"For us, there is no spring. Just the wind that smells fresh before the storm." - Conan I've always loved this line. Robert E. Howard was such a brilliant writer. The Conan books are well worth reading.
My father always called this ‘The MANLIEST Opera Ever’ because there’s only about 20 minutes of dialogue and 2 hours of some of the best music ever written! Before he died, we got my mother to sit down and watch this with us (after 30 years of asking) and she loved it. Now that my dad’s gone, I catch her listening to the OST every now and then and it makes me nod and smile.
The love for music can create unbreakable bounds, glad you shared that experience with your family! I love this movie, ( not just because it was made the year i was born ^^ ) and its music is timeless.
In the last battle when he prayed to CROM he fought REXSOR , rexsor had his fathers sword and Conan broke it with the sword he had , with his fathers broken sword he decapitated THULSA DOOM
@@LordVolkov Valeria is OG ride or die chick. When he was near death and the spirits descended on the beach to take him, she stayed and fought for him. Even after death she still came back to fight at his side. What a woman!!
It also passes a lot of people by that the guy they buy it from is played by Ron Cobb. Art designer on this film, and probably more famously on Alien...he designed the interior of the Nostromo
its unspoken lore, but Conan didn't just find steel, he found ATLANTEAN steel! In that universe it's the most unfathomably advanced work of a long dead civilization that no living craftsman could hope to approach in quality. Crom was gracious on that night.
Also known as adamantine! Or more modernly known as Adamantium or vibranium. Myth has confused the two, and where the truth lies it has been lost to antiquity.
Thulsa Doom's henchman "Thorgrim" with the big hammer is played by Sven Ole-Thorson.. who is a good friend of Arnold. He is a former stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. He won Denmark's Strongest Man in 1983, the year after this film was released. He has appeared in 16 films alongside Arnold, either as an actor, or stuntman, or both. He won an award for his stunt work in the 2000 film Gladiator.
@@matthewdunham1689 I didn’t hate Conan: The Destroyer but (to me) it really felt like nothing more than a live action Dungeon & Dragons adventure whereas Conan: The Barbarian was true art.
"The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle, Conan. You must learn its discipline. For no one - no one in this world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts....This you can trust."
@@phookadude The weird thing is that it's not 100% wrong. Because the blade that breaks it is the Atlantean sword. So you can trust steel provided it's forged properly, and his father just wasn't as good as an Atlantean smith.
@@Theomite Actually the way I always interpreted this was that the blade broke rather than betray the son of its creator. It was a blade that he could trust.
36:05 "Is she an angel?" Looks more like a valkyrie, but yeah, could be. Mostly she was fulfilling the promise she made at 27:27 to come back from the pit of hell to fight at his side.
The sword Conan cuts and then takes to kill Thulsa Doom is the sword from the start that his father made. The story of Conan becoming king is only in book form, the book is called Conan the conquerer. It is an awesome book.
Actually, the only complete story Howard ever wrote of Conan is "Hour Of The Dragon" which tells the tale of his becoming king. All other Conan tales were incomplete. L.Sprague DeCamp bought Howard's estate and completed many of the stories with Lin Carter, I own most of those novels. DeLaurentis took creative licence with this movie and incorporated parts of many of the tales and combined them for this movie and also for "The Destroyer". Both are great flicks but are not "canon" for Conan's life.
At my friends wedding everyone talked about the ring .I twisted a Conan line to use as a toast .“ what is the ring compared to the one that wears it .”
she wasnt a angel , she was a viking valkyrie according to their lore , only brave females who died with both bravely and a sword in there hand ! i totally loved that , she came back for love to save him in the moment he was about to die ! YAY !!!!
The chronicler/wizard he meets is the legendary actor Mako. Younger people will notice the voice is that of Aku in Samurai Jack or more famously General Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender and many more.
‘You took my father’s sword’ not sure if you realise the enemy was using his fathers sword against him. Conan cuts it in half before he gets it back. That’s why he beheads Thulsa with half a sword
45:30 "What was that giant wheel Conan pushed as a child?" A grain mill. Probably. Nobody makes a thing like that without a reason and many real Earth cultures made grain wheels similar to that, though they usually used horses or oxen to turn the wheel.
There is a theory that the Wheel of Pain was not a grain mill, but a device whose sole purpose was to sift out the human wheat from the chaff - that is, to find truly exceptional humans to serve the eastern war masters. This fits in with the opening line from Nietzsche
A lot of people are confused by him exclaiming "Crom" from time to time. He's not seeing his god in those strange events, not necessarily (though he could). He's taking his name in vain. Just like he'd say "Jesus!' when we see something inexplicable, he says Crom. goood reaction to a good movie. watch the sequel, pls!
20:55 "When are we going to see James Earl Jones?" LOL I assume that by the end of the movie you figured it out. Love your reactions to these awesome movies.
Conan the Barbarian was a character created in books by Robert E. Howard. My favorite books were the ones written by Howard. Other authors continued to write Conan books entirely from scratch---or by completing manuscripts started by Howard. Crom!
For my money, the Howard ones are best, though he is a limited writer in some ways. The ones written by others vary wildly in quality, though some are thoroughly enjoyable. It bugs me somewhat that the movies don't really portray Conan properly...in the books, he's pretty smart but not schooled as such, he speaks and writes several languages to varying degrees, and has code he always follows. A loyal friend and a deadly enemy. Having said that, the first film at least is an absolute blast.
@@Sandy-dd4le Yes...I like the Howard books the best too....One thing from the Conan stories--the movies don't capturer it as well as books explained it---was Conan's hatred and quasi fear of the supernatural. He didn't like magic and sorcery because he could not slice it in half with the sword!
@@Sandy-dd4le The way I look at it is this is Conan from the comics rather than the books. For comic book Conan it's pretty much on the nose. But it's not the Conan that Howard wrote. He's way too big for example. Arnold is a beast in this. Had to do his own stunts because there weren't any stuntmen even close to his size. lol.
@@skyscreamstudios I'm sure he was still competing in his last Mr Olympia contest as Conan was beginning to be being made, so he's literally in competition shape in the film. I'm not surprised they couldn't find a body double. When you compare his size in say, The Terminator, he's still big, but nowhere near the size or definition he is in Conan.
Conan The Barbarian is a excellent movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger was born to play the mighty hero. I used to get comics for a quarter and Conan was on my list. The action and the art work was just beautiful. To see it come to life it is movie magic! Highly recommended! Conan The Destroyer is just as good!
This was entertaining but this movie and the comics are not Conan at all. You want to know the real Conan read Robert E Howards oroginal Conan stories, then you will know the real Conan and how he should be portrayed in film.
@@nataliestclair6176 Some of REH’s stories were adapted in both Savage Sword and the regular Conan comic, but most were original stories created by the Marvel writers and artists. The original Marvel Conan comics went for 20+ years over 3 titles including King Conan. 2 of those writers, Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway wrote the story for Conan the Destroyer, which is why that film is more in tone with the regular comic and this film is more in tone with the original pulps and Savage Sword.
18:46 Arguable the best line in the film comes from King Osric: "There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father's love for his child."
This was Armne's first real movie, where he actually got to use his real voice (we do not speak of "Hercules Goes To New York")...He took the role in the Terminator so that he could wear clothes........
He uses his real voice in "Stay Hungry" in 1976, which is an interesting role uncharacteristic of everything else he did later. I wish more people could see the mindblowing sight of him playing a fiddle.
