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 original screenplay, the skeleton of the Atlantean General comes alive and fights Conan when Conan takes his sword.

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Goofs

(at around 29 mins) When Conan emerges from the crypt and cuts his leg irons, a hand can be seen reaching up to snatch the chain out of the way. (No hand can be seen on the R2 DVD special edition.)

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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

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.

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Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: Suburban Knights: Part II (2011)

User Reviews

Overwhelming sword-and-witchery epic in one of the first and main roles for Arnold Schwarzenegger

Sword-and-sorcery epic with incredible adventures , spectacular battles and strong scenes . This is an epic adventure set in Hyborian Age based on Robert E. Howard's pulp tales with screenplay by Oliver Stone and the same director John Milius . It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role, as the Hyborian Age hero fighting against ominous and heinous nasties . Conan seeks vengeance when being kid (Jorge Sanz) he saw as his mother (Nadiuska) was decapitated by a sorcerer (James Earl Jones), subsequently his village was slaughtered and he enslaved . Many years later , Conan undertakes a perilous travel with the help his partner (Gerry Lopez), a magician (Mako, who repeats his role as wizard in the sequel ¨Conan the destroyer ¨ by Richard Fleischer), a gorgeous warrior (Sandhal Bergman) who is also sidekick and lover , all of them are assigned by a king (Max Von Sidow) to free a young princess (Valerie Quennessen) from the claws a satanic witch . They undergo on a risked trip to find the princess , contending the cult leader and his giant hoodlum (Ben Davidson) and leading a vibrant ending.

This violent sword-and-witchery story packs noisy action, blood-thirsty battles at every turn , full-blooded adventure, thrills, crude scenes and rip-roaring fights. The picture is unbelievably brutal and sexist though also displays some love scenes and raunchy images . Made on a grand scale , approx 20 million of dollars , with spectacular production design by Ron Cobb and colorful cinematography by Duke Callaham , mostly filmed in Almeria (Spain) where in the 60s and 70s were shot innumerable Spaghetti Western . Big budget and lavishly produced by the great producer Dino and Rafaella De Laurentis, Dino's daughter. Impressive and groundbreaking musical score composed and conducted by Basil Poledouris . Conan fans will be delighted with this breathtaking and bloody epic . Followed by a sequel titled ¨Conan the destroyer¨ with Wilt Chamberlain , Grace Jones , Sarah Douglas and Olivia D'Abo that contains some dumb images and is unintentionally hilarious but amusing ; furthermore several low-grade imitations and rip offs, and spawned TV series starred by Ralph Moller. Plus a similar film realized in old-fashioned and lightweight style also directed by Richard Fleischer titled ¨Red Sonja¨ with Brigette Nielsen as female lead , Sandahl Bergman and of course Arnold Schwarzenegger has a brief guest spot. And in production a new ¨Conan¨ by Marcus Nispel with Jason Momoa, Rose McGowan and Ron Perlman