Conan the Destroyer (1984)

Conan leads a ragtag group of adventurers on a quest for a princess.

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Robert E. Howard (character), Roy Thomas (story),

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Conan
Grace Jones	...	Zula
Wilt Chamberlain	...	Bombaata
Mako	...	Akiro 'The Wizard'
Tracey Walter	...	Malak
Sarah Douglas	...	Queen Taramis
Olivia d'Abo	...	Princess Jehnna (as Olivia D'Abo)
Pat Roach	...	Man Ape / Toth-Amon
Jeff Corey	...	Grand Vizier
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	Togra (as Sven Ole Thorsen)
Bruce Fleischer	...	Village Heckler
Ferdy Mayne	...	The Leader (as Ferdinand Mayne)

Storyline

The wandering barbarian, Conan, alongside his goofy rogue pal, Malak, are tasked with escorting Queen Taramis' virgin niece, Princess Jehnna and her bodyguard, Bombaata, to a mystical island fortress. They must retrieve a magical crystal that legends say can awaken the god of dreams, Dagoth. Along the way, Conan reunites with the wise wizard, Akiro and befriends the fierce female fighter, Zula. Together the heroes face ancient traps, powerful Wizards, plots of betrayal, and even the dream god, Dagoth, himself!

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Plot Keywords:

wizard | princess | queen | gods | thief | 

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Taglines:

The Darkest Side of Magic. The Strongest Side of Man.

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Adventure

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Conan: King of Thieves

Filming Locations:

Churubusco Studios, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$26,400,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Laurentiis

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During his lifetime, Wilt Chamberlain claimed sexual encounters with over 20,000 women. Ironically, in this movie Queen Taramis charges Chamberlain's character Bombaata with protecting Princess Jehnna's virginity.

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Goofs

The four bloody scratches on Conan's arms during the Man Ape fight scene, the blood slightly ran down Conan's arms, but minutes later just as the crystal palace begins to crumble, those bloody scratches are on his arms neatly with no blood smearing.

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Quotes

Malak: I think we made the merchant angry.
Conan: Are you surprised?
Malak: But we didn't steal everything he had!
Conan: We didn't have time.

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Connections

Referenced in The Spoony Experiment: Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (2011)

User Reviews

Not bad - but blimey - the most annoying sidekick ever!!!!!

The plot moves on at a fair old pace from one big set piece to another and it is clear the film had a decent budget. In fact, I would say that this is excellent bubblegum sword and sorcery fodder except for a few minor, but annoying quirks. For one thing the comedy sidekick Malak is phenomenally irritating, badly acted, and takes any tension, interest etc out of any scene. Clearly they were going for a wider 'family' appeal with this film, but this was also clearly a decision made some time down the filming process. Most obviously this hits home during the fight scenes with some very choppy cutting as some of the more gruesome bits have been removed. And Conan's second encounter with the camel suffers from this too! That aside the cast carry off their roles with aplomb, Grace Jones in particular really getting across her character's zest for and love of combat. One of the better hack and slash films out there.