A freind saw James Earl Jones in a live play. He said there was a scene where the character was angry and shouting, and he wanted to crawl under his seat and hide. An actor who can deliver to an entire theater, yet make make an individual in the crowd fear for his life. That is POWER.
You have to understand that the dude I am talking about made a living as an actor. JEJ made him almost pee his pants. Hang on his every syllable if you wish to move hearts with words. Dude got it.
20:45 "When do we same James Earl Jones? Who is he going to play?" You already saw him. He decapitated Conan's pretty mom. Here he is at 5:08. What, were you expecting him to be 7 feet tall all in black with a black mask, black cape, and a respirator? 23:26 "Wait a minute! That was him at the beginning!" There ya go!
When those drums kick in. And Conan lifts that coldron. And that horn section. That shit is dope! 🤣 Thank you, John Millius director Basil Poledouris composer. What a powerful moment. No CGI.
I've thought about this movie at least once per week for the past 40 years. It stands as one of the only movies that tried to realistically portray the raw brutality of the dawn of civilization. ''Dude, so ready for it - tell me!" 2:14 😄👍
Me too Doogie! Ever since the early 90s when I first saw it. I listen to the soundtrack frequently(maybe the best one ever). The cannibal kitchen/orgy fight scene is one of the best scenes ever put to film. I wish we could make films like this again! Alas, nothing will ever look like this again because of digital film and cgi.
The Conan "universe" takes place in a fictional time period called The Hyborean Age (40,000 BCE) which is a post-apocalyptic era after the fall of Atlantis (Thurian Age 100,000 BCE). Tulsa Doom is an Atlantean sorcerer who survived The Deluge and is trying to start over again. That's why he has blue eyes and straight hair: he's the last member of an extinct race of humans. He needs human sacrifices for the magic that gives him immortality and shapeshifting abilities and a cult is a good way to get "volunteers." The creator of Conan, Robert E. Howard, originally wanted to write adventure stories in the ancient world, but realized there was too much research needed to get it right so he just decided to invent a fake prehistoric period and make everything up. What's best about this film is that it looks *exactly* like the famous Frank Frazetta paintings used to decorate the book jackets in the mid-20th Century.
i do not think they where making flour from seeds i think they where grinding bones in to flour because they were cannibals and they grinded bones in to flour and used that making food.
I love how Aria gets so into the story and characters, even talking smack to them 😅! I love this in a reactor. Some just talk over the film and are obviously not emotionally connected to what's happening. Apart from this, there are so many reasons why Aria is such a great reactor, and Aria you're an intelligent person, cute (baby Conan), beautiful, feminine, and damn good editor and I really love watching you. Keep it up for sure!
For a while Schwarzenegger tried to get a third Conan movie made to wrap up the franchise, but nothing ever came of it, sadly. There is another, somewhat lesser movie from this Conan-like world called "Red Sonja" that also had Schwarzenegger show up in it. It's a fun B-movie for a rainy day. Aria, I think you would like "Dragonslayer." It is another high fantasy film from the 80's that grew a cult following. The dragon in this film, Vermithrax Pejorative, was very well done considering the time frame of this movie's production (the effects were from George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic). It's also a very cool looking, fearsome dragon; very realistically animalistic. Even though it was billed as a "family film" and the Walt Disney Company was a co-producer there were a few gruesome and adult scenes. 80's kids were pretty tough.
fun fact kull the conquer was supposed to be conan 3 but arnold refused so kevin sorbo did it but didn't want the name conan but it is the original conan 3 where he becomes king
When he "prays" to his god, Crom before the battle and tells him to "Grant me revenge or to hell with you!" that is very in line with the religion of Conan´s people, the Cimmerians. In the original books, Crom was the god of the Earth/ stone / mountains / metal. Conan´s ancestors prayed to him for help to survive in the harsh mountains of Cimmeria. Crom answered their prayers, by giving them a strong will to live and also teaching them how to work metal. Then he turned to the Cimmerians and told them: "Do not dare to call for my help again. I don´t want prayers, sacrifices or temples. Go forth and survive on your own, you have all you need and NEVER dare to bother me!" So, when Conan "prays" to Crom, he casually slips in a curse to show him that he´s a strong warrior.
3:32 That's Franco Columbu. One of Arnie's oldest and closest friends, a fellow body builder turned coach and actor. He died a few years ago, Arnie was heart broken. Great reaction to a classic!
Conan the Barbarian was a series of manly pulp adventure stories published a hundred years by Robert E. Howard. You’ll find out more of Conan from the reading the stories than the movies. Arnold visually looked the part perfectly, though his voice and grunts not so much.
Robert Howard wrote the first 12 books with another 35 or so written by other writers. Would have made a helluva series but the completely perfect Conan could not be found nor the demographic to demand it.
1. Conan's mom was a serious hottie!😍😜 2. The first woman he encounters was a harpy. 3. Filmed primarily in Spain. 4. James Earl Jones is the MAN 5. One of the best endings ever. 6. "Conan the Destroyer" doesn't suck.
Conan the Barbarian theme is a great philosophy of life. Sumed up also by Bruce Lee, don't ask for an easy life. Ask for the strength to endure a hard one. ❤
This movie is big screen opera, distilling centuries of myth and legend into one sprawling (and nutty) pulp fantasy. So many modern fantasies are so awash in plot mechanics and clearly delineated themes that a movie like Conan might seem full of "random" incidents to a younger viewer. Marvel movies have induced audiences to expect neatly designed plot puzzles with sitcomy banter and gargantuan (yet fakey) CGI set pieces versus the lived-in texture and grandeur of a classic like Conan.
44:48 "I still don't get why that guy freed Conan? Out of the goodness of his heart?" Probably. Many cultures that kept slaves also had guidelines for freeing them. The Romans had a word for it: "manumission" and often freed good, obedient, and devoted slaves after a surprisingly low number of years of service. Even the Bible gives explicit instructions that you may keep most slaves forever and pass them onto your children, except that you must free your Hebrew slaves after 7 years (unless you trick them into staying forever as a slave).
I always figured that Conan have gotten so good in the "Battle Arena" that the owner wasn't making money off him anymore cause no one would bet against Conan........
@@CoastalNomad Could be. Kind of the same reason Clark Hunt (the owner of Kansas City Chiefs) is selling off his team, right? :) Even if nobody would bet against Conan, all he had to do was arrange a 2 to 1 battle and the bets would roll in. Or give odds. Bet 1 coin against Conan and if you win I'll give you 10. Seriously, you might be right. Nobody ever explained it.
That part where Darth Vader/James Earl Jones decapitates kid Conan's mom, it really got me when I was 8 or 9 years back in the 90s watching on VHS.. But your reaction and observation was great! . . . . Looking good too 🎀💖✨
The 'riddle of steel' is one of the most interesting themes of the movie. Steel is only as strong as the arm that wields it, but will can forge the bodies that wield steel as well as command them. Conan's will is stronger than Thulsa Doom, just as Crom's Atlantean sword is stronger than the steel of Conan's father. And ultimately, he becomes a king by his own hand. It's really disappointing we never got a Conan The King to finish the trilogy. Here's hoping Arnie will try to do it before he retires 🤞
There is a sequel called "Conan the Destroyer", but the effects are campy and kid-friendly. The monster Dagoth that Conan fights, I just found out, was played by Andre the Giant, which is worth a re-watch. LOL There was a third film called "Red Sonja", but they could not secure the copyrights to use the name Conan. However, the film was made and Arnold was in it, but he had to use a different name. Then there was a reboot of "Conan the Barbarian", the producers bought the rights to Conan from the author's estate, but it bombed at the box office. That film starred the actor that had played "Aquaman", Jason Momoa. For the last five years, Hollywood studios have been trying to buy the rights to "Conan" from the reboot producer, but he's been a dick and so far won't sell. Arnold wants to play King Conan for "Conan the Usurper" aka "The Legend of Conan", but so far it hasn't been made. Which is a shame, especially if they can make a sequel as good as this film. There is current talk that that the film WILL be made and the director will be Paul Verhoeven (Robocop/Starship Troopers/Total Recall).
