Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

Robert E. Howard (stories)
John Milius (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

14 May 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Adventure

Tagline:

He conquered an empire with his sword. She conquered HIM with her bare hands.

Plot:

A vengeful barbarian warrior sets off to avenge his tribe and his parents whom were slain by an evil sorcerer and his warriors when he was a boy.

Plot Keywords:

Warrior | Set | Sorcerer | Snake Cult | Steel

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Conan
James Earl Jones	...	Thulsa Doom
Max von Sydow	...	King Osric
Sandahl Bergman	...	Valeria
Ben Davidson	...	Rexor
Cassandra Gava	...	The Witch (as Cassandra Gaviola)
Gerry Lopez	...	Subotai
Mako	...	The Wizard / Narrator
Valérie Quennessen	...	The Princess
William Smith	...	Conan's Father
Luis Barboo	...	Red Hair
Franco Columbu	...	Pictish Scout
Leslie Foldvary	...	Sacrificial Snake Girl
Gary Herman	...	Osric's Guard
Erik Holmey	...	Turanian War Officer (as Erick Holmey)
Akio Mitamura	...	Mongol General
Nadiuska	...	Conan's Mother
Jorge Sanz	...	Young Conan
Jack Taylor	...	Priest
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	Thorgrim (as Sven Ole Thorsen)
Kiyoshi Yamasaki	...	Sword Master
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pilar Alcón	...	Orgy Slave Girl (uncredited)
Florencio Amarilla	...	Man (uncredited)
Ron Cobb	...	Black Lotus Street Peddler (uncredited)
Dragon Dronet	...	Pit Fighter (uncredited)
Donald Gibb	...	Osric's Guard (uncredited)
Andrea Guzon	...	Breeding Woman (uncredited)
Corrie Jansen	...	Beautiful Woman Jumping to her Death (uncredited)
John Milius	...	Foodseller in the Old City (uncredited)

Directed by
John Milius

Writing credits
Robert E. Howard		(stories)
John Milius		(written by) and
Oliver Stone		(written by)
Edward Summer		story (uncredited)

Produced by
D. Constantine Conte	....	executive producer
Raffaella De Laurentiis	....	producer
Buzz Feitshans	....	producer
Edward R. Pressman	....	executive producer
Edward Summer	....	associate producer
Dino De Laurentiis	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Basil Poledouris

Cinematography by
Duke Callaghan

Film Editing by
Carroll Timothy O'Meara		(as C. Timothy O'Meara)

Production Design by
Ron Cobb

Art Direction by
Pier Luigi Basile		(as Pierluigi Basile)
Veljko Despotovic
Benjamín Fernández

Set Decoration by
Giorgio Postiglione

Costume Design by
John Bloomfield

Makeup Department
Colin Arthur	....	special effects makeup
Carlo De Marchis	....	special effects makeup supervisor
Paquita Núñez	....	chief hair stylist
Pamela Peitzman	....	makeup artist: Miss Bergman (as Pamela L. Peitzman)
José Antonio Sánchez	....	hair stylist supervisor
José Antonio Sánchez	....	makeup supervisor
Ken Horn	....	makeup effects (uncredited)
Paquita Trench	....	assistant hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Pepe Escriva	....	unit manager: second unit
Vicente Escrivá hijo	....	production manager (as Vicente Escriva Jr.)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Víctor Albarrán	....	second assistant director
Roberto Cirla	....	assistant director
José Luis García Berlanga	....	second assistant director (as Jose Luis Garcia-Berlanga)
Terry Leonard	....	second unit director (as Terry J. Leonard)
José López Rodero	....	first assistant director (as Pepe Lopez Rodero)
Kuki López Rodero	....	first assistant director: second unit (as Kuki Lopez)
Massimo Trabaloo	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Adolfo Cofiño	....	construction manager
Tomas Lorenzo	....	props
Julián Martín	....	scenic painter (as Julian Martin)
Julián Mateos	....	property buyer (as Julian Mateos)
Giorgio Palomba	....	scenic painter
George Peppiatt	....	props
Aldo Puccini	....	construction manager
Syd Regan	....	scenic painter (as Sid Regan)
William Stout	....	production artist
Graham Sumner	....	property master
Peter Voysey	....	chief sculptor

