogy with the last movie being the story of how he becomes King Conan. They made a sequel, but went in a completely different direction and did what you were expecting with this one; a more kid-friendly fun adventure story with more comic relief and special effects.
@@Mitheledh It's great fun. Wilt Chamberlain, Grace Jones, Sarah Douglas and Olivia D'abo all look like Frazetta paintings come to life. Mako and Tracey Walters (Bob the Goon from Batman) were hysterical. Uncredited Andre the Giant is in the monster suit at the end. Just wish Gerry Lopez was back. It's just a shame we never got King Conan.
@@wyrmshadow4374 It's the defacto Conan 3, even though Sonja is a Conan character, for whatever reason they couldn't secure the rights to call him Conan.
Duaffy, The skeleton moved like that because Conan disturbed it's hand resting on the sword and eventually gravity and physics had it move like it did. First the hand then the arm and the force of the arm moving made the head an body move.
The name of the blonde woman is Valeria (Sandahl Bergman), Conan as child is played by the Spanish actor Jorge Sanz, (who grew up and does not look like Arnol). The stories on which the character is based are much better than the movie.
The King that Sent Conan to retrieve his Daughter was Max Von Sydow, He was in the Exorcist and in many Movies, Including Judge Dredd and Star Wars: the Force Awakens. Sadly, he passed away in 2020. Thulsa Doom is James Earl Jones. He was the Voice of Darth Vader in all the Star Wars Movies. Conan was a series of Adult Sci-fi books.
You can basically beat a piece of metal to get a lot of the rust off. I remember seeing my dad do that with a cast iron skillet we found that had been exposed to the elements for several years in the mountains. Still needed work afterward, but it did get rid of a lot of the surface rust when he hammered it against a rock. And the skillet surviving the slamming against a rock showed that it was still sturdy and in good condition. If it had busted in the hammering dad would probably have left it to finish rusting to pieces. As it was he cleaned it up, seasoned the metal, and added it to the cooking gear of my Boy Scout Troop. The skeleton shifted because of the sword being struck against the stone chair it was in sent vibrations through to shift the skeleton's position just enough to make it collapse gradually. Him saying "Crom" is us saying "God!" or, more often in my case, "Sh!t!"
The actor that plays Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) is the actor who does Darth Vaders voice in Star Wars and the voice of Mufasa in the Lion King. When he was a young boy in school a teacher helped him overcome his stuttering by getting him to recite poetry in front of the class.
13:06, yes, Max von Sydow. Among other roles, Father Merrin the Exorcist. One of the great achievements in The Exorcist was making a 40 year old man look 30 years older, and have us watch him in later movies grow into the image of the old man.
Who ever told you this was a kids movie really played a prank on you. In the cave they weren't dead because of poisoning. In many ancient cultures royalty were in tombed with their guards to serve them even in death. Conan is a bit of fantasy and reality. They call it the Highboarian age. In theory it's post world flood "when the ocean drank Atlantis" and "and before the rise of the son's of Aries" or Helen Helenestic age. Maging was around and still practice. Definitely it was the end of the bronze age and the beginning of Steel. Sebotai is an early version of a Mongul, Vlaeria was most likely Norse. Of course Conan is a Sumerian but his people migrated around the mountain ThulsaDoom came from an ancient race. If you notice he has Blue eyes and straight hair so he is of mixed decent. Which is why ThulsaDoom took Conan's father's sword. Which is why it was fitting that Conan broke the sword and killed Thulsa Doom with it. Their is a second movie but not by the same Director, it has more fantasy elements in though. And is a good adventure to watch. And yes the blood woman had a name. She was named Valeria and became a Valkyrie. Great reaction I hope you see part 2.
Conan was not Sumerian. He was Cimmerian. Two totally different cultures. Cimmerians were from the Eurasian Steppes (Ukraine/southwest Russia) while Sumerians were Iraqi. Thulsa Doom was almost certainly supposed to be Egyptian since the film associated his cult with "Set" (Set was an Egyptian God).
I saw this in the theater when I was 12, with my dad. Look into the artwork of Frank Frazetta. There's a LOT of crossover in styles. The imagery in this movie is stunning. The way he poses at the end the same way he used to in the pits is just one instance. The Music really adds to it. This is the BEST soundtrack to drive to on a rainy night in the middle of nowhere. It's also great music to play when playing a game where you do a lot of running in third person. Thulsa Doom was the Voice of Darth Vader. The Wizard is Mako, the Voice of Aku (from Samurai Jack). The second one has only one recurring secondary character and a totally different tone. It's lighter and more family friendly, and is more like an RPG campaign. This started a run on "Sword and Sorcery" run in the early to mid-80's. Another (rare) good one was The Beastmaster, which you will love for... reasons.
Boris Vallejo was also hugely popular in the fantasy art genre at the time as well. I had The Lord of the Rings calendar that he illustrated and I kick myself that I don't have it anymore.
I really like this movie. The action is good, the story's not bad and you can always easily identify Basil Poledouris' soundtracks like "The Hunt for Red October", "On deadly ground" or "Robocop". Those are always great!
I owned the soundtrack on cassette tape. When I started dating a new person, she tried to surprise me with a movie, and it took exactly one note of the opening theme, while the screen was still black and before there were even any credits printed, then I said "Oh, it's Conan." She was miffed at me.
Maybe the best grade B movie ever made. When Conan the Gladiator was asked, "What is good?" his answer, "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you and to hear the lamentations of the women." was a direct quote from Genghis Khan.. In fact, his partner Subotai, was the name of one of Genghis Khans best generals. Muscles? Arnold Schwarzenegger won Mr. Universe I think five years in a row. He spent months studying swordsmanship (Kendo) before filming this movie. Did you notice that after he emerges from the cave with Crom's sword, he pretty much has very little clothing. Then the wolves chase him. Then he has a fine selection of wolf fur coats when he meets the witch.
Conan searches for the Riddle of Steel. He learns that Flesh is stronger than Steel because the steel can not wield itself. He learns that his Spirit is stronger than Flesh because will is what drives the flesh. The Riddle of Steel is that the Spirit is what matters.
I was looking forward to a King Conan movie too. Ive heard that in recent times, Arnold has hinted at the possibility of making such a film. At his age now, it would be very fitting - portraying an old king.
Duaffy, Thulsa Doom tried to kill the princess because he knew she was the "prize" Conan and his friends sought and so if he killed her then they would have no prize and also if he could not have her, then no one else will either.
Despite what the movie shows there is a deeper meaning to the story of Conan, what the movie tries to show is inspired from the books and that is what does it mean to have true strength? In the beginning we see the quote "That which does not kill us makes us stronger" which once you think about it actually does tie into the Riddle of Steel. Conan's father in the beginning we belives that steel itself is the answer. It can be used to cut, break, shape, and build whatever wielder wishes but in the end he was wrong because steel can rust giving way to time and shatter. We see this in the fight when the sword of Conan's father breaks. Thulsa Doom as we see says that the answer is flesh "what is steel compared to the hand the wields it" and though he is right about that he is also wrong because flesh weakens and ages until eventually a person can fight no longer. We see how he is wrong when Conan uses his father's broken sword to kill Thulsa Doom. When you notice these things you start to get to the heart of the movie and what it tries to tell the audience, it tells them that though flesh and steel are strong they are still weak in their own way. What is truly strong is will, the will to fight, survive, and live even when your body is broken the tools you need are shattered it is the will that keeps you going. That's what the movie tries to show when you look at it more closely which once you notice you see why a lot of people enjoy the movie, though even on its own its still pretty entertaining.
it is a very apt idea. it flows to the essence of warfare. regardless which time in history, advanced weaponry or superior numbers, the will to fight is what needs to be defeated
Consn's mother was mesmerized by Thulsa Doom. He is part transfigured snake, and retains a snske's ability to momentarily freeze prey just before striking. The wheel was the Wheel of Pain. It functioned as a grain mill, but its primary purpose was to weed out the weak. Prisoners left only when bought, or when dead. The script for Conan the first half of the movie must just been "Grunt" "scream in anger" "scream in pain". And, rarely, "Crom".
Snakes don't actually do that. The prey freezes because snakes have poor vision. So by freezing it makes it harder for the snake to actually locate its prey.
@@imthewolf1 They smell with their tongue but they have organs colloquially called heat pits along their jaws that pick up heat and being separated they work like stereoscopic vision and they can strike in the dark.
3:18 The machine the children were chained to is a milling machine used to break grain into flour. You put the hard grain in and stone wheels in the center crush the the grain. The same function as windmills in old times but for places with no wind, primitive people who have not learned about complex gear systems or simply to give captured people something to do.