You have begun the journey. Yes, Conan continues. You were figuring everything out in the time to be expected. You see things, you speculate and then you learn you were right or wrong. Typical Conan journey. Be safe.
Did an orchestral mockup of the theme last year, for study. Same composer as Robocop and Starship Troopers, so it's interesting to compare his choices when writing for those high-tech settings vs this primitive one.
I believe the man freed Conan because of what he said at the table when asked "what is best in life" remember he gave the correct answer. As he did that he began to outshine his master making it uncomfortable for his master to keep him around.
Bravo. Your analysis was very close to the movie's theme (What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger). So I subbed! Underneath Conan's adventure are philosophies in life. The meaning of life. False religion and Riddle of steal. Conan's father believed you could trust steel. But in the end, he died by the sword. Thulsa Doom (the false religion) believed it's flesh. In the end, Conan cuts his head and shows his blind followers Thulsa Doom is only human. Before he was killed Thulsa Doom asked Conan what would your life be once you (Conan) accomplished your vengeful mission. This is his final attempt to convert Conan. This in turn causes Conan to pause and think. Conan still kills Thulsa Doom to fulfill his vendetta. But Conan later wonders for a while what is his future. What is the meaning of his life now that his vengeful adventure is complete. In the end, the Riddle of Steel is the will to Survive. As the movie tagline says THIEF, WARRIOR, GLADIATOR, KING There is another subtle philosophy -- Valeria"s (the blond warrior/thief). She offered her life to bring back Conan from the dead. In the end, she lived forever as a Valkyrie.
Film fact: Both Thulsa Doom and Conan's father are wrong. The strongest of steel will rust, the strongest of flesh will rot but the strongest of wills lasts forever. Also... Conan commits a huge blasphemy by praying to Crom for something. You don't ask crom for things, you thank him for the gift he's given you. Crom answers Conan prayer but makes him pay for it, for the rest of his life... And he's gonna live for a *long* time.
Cinefantastique magazine published a special double sized issue with articles about the making of "Conan the Barbarian." It mentioned that a lifelike prop head of Conan's mother's severed head was made that had moving eyes, mouth and tongue. Because I'm fascinated by practical special effects, I always wondered how good the head actually was, but I've never seen any photo or video of it.
This movie is based on the pulp novels that started in the 1930s.. but Marvel Comics also did some amazing work with the character in the 70s.. those comics are legendary. The artist that absolutely defined Conan's look is Frank Frazetta.. his paintings are absolutley gorgeous and inspired this film heavily. There is 1 sequel (Conan the Destroyer... not as good but fun), a semi sequel (Red Sonja, a female barbarian character related to Conan... the movie got Arnold but not the Conan rights.. so hes a Conan clone in that). King Conan was about to be made when Arnold became the governor of California.
First movie I ever attended opening night where I saw people DRESSED as the characters in 1982.. Didn't even know that Conan was a comic book character....The audience LOVED Arnold in this movie but if you had told ANYONE at that screening he would be the biggest star in the world in 8 years they would have laughed at you...
a comic book character? well yes, he was, but he was originally a character from pulp magazines back in the 1930s. his literary adventures predate those even of a certain Bilbo Bagins. Tolkien may have made fantasy "highbrow" but Robert E. Howard, who created Conan, was just as much a father of the genre.
The thing he was pushing, was a Grinding Mill. Large Stones Grind Wheat, Rice, etc...into powder... and then can be made into food. Another good movie with James Earl Jones is "Coming to America" (where he plays a King!). If you want a similar movie feel to this one... Try "Mad Max, Beyond Thunderdome". Not that much dialog.. but a very interesting journey / adventure. Ohh, and typically, Grinding mills were driven by Water Wheels, and or Animals. But since Slavery was rampant at a certain period in history... its likely many such tasks would be given to slaves. Also, It wasnt by mere luck that Conan ran into the Snake Cult. Their Cult was expanding rapidly, as it conquered various areas. I also suggest watching the Sequel to this one, Conan the Destroyer. Its good too. And another great Warrior / Fantasy Film to watch... sort of in the Spirit of this one... is "Clash of the Titans" (original version). Its a Greek Mythology adventure, which is quite cool. Expanding further... Also check out Dragonslayer. Another 80s Fantasy Classic. While Im not the biggest fan of it... Tom Cruise plays in a Fantasy film called "Legend". Its a little slow, but enjoyable. "The Neverending Story", and "Labyrinth" ...are two top tier Fantasy Adventure Classics.
Dang girl I like your voice more with every reaction I watch. BTW Conan was a big part of sword and sorcery fiction. At one time I owned 47 different paperback books and a couple hundred Conan and King Conan comic books
Before Terminator, I already knew about Arnold because I saw him on cable in Conan the Barbarian and then I saw him at the Drive-in in Conan the Destroyer.
The movies of the 80's had such epic music scores..and such depth of story telling... There has never been a movie such as the Conan movies...Nothing substitutes well done real live action movies.
Hello From the Sunshine State of Florida 🇺🇲🌅🌞☀️🏝️. Remember there are 2 Conan Movies & one Called Red Sonja And Another you should check out End of Days Yet True Lies was filmed here in My State Also this Epic Sound Track is remarkable !!! The like button 🔘 has been Illuminated 😁👍👍😎🤗
Two notes: 1) The apparatus in the begining that the children were pushing is noted in the script as the "Wheel of Pain" From what I can tell it was ment to weed out the weak children until they got to Conan as an adult. Simply used to make one child strong as an adult. Fun fact: the thing was made too well and when Arnold pushed on it, it spun and hit him in the back. Thus they had people, out of frame pushing against Arnold to make it look like he was exerting himself. 2) There hasn't been a movie made where Conan earns his kingdom, thus far it has only been done in the books. There is a sequel: Conan the Destroyer. It is.... different. That's all I am going to say without spoiling anything. Watch it or don't, that's up to you. The director and Arnold have said there was supposed to be a third movie in the franchise but to date its never been made.
Also, the sword that Conan cut in half when they were fighting the guy right before Thulsa Doom, was actually Conan’s Father’s sword! Which he then used to cut off Doom’s head.
Aria, great reaction. This movie is from VERY early in Schwarzenegger's acting career but it one of my favorites. Your reaction was spot-on; you didn't miss a thing. Big thumbs-up.
Hey, Aria! "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..." So goes the opening of the Conan saga. 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." 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 Scarlet Citadel", 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 and has the bachelor king select a wife! 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." The remainder of the opening prologue is as follows: "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." The best sources for authentic Robert E. Howard Conan is the hardcover Centenary collection published by Gollancz which contains all the tales in one volume and the softcover three-volume series published by Del Rey titled "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian", "The Bloody Crown of Conan" and "The Conquering Sword of Conan". If you haven't seen Arnold in "Collateral Damage", check it out. It's one of his better films.
