Conan The Barbarian (1982)

bullvine wrote: »

So I'm not alone in Awesomeness of this film!

Oh sweet Jesus no! I love this film, a great swords & sorcery movie that put Arnie on the Hollywood map.

I've been meaning for ages to watch this again, been too long.

Always loved this bit

FlashD wrote: »

Yeah, Conan is a good one.

Unlike the OP I probably wouldn't rate it a as a serious sword & sandles flick, dare I use the words 'cheesy goodness' once again, this is what got me hooked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOfmy6zlh_k

This is my favourite bit, so corny always got me.

Some of the comments under these videos often amuse me, for example with respect to the above video:

"he was laughing at the new conan, but when he realized it was for real, he passed out"

Here is another one



"This is how I look at a potential employer after an interview. Needless to say im still unemployed."

Anyway, the film is masterpiece. I disagree that the dialogue is ridiculous, it's just not written in the style of modern films, but then that's a good thing imo, most modern films are just so bland, lack so much character and I'll stop myself there before I go into a major rant about how music/films/fashion even have taken a nosedive since the 00s because it's true. Conan has some great lines, "contemplate this on the tree of woe," "I am the wellspring from which you flow", the whole riddle of steel dialogue between Thulsa Doom and Conan, "Rexor is beside himself with grief" the what is best in life speech, the whole Crom speech before the battle.

Anyway back to the film, it is cheesy overall with some wtf?! moments, but it's got so much uniqueness and despite all the ridiculous elements which are also fun, and one of the reasons the film is appealing to so many people, I would say it's also got this dark atmosphere which is genuinely dark and contemplative compared to affected darkness with modern productions. It's a Nietzchean interpretation of reality, but ultimately it's a positive film I think. Conan's people are massacred by Thulsa because they are weaker, Conan is weak and is spared because of this. Gradually he builds up his strength by pushing a wheel of pain for 25 odd years (yes that's a ridiculous and funny element in the film), this builds up his physical strength, then he's sent to fight as a gladiator, he just about survives his first match, and through successive victories he gets his warrior training and third level (for the time) education. He's finally freed, and at this point he's got the phsyical and mental attributes, successfully built up and honed to take on his quest of vengeance against Doom. And he nearly dies when he's crucified on the tree of woe. But he still manages to survive, he looses his girlfriend because the spirits exact a price for his resurrection, he loses almost everything to right an ancient wrong, and finally at the end he stands before Doom his equal, through these years of strife which have built him up, and he slays Doom in front of his followers. Then the heroic deed, he burns down the temple, and frees the Doomers from their religious indoctrination. Initially just on a vengeance quest he actually improves the world at the end, he undoes the work of strong yet corrupt people like Doom. So the message of the film would appear to be that life is arduous and dominated by strong people (rich/powerful etc) who use their powers for evil or self gain, yet there are people like Conan who while not perfect, will do the right thing in the end, thereby ending at least one cycle of pain (which recalls the wheel of pain) in this case Doom's reign. Conan is a product of Doom's actions, but unlike Doom he doesn't end up repeating the kind of actions he's encouraged to do in this brutal world he inhabits. He decides to make an ethical choice against the rationality of this world of sufferring, greed and warfare where the strong prey upon the weak. He uses his strength for good in other words, thereby becoming a hero. But he is able to do this because he has survived where many have failed, so the Nietzchean angle is ever present. There is a certain anxiety in the film about the relentless strife and conflict of reality, but ultimately it ends on a positive note, basically saying that despite all this the world can improve if people like Conan do the right thing. The great thing about the film is that, in contrast to modern films eg Christopher Nolan films, Conan doesn't spell out it's themes over and over again to the audience in montage sequences covered in theatrical music. The film is actually quite subtle in its philosophical themes. Oh yeah the score is fcking awesome, the opening theme is huge in scope and the closing the Orphans of Doom music is hauntingly beautiful.

James Earl Jones put in one of the greatest performance in acting history, the dude exudes charisma, even though he's evil. His oratory is excellence personified, his whole demeanor bespeaks of a charismatic leader with hypnotic abilities of deception. This won't make much sense to most people but I think it's probably the most faithful realisation of a swords and sorcery fantasy world ever. I mean I've seen LOTR but this film just has a certain quality about, with the armour and the locations and the lighting, it just feels more in keeping with how I envisioned fantasy worlds as I would play Baldur's Gate or read Arthurian legends or the Silmarillion. Another great thing about this film is the fact it's edited at a stately pace. The Irish Times journos compared the editing times of this film to the new Conan and found that the new Conan film is edited at a very rapid pace compared to the old one. In fact they found that a lot of films nowadays have this hyperactive editing pace. For me anyway, ultra fast edited films actually take me out of the action, all the shots just blend into one frantic sequence of action I can't care about because I'm not given enough time to absorb what I'm seeing and become immersed in the world of the film. That's another reason why 1982 Conan is brilliant, the editing is slow, and that is good.

FlashD wrote: »

Found this gem on youtube, side splitting stuff, not sure if its really Arnie and John Millus but I really want to hear the commentary on this film now. Maybe another poster can let us know. 'AHhha he was laughing, he didn't laugh long!'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSqnFxVaIx4

Check it.:)

Deep down Arnie is really Conan masquerading as an ex-bodybuilder turned actor/governor!

watched it recently. its very red.. someone needed to fix the white balance.
possibly I'm thinking of destroyer though

great films