6:24 This is actually a grave. This scene is a short story from the first of the Conan novels by Robert E. Howard. 23:05 These are followers of Set, a serpentine god. Snakes are his holy animals. There are many gods in the Conan mythos - some are good, some are evil, some simply don't care.
The blonde's name is Valeria. And this is one of my absolute favorite movies. I especially love the music; sometimes I watch this movie just for the film's score.
It is a slave wheel,.. the defiant slave must turn the wheel until his spirit is broken and he becomes submisive to his master. Conan not only never submitted but he also had the health to turn it for years. Also, i saw this at 8 years old,.. and so did most of the school i was in,.. censorship was very different back then. With regard to the lore of Conan world, Krom is the God of Steel and combat and power and whatever Krom's followers say he is, but he is also the only God ine the world that cares nothing for his followers and never answers prayers which is why Conan tells him he can go to hell,..the other Gods actually answer their followers and even provide them powers. p.s. the villain is the actor that does Darth Vader voice.
fun fact all the weapons used in this film were live weapons.... as in not fake they were functional sharpened weapons and the blood splatters is pigs blood
Small fact: Young Conan was played by spanish actor Jorge Sanz. For those who doesn't know him (which is understandable), he is the spanish equivalent of Zack Ward (Y'a know, the kind of actor that got famous at a young age, and that despite being actually good actors, they are allways remembered as "Oh, yeah, that kid from the movie").....
I was, in fact, 12 years old the first time I watched this, but I had been reading Conan books and magazines since I first learned to read. They're not any less brutal than the movie.
- This film is based on a series of novels and short stories written by Robert E. Howard in the 1930's. - The "Conan the Barbarian" film contains several of Howard's "Conan" short stories. - The Conan stories take place around 10,000 BC - Conan's people, the Cimmerians, are supposed to be the descendants of the survivors of Atlantis. - Schwarzenegger played Conan in 2 more films: "Conan the Destroyer" and "Red Sonja" (Danish actress Bridget Nielsen played Sonja). A third Conan film was attempted ("Conan the Conqueror"), but Schwarzenegger's contract had expired at three films, so they used Kevin Sorbo (from the "Hercules" TV series) and changed the protagonist to Kull, another of Robert E. Howard's characters, and it was released as "Kull the Conqueror". - The novelization of "Conan the Destroyer" was written by Robert Jordan (who authored the "Wheel of Time" series), and also wrote 6 additional "Conan" novels under contract to Robert E. Howard's estate. - Harry Turtledove, author of the "Videssos" series, also wrote a "Conan" novel for the Howard estate, "Conan of Venarium". - Conan eventually becomes King of Aquilonia after strangling the previous tyrannical king on his throne.
Valeria, the blonde woman, came back not as a goddess but more like a Valkyrie. A Valkyrie is like a warrior's or soldier's angel from Norse Mythology... Valkyries - The Grim Reapers of the Viking Battlefields - th-cam.com/video/2LvtlfhfAGI/w-d-xo.html If you liked the movie, then the books are worth reading. They were first written in 1932 by Robert E. Howard. Thought to be the earliest known appearance of Robert E. Howard’s character was that of a black-haired barbarian with heroic attributes named Conan in the 1931 short story "People of the Dark". By 1932, Howard had officially conceptualized Conan and in his lifetime wrote 21 stories. Over the years many other writers have written works featuring Conan.......
Hey, Duaffy! Robert E. Howard created an iconic noble savage character whose exploits were chronicled in 28 completed and incomplete tales, poems and essays. Conan exists in a prehistoric period of our world called the Hyborian Age. He descends from the mountains of Cimmeria as a youth seeking adventure and, over his long career, he works as a thief, a soldier, a mercenary, a bandit, a pirate, a scout and ultimately becomes a wise and just king of the greatest nation of his day, Aquilonia. Unlike monosyllabic Arnie, Conan is quite thoughtful and eloquent in much the same way Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan is. One of my favorite Conan quotes has him answering what the nature of reality is: "Let teachers and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me." "Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea. Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming West. Hither came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet." Howard was a master wordsmith from Texas who tried his hand at many different pulp genres of the '30s and mastered them all. He was never considered a serious writer by the establishment yet his work is beloved to this day. He maintained a long-standing correspondence relationship with horror maestro H.P. Lovecraft. He was emotionally disturbed and committed suicide after the death of his mother in 1936 at the age of thirty. The Milius-Stone movie is a successful pastiche of King Kull and Conan stories blended together. The rousing score by Basil Poledouris provides an operatic sweep and captures the blood and thunder ethos of the characters. The early biographical montage of slave to gladiator to wanderer is the backstory of Howard's Atlantean character, King Kull, whose nemesis is Thulsa Doom and the cult of snake men who are trying to revive an earlier period of prehistory when snake-people ruled supreme in a global empire called Acheron. Conan's Hyborian Age occurs after a Great Cataclysm that reshapes the continents. It is implied that Kull is a blood ancestor millennia-removed. Sequences in the film are loosely based on Conan stories. The giant snake is from "The God in the Bowl", teaming up with fellow thieves to infiltrate an impenetrable temple is from "The Tower of the Elephant", surviving the crucifixion by ripping out a vulture's throat with his teeth is from "A Witch Shall Be Born". Sandahl Bergman's Valeria is a blend of two of Conan's great loves: Valeria and Belit. Valeria is a vagabond adventurer with a lust for excitement like him from the tale "Red Nails". Belit is a pirate queen and Conan's first true love. Belit vows to return from death to defend her lover and she does in a moment of great need in "Queen of the Black Coast" just as Valeria does in the movie. Absolutely see "Conan the Destroyer"! It's fantastic pulpy fun with a few authentic Howard references although its mostly pastiche. Filmmakers have never adapted Conan faithfully and it's a terrible shame because Howard was an extraordinary writer. Arnold is the perfect age to return and do Howard's trilogy of King Conan tales: "The Phoenix on the Sword", "The Scarlet Citadel" and "The Hour of the Dragon". Schwarzenegger has eagerly expressed interest in doing it and doing it right! All they'd have to do is follow the book. The last line of the Conan saga is surprisingly romantic! Earlier in "Hour of the Dragon", the slave girl Zenobia, who was quite taken with the visiting king, freed him from the dungeons of Nemedia. He escapes to go on a quest and returns to defeat his enemies. He could by rights annex the Nemedian king's entire country expanding Aquilonian territory but he only asks for one thing: Zenobia. Baffled, the Nemedian monarch asks why this one slave girl? Conan answers, "In Nemedia, she was a slave but she will be Queen of Aquilonia." If you haven't seen Arnold in "Collateral Damage", check it out. It's one of his better films.
Geez man where do I start, first I got to say thank you for writing all that out you're truly versed ln works of Howard. The Conan of the books is so rich with development. Howard used to say that when he wrote at his typewriter it was if Conan was standing behind him with an ax waiting for him to give up and stop writing this drove him to write the best stories he could. Whether that's true or not I don't know I know that he had mental issues but I don't know if they were that strong. I'm just a Texas boy I've read all Howard's works that I could get my hands on I've stood in the Hill country when the fog rolls in in the morning exactly where Howard said you can see The mists parting and revealing Cimeria! The rest of this is for Duaffy, Howard believed we had civilized ourselves into weaknesses and indecision. That we Hesitate when we should act and lack the basic belief in ourselves and our abilities. Conan wasn't just strong he had cunning and a will made of iron.
So in the beginning conans mother didn't fight back because doom was using his eyes to hypnotize her. Snakes often do this with their prey right before striking. they move with their eyes right along their preys track and meet their eyes and even if the prey is trying to escape the snake has a way of guiding the preys actions with their eyes. It's really cool actually watching it happen.
That's....not what snakes are doing. At all. The typical prey animals for many snakes (IE rodents, frogs, other snakes) will, by instinct, freeze when ANY predator approaches. It's not because they're being hypnotized, it's because the prey animal is trying to NOT BE SEEN. Most snakes have poor vision, and rely on movement. Thus, the prey freezes, making it harder for the snake to track them. The idea of this being hypnosis or anything the snake is doing TO the animal is a complete and total myth.
I love watching the reaction of women when Conan answers the Mongol General's question about what is best in life. "Crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women" women roll their eyes and laugh at the answer. Men thump their chests, make gunting noises and raise their fists in the air in victorious celebration. Argh argh argh And before I get accused of toxic masculinity, I shed a tear when Valeria promised to fight by Conan's side even after death and returned as a Valkyrie.