Robert E. Howard started the whole Conan story's in the 1930s he rote a bunch of short stores of Conans adventures there were supposed to be more movies but the first two didn't make enough money to continue making them the other movie was Conan the Destroyer.
“There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father's love for his child.”
There's also : Conan The Destroyer. Max Von Sydow is in this also. He plays the part of the king. He was also in : The Exorcist - Stephen King movie Needful Things ". And many other movies.
I really appreciate how soft and soothing your voice is. When you speak, you have a Bob Ross-like quality that is quite relaxing. Oh, (I nearly forgot) I also enjoyed your reaction. 👍🏻 Well done!
This is as close to a perfect movie as you can get. Everything has meaning or purpose for later on. There is zero filler in the whole movie. The more you watch it the more you notice. For example the sledgehammer guy dies from basically a more powerful one with a spiked end. Thulsa Doom decapitates Conan's mother and in turn is decapitated by Conan. The guy Conan fights at the end is using the sword forged by Conan's father, which is a much bigger thing than people realize. He breaks the sword his father said was the ONLY thing he could trust. This answers two riddles: 1. The answer to the riddle of steel: "What is stronger than steel?" A man's will! 2. Who or what can you trust in the world? Yourself! From his father to his enemies they all died because they trusted in something they didn't fully understand instead of themselves. Conan lived and eventually became King because he was the one person who did understand.
Conan The Barbarian is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. I have a lot of his comic books from the 1970s & 1980s. My favorite Conan The Barbarian comic book is #4 The Tower Of The Elephant written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Barry Windsor Smith. Conan The Barbarian comic books are currently being written by Jim Zub for Titan Comics. They are pretty good & are really dark & violent.
The director/writer of this movie was one of Hollywood's genius lunatic and colorful madmen. John Milius, he helped writer the legendary "Indianapolis" scene for Spielberg, he helped his buddy George Lucas with the first Star Wars, he wrote much of the infamous and incredible Apocalypse NOW! He directed and wrote Red Dawn the preeminent 80's movie. Whether it's good or bad is completely objective but it's certainly interesting.
Dear Ms. Aria, ICYMI, the Coonan stories first hit print in the 1930's. I fell upon them in the 1970's while in SouthEast Asia during the Vietnam War. There are many books that are still published today by the late author Robert E. Howard. It's an entire world of city-states, seas, and sorcerors of high magick. There is a ton of things to fill all your ponderances in those stories. I wish you happy reading.
I enjoyed your reaction to Conan. If you want to see James Earl Jones almost twenty years younger than he is here, he has a very minor part in the 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove (or How Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb). He also appears in Field of Dreams from 1989. Both are highly recommended. As a teenager, I had read many of the Conan short stories before the movie was made. The character was created by Robert E Howard in the 1920s and 30s. As a fantasy book lover and a Dungeons and Dragons player, Conan Instantly became a favorite for me and most of my friends. There was at least one sequel which I seem to remember being OK.
When Conan gets the Atlantean sword, they originally had him fight the undead Thrall king underground, but it was too difficult to do with budget, so they changed the scene. Its later homagéd in viking epic Northman (2022)
There is a Conan II: Conan the Destroyer. But sadly part 3, King Conan never got made. There have been rights fights for over 20 years now. The original script got turned into another Robert E. Howard (the original writer/creator) movie, Kull the Conqueror. But right now the current rights holder is looking for some one who won't belittle the Conan stories into mush (as good as this first movie was, it wasn't exact with the books, but did borrow heavy elements from several stories). And the rumor is that a online series is currently in production, but it's far enough out from having a first series done, that the rights holder isn't going to get our hopes up on it yet if it falls apart. In the mean time he has had reputable book makers, reprint the original Howard stories, and the transcripts of unreleased tales that he had planned. And for now has entrusted the video game company FunCom with the license. In fact, his trust in them got the company out of being in debt and in thanks, they updated their logo to have a solute of Conan's head on a flag.
"You scoundrels, do you want to live forever?" --Frederick the Great, 1757, Seven Years War, calling his elite guards to return to the fight. He lost that battle, but won the war.
My favourite James Earl Jones performance is from Flight Of Dragons as the voice of Omadon. “Farewell, can you not feel the world turning in my direction already!”
This movie has the best original soundtrack.
Truly, its a masterpiece.
Yes, without reservation.
One of the greatest ever.
Me have in my cd, great!😁
Yes, just yes.
"For us, there is no spring. Just the wind that smells fresh before the storm." - Conan
I've always loved this line. Robert E. Howard was such a brilliant writer. The Conan books are well worth reading.
The books are great. And with Frank frazeta art
Yes! Also the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser books by Fritz Leiber are in the same vein.
Brilliant but troubled. His last Conan story is a great reflection of his mental state before he ended his own story.
My father always called this ‘The MANLIEST Opera Ever’ because there’s only about 20 minutes of dialogue and 2 hours of some of the best music ever written!
Before he died, we got my mother to sit down and watch this with us (after 30 years of asking) and she loved it. Now that my dad’s gone, I catch her listening to the OST every now and then and it makes me nod and smile.
Your dad had great taste!
The love for music can create unbreakable bounds, glad you shared that experience with your family!
I love this movie, ( not just because it was made the year i was born ^^ ) and its music is timeless.
True that, Wagner would be proud.
In the last battle when he prayed to CROM he fought REXSOR , rexsor had his fathers sword and Conan broke it with the sword he had , with his fathers broken sword he decapitated THULSA DOOM
I believe that his girlfriend became a Valkyrie, which is a sort of Norse mythology warrior angel, at least that is what she looks like.
"Even if I were dead..."
Valkyrie or not, Valeria upholds her vow to Conan. She's badass even in death.
Or a precursor to it. The Hyborean Age is 40,000 years ago, loooooooooooong before Norse culture existed.
Conan DOES mention Crom kicking Conan out of Valhalla if he doesn’t know the riddle of steel. A Valkyrie would fit the narrative perfectly.
@@LordVolkov Valeria is OG ride or die chick. When he was near death and the spirits descended on the beach to take him, she stayed and fought for him. Even after death she still came back to fight at his side. What a woman!!
@@Theomite if its only 40k years ago you tellin me australia is still the same?
What's often missed is at the point where Subotai tells the woman that he's evil and Conan punches the camel, they are both high on Black Lotus.
It also passes a lot of people by that the guy they buy it from is played by Ron Cobb. Art designer on this film, and probably more famously on Alien...he designed the interior of the Nostromo
Conan was laughing at a guy in the tent who was fucking a llama.
its unspoken lore, but Conan didn't just find steel, he found ATLANTEAN steel! In that universe it's the most unfathomably advanced work of a long dead civilization that no living craftsman could hope to approach in quality. Crom was gracious on that night.
I don't know about that.
Naysayers have not tried to buy a replica of that sword.
Also known as adamantine! Or more modernly known as Adamantium or vibranium. Myth has confused the two, and where the truth lies it has been lost to antiquity.
@jackasswhiskyandpintobeans9344 it's literally called the "Atlantean sword" by the official sword maker. 🤦♂️😅
@LeadStarDude sigh the poorly educated obviously hasn't read the source material.
Thulsa Doom's henchman "Thorgrim" with the big hammer is played by Sven Ole-Thorson.. who is a good friend of Arnold. He is a former stuntman, bodybuilder and strongman competitor. He won Denmark's Strongest Man in 1983, the year after this film was released. He has appeared in 16 films alongside Arnold, either as an actor, or stuntman, or both. He won an award for his stunt work in the 2000 film Gladiator.
