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.
Beyond the mists of time, having witnessed the brutal death of his blacksmith father and the massacre of the entire village by the murderous followers of Thulsa Doom, the undead evil wizard and servant of the serpent-god, Set, Conan, the orphaned young Cimmerian, is condemned to a life of slavery. Chained to the perpetual Wheel of Pain, the helpless boy grows into a man, and after years of rigorous training as a fierce gladiator, Conan, now an unstoppable mountain of muscle, regains his precious freedom. But, with the image of the blood-soaked raid etched on his mind, Conan teams up with Subotai, the Hyrkanian thief, and Valeria, the Queen of the Bandits, and embarks on a peril-laden journey to the mysterious Mountain of Power, and the impregnable Snake Cult Temple. Will Conan avenge his parents?Written by
Nick Riganas
Thulsa Doom demonstrates his absolute control over his followers by having one of them voluntarily jump off a high ledge to her death. This was likely based on a story about Hassan-i Sabbah (c. 1050-1124), master of the Hashshashin (Assassins). He reportedly had one of his followers leap to his death to demonstrate his power to visiting dignitaries. The cult of Thulsa Doom posing a threat to the powerful rulers of the Hyborian Kingdoms and killing may also be loosely based on the actions which coined the Assassins' reputation in the Middle Ages. See more »
Goofs
When the trio prepares to invade Doom's mountain, they camouflage themselves with 'war paint' (but Rexor recognizes Conan anyway), with black 'slashes' across their faces and torsos. Subotai adds cream-colored paint between his black marks, and Valeria applies it under Conan's left eye. But once inside, no one has cream paint--only black slashes and natural flesh colors. See more »
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!
See more »
Crazy Credits
In the North American prints, the 1963 Universal Pictures logo is playing normally, while the 1978 EMI Films logo is shown in the former international prints. Select market prints and current international prints have the silent version of the 1981 20th Century Fox logo. See more »
Alternate Versions
UK version is cut by 19 secs to remove horse falls (one of which can still be seen in the accompanying documentary on the UK DVD) and the sex scene with the witch is shortened to remove one brief shot of her bare behind and to reduce her groaning sounds from 6 to 3. The 2007 Definitive Edition DVD remains cut for horsefalls though the sex scene is intact. See more »
The movie that put Arnold on the map to becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, The film itself is ok, Nothing brilliant but for its year it was pretty fun, Maybe not as fun as it should of been, It had some good and bloody action scenes and the effects were pretty good for its day, Just your typical revenge plot and it's not greatly acted, Arnold did ok but his main acting goal was to flex whenever the camera was on him, Although what's not to love about him knocking out a camel with one punch or biting off the neck of a vulture (Great stuff) It's a film that just about stands the test of time mainly due to the fact it's the film that created the legend Mr. Schwarzenegger.
44 of 53 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
The movie that put Arnold on the map to becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, The film itself is ok, Nothing brilliant but for its year it was pretty fun, Maybe not as fun as it should of been, It had some good and bloody action scenes and the effects were pretty good for its day, Just your typical revenge plot and it's not greatly acted, Arnold did ok but his main acting goal was to flex whenever the camera was on him, Although what's not to love about him knocking out a camel with one punch or biting off the neck of a vulture (Great stuff) It's a film that just about stands the test of time mainly due to the fact it's the film that created the legend Mr. Schwarzenegger.