Sound Department
Wayne Artman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bub Asman	....	sound effects editor
Tom Beckert	....	sound re-recording mixer
Fred J. Brown	....	supervising sound editor
Shelley Brown	....	apprentice sound editor
Juno J. Ellis	....	assistant sound editor
Erick Feitshans	....	sound department assistant (as Erick J. Feitshans)
Michael Jiron	....	sound re-recording mixer
Margie O'Malley	....	foley artist (as Margie Denecke)
Michele Sharp	....	sound editor (as Michelle Sharp)
Caryl Wickman	....	loop dialogue editor
Jim Willis	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Nick Allder	....	special effects supervisor
Antonio Balandín	....	special effects technician
Richard Conway	....	special effects technician
George Gibbs	....	special effects floor supervisor
Ron Hone	....	special effects technician
John McGoldrick	....	special effects technician
Roger Nichols	....	special effects technician
Antonio Parra	....	special effects chief technician
Giuseppe Tortora	....	special effects technician
Barry Whitrod	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Dennis Bartlett	....	travelling matte consultant
James Hagedorn	....	animation opticals: R.G.B. Opticals (as James R. Hagedorn)
Katherine Kean	....	animator: VCE
Peter Kuran	....	animated visual effects: VCE
Len Morganti	....	animator: VCE
Emilio Ruiz del Río	....	miniatures (as Emilio Ruiz del Rio)
Susan Turner	....	animator: VCE
Frank Van der Veer	....	special visual effects
Jim Danforth	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Stunts
José Luis Ayestarán	....	stunts
Bettina Brenner	....	stunts
Tony Brubaker	....	stunts
Jim Burk	....	stunts
José Luis Chinchilla	....	stunts (as Chinchilla)
Ricardo Cruz	....	stunts
Corrie Jansen	....	stunts
Terry Leonard	....	stunt coordinator (as Terry J. Leonard)
Juan Maján	....	stunt coordinator (as Juan Majan)
Larry Randles	....	stunts (as Larry Randales)
Ben Scott	....	stunts
John-Clay Scott	....	stunts (as John Scott)
Walter Scott	....	stunts
Bob Terhune	....	stunts
Lightning Bear	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Leonard	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
José Luis Aguilar	....	assistant camera (as Jose Luis Aguilar)
John Cabrera	....	director of photography: second unit
José Luis Criado	....	assistant camera: second unit (as Jose Luis Criado)
Antonio Fernández Santamaría	....	key grip (as Antonio Fernandez)
Julián Fernández	....	key grip (as Julian Fernandez)
Rafael García Martos	....	chief electrician (as Rafael Garcia Martos)
Salvador Gómez Calle	....	assistant camera: second unit (as Salvador Gomez)
Gerhard Hentschel	....	camera maintenance
Julio Leyva	....	assistant camera (as Julio Martin Leyva)
Julio Madurga	....	camera operator: second unit
Ricardo Navarrete	....	camera operator
Bob Penn	....	still photographer
Herbert Smith	....	camera operator
Tote Trenas	....	assistant camera (as Jose Pedro Trenas)
George Whitear	....	still photographer
Micky Wilson	....	gaffer

Casting Department
Rosa García	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Franco Antonelli	....	wardrobe supervisor
Martín Díaz	....	wardrobe master (as Martin Diaz)
María Eugenia Escrivá	....	assistant costume designer (as Maria Eugenia Escriva)
Andrés Fernández	....	wardrobe master (as Andres Fernandez)
Stephen Jackson	....	wardrobe assistant
Michael Jones	....	head dress-maker

Editorial Department
Rafaela Andújar	....	apprentice film editor (as Rafaela Andujar)
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Marisa Del Pino	....	assistant film editor
Conrad M. Gonzalez	....	supervising assistant film editor (as Conrad Gonzales)
Carl Graham	....	apprentice film editor
Christopher Holmes	....	additional editor
Darren T. Holmes	....	assistant film editor (as Darren Holmes)
Frank E. Jimenez	....	apprentice film editor (as Frank Jimenez)
Patricia Lee	....	assistant film editor
Peck Prior	....	assistant film editor
Richard Ritchie	....	color timer
Fred Stafford	....	additional editor