There is a sequel, and a spin-off, and a remake, and a tv series. None are anywhere close to this masterpiece.
Very true. The Destroyer is more campy comicbook style. Not without it's merits but it pales in comparison to this.
@@matthewdunham1689 I didn’t hate Conan: The Destroyer but (to me) it really felt like nothing more than a live action Dungeon & Dragons adventure whereas Conan: The Barbarian was true art.
There are also the original books/stories by Robert E. Howard that are the original source material. Good reading!
"The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle, Conan. You must learn its discipline. For no one - no one in this world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts....This you can trust."
I always think of that line in light of that sword of his father's being broken by Conan in the end.
@@phookadude The weird thing is that it's not 100% wrong. Because the blade that breaks it is the Atlantean sword. So you can trust steel provided it's forged properly, and his father just wasn't as good as an Atlantean smith.
@@Theomite Actually the way I always interpreted this was that the blade broke rather than betray the son of its creator. It was a blade that he could trust.
I want that on my headstone
But only for rugs.
36:05 "Is she an angel?"
Looks more like a valkyrie, but yeah, could be.
Mostly she was fulfilling the promise she made at 27:27 to come back from the pit of hell to fight at his side.
The sword Conan cuts and then takes to kill Thulsa Doom is the sword from the start that his father made. The story of Conan becoming king is only in book form, the book is called Conan the conquerer. It is an awesome book.
All the Conan books, many of which are collections of shorter tales of Conan, are wonderful. Originally published by Gnome Press.
Actually, the only complete story Howard ever wrote of Conan is "Hour Of The Dragon" which tells the tale of his becoming king. All other Conan tales were incomplete. L.Sprague DeCamp bought Howard's estate and completed many of the stories with Lin Carter, I own most of those novels. DeLaurentis took creative licence with this movie and incorporated parts of many of the tales and combined them for this movie and also for "The Destroyer". Both are great flicks but are not "canon" for Conan's life.
At my friends wedding everyone talked about the ring .I twisted a Conan line to use as a toast .“ what is the ring compared to the one that wears it .”
Smart:D
@@ariachanson01 There is a part 2 - Conan The Destroyer
@@ariachanson01 This was one of your best reactions.Nice hair ribbon
Plagiarist!
she wasnt a angel , she was a viking valkyrie according to their lore , only brave females who died with both bravely and a sword in there hand ! i totally loved that , she came back for love to save him in the moment he was about to die ! YAY !!!!
Wrong. It is a reference to Belit, from the novels. No Valkyrie stuff.
Valerie’s didn’t fight! They carried the dead from the battlefield to the gates of Valhalla which in itself is still a privilege
The chronicler/wizard he meets is the legendary actor Mako. Younger people will notice the voice is that of Aku in Samurai Jack or more famously General Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender and many more.
‘You took my father’s sword’ not sure if you realise the enemy was using his fathers sword against him. Conan cuts it in half before he gets it back. That’s why he beheads Thulsa with half a sword
45:30 "What was that giant wheel Conan pushed as a child?"
A grain mill.
Probably.
Nobody makes a thing like that without a reason and many real Earth cultures made grain wheels similar to that, though they usually used horses or oxen to turn the wheel.
There is a theory that the Wheel of Pain was not a grain mill, but a device whose sole purpose was to sift out the human wheat from the chaff - that is, to find truly exceptional humans to serve the eastern war masters. This fits in with the opening line from Nietzsche
@@kevinedw2002 Ooh! Interesting take!
A lot of people are confused by him exclaiming "Crom" from time to time. He's not seeing his god in those strange events, not necessarily (though he could). He's taking his name in vain. Just like he'd say "Jesus!' when we see something inexplicable, he says Crom.
goood reaction to a good movie. watch the sequel, pls!
20:55 "When are we going to see James Earl Jones?" LOL I assume that by the end of the movie you figured it out. Love your reactions to these awesome movies.
🙈
She figured it out when he showed up again around the 23 minute mark.
James Earl Jones had bangs in this one, threw her off.
Conan the Barbarian was a character created in books by Robert E. Howard. My favorite books were the ones written by Howard. Other authors continued to write Conan books entirely from scratch---or by completing manuscripts started by Howard. Crom!
One of the writers of Conan was Robert Jordan, who then wrote Wheel of Time.
For my money, the Howard ones are best, though he is a limited writer in some ways. The ones written by others vary wildly in quality, though some are thoroughly enjoyable.
It bugs me somewhat that the movies don't really portray Conan properly...in the books, he's pretty smart but not schooled as such, he speaks and writes several languages to varying degrees, and has code he always follows. A loyal friend and a deadly enemy. Having said that, the first film at least is an absolute blast.
@@Sandy-dd4le Yes...I like the Howard books the best too....One thing from the Conan stories--the movies don't capturer it as well as books explained it---was Conan's hatred and quasi fear of the supernatural. He didn't like magic and sorcery because he could not slice it in half with the sword!
@@Sandy-dd4le The way I look at it is this is Conan from the comics rather than the books. For comic book Conan it's pretty much on the nose. But it's not the Conan that Howard wrote. He's way too big for example. Arnold is a beast in this. Had to do his own stunts because there weren't any stuntmen even close to his size. lol.
@@skyscreamstudios I'm sure he was still competing in his last Mr Olympia contest as Conan was beginning to be being made, so he's literally in competition shape in the film. I'm not surprised they couldn't find a body double. When you compare his size in say, The Terminator, he's still big, but nowhere near the size or definition he is in Conan.
Conan The Barbarian is a excellent movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger was born to play the mighty hero. I used to get comics for a quarter and Conan was on my list. The action and the art work was just beautiful. To see it come to life it is movie magic! Highly recommended! Conan The Destroyer is just as good!
This was entertaining but this movie and the comics are not Conan at all. You want to know the real Conan read Robert E Howards oroginal Conan stories, then you will know the real Conan and how he should be portrayed in film.
@@nataliestclair6176 The Savage Sword of Conan black & white mag was the rated R Conan comics back in the day and more in tune with the og pulps.
@@goldenshark3182 yes but I believe that the Savage Sword of Conan comics you mentioned were based on Robert Howard's original stories.
@@nataliestclair6176 Some of REH’s stories were adapted in both Savage Sword and the regular Conan comic, but most were original stories created by the Marvel writers and artists. The original Marvel Conan comics went for 20+ years over 3 titles including King Conan.
2 of those writers, Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway wrote the story for Conan the Destroyer, which is why that film is more in tone with the regular comic and this film is more in tone with the original pulps and Savage Sword.
"Conan The Destroyer is just as good!"
Whatcha talkin' 'bout, Willis? It most certainly is not.
18:46 Arguable the best line in the film comes from King Osric:
"There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father's love for his child."
This was Armne's first real movie, where he actually got to use his real voice (we do not speak of "Hercules Goes To New York")...He took the role in the Terminator so that he could wear clothes........
The Villain??...
OK, nevermind.
He uses his real voice in "Stay Hungry" in 1976, which is an interesting role uncharacteristic of everything else he did later. I wish more people could see the mindblowing sight of him playing a fiddle.
@@richardrobbins387 You sir, get a shiny new like. That movie is sublime.
