Conan the Barbarian (1982)

A young boy, Conan, becomes a slave after his parents are killed and tribe destroyed by a savage warlord and sorcerer, Thulsa Doom. When he grows up he becomes a fearless, invincible fighter. Set free, he plots revenge against Thulsa Doom.

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

Robert E. Howard (based on the character created by), John Milius

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Conan
James Earl Jones	...	Thulsa Doom
Max von Sydow	...	King Osric (as Max Von Sydow)
Sandahl Bergman	...	Valeria
Ben Davidson	...	Rexor
Cassandra Gava	...	The Witch (as Cassandra Gaviola)
Gerry Lopez	...	Subotai
Mako	...	The Wizard / Narrator
Valérie Quennessen	...	The Princess (as Valerie Quennessen)
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)

Storyline

A village is attacked by the evil ruler of the Snake Cult, Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) and his evil warriors, when Thulsa Doom and his warriors kills his parents, a young boy named Conan (Jorge Sanz) is enslaved. Years later, Conan grows up and becomes a mighty warrior and is trained as a fighter. After years as a slave and as a gladiator, Conan is set free. Conan sets out on a quest as he vows to avenge his parents and solve the riddle of steel. Joined by a archer named Subotai (Gerry Lopez), a beautiful thief who falls in love with Conan, Valeria (Sandahl Bergman) and a Chinese wizard (Mako), Conan and his companions sets out to rescue Princess Yasmina (Valérie Quennessen), daughter of King Osric (Max von Sydow), from the Snake Cult, and get his revenge on Thulsa Doom and avenge his parents.

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Plot Keywords:

evil sorcerer | cult | gladiator | warlord | actual animal killed | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Spain Mexico

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Conan the Barbarian

Filming Locations:

Peñón de Bernal, Vicar, Almería, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,603,139, 14 May 1982, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$39,565,475

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$29,286,000, 31 December 1982

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Dino De Laurentiis Company, Edward R. Pressman Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Spanish dubbed voices there are two mismatches with the original English: the first happens during the narration in the prologue, where "hijos de Aryas" (sons of Aryas) was misspelled as "soles de Aries" (suns of Aries). The second happens when Conan and Subotai meets by first time with Valeria, after Conan misspelling "No eres un guarda" (you're not a guard) as "No eres una diosa" (you're not a god), creating an unwitting third mismatch about god/goddess. Although there is no explanation about these changes, it were caused probably due to phonetics similarities.

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Goofs

At various points in the movie the sound of the common loon (a type of duck) is heard. It has a haunting, mystical sound. The movie takes place in arid, desert conditions, however the common loon is a waterfowl that only inhabits lakes and other bodies of water. Loons would not be heard in the kinds of settings depicted in the film.

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Quotes

[first lines]
The Wizard: Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!

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Crazy Credits

"A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALFREDO"

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Alternate Versions

In some TV versions in Spain, it was shown in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio but with "grey bars" not "black bars".

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Connections

Referenced in Die schlechtesten Filme aller Zeiten: Hercules (2018)

User Reviews

Do you want to live forever?

Arnold has entertained me in many movies over the years (The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, Collateral Damage, Eraser), so I can forgive his pitiful acting in this film and just sit back and enjoy it.

Of course, the best thing about the film was the presence of Sandahl Bergman, originally a Golddigger from "The Dean Martin Show". She can act and did a very good job of it.

I also enjoyed Mako (The Sand Pebbles) and Gerry Lopez, who I guess gave up acting for surfing.

It is just a plain guilty pleasure that shows some great sword fighting.