Music Department
Greig McRitchie	....	orchestrator (as Greg McRitchie)
Basil Poledouris	....	conductor
Robert Randles	....	music editor
Steven Scott Smalley	....	orchestrator
Lucie Svehlova	....	orchestra leader (Prometheus re-recording ) (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Emilio Marquerie	....	transportation manager
Fernando Marqueríe	....	transportation manager (as Fernando Marquerie)
Manuel Paredes Murillo	....	driver (uncredited)
Alfonso Paredes	....	driver (uncredited)
Carlos Ponce de León	....	transportation captain (uncredited)

Other crew
Miguel Ángel Alonso	....	production office assistant
Paco Ardura	....	animal handler (as Francisco Ardura)
Yvonne Axeworthy	....	script supervisor (as Yvonne Axworthy)
Barbara Back	....	production office coordinator
Ludy Camacho	....	production accountant assistant (as Ludi Camacho)
Roberto Cirla	....	crowd coordinator
L. Sprague De Camp	....	technical advisor
Vues de Vestel Tiva	....	snake trainer
Santiago DeBenito	....	production accountant (as Santiago de Benito)
Francesca DeLaurentiis	....	continuity: second unit (as Francesca de Laurentiis)
Francisco García	....	assistant crowd coordinator (as Francisco Garcia)
Brian Gibbs	....	supervising accountant
Martha Gibbs	....	production accountant assistant
Michael B. Gladych	....	production research
Carl Graham	....	location coordinator
Humberto Gurza	....	animal wrangler
Miguel Gurza	....	animal wrangler
Beth Hickman	....	assistant: Mr. Feitshans
Manuel Jimenez	....	production accountant
Steven Kilroy	....	production office assistant
Mareva Mapuhi	....	secretary: Miss De Laurentiis
Margarita McDermott	....	production secretary
Trilby Norton	....	production secretary
Juan Clemente Prosper	....	location manager (as Juan Clemente)
Fred L. Rexer	....	spiritual advisor
Jody Samson	....	sword maker
Saralo	....	secretary: Mr. Milius
Anne Strick	....	unit publicist
John Trehy	....	chief production accountant
Debbie Van Hoek	....	production accountant
Kiyoshi Yamasaki	....	sword master
Angelica De Leon	....	publicity assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents)
• Dino De Laurentiis Company

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1982) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1982) (Finland) (theatrical)
• In-Cine Distribuidora Cinematográfica S.A. (1982) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures Canada (1982) (Canada) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• FS Film Oy (200?) (Finland) (DVD)
• MCA Home Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV) (1990) (Finland) (TV)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2008) (Finland) (TV)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1984) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Nelonen (2000) (Finland) (TV)
• Thorn EMI Video (199?) (Finland) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• VTI Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Visual Concept Engineering (VCE) (animated visual effects)

Other Companies

• Conan Properties Inc.  thanks
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Estate of Robert E. Howard, The  thanks
• International Recordings  music recorded at
• Joe Dunton & Company  camera services (as Joe Dunton Cameras)
• MUSYNC  temp music editor
• Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales  thanks (as Museum of Natural History, Madrid)
• RGB Optical  animation opticals (as R.G.B. Opticals)
• Technicolor  prints
• Title House  title art
• Van der Veer Photo Effects  titles and opticals
• Zoetrope Studios  casting

Also Known As:

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1982) | Peru:14 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:R (Certificate #26529) | West Germany:16 | UK:AA (cut) | Iceland:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Italy:VM14 | New Zealand:R16 | South Korea:12 (1983) (cut) | South Korea:18 (uncut) | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | France:U | Brazil:14 | Canada:18+ (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Conan's response to the Mongol General's question, "What is best in life?" are the main character's very first lines of dialog and it is a full twenty minutes into the movie before he delivers them.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Conan's father tells Conan about their god, he states that Crom does not reside in the sky, but in the earth. Yet whenever Conan prays to Crom, he always looks skywards.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Title Card:That which does not kill us makes us stronger - Friedrich Nietzsche

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Superior Firepower: The Making of 'Aliens' (2003) (V)