A freind saw James Earl Jones in a live play. He said there was a scene where the character was angry and shouting, and he wanted to crawl under his seat and hide. An actor who can deliver to an entire theater, yet make make an individual in the crowd fear for his life. That is POWER.
The strength and power of flesh…..
You have to understand that the dude I am talking about made a living as an actor. JEJ made him almost pee his pants. Hang on his every syllable if you wish to move hearts with words. Dude got it.
20:45 "When do we same James Earl Jones? Who is he going to play?"
You already saw him.
He decapitated Conan's pretty mom.
Here he is at 5:08.
What, were you expecting him to be 7 feet tall all in black with a black mask, black cape, and a respirator?
23:26 "Wait a minute! That was him at the beginning!"
There ya go!
Furthermore the actor who played Darth Vader was not James Earl Jones. Only his voice was.
When those drums kick in. And Conan lifts that coldron. And that horn section. That shit is dope! 🤣 Thank you, John Millius director Basil Poledouris composer. What a powerful moment. No CGI.
"See Fred this is why we wait for them to die" lol
yeah about spewed coffee when she said that.
Yes! We have been waiting forty years for that story to be told.
I've thought about this movie at least once per week for the past 40 years. It stands as one of the only movies that tried to realistically portray the raw brutality of the dawn of civilization. ''Dude, so ready for it - tell me!" 2:14 😄👍
I wish there were movies that took place in pre history 😕
Me too Doogie! Ever since the early 90s when I first saw it. I listen to the soundtrack frequently(maybe the best one ever). The cannibal kitchen/orgy fight scene is one of the best scenes ever put to film. I wish we could make films like this again! Alas, nothing will ever look like this again because of digital film and cgi.
The Conan "universe" takes place in a fictional time period called The Hyborean Age (40,000 BCE) which is a post-apocalyptic era after the fall of Atlantis (Thurian Age 100,000 BCE). Tulsa Doom is an Atlantean sorcerer who survived The Deluge and is trying to start over again. That's why he has blue eyes and straight hair: he's the last member of an extinct race of humans. He needs human sacrifices for the magic that gives him immortality and shapeshifting abilities and a cult is a good way to get "volunteers."
The creator of Conan, Robert E. Howard, originally wanted to write adventure stories in the ancient world, but realized there was too much research needed to get it right so he just decided to invent a fake prehistoric period and make everything up.
What's best about this film is that it looks *exactly* like the famous Frank Frazetta paintings used to decorate the book jackets in the mid-20th Century.
I wish there were more movies about 40,000 years ago 😕
Frank Frazetta is one of the godfathers of fantasy art, simply remarkable man, too.
the wheel conan was pushing, was a flour wheel, used to make flour from what seeds were available. thanks for another great reaction.
i do not think they where making flour from seeds i think they where grinding bones in to flour because they were cannibals and they grinded bones in to flour and used that making food.
probably true but there is another possibility. an arastra; which is an identical machine used to crush ore to extract gold or other metals.
I love how Aria gets so into the story and characters, even talking smack to them 😅! I love this in a reactor. Some just talk over the film and are obviously not emotionally connected to what's happening. Apart from this, there are so many reasons why Aria is such a great reactor, and Aria you're an intelligent person, cute (baby Conan), beautiful, feminine, and damn good editor and I really love watching you. Keep it up for sure!
For a while Schwarzenegger tried to get a third Conan movie made to wrap up the franchise, but nothing ever came of it, sadly. There is another, somewhat lesser movie from this Conan-like world called "Red Sonja" that also had Schwarzenegger show up in it. It's a fun B-movie for a rainy day. Aria, I think you would like "Dragonslayer." It is another high fantasy film from the 80's that grew a cult following. The dragon in this film, Vermithrax Pejorative, was very well done considering the time frame of this movie's production (the effects were from George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic). It's also a very cool looking, fearsome dragon; very realistically animalistic. Even though it was billed as a "family film" and the Walt Disney Company was a co-producer there were a few gruesome and adult scenes. 80's kids were pretty tough.
He was also in one from 1970 called : Hercules In New York
fun fact kull the conquer was supposed to be conan 3 but arnold refused so kevin sorbo did it but didn't want the name conan but it is the original conan 3 where he becomes king
Best narrator ever..and best black lotus ever..Stygian ! ..The BEST !!
The best!
This movie always holds up surprisingly well... Having one of the most epic soundtracks ever helps.
25:32 "One vulture turns to the other...see Frank? That's why we wait until they're dead first". LOL brilliant 😁
When he "prays" to his god, Crom before the battle and tells him to "Grant me revenge or to hell with you!" that is very in line with the religion of Conan´s people, the Cimmerians.
In the original books, Crom was the god of the Earth/ stone / mountains / metal.
Conan´s ancestors prayed to him for help to survive in the harsh mountains of Cimmeria.
Crom answered their prayers, by giving them a strong will to live and also teaching them how to work metal.
Then he turned to the Cimmerians and told them: "Do not dare to call for my help again. I don´t want prayers, sacrifices or temples. Go forth and survive on your own, you have all you need and NEVER dare to bother me!"
So, when Conan "prays" to Crom, he casually slips in a curse to show him that he´s a strong warrior.
3:32 That's Franco Columbu. One of Arnie's oldest and closest friends, a fellow body builder turned coach and actor. He died a few years ago, Arnie was heart broken.
Great reaction to a classic!
Red Sonja, and the next Conan movie are my favorite. This one's such a classic
Conan the Barbarian was a series of manly pulp adventure stories published a hundred years by Robert E. Howard. You’ll find out more of Conan from the reading the stories than the movies. Arnold visually looked the part perfectly, though his voice and grunts not so much.
Robert Howard wrote the first 12 books with another 35 or so written by other writers. Would have made a helluva series but the completely perfect Conan could not be found nor the demographic to demand it.
Other authors also used incomplete writing to add more books. I owned 47 different ones at one time
I have forty seven in paperback, plus an old comic book of Conan...@@johnscott4196
1. Conan's mom was a serious hottie!😍😜
2. The first woman he encounters was a harpy.
3. Filmed primarily in Spain.
4. James Earl Jones is the MAN
5. One of the best endings ever.
6. "Conan the Destroyer" doesn't suck.
Conan the Barbarian theme is a great philosophy of life. Sumed up also by Bruce Lee, don't ask for an easy life. Ask for the strength to endure a hard one. ❤
This movie is big screen opera, distilling centuries of myth and legend into one sprawling (and nutty) pulp fantasy. So many modern fantasies are so awash in plot mechanics and clearly delineated themes that a movie like Conan might seem full of "random" incidents to a younger viewer. Marvel movies have induced audiences to expect neatly designed plot puzzles with sitcomy banter and gargantuan (yet fakey) CGI set pieces versus the lived-in texture and grandeur of a classic like Conan.
44:48 "I still don't get why that guy freed Conan? Out of the goodness of his heart?"
Probably.
Many cultures that kept slaves also had guidelines for freeing them.
The Romans had a word for it: "manumission" and often freed good, obedient, and devoted slaves after a surprisingly low number of years of service.
Even the Bible gives explicit instructions that you may keep most slaves forever and pass them onto your children, except that you must free your Hebrew slaves after 7 years (unless you trick them into staying forever as a slave).
I always figured that Conan have gotten so good in the "Battle Arena" that the owner wasn't making money off him anymore cause no one would bet against Conan........
@@CoastalNomad Could be.
Kind of the same reason Clark Hunt (the owner of Kansas City Chiefs) is selling off his team, right?