We have a saying in Australia: 'Crazy as a cut snake' because even after you cut a snake's head off it's body will continue to flop around for a while as the nerves keep firing.
John Milius originally planned three Conan movies (Conan the Barbarian, … the Destroyer, … the Conqueror). Unfortunately, the producer got rid of Milius and radically changed Conan the Destroyer (it came out, and Arnold is in it, but it's not at all like Conan the Barbarian). Unfortunately, Conan the Conqueror never got made. Arnold has tried to make a Conan movie (King Conan or The Legend of Conan), but the rights holders for movies and TV keep trying to make a film or series without him and keep canceling their projects.
I don't want to see a new Arnold Conan movie. Too much time has passed. He has lost his physique and these sequels that come out 30+ years later just don't work.
@Duaffy you are 1 of my All-Time Favorite Reaction Video creators and I can't believe how much of the Sorcery elements went over your head. Thulsa Doom was a powerful Wizard who could Hypnotize people and he used it Conan's mother to Kill her. Then he used on Conan at the End so that Conan would become his son and protector. The beginning of the film is such a Tragedy and Conan had such a hard life that I'm surprised by it not affecting you. The Wheel of Pain was for Slaves to crush Wheat and Barley Grains. All of the children that were on it Died over time, but not Conan. His strength grew with every step until he could push the entire thing by himself and it forged a Physique of incredible strength
I drove my neighbors in the dorm nuts by constantly playing the soundtrack! The movie came out when I was in college; & the pounding music was one of few really effective tools I'd found at that time to manage the anger issues that were part of my mental illness. (I was very much drawn to unorthodox solutions to "nonviolently vent," in those days. I obsessively played video games for the same reason.)
The short stories were written by Robert E. Howard and published in the 1930s. Many of the stories were adapted in comics like King Conan, The Savage Sword of Conan, Conan Saga and others. The first comics came out in the early seventies, I believe.
Fun reaction, ty. This movie was taken from a lot of old Conan books, twisted into what you just saw. Arnold lost 30 lbs of muscle mass to do this so his muscles didn't get in the way. This had a sequel, Jason Mamoa did a version as well. At the end of the movie we saw a "King Conan" which decades ago was talked about and scrapped. But Arnold is again in talks about making that version.
I enjoyed the hell out of Conan when I was a kid in the '80s. There is a sequel. It was actually filmed in Spain. They added a comic relief character and that was a mistake. I still enjoy it.
@@pappajudas9267 A couple of years ago, a post about the movie popped up in my Twitter feed and I commented that she was the only reason had I bought the VHS. Imagine my surprise the next day to have Olivia show up in my replies saying thank you. Yes, geeky teenage me felt totally validated.
For me this is above all a great movie about friendship. They were always there for each other, even when it was too dangerous, even when they didn't have to. They always helped each other and respected each other. It is strange but when I first saw the movie (several times) in the 80s as a young kid, I wasn't really THAT much into it. The older I got, the more I enjoyed it. Now in my 40s, I find it pure joy. The fantastic music of the late Basil Poledouris helps too. The soundtrack reaches great heights of quality. One of the first OSTs I ever bought. It doesn't reach (for me) the level of Blade Runner's OST, but still it is high up there with the best. Many people don't think much of Arnold's acting, but he is far better than they claim. Case in point where you were convinced he was was ready to succumb to Thulsa Doom's speech. As you probably know by now King Osric was played by Max von Sydow, a great actor who was playing 70+ year old men, since he was like 30 lol. Great man. Good reaction.
Perfect soundtrack. I still listen to Crom and Kitchen Orgy as my background music when I'm working. Poor Basil P. He never conducted a live version because he couldn't find a good chorus.
At the end of the movie, Doom was about to send his followers out in a giant mob to burn everything, in revenge for Conan's actions. So when he kills Doom and displays the head, most of his followers come to their senses (he was supposed to be an 'immortal god', except now he wasn't) Had fun with your reaction - please check out the sequel (Conan The Destroyer). It's like going from a normal cheeseburger to a double cheeseburger (twice the beef, twice the cheese, and sightly better effects). And Arnold can act better so he has more lines.
In the Hyborian age where the epic of Conan is represented, the gods, magic, monsters were very real, so Valerya after dying becomes a Valkirya. That's why she helps Conan in her time of need. in literary works we can see gods and supernatural beings interacting with mortal beings
When Conan finds Crom mummified on his throne the sword is just caked in layers of crud and spiderwebs, long dried out. Just banging it shed the dust of ages from the steel.
1. Conan's mom was a hottie!😍😜 2. The first woman he encounters was a harpy. 3. Blonde's name was Valeria. 4. James Earl Jones is the MAN 5. One of the best endings ever. 6. "Conan the Destroyer" doesn't suck.
A much more child-friendly early Arnie movie is 1979's The Villain. Arnie's character is named Handsome Stranger. Its live-action, but still borrows gags from Wile E. Coyote. I would call it a parody of the typical Western, with a strong dose of slapstick and a dash kf sheer goofiness. A great movie to randomly find on TV at 3am when you can't sleep. Which is exactly how I found it.
Duaffy, i dont know if you know this but all the exterior scenes and some interiors were filmed in your native country Soain with the major interior scenes filmed on the Cinecitta studios in Rome. The actors that plays young Conan and his mother are both spanish actors.
Thalsa Doom is James Earl Jones who was the voice of Darth Vadar in the early Star Wars films. 'The Blonde' is called Valeria played by Standahl Bergman
This Conan was a pretty good representation of the source material and Arnold did a good job in his depiction. I have read many Conan books some by the original author and some by later ones after the death of the original and always enjoyed them they were a great escape for an awkward teen. I have this movie and Arnold’s other Conan movie Conan the Destroyer and still watch them from time to time as escape to a simpler time in my life.
You sound a lot like me bro. I read all the Tarzan novels by ERB back in my awkward teen years. Am re-reading all of them now, being 50+ for nostalgic reasons. I have the first Conan movie on DVD but not Conan the Destroyer. Need to get it ! It has Grace Jones in it right ?
@@konglives4453 If you enjoyed Conan The Barbarian, give The Destroyer a miss. Pretty much everything they got right in the first one, they got wrong in the second! The soundtrack is still decent and, mostly, the photography is good. But the story, plot, characters and action are a pale imitation. Not even my massive crush (at the time) on Olivia D'Abo could rescue it :)
The original Robert E Howard Conan novels, and the unfinished manuscripts completed by L. Sprague DeCamp & Lin Carter (and the ones they wrote themselves later) were phenomenal. I read every one and at first I was quite pissed at this movie, with the exception of the music, because it changed Conan's origin story severely. Conan was never a slave as a child...he grew up a warrior and sacked his first city at 15. He also learned many languages and especially ancient tongues so he would be better able to find treasure and avoid magical or mechanical traps and curses. Over time I've learned to love this film but only by acknowledging this is a "different" Conan. Its a fun ride on its own with a remarkable world-class score.
It was filmed in Spain! And the one henchman (not the one with the mustache), the one that got impaled by the trap, he appeared in Gladiator as the celebrity champion who comes out of retirement to fight Maximus.
This movie in my opinion is one of the most underrated of all time . The story of a young boy with serious truama and thirst for revenge . His growth, training . His love found and lost story , her oath fulfilling return in the third act . Arnold who could barely speak English , perform well in the limited dialogue he had. The musical score . A looked over classic. Everyone I’ve shown this movie to for the first time got up in awe after seeing it. Love this movie.
Thulsa Doom tried to kill the princess so that Conan and Subotai would have failed in their mission to bring her back to her father King Osric. No one likes to lose, so he was just taking a parting shot while running away. Notice that the princess called for her father when she was about to be killed. 🙄 At least she finally snapped out of his spell over her, and thanks to Subotai and his fine shield work, Doom lost again.
The script was by John Milius, who did Apocalypse Now, Dirty Harry and Jeremiah Johnson (among other things). Lots of threads tying everything together.
The skeleton on the throne was Conan's ancient ancestor, king Kull of Atlantis, who lived 8 000 years ago before Conan; he, like Conan, is also another character from the mind of Robert E. Howard (1906-1936), and was played by Kevin Sorbo in the 1997 movie Kull The Conqueror...
FYI, the sequel, Conan the Destroyer, is a much lighter film with much more humor (and a bit silly at times). It's not as good as this, but it is worth a watch. The remake is also a passable watch.
Actually, His Debut was in 1970 in "Hercules in New York". It is however his Debut AS the character Conan The Barbarian since he did "Conan The Destroyer" as well as the same character.
The story of 'Conan The Barbarian' has never been for children. As someone that has read all the 'Conan' books several times, i approve of Mr. Schwarzeneggers portrayal of the character. From the age 0f 17 to the age of 65.