The best movie the swords-and-sorcery genre ever managed to produce

'Conan: the Barbarian'. Even the mere mention of the title draws out chuckles and derogatory comments about Arnold's acting ability, mostly from people who have not seen the movie. However, the fact remains, that out of the numerous SnS-movies that were released from the early eighties to today, this is the one people remember and still watch. It had all the ingredients of exploitation SnS: gratuitous nudity, tons of violence and oiled musclemen. What set it apart from its peers was a director/writer totally committed to making a great movie, tons of money, a producer who wasn't afraid of a 'R' rating, great actors, and a star who was too dumb to realize the inherent silliness of his role. The results are on screen, and they are amazing. I own the movie on DVD and the soundtrack, and I can safely say that in my collection, it ranks among the Godfather Trilogy and Kurosawa's films. Yes, I'm totally serious.

John Milius hasn't directed a lot of movies, and the majority of them have been pretty awful. This one is a great exception. His genius lay, among other things, in casting physically strong non-actors for most of the roles: Sandahl Bergman was a dancer, Arnold was a body-builder and Gerry Lopez was a surfer. The dialogue-heavy parts are done by experienced character-actors who take themselves seriously enough to give GREAT performances. The juxtaposition of the pretty wooden trio of adventurers to the skilled and energetic performances of the pros makes the whole thing work. Writing is damn good for the kind of movie this is, sporting classic, quotable lines as well as surprisingly sensible dialogue (Sandahl's monologue to Arnold is a good example). As far as production design goes, this film was done by Ron Cobb, who always does good work (he did Alien and Aliens). Money flowed relatively freely, by which I mean that the sets look great and the props are mostly top-notch.

In these CGI-heavy times when fights are so ridiculously over-choreographed it almost hurts, it's a pleasure to see Conan's basic, but believable combat. Characters hit, miss and parry in a slow tempo which might not be as exciting as say, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but is infinitely easier to swallow as a depiction of ancient battles. The fight at the end stands out as a masterpiece by Milius, who employed every strategic trick in the book to make the memorable last stand by Conan and Subotai. The latter merits special attention: even though Gerry Lopez might not exactly have been Oscar-material, he was so damn cool that it all made up for the lesser moments. If I had been Conan thousands of years ago, I would most certainly have chosen Subotai as my buddy, if only for the sheer coolness of having a wise-cracking archer at my side while I screwed beautiful women and fought body-builders.

The score is recognized as one of the best of the eighties, and Poledouris certainly did a magnificent job on it. At first, I couldn't understand what the fuzz was all about and found it rather average. After repeated viewings I finally understand why it's so good and why I didn't like it at first. Basil Poledouris (who has worked on Robocop among other films) deftly avoided the movie-music clichés which permeate the industry. By clichés I mean the vocabulary set up by the industry giants that everyone employs: Williams, Horner, Elfman, Zimmer, Arnold and their like utilize pretty similar motifs, themes and harmony. Conan's score eschews these for an operatic score with highly recognizable themes. Rather than being relegated to building up the tension with hit points or any similar technique, the music works alongside the film on equal footing, and this functions tremendously well. You are not as much watching Conan as you are listening to it!

I bought this movie on DVD not too long ago, and while the visual transfer is GREAT, the sound languishes in mono-land, which means that the score does not get the stereo treatment it so deserves. Special features include a perfunctory but informing documentary, cast and crew, trailers and cut scenes. Audio commentary from the director and Arnold is of mixed quality. While Milius offers a lot of insight into the symbolism (I had no idea it was this heavy) and directing of Conan, Arnold is like an overpaid old lady giving running commentary from Planet Obvious. 'Aaaah, deez is weaaarr aie mett Sanduuuhll', Arnold blurters, much to the understandable chagrin of Milius. Chemistry is non-existent between the two, Milius just overrides Arnold to get to his next intellectual exercise. They should have dropped Schwarzenegger and gotten Ron Cobb or Dino de Laurentiis or something.

In short, despite the pretty wooden acting, Conan manages to be a thoroughly enjoyable and even intelligent movie (watch the documentary and listen to Milius's commentary, and you'll know what I mean), with fantastic production, a brilliant score and classic dialogue. Some may nitpick over a few cheesy effects and bad wigs, but these faults are minor and do little to detract from what may be the best fantasy movie ever. 9/10