:)
Even if nobody would bet against Conan, all he had to do was arrange a 2 to 1 battle and the bets would roll in.
Or give odds. Bet 1 coin against Conan and if you win I'll give you 10.
Seriously, you might be right.
Nobody ever explained it.
Basil Poledouris was a beast of a composer. His soundtracks reach my soul. You should movies that have his soundtracks 😊
45:35 The machine was probably a mill for grinding grain.
The narrator also was the voice of Aku in Samarai Jack LOL
DUDE Thank you for watching one of my favorite movies
The device the children were pushing appears to have been a very large grain mill.
"Conan the Destroyer" (the sequel) is really good! Many more unforgettable Conan moments! 😄
That part where Darth Vader/James Earl Jones decapitates kid Conan's mom, it really got me when I was 8 or 9 years back in the 90s watching on VHS.. But your reaction and observation was great!
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Looking good too 🎀💖✨
"See Fred? That's why we wait for them to die."😂😂
James Earl Jones first movie role was in Dr. Strangelove.
Slim Picken's co-pilot!
The 'riddle of steel' is one of the most interesting themes of the movie. Steel is only as strong as the arm that wields it, but will can forge the bodies that wield steel as well as command them. Conan's will is stronger than Thulsa Doom, just as Crom's Atlantean sword is stronger than the steel of Conan's father. And ultimately, he becomes a king by his own hand.
It's really disappointing we never got a Conan The King to finish the trilogy. Here's hoping Arnie will try to do it before he retires 🤞
There is a sequel called "Conan the Destroyer", but the effects are campy and kid-friendly. The monster Dagoth that Conan fights, I just found out, was played by Andre the Giant, which is worth a re-watch. LOL There was a third film called "Red Sonja", but they could not secure the copyrights to use the name Conan. However, the film was made and Arnold was in it, but he had to use a different name. Then there was a reboot of "Conan the Barbarian", the producers bought the rights to Conan from the author's estate, but it bombed at the box office. That film starred the actor that had played "Aquaman", Jason Momoa. For the last five years, Hollywood studios have been trying to buy the rights to "Conan" from the reboot producer, but he's been a dick and so far won't sell. Arnold wants to play King Conan for "Conan the Usurper" aka "The Legend of Conan", but so far it hasn't been made. Which is a shame, especially if they can make a sequel as good as this film. There is current talk that that the film WILL be made and the director will be Paul Verhoeven (Robocop/Starship Troopers/Total Recall).
You have begun the journey. Yes, Conan continues.
You were figuring everything out in the time to be expected. You see things, you speculate and then you learn you were right or wrong. Typical Conan journey.
Be safe.
Did an orchestral mockup of the theme last year, for study. Same composer as Robocop and Starship Troopers, so it's interesting to compare his choices when writing for those high-tech settings vs this primitive one.
I believe the man freed Conan because of what he said at the table when asked "what is best in life" remember he gave the correct answer. As he did that he began to outshine his master making it uncomfortable for his master to keep him around.
The movie is about as perfect an action film as you cold ever ask for. A classic.
Bravo. Your analysis was very close to the movie's theme (What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger). So I subbed!
Underneath Conan's adventure are philosophies in life. The meaning of life. False religion and Riddle of steal. Conan's father believed you could trust steel. But in the end, he died by the sword. Thulsa Doom (the false religion) believed it's flesh. In the end, Conan cuts his head and shows his blind followers Thulsa Doom is only human.
Before he was killed Thulsa Doom asked Conan what would your life be once you (Conan) accomplished your vengeful mission. This is his final attempt to convert Conan. This in turn causes Conan to pause and think. Conan still kills Thulsa Doom to fulfill his vendetta. But Conan later wonders for a while what is his future. What is the meaning of his life now that his vengeful adventure is complete. In the end, the Riddle of Steel is the will to Survive. As the movie tagline says THIEF, WARRIOR, GLADIATOR, KING
There is another subtle philosophy -- Valeria"s (the blond warrior/thief). She offered her life to bring back Conan from the dead. In the end, she lived forever as a Valkyrie.
Film fact: Both Thulsa Doom and Conan's father are wrong.
The strongest of steel will rust, the strongest of flesh will rot but the strongest of wills lasts forever.
Also... Conan commits a huge blasphemy by praying to Crom for something. You don't ask crom for things, you thank him for the gift he's given you.
Crom answers Conan prayer but makes him pay for it, for the rest of his life... And he's gonna live for a *long* time.
Cinefantastique magazine published a special double sized issue with articles about the making of "Conan the Barbarian." It mentioned that a lifelike prop head of Conan's mother's severed head was made that had moving eyes, mouth and tongue. Because I'm fascinated by practical special effects, I always wondered how good the head actually was, but I've never seen any photo or video of it.
I collect vintage magazines so I'll keep an eye out for that one.
This movie is based on the pulp novels that started in the 1930s.. but Marvel Comics also did some amazing work with the character in the 70s.. those comics are legendary. The artist that absolutely defined Conan's look is Frank Frazetta.. his paintings are absolutley gorgeous and inspired this film heavily. There is 1 sequel (Conan the Destroyer... not as good but fun), a semi sequel (Red Sonja, a female barbarian character related to Conan... the movie got Arnold but not the Conan rights.. so hes a Conan clone in that). King Conan was about to be made when Arnold became the governor of California.
Sadly it was never done.
First movie I ever attended opening night where I saw people DRESSED as the characters in 1982.. Didn't even know that Conan was a comic book character....The audience LOVED Arnold in this movie but if you had told ANYONE at that screening he would be the biggest star in the world in 8 years they would have laughed at you...
a comic book character? well yes, he was, but he was originally a character from pulp magazines back in the 1930s. his literary adventures predate those even of a certain Bilbo Bagins. Tolkien may have made fantasy "highbrow" but Robert E. Howard, who created Conan, was just as much a father of the genre.
@@matthewsuchomski2593 see?? You learn something new everyday.
The thing he was pushing, was a Grinding Mill. Large Stones Grind Wheat, Rice, etc...into powder... and then can be made into food. Another good movie with James Earl Jones is "Coming to America" (where he plays a King!). If you want a similar movie feel to this one... Try "Mad Max, Beyond Thunderdome". Not that much dialog.. but a very interesting journey / adventure.
Ohh, and typically, Grinding mills were driven by Water Wheels, and or Animals. But since Slavery was rampant at a certain period in history... its likely many such tasks would be given to slaves.
Also, It wasnt by mere luck that Conan ran into the Snake Cult. Their Cult was expanding rapidly, as it conquered various areas.
I also suggest watching the Sequel to this one, Conan the Destroyer. Its good too.
And another great Warrior / Fantasy Film to watch... sort of in the Spirit of this one... is "Clash of the Titans" (original version). Its a Greek Mythology adventure, which is quite cool.
Expanding further... Also check out Dragonslayer. Another 80s Fantasy Classic.
While Im not the biggest fan of it... Tom Cruise plays in a Fantasy film called "Legend". Its a little slow, but enjoyable.
"The Neverending Story", and "Labyrinth" ...are two top tier Fantasy Adventure Classics.
Crom was his God. .. he uses it like an expression of awe or surprise, like people say "Holy Crap!" or "Jesus H. Christ!"
Dang girl I like your voice more with every reaction I watch. BTW Conan was a big part of sword and sorcery fiction. At one time I owned 47 different paperback books and a couple hundred Conan and King Conan comic books
Aria has a great ASMR voice 🎉
Before Terminator, I already knew about Arnold because I saw him on cable in Conan the Barbarian and then I saw him at the Drive-in in Conan the Destroyer.