The movie Conan is quite different from than the one from the books, if memory serves right. I liked the Conan from the books better. He was more fun and not so taciturn. But it works for the movie, I agree.
@@marcuszaja6589 The movie Conan is more based on Kull also bades on Howard's writings.
I saw it as a kid and I turned out fine. Or at least that's what I tell myself.
I liked it as kid. It was a very different time.
@@ramonacosta2647 As another who saw this as a child, I have to agree. It's not that this movie is too much for children, it's that modern society as a whole doesn't understand that children are a great deal more resilient and capable than what most people tend to believe. People as a whole forget that it wasn't that long ago that children weren't protected and sheltered from the horrors of life, and were often having to endure such things just as a matter of survival. A little bit of adult themes in a make believe story is nothing compared to what kids had to deal with just to get by as recently as a hundred years ago.
“He is Conan. Cimarian. He won’t cry. So I cry for him.”
Subotai is a true Rude-or-Die bro.
We all need a ride or die bro like Subotai... Valeria was his ride or die woman!
The blonde, Valeria, was played by Sandahl Bergman, who was a Broadway dancer. Not only did she possess the physical ability required for the role, she was also tall enough to play opposite Arnold.
They'll see her briefly in her film debut if they watch Xanadu with Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly.
If you want more of this, there is also 'Red Sonja' which does have Conan as a character. Sandahl Bergman, however, plays the antagonist in the film, and it's a pretty enjoyable watch.
@@paulknaus595 A very silly film and goes all in about that early 1900s wonderful pulp trash, but I really like it as well.
@@paulknaus595
Conan is not a character in Red Sonja.
@@yodieyuh Sorry, that's right. Arnold was a character, but he didn't appear as Conan. The younger me didn't care back then, that was Arnold, he had a sword, and they weren't fooling me, that was Conan. Haha. Thanks, I'd forgotten how much that irked me back then.
The tomb scene - its supposed to be a tomb of one of Atlantians who ruled those lands centuries before. As the prologue says - between the time when the ocean drank Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Aryus (this universum's legendary version of Indoeuropeans). So Atlantians ruled the land before. Conan took Atlantians sword. And the skeleton of old king crumbles as if in agreement to its new owner :)
As if bowing to the new king. I loved the musical accompaniment to this scene.
@@commsense1979 Love the movie :) - one of the best of its kind before Jackson's LOTR :)
@@TallisKeeton this was my (our?) generation's LOTR! 🙌🏾
@@commsense1979 yes :) I was too young to watch Conan in 80s but knew it from TV in the late 90s :)
This whole scene and accompanying music are timelessly epic!
Arnie's ACTUAL movie debut was in 1969's "Hercules in New York". A role I'm sure he would sooner forget.
didn't he do a porno before that? I never saw it, not my cup-o-tea as it were but i recall hearing that and saw still from it that was non-explicit.
debut of his face, but not his voice :P
don't we all
@@ge2719 he did get to use his own voice in The Villain, and that predates Conan
I actually like "Hercules in New York", it was quite funny. The other movie worth mentioning before Conan was "Stay Hungry" from 1976. Mr Schwarzenegger was really good in it and received the Golden Globe Award for the most promising new actor.
Valeria (the blonde) came back from the dead to fight by his side, as she promised.
She was representational of a Valkyrie (we won't mention the Thor movies ).
Conan mentioned Valhalla, so there's obviously some overlap.
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 And he _did_ pray to Crom just before the battle.
Yes, that was meant to be Crom answering Conan's prayer by allowing his new Valkyrie, Valeria, to fulfill her vow.
In Robert Howard's lore, Valeria was a mercenary not a thief. And she was not the love interest of Conan. Be'lit was. Valeria never returned from death to save Conan. Valeria in this movie was a mashup of characters.
So this movie is the equivalent of a Star Wars movie where Chewbacca is the father of Luke and Mon Mothma is his sister.
@@fortunatus1Crom was a god who did not like to be disturbed. He gives humans everything they need to live their lives and then he expects not to be disturbed with prayers. This movie is not how Robert Howard lore was
In many respects, Conan was Robert E. Howard himself - a reclusive, socially inept but sympathetic and smart person, physically strong but emotionally crippled. The author was a prolific writer, mainly of short stories, who tragically took his own life after his first emotional breakdown (the death of his mother)
Conan was what Howard wished to be. He was honest enough to make another character as an actual author avatar (and his dog!) and its interesting to note that not only does this Howard avatar pretty much hero worshipped Conan but at the end of the story, he (and his dog!) died, with Conan saluting his courage. In light of his suicide, makes for an eerie reading 🤔 I hope Mr Howard (and his dog!) is at peace now wherever he is.
Really?
Not quite. Conan was not an idealized alter ego. Howard himself said in his vast correspondence that Conan's character was an amalgam of many men he had known.
@@TheDarkIllumination Did Conan ever become king?
Dead at 30. Damn shame.
Read Bran Mak Morn and El Borak. (Not such a fan of Cormac Mac Art or Solomon Kane).
As you are a resident of Spain, Duaffy, this movie was filmed primarily in Spain -locations listed in Segovia, Almeria, Andulcia, studios at Madrid. The Feb.1981 coup against the King occurred, during the filming, with Schwarzenegger going out to witness.
He says Crom the way modern westerners say "oh my god"
15:21 Mako (the actor playing the wizard) was one of those character actors who got thrown into any TV show or movie if they needed someone “Asian” (he was Japanese). He played over a hundred bit parts going back to the 1960s - anything from “MASH” to “The Time Tunnel” and “The Incredible Hulk.”
Also Uncle Iroh from Avatar.
@@L4sz10 "Leaves from the vine..."
Aku in Samurai Jack
@@callnight1441 Everyone's gangsta till Uncle Iroh sings that... :D
One of his last roles was as the voice of Splinter in the 2007 TMNT movie.
"Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow." -Narrator
Such a badass opening. I love it.
Love this movie. It takes itself seriously, and really is quite deep in its themes and symbolism. The rough settings really make it feel like an ancient saga or prehistoric age, and the sparse dialogue makes what is said all the more poignant. Great stuff.
This movie requires more viewings to understand the themes and the deeper meaning behind certain scenes. It's an amazing film.
I don't think he's saying "Crom" as in he thought the dead guy was Crom, or the witch was Crom... I think he was saying "Crom" the same way I would say, "Oh, God!"
lol right after I type that you say the same thing... nevermind :)
One of the best soundtracks ever. Makes the movie even better.
And to think they started to use pop music for the soundtrack.
It was Basil Poledouris' best film score. You can listen to it standalone and it holds up.
@@MichaelScheele Absolutely.
Basil Poledouris was a genius...never fails to make me feel emotion
I own that CD.
Duaffy,
Did you make the connection that Conan's redhead "master" was the redhead boy that first chained him to the grinding mill when Conan was a child?
Brown stuff on the sword was a rotten and dried out remains of a scabbard, not rust.
That sword is so awesome it doesn't rust.
That Atlantean steel was some good stuff!👍
The reason that Conan's mother didn't defend herself against Thulsa Doom in the beginning is that Doom worships a snake god. He has hypnotic, bewitching powers, such as snakes are said to have over their prey. Doom tried to bewitch Conan at the end of the film, but Conan was able to resist.
Conan exclaims "Crom!" the way we might exclaim "Jesus!" or "my God!"
Conan's girlfriend's name is Valeria. Unfortunately the line where she introduces herself was cut from the film.
Valeria (the blonde lady) died and went to Valhalla and became a Valkyrie and thus the garb and coming back as a spirit to save him. On his many ladies he had four loves. Red Sonya, Valeria, Belit and Zenobia. Valeria was my favourite.
The reason why Conan and his mother were stunned and unable to move when Thulsa Doom was staring at them (her before being beheaded and he during the "who is your Father if not me" speech) is being Thulsa doom is hypnotizing them. Conan broke the trance, shook his head and slashed him in the throat and the spell was broken.
Actually you were very close. Conan did not start the "Lizard people hide among us." The first poplar story of it, was from the same writer/creator Robert E. Howard. Before he made Conan, he tested his ideas out with a character that was around about 1,000 years before Conan, named Kull. That talk about the sinking of Atlantis at the start of the movie? Kull was one of the survivors, and a lot of the Atlanteans that survived would become Nomadic Clans, and later on would become known as Cimarins, and that's where Conan comes from. But Kull much like Conan later on, would come to inherit a Kingdom of his own, and Kull would find out from someone who was normally one of his enemies, that a lot of the Court he inherited with his Kingdom was actually run in large part by lizard people in secret. Forcing Kull to find them out, destroy them, and bring in new ruling families he could trust.
Kull lived about 8000 years before Conan. Thulsa Doom was also one of HIS villains.
@@Ambaryerno I forget the time, but it was a long time before Conan.
Yes, though Doom also came back as an Enemy to Conan if you count the comics. In either case he's nothing like the movie outside of being a sorcerer.
I have no proof, but I'd swear Doom heavily inspired modern day Fantasy Liches.
There's a movie "Kull the Conqueror" from 1997 which is a little hammy but a good action/adventure romp, starring Kevin Sorbo from TV shows "Hercules: the legendary journeys" and "Andromeda" fame.
@@steveross8364 Yes there is. There should have been a lot more build up to that movie before Kull jumped into being King, but what happened is that Kull was the intended 3rd Conan script that kept getting rewritten due to filming delays (Arnold in particular wasn't interested in one more run at the time, and soon after would start trying to run for Gov.) and finally they just gave up on the Conan part of it and went "Oh, this could be Kull instead, he went through similar things to become King" and the movie finally moved foreword from there.
Yes it's very cheesy, but still a fun romp, and an interesting look at what could have been.
Yeah, the Thurian Age (the age Kull lived in) takes place between 35,000 to 40,000 bce where as the Hyborian Age (the age Conan lives in) takes place after the Great Cataclysm which ended the Thurian Age and lasted until around 10,000 bce. So there clearly had to have been more than 1,000 years between the two of them as the first of the Hyborian Nations came about some 3,000 years before Conan and that was not even the beginning of the Hyborian Age.
Now as for the "Reptilian" conspiracy theory. This was started after Robert E. Howard died. Yes, it is highly theoriezed, and very likely, that Maurice Doreal took a great deal of his "theory" from both the works of Robert E. Howard as well as Clark Ashton Smith (a friend of Robert E. Howard who also used the Serpent Men from "The Shadow Kingdom" as he, Howard and H.P. Lovecraft all shared their ideas and works with one another). It did not gain a huge amount of traction until David Icke started to write about it and talk about it starting around 1999. Now that crap is everywhere....
“To crush your enemies. See them driven before you. And to hear the lamentations of their women.”... Aaaahhhh the best things on the life...
There's so many things many people miss or are barely shown. The guy with all the tattoos that jumps on the rock is bodybuilder Franco Columbo. The redheaded kid that chains Conan to the mill is the same person who frees him. The camouflage they wear at the end was a tribute to a woman he fought in the pit, you only see her legs because they cut the scene. Didn't think killing a woman would go over well with viewers. The sword master who kicks the guy during training was the sword master who taught the actors. They were going to use pop music for the soundtrack but luckily that was changed. There are lots more but thought you would enjoy these.
Don't forget Sven-Ole Thorsen as Thorgrim. He comes back as the Capt of the guard in the next movie, Conan the Destroyer. He was in a lot of films with Arnold.
@@JayM409 Bro, we can't forget Ben Davidson (the tall barbarian in the Doom cult). He was a former defensive end for the Raiders and stood 6'8. He did a lot of small parts in various films where they needed a huge mean looking guy.
This movie was supposed to be the beginning of a long running franchise, like James Bond. They made a second movie, which is a direct sequel to this one, called Conan The Destroyer. It was reasonably profitable, making a $100million BO on a $20million budget, but was panned by fans and critics for being a less violent/more family friendly PG rated movie. As a result, the third film in the series was put on near indefinite hold. When they finally got around to trying to make the third film, Arnold was such a huge star that his fee was several times what it was for the first two movies (his fee was only around $1million/film when he made the first two Conan movies, but when they wanted him to make the third film his asking price was something like $20million/movie). The movie ended up being made without Arnold, but was changed from Conan The Conqueror to Kull The Conqueror, and the role of Kull was played by Kevin Sorbo (of TV’s Hercules fame). That too was panned by fans and critics alike.
There is a third “Conan movie” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s called Red Sonja. For legal reasons, Arnold’s character had to be changed from Conan to an original character named Kalidor. However it is set in the same cinematic universe as the Conan films, so it kinda counts as a Conan movie. Be warned before reacting to it though. It’s really, REALLY bad. Although, it’s also very entertainingly bad, so you might enjoy it.
I certainly hope that you choose to react to Conan The Destroyer and Red Sonja in the future. It’ll be a fun movie to watch along with you on.
Ya I sat around and hoped for years that they would make more Conan sequels but like you said it all died on the vine.
Arnold also banged Brigitte Nielsen while making that movie.
They originally planned a trilogy with the last movie being the story of how he becomes King Conan. They made a sequel, but went in a completely different direction and did what you were expecting with this one; a more kid-friendly fun adventure story with more comic relief and special effects.
I really enjoyed Conan the Destroyer, though.
@@Mitheledh It's great fun. Wilt Chamberlain, Grace Jones, Sarah Douglas and Olivia D'abo all look like Frazetta paintings come to life. Mako and Tracey Walters (Bob the Goon from Batman) were hysterical. Uncredited Andre the Giant is in the monster suit at the end. Just wish Gerry Lopez was back.
It's just a shame we never got King Conan.
"GRAB him, and TAKE him!"
-Zula, on how to get a man.
Red Sonja was basically Conan.
@@wyrmshadow4374 It's the defacto Conan 3, even though Sonja is a Conan character, for whatever reason they couldn't secure the rights to call him Conan.
Duaffy,
The skeleton moved like that because Conan disturbed it's hand resting on the sword and eventually gravity and physics had it move like it did. First the hand then the arm and the force of the arm moving made the head an body move.
The spirit of the old king bowed his head to the future king.
She doesn't understand that R rated movies aren't for kids. I doubt she understands gravity.
@@jbush3481 She's an engineer and is likely a lot smarter than you could ever hope to be.
In the books the skeleton of the king came alive and he had to fight it for the sword.
@@ronweber1402 Awww...that's so cute. The little incel has a crush.
The name of the blonde woman is Valeria (Sandahl Bergman), Conan as child is played by the Spanish actor Jorge Sanz, (who grew up and does not look like Arnol).
The stories on which the character is based are much better than the movie.
The King that Sent Conan to retrieve his Daughter was Max Von Sydow, He was in the Exorcist and in many Movies, Including Judge Dredd and Star Wars: the Force Awakens. Sadly, he passed away in 2020.
Thulsa Doom is James Earl Jones. He was the Voice of Darth Vader in all the Star Wars Movies.
Conan was a series of Adult Sci-fi books.
You can basically beat a piece of metal to get a lot of the rust off. I remember seeing my dad do that with a cast iron skillet we found that had been exposed to the elements for several years in the mountains. Still needed work afterward, but it did get rid of a lot of the surface rust when he hammered it against a rock. And the skillet surviving the slamming against a rock showed that it was still sturdy and in good condition. If it had busted in the hammering dad would probably have left it to finish rusting to pieces. As it was he cleaned it up, seasoned the metal, and added it to the cooking gear of my Boy Scout Troop.
The skeleton shifted because of the sword being struck against the stone chair it was in sent vibrations through to shift the skeleton's position just enough to make it collapse gradually.
Him saying "Crom" is us saying "God!" or, more often in my case, "Sh!t!"
The actor that plays Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) is the actor who does Darth Vaders voice in Star Wars and the voice of Mufasa in the Lion King. When he was a young boy in school a teacher helped him overcome his stuttering by getting him to recite poetry in front of the class.
13:06, yes, Max von Sydow. Among other roles, Father Merrin the Exorcist. One of the great achievements in The Exorcist was making a 40 year old man look 30 years older, and have us watch him in later movies grow into the image of the old man.
I understand Max couldn't find work for years after the exorcist because everyone thought he was that old.
And Obi-Wan Kenobi
@@galadballcrusher8182 are you confusing him with Alec Guiness? Sydow played a Jedi in Force Awakens, but not Kenobi.
And Ming the Merciless in 'Flash Gordon'. And Jesus Christ in 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'. Not many actors can put that on their CV.