This was one of your best reactions.Nice hair ribbon
The movies of the 80's had such epic music scores..and such depth of story telling... There has never been a movie such as the Conan movies...Nothing substitutes well done real live action movies.
Hello From the Sunshine State of Florida 🇺🇲🌅🌞☀️🏝️. Remember there are 2 Conan Movies & one Called Red Sonja And Another you should check out End of Days Yet True Lies was filmed here in My State Also this Epic Sound Track is remarkable !!! The like button 🔘 has been Illuminated 😁👍👍😎🤗
Two notes: 1) The apparatus in the begining that the children were pushing is noted in the script as the "Wheel of Pain" From what I can tell it was ment to weed out the weak children until they got to Conan as an adult. Simply used to make one child strong as an adult. Fun fact: the thing was made too well and when Arnold pushed on it, it spun and hit him in the back. Thus they had people, out of frame pushing against Arnold to make it look like he was exerting himself.
2) There hasn't been a movie made where Conan earns his kingdom, thus far it has only been done in the books. There is a sequel: Conan the Destroyer. It is.... different. That's all I am going to say without spoiling anything. Watch it or don't, that's up to you. The director and Arnold have said there was supposed to be a third movie in the franchise but to date its never been made.
Also, the sword that Conan cut in half when they were fighting the guy right before Thulsa Doom, was actually Conan’s Father’s sword! Which he then used to cut off Doom’s head.
Aria, great reaction. This movie is from VERY early in Schwarzenegger's acting career but it one of my favorites. Your reaction was spot-on; you didn't miss a thing. Big thumbs-up.
Hey, Aria! "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..." So goes the opening of the Conan saga.
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."
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 Scarlet Citadel", 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 and has the bachelor king select a wife! 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."
The remainder of the opening prologue is as follows: "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."
The best sources for authentic Robert E. Howard Conan is the hardcover Centenary collection published by Gollancz which contains all the tales in one volume and the softcover three-volume series published by Del Rey titled "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian", "The Bloody Crown of Conan" and "The Conquering Sword of Conan".
If you haven't seen Arnold in "Collateral Damage", check it out. It's one of his better films.
Please don't put yourself down your commentary and reactions are wonderful. 🫡🫵😎🫰
Agreed!
Robert E. Howard started the whole Conan story's in the 1930s he rote a bunch of short stores of Conans adventures there were supposed to be more movies but the first two didn't make enough money to continue making them the other movie was Conan the Destroyer.
Yep destroyer didn't even make half the money the original made
Aria
Arnold just won his 7th Mr. Olympia 2 years before this movie released in 1980. He was still built from competitive bodybuilding.
“There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father's love for his child.”
37:48 "No, I am your father"...
I wonder if they had to pay George Lucas royalties to let James Earl Jones say this again?
After all these years I'd never looked at it from that perspective--you're right. I wonder if the director did that on purpose.
There's also : Conan The Destroyer. Max Von Sydow is in this also. He plays the part of the king. He was also in : The Exorcist - Stephen King movie Needful Things ". And many other movies.
I really appreciate how soft and soothing your voice is. When you speak, you have a Bob Ross-like quality that is quite relaxing. Oh, (I nearly forgot) I also enjoyed your reaction. 👍🏻 Well done!
Thankyou:)
Many of us Euro Gen X-rs grew up on Conan comics. And than, came this movie. I was 15, I still remember the premiere.
my favorite asmr channel. could listen to you react all day
This is as close to a perfect movie as you can get. Everything has meaning or purpose for later on. There is zero filler in the whole movie. The more you watch it the more you notice.
For example the sledgehammer guy dies from basically a more powerful one with a spiked end. Thulsa Doom decapitates Conan's mother and in turn is decapitated by Conan. The guy Conan fights at the end is using the sword forged by Conan's father, which is a much bigger thing than people realize. He breaks the sword his father said was the ONLY thing he could trust.
This answers two riddles:
1. The answer to the riddle of steel: "What is stronger than steel?" A man's will!
2. Who or what can you trust in the world? Yourself!
From his father to his enemies they all died because they trusted in something they didn't fully understand instead of themselves. Conan lived and eventually became King because he was the one person who did understand.
My favorite movie of all time.
Conan The Barbarian is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. I have a lot of his comic books from the 1970s & 1980s. My favorite Conan The Barbarian comic book is #4 The Tower Of The Elephant written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Barry Windsor Smith. Conan The Barbarian comic books are currently being written by Jim Zub for Titan Comics. They are pretty good & are really dark & violent.
The director/writer of this movie was one of Hollywood's genius lunatic and colorful madmen. John Milius, he helped writer the legendary "Indianapolis" scene for Spielberg, he helped his buddy George Lucas with the first Star Wars, he wrote much of the infamous and incredible Apocalypse NOW! He directed and wrote Red Dawn the preeminent 80's movie. Whether it's good or bad is completely objective but it's certainly interesting.
Dear Ms. Aria, ICYMI, the Coonan stories first hit print in the 1930's. I fell upon them in the 1970's while in SouthEast Asia during the Vietnam War. There are many books that are still published today by the late author Robert E. Howard. It's an entire world of city-states, seas, and sorcerors of high magick. There is a ton of things to fill all your ponderances in those stories.
I wish you happy reading.
I enjoyed your reaction to Conan. If you want to see James Earl Jones almost twenty years younger than he is here, he has a very minor part in the 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove (or How Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb). He also appears in Field of Dreams from 1989. Both are highly recommended. As a teenager, I had read many of the Conan short stories before the movie was made. The character was created by Robert E Howard in the 1920s and 30s. As a fantasy book lover and a Dungeons and Dragons player, Conan Instantly became a favorite for me and most of my friends. There was at least one sequel which I seem to remember being OK.
25:37 I always wondered what he said to Fred, thanks for letting us know 😉
P.S. You are not stupid in the slightest!!!
I remember watching this in the early 80s. The good old days, the days of high adventure!!
When Conan gets the Atlantean sword, they originally had him fight the undead Thrall king underground, but it was too difficult to do with budget, so they changed the scene. Its later homagéd in viking epic Northman (2022)
There is a Conan II: Conan the Destroyer. But sadly part 3, King Conan never got made. There have been rights fights for over 20 years now. The original script got turned into another Robert E. Howard (the original writer/creator) movie, Kull the Conqueror. But right now the current rights holder is looking for some one who won't belittle the Conan stories into mush (as good as this first movie was, it wasn't exact with the books, but did borrow heavy elements from several stories). And the rumor is that a online series is currently in production, but it's far enough out from having a first series done, that the rights holder isn't going to get our hopes up on it yet if it falls apart. In the mean time he has had reputable book makers, reprint the original Howard stories, and the transcripts of unreleased tales that he had planned. And for now has entrusted the video game company FunCom with the license. In fact, his trust in them got the company out of being in debt and in thanks, they updated their logo to have a solute of Conan's head on a flag.
"You scoundrels, do you want to live forever?" --Frederick the Great, 1757, Seven Years War, calling his elite guards to return to the fight. He lost that battle, but won the war.
This is probably my favorite Arnold movie. Every is dope from the score, story to all the amazing quotes
My favourite James Earl Jones performance is from Flight Of Dragons as the voice of Omadon. “Farewell, can you not feel the world turning in my direction already!”