@@zvimur ahhh right sorry, confused them because i allways thought it was the same person as Obi wan and as that king in first Conan movie
Who ever told you this was a kids movie really played a prank on you. In the cave they weren't dead because of poisoning. In many ancient cultures royalty were in tombed with their guards to serve them even in death. Conan is a bit of fantasy and reality. They call it the Highboarian age. In theory it's post world flood "when the ocean drank Atlantis" and "and before the rise of the son's of Aries" or Helen Helenestic age. Maging was around and still practice. Definitely it was the end of the bronze age and the beginning of Steel. Sebotai is an early version of a Mongul, Vlaeria was most likely Norse. Of course Conan is a Sumerian but his people migrated around the mountain ThulsaDoom came from an ancient race. If you notice he has Blue eyes and straight hair so he is of mixed decent. Which is why ThulsaDoom took Conan's father's sword. Which is why it was fitting that Conan broke the sword and killed Thulsa Doom with it. Their is a second movie but not by the same Director, it has more fantasy elements in though. And is a good adventure to watch. And yes the blood woman had a name. She was named Valeria and became a Valkyrie. Great reaction I hope you see part 2.
I loved it as a kid.
Maybe they were thinking of he-man?
Hyborian Age.
Conan was not Sumerian. He was Cimmerian. Two totally different cultures. Cimmerians were from the Eurasian Steppes (Ukraine/southwest Russia) while Sumerians were Iraqi. Thulsa Doom was almost certainly supposed to be Egyptian since the film associated his cult with "Set" (Set was an Egyptian God).
This is the movie that gave Arnie his big break, and made film companies notice him.
Terminator turned him into a worldwide star....
I saw this in the theater when I was 12, with my dad.
Look into the artwork of Frank Frazetta. There's a LOT of crossover in styles.
The imagery in this movie is stunning. The way he poses at the end the same way he used to in the pits is just one instance. The Music really adds to it. This is the BEST soundtrack to drive to on a rainy night in the middle of nowhere. It's also great music to play when playing a game where you do a lot of running in third person.
Thulsa Doom was the Voice of Darth Vader. The Wizard is Mako, the Voice of Aku (from Samurai Jack).
The second one has only one recurring secondary character and a totally different tone. It's lighter and more family friendly, and is more like an RPG campaign.
This started a run on "Sword and Sorcery" run in the early to mid-80's. Another (rare) good one was The Beastmaster, which you will love for... reasons.
Boris Vallejo was also hugely popular in the fantasy art genre at the time as well. I had The Lord of the Rings calendar that he illustrated and I kick myself that I don't have it anymore.
Perfect reference to the D&D. Every scene just like we were playing as kids...and even as nowadays. Love this film.
I really like this movie. The action is good, the story's not bad and you can always easily identify Basil Poledouris' soundtracks like "The Hunt for Red October", "On deadly ground" or "Robocop". Those are always great!
I owned the soundtrack on cassette tape. When I started dating a new person, she tried to surprise me with a movie, and it took exactly one note of the opening theme, while the screen was still black and before there were even any credits printed, then I said "Oh, it's Conan." She was miffed at me.
The Beast Master came out in the same year as Conan.
The reason why Conan's mother never attempted to defend herself was because Thulsa Doom had hypnotized her.
Maybe the best grade B movie ever made. When Conan the Gladiator was asked, "What is good?" his answer, "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you and to hear the lamentations of the women." was a direct quote from Genghis Khan.. In fact, his partner Subotai, was the name of one of Genghis Khans best generals.
Muscles? Arnold Schwarzenegger won Mr. Universe I think five years in a row. He spent months studying swordsmanship (Kendo) before filming this movie.
Did you notice that after he emerges from the cave with Crom's sword, he pretty much has very little clothing. Then the wolves chase him. Then he has a fine selection of wolf fur coats when he meets the witch.
Basil Poledouris's soundtrack is borderline masterpiece. It makes this movie work.
Conan searches for the Riddle of Steel. He learns that Flesh is stronger than Steel because the steel can not wield itself. He learns that his Spirit is stronger than Flesh because will is what drives the flesh. The Riddle of Steel is that the Spirit is what matters.
Doom tried to hypnotize him at the end like he had done his mother, but Conan's will was stronger.
Shame they never made a third Conan movie that showed when Conan became a king, as mentioned in the epilogue...
I was looking forward to a King Conan movie too. Ive heard that in recent times, Arnold has hinted at the possibility of making such a film. At his age now, it would be very fitting - portraying an old king.
In the US, it was rated 'R', which means no one under 17 was meant to see it (without a parent being with them to approve them seeing it)
Duaffy,
Thulsa Doom tried to kill the princess because he knew she was the "prize" Conan and his friends sought and so if he killed her then they would have no prize and also if he could not have her, then no one else will either.
Despite what the movie shows there is a deeper meaning to the story of Conan, what the movie tries to show is inspired from the books and that is what does it mean to have true strength? In the beginning we see the quote "That which does not kill us makes us stronger" which once you think about it actually does tie into the Riddle of Steel. Conan's father in the beginning we belives that steel itself is the answer. It can be used to cut, break, shape, and build whatever wielder wishes but in the end he was wrong because steel can rust giving way to time and shatter. We see this in the fight when the sword of Conan's father breaks. Thulsa Doom as we see says that the answer is flesh "what is steel compared to the hand the wields it" and though he is right about that he is also wrong because flesh weakens and ages until eventually a person can fight no longer. We see how he is wrong when Conan uses his father's broken sword to kill Thulsa Doom. When you notice these things you start to get to the heart of the movie and what it tries to tell the audience, it tells them that though flesh and steel are strong they are still weak in their own way. What is truly strong is will, the will to fight, survive, and live even when your body is broken the tools you need are shattered it is the will that keeps you going. That's what the movie tries to show when you look at it more closely which once you notice you see why a lot of people enjoy the movie, though even on its own its still pretty entertaining.
it is a very apt idea. it flows to the essence of warfare. regardless which time in history, advanced weaponry or superior numbers, the will to fight is what needs to be defeated
Consn's mother was mesmerized by Thulsa Doom. He is part transfigured snake, and retains a snske's ability to momentarily freeze prey just before striking.
The wheel was the Wheel of Pain. It functioned as a grain mill, but its primary purpose was to weed out the weak. Prisoners left only when bought, or when dead.
The script for Conan the first half of the movie must just been "Grunt" "scream in anger" "scream in pain". And, rarely, "Crom".
Doom tried to hypnotize Conan at the end, but it didn't work because Conan's will was stronger.
Snakes don't actually do that. The prey freezes because snakes have poor vision. So by freezing it makes it harder for the snake to actually locate its prey.
@@Ambaryerno snakes use there tongue they sense heat with it
@@imthewolf1 They smell with their tongue but they have organs colloquially called heat pits along their jaws that pick up heat and being separated they work like stereoscopic vision and they can strike in the dark.
@@imthewolf1 They SMELL with their tongues. Pit Vipers, boas, and pythons have specialized pits lining either side of their lips that detect heat.
32: 27 "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women"
3:18 The machine the children were chained to is a milling machine used to break grain into flour. You put the hard grain in and stone wheels in the center crush the the grain. The same function as windmills in old times but for places with no wind, primitive people who have not learned about complex gear systems or simply to give captured people something to do.
Dyes too.
6:24 This is actually a grave. This scene is a short story from the first of the Conan novels by Robert E. Howard.
23:05 These are followers of Set, a serpentine god. Snakes are his holy animals. There are many gods in the Conan mythos - some are good, some are evil, some simply don't care.
The blonde's name is Valeria. And this is one of my absolute favorite movies. I especially love the music; sometimes I watch this movie just for the film's score.
Great film and Basil Poledouris was a genius. This child has no idea .
It is a slave wheel,.. the defiant slave must turn the wheel until his spirit is broken and he becomes submisive to his master.
Conan not only never submitted but he also had the health to turn it for years. Also, i saw this at 8 years old,.. and so did most of the school i was in,.. censorship was very different back then. With regard to the lore of Conan world, Krom is the God of Steel and combat and power and whatever Krom's followers say he is, but he is also the only God ine the world that cares nothing for his followers and never answers prayers which is why Conan tells him he can go to hell,..the other Gods actually answer their followers and even provide them powers. p.s. the villain is the actor that does Darth Vader voice.
fun fact all the weapons used in this film were live weapons.... as in not fake they were functional sharpened weapons and the blood splatters is pigs blood
Small fact: Young Conan was played by spanish actor Jorge Sanz. For those who doesn't know him (which is understandable), he is the spanish equivalent of Zack Ward (Y'a know, the kind of actor that got famous at a young age, and that despite being actually good actors, they are allways remembered as "Oh, yeah, that kid from the movie").....
I was, in fact, 12 years old the first time I watched this, but I had been reading Conan books and magazines since I first learned to read. They're not any less brutal than the movie.
- This film is based on a series of novels and short stories written by Robert E. Howard in the 1930's.
- The "Conan the Barbarian" film contains several of Howard's "Conan" short stories.
- The Conan stories take place around 10,000 BC
- Conan's people, the Cimmerians, are supposed to be the descendants of the survivors of Atlantis.
- Schwarzenegger played Conan in 2 more films: "Conan the Destroyer" and "Red Sonja" (Danish actress Bridget Nielsen played Sonja). A third Conan film was attempted ("Conan the Conqueror"), but Schwarzenegger's contract had expired at three films, so they used Kevin Sorbo (from the "Hercules" TV series) and changed the protagonist to Kull, another of Robert E. Howard's characters, and it was released as "Kull the Conqueror".
- The novelization of "Conan the Destroyer" was written by Robert Jordan (who authored the "Wheel of Time" series), and also wrote 6 additional "Conan" novels under contract to Robert E. Howard's estate.
- Harry Turtledove, author of the "Videssos" series, also wrote a "Conan" novel for the Howard estate, "Conan of Venarium".
- Conan eventually becomes King of Aquilonia after strangling the previous tyrannical king on his throne.
Valeria, the blonde woman, came back not as a goddess but more like a Valkyrie. A Valkyrie is like a warrior's or soldier's angel from Norse Mythology...
Valkyries - The Grim Reapers of the Viking Battlefields - th-cam.com/video/2LvtlfhfAGI/w-d-xo.html
If you liked the movie, then the books are worth reading. They were first written in 1932 by Robert E. Howard. Thought to be the earliest known appearance of Robert E. Howard’s character was that of a black-haired barbarian with heroic attributes named Conan in the 1931 short story "People of the Dark". By 1932, Howard had officially conceptualized Conan and in his lifetime wrote 21 stories. Over the years many other writers have written works featuring Conan.......
Her name is Valeria. They say it early in the film
Even though she was based on Belit.
The first hint that this wasn't a kid's movie should have been the R rating.
The princess was threatening Conan, not warning him.
Conan was the perfect barbarian movie for the times.
saying "Crom!" is just an exclamation, like "Jesus Christ" when you're frustrated.
Hey, Duaffy! Robert E. Howard created an iconic noble savage character whose exploits were chronicled in 28 completed and incomplete tales, poems and essays. Conan exists in a prehistoric period of our world called the Hyborian Age. He descends from the mountains of Cimmeria as a youth seeking adventure and, over his long career, he works as a thief, a soldier, a mercenary, a bandit, a pirate, a scout and ultimately becomes a wise and just king of the greatest nation of his day, Aquilonia. Unlike monosyllabic Arnie, Conan is quite thoughtful and eloquent in much the same way Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan is. One of my favorite Conan quotes has him answering what the nature of reality is: "Let teachers and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me."
"Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea. Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming West. Hither came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet."
Howard was a master wordsmith from Texas who tried his hand at many different pulp genres of the '30s and mastered them all. He was never considered a serious writer by the establishment yet his work is beloved to this day. He maintained a long-standing correspondence relationship with horror maestro H.P. Lovecraft. He was emotionally disturbed and committed suicide after the death of his mother in 1936 at the age of thirty.
The Milius-Stone movie is a successful pastiche of King Kull and Conan stories blended together. The rousing score by Basil Poledouris provides an operatic sweep and captures the blood and thunder ethos of the characters. The early biographical montage of slave to gladiator to wanderer is the backstory of Howard's Atlantean character, King Kull, whose nemesis is Thulsa Doom and the cult of snake men who are trying to revive an earlier period of prehistory when snake-people ruled supreme in a global empire called Acheron. Conan's Hyborian Age occurs after a Great Cataclysm that reshapes the continents. It is implied that Kull is a blood ancestor millennia-removed. Sequences in the film are loosely based on Conan stories. The giant snake is from "The God in the Bowl", teaming up with fellow thieves to infiltrate an impenetrable temple is from "The Tower of the Elephant", surviving the crucifixion by ripping out a vulture's throat with his teeth is from "A Witch Shall Be Born". Sandahl Bergman's Valeria is a blend of two of Conan's great loves: Valeria and Belit. Valeria is a vagabond adventurer with a lust for excitement like him from the tale "Red Nails". Belit is a pirate queen and Conan's first true love. Belit vows to return from death to defend her lover and she does in a moment of great need in "Queen of the Black Coast" just as Valeria does in the movie.
Absolutely see "Conan the Destroyer"! It's fantastic pulpy fun with a few authentic Howard references although its mostly pastiche. Filmmakers have never adapted Conan faithfully and it's a terrible shame because Howard was an extraordinary writer. Arnold is the perfect age to return and do Howard's trilogy of King Conan tales: "The Phoenix on the Sword", "The Scarlet Citadel" and "The Hour of the Dragon". Schwarzenegger has eagerly expressed interest in doing it and doing it right! All they'd have to do is follow the book.
The last line of the Conan saga is surprisingly romantic! Earlier in "Hour of the Dragon", the slave girl Zenobia, who was quite taken with the visiting king, freed him from the dungeons of Nemedia. He escapes to go on a quest and returns to defeat his enemies. He could by rights annex the Nemedian king's entire country expanding Aquilonian territory but he only asks for one thing: Zenobia. Baffled, the Nemedian monarch asks why this one slave girl? Conan answers, "In Nemedia, she was a slave but she will be Queen of Aquilonia."
If you haven't seen Arnold in "Collateral Damage", check it out. It's one of his better films.
Geez man where do I start, first I got to say thank you for writing all that out you're truly versed ln works of Howard. The Conan of the books is so rich with development. Howard used to say that when he wrote at his typewriter it was if Conan was standing behind him with an ax waiting for him to give up and stop writing this drove him to write the best stories he could. Whether that's true or not I don't know I know that he had mental issues but I don't know if they were that strong. I'm just a Texas boy I've read all Howard's works that I could get my hands on I've stood in the Hill country when the fog rolls in in the morning exactly where Howard said you can see The mists parting and revealing Cimeria!
The rest of this is for Duaffy, Howard believed we had civilized ourselves into weaknesses and indecision. That we Hesitate when we should act and lack the basic belief in ourselves and our abilities. Conan wasn't just strong he had cunning and a will made of iron.
So in the beginning conans mother didn't fight back because doom was using his eyes to hypnotize her. Snakes often do this with their prey right before striking. they move with their eyes right along their preys track and meet their eyes and even if the prey is trying to escape the snake has a way of guiding the preys actions with their eyes. It's really cool actually watching it happen.
😳
That's....not what snakes are doing. At all.
The typical prey animals for many snakes (IE rodents, frogs, other snakes) will, by instinct, freeze when ANY predator approaches. It's not because they're being hypnotized, it's because the prey animal is trying to NOT BE SEEN. Most snakes have poor vision, and rely on movement. Thus, the prey freezes, making it harder for the snake to track them. The idea of this being hypnosis or anything the snake is doing TO the animal is a complete and total myth.
I love watching the reaction of women when Conan answers the Mongol General's question about what is best in life. "Crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women" women roll their eyes and laugh at the answer. Men thump their chests, make gunting noises and raise their fists in the air in victorious celebration. Argh argh argh
And before I get accused of toxic masculinity, I shed a tear when Valeria promised to fight by Conan's side even after death and returned as a Valkyrie.
We have a saying in Australia: 'Crazy as a cut snake' because even after you cut a snake's head off it's body will continue to flop around for a while as the nerves keep firing.
John Milius originally planned three Conan movies (Conan the Barbarian, … the Destroyer, … the Conqueror). Unfortunately, the producer got rid of Milius and radically changed Conan the Destroyer (it came out, and Arnold is in it, but it's not at all like Conan the Barbarian). Unfortunately, Conan the Conqueror never got made. Arnold has tried to make a Conan movie (King Conan or The Legend of Conan), but the rights holders for movies and TV keep trying to make a film or series without him and keep canceling their projects.
I don't want to see a new Arnold Conan movie. Too much time has passed. He has lost his physique and these sequels that come out 30+ years later just don't work.
The best film score ever
@Duaffy you are 1 of my All-Time Favorite Reaction Video creators and I can't believe how much of the Sorcery elements went over your head. Thulsa Doom was a powerful Wizard who could Hypnotize people and he used it Conan's mother to Kill her. Then he used on Conan at the End so that Conan would become his son and protector. The beginning of the film is such a Tragedy and Conan had such a hard life that I'm surprised by it not affecting you. The Wheel of Pain was for Slaves to crush Wheat and Barley Grains. All of the children that were on it Died over time, but not Conan. His strength grew with every step until he could push the entire thing by himself and it forged a Physique of incredible strength
You got to read the books Conan lived for three things drinking fighting and women. But he grows as a person and becomes a great and wise king.
Best soundtrack to any movie. I don't care who thinks otherwise
I drove my neighbors in the dorm nuts by constantly playing the soundtrack! The movie came out when I was in college; & the pounding music was one of few really effective tools I'd found at that time to manage the anger issues that were part of my mental illness. (I was very much drawn to unorthodox solutions to "nonviolently vent," in those days. I obsessively played video games for the same reason.)
@@cathyvickers9063 This pleases Crom
The short stories were written by Robert E. Howard and published in the 1930s. Many of the stories were adapted in comics like King Conan, The Savage Sword of Conan, Conan Saga and others. The first comics came out in the early seventies, I believe.
Valeria was not supposed to be a goddess, she came back to fight by Conan's side as a Valkyrie.
Fun reaction, ty. This movie was taken from a lot of old Conan books, twisted into what you just saw. Arnold lost 30 lbs of muscle mass to do this so his muscles didn't get in the way. This had a sequel, Jason Mamoa did a version as well. At the end of the movie we saw a "King Conan" which decades ago was talked about and scrapped. But Arnold is again in talks about making that version.
I enjoyed the hell out of Conan when I was a kid in the '80s. There is a sequel. It was actually filmed in Spain. They added a comic relief character and that was a mistake. I still enjoy it.
I still maintain the best thing about Conan the Destroyer was Olivia d'Abo.
@@submandave1125 I wouldn't argue with that, especially when I was a teenager... Wilt Chamberlain and Grace Jones were also great in that movie.
@@pappajudas9267 A couple of years ago, a post about the movie popped up in my Twitter feed and I commented that she was the only reason had I bought the VHS. Imagine my surprise the next day to have Olivia show up in my replies saying thank you. Yes, geeky teenage me felt totally validated.
Do you want to live forever?
BTW the king in this movie is the same actor as the old priest in the Exorcist.
For me this is above all a great movie about friendship.
They were always there for each other, even when it was too dangerous, even when they didn't have to. They always helped each other and respected each other.
It is strange but when I first saw the movie (several times) in the 80s as a young kid, I wasn't really THAT much into it. The older I got, the more I enjoyed it. Now in my 40s, I find it pure joy. The fantastic music of the late Basil Poledouris helps too. The soundtrack reaches great heights of quality. One of the first OSTs I ever bought. It doesn't reach (for me) the level of Blade Runner's OST, but still it is high up there with the best.
Many people don't think much of Arnold's acting, but he is far better than they claim. Case in point where you were convinced he was was ready to succumb to Thulsa Doom's speech.
As you probably know by now King Osric was played by Max von Sydow, a great actor who was playing 70+ year old men, since he was like 30 lol. Great man.
Good reaction.
Great movie that has stood the test of time
Perfect soundtrack.
I still listen to Crom and Kitchen Orgy as my background music when I'm working.
Poor Basil P. He never conducted a live version because he couldn't find a good chorus.
Why did Thulsa Doom try to kill the princess?
"If I can't have her, nobody can"... basically.
At the end of the movie, Doom was about to send his followers out in a giant mob to burn everything, in revenge for Conan's actions. So when he kills Doom and displays the head, most of his followers come to their senses (he was supposed to be an 'immortal god', except now he wasn't)
Had fun with your reaction - please check out the sequel (Conan The Destroyer). It's like going from a normal cheeseburger to a double cheeseburger (twice the beef, twice the cheese, and sightly better effects). And Arnold can act better so he has more lines.
In the Hyborian age where the epic of Conan is represented, the gods, magic, monsters were very real, so Valerya after dying becomes a Valkirya. That's why she helps Conan in her time of need. in literary works we can see gods and supernatural beings interacting with mortal beings
The wheel machine was for grinding down Black lotus..Stygian ..the BEST !!😃
One of my favorite movies. Easily in my Top 5. And the soundtrack by Basil Poledouris... Simply EPIC.
When Conan finds Crom mummified on his throne the sword is just caked in layers of crud and spiderwebs, long dried out. Just banging it shed the dust of ages from the steel.
Valeria, played by Sandahl Bergman, that's her name...
1. Conan's mom was a hottie!😍😜
2. The first woman he encounters was a harpy.
3. Blonde's name was Valeria.
4. James Earl Jones is the MAN
5. One of the best endings ever.
6. "Conan the Destroyer" doesn't suck.
A much more child-friendly early Arnie movie is 1979's The Villain. Arnie's character is named Handsome Stranger. Its live-action, but still borrows gags from Wile E. Coyote. I would call it a parody of the typical Western, with a strong dose of slapstick and a dash kf sheer goofiness. A great movie to randomly find on TV at 3am when you can't sleep. Which is exactly how I found it.
Also starring Kirk Douglas and Anne Margaret
If you liked Villain, you will probably like 'Scalawag.' A westernized version of Treasure island.
Duaffy, i dont know if you know this but all the exterior scenes and some interiors were filmed in your native country Soain with the major interior scenes filmed on the Cinecitta studios in Rome. The actors that plays young Conan and his mother are both spanish actors.
Every man wants a ride or die like Valeria...
When I was very young, my dad took me to the theater to see Conan. He didn't realize how inappropriate it was for kids. I loved it of course.
Thalsa Doom is James Earl Jones who was the voice of Darth Vadar in the early Star Wars films.
'The Blonde' is called Valeria played by Standahl Bergman
This Conan was a pretty good representation of the source material and Arnold did a good job in his depiction. I have read many Conan books some by the original author and some by later ones after the death of the original and always enjoyed them they were a great escape for an awkward teen. I have this movie and Arnold’s other Conan movie Conan the Destroyer and still watch them from time to time as escape to a simpler time in my life.
You sound a lot like me bro. I read all the Tarzan novels by ERB back in my awkward teen years. Am re-reading all of them now, being 50+ for nostalgic reasons. I have the first Conan movie on DVD but not Conan the Destroyer. Need to get it ! It has Grace Jones in it right ?
@@konglives4453 If you enjoyed Conan The Barbarian, give The Destroyer a miss. Pretty much everything they got right in the first one, they got wrong in the second! The soundtrack is still decent and, mostly, the photography is good. But the story, plot, characters and action are a pale imitation. Not even my massive crush (at the time) on Olivia D'Abo could rescue it :)
The original Robert E Howard Conan novels, and the unfinished manuscripts completed by L. Sprague DeCamp & Lin Carter (and the ones they wrote themselves later) were phenomenal. I read every one and at first I was quite pissed at this movie, with the exception of the music, because it changed Conan's origin story severely. Conan was never a slave as a child...he grew up a warrior and sacked his first city at 15. He also learned many languages and especially ancient tongues so he would be better able to find treasure and avoid magical or mechanical traps and curses. Over time I've learned to love this film but only by acknowledging this is a "different" Conan. Its a fun ride on its own with a remarkable world-class score.
It was filmed in Spain!
And the one henchman (not the one with the mustache), the one that got impaled by the trap, he appeared in Gladiator as the celebrity champion who comes out of retirement to fight Maximus.
This movie in my opinion is one of the most underrated of all time . The story of a young boy with serious truama and thirst for revenge . His growth, training . His love found and lost story , her oath fulfilling return in the third act . Arnold who could barely speak English , perform well in the limited dialogue he had. The musical score . A looked over classic. Everyone I’ve shown this movie to for the first time got up in awe after seeing it. Love this movie.
Weird fun fact: Conan the Barbarian is in Marvel comics
Thulsa Doom tried to kill the princess so that Conan and Subotai would have failed in their mission to bring her back to her father King Osric. No one likes to lose, so he was just taking a parting shot while running away. Notice that the princess called for her father when she was about to be killed. 🙄 At least she finally snapped out of his spell over her, and thanks to Subotai and his fine shield work, Doom lost again.
The script was by John Milius, who did Apocalypse Now, Dirty Harry and Jeremiah Johnson (among other things). Lots of threads tying everything together.
The skeleton on the throne was Conan's ancient ancestor, king Kull of Atlantis, who lived 8 000 years ago before Conan; he, like Conan, is also another character from the mind of Robert E. Howard (1906-1936), and was played by Kevin Sorbo in the 1997 movie Kull The Conqueror...
Blonde's name was 'Valeria'
FYI, the sequel, Conan the Destroyer, is a much lighter film with much more humor (and a bit silly at times). It's not as good as this, but it is worth a watch. The remake is also a passable watch.
He uses the name "Crom" as an expletive like others would say "Jesus Christ !" or similar in extreme situations.
Actually, His Debut was in 1970 in "Hercules in New York". It is however his Debut AS the character Conan The Barbarian since he did "Conan The Destroyer" as well as the same character.