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

Robert E. Howard created a formula for the average Conan story. The formula had Conan "rescuing a damsel in distress from a monster in some ruins." While these stories are not considered among the better or more ambitious ones in the Conan series, they were the easiest to write and easiest to sell during the Great Depression. The film creators chose to largely ignore them as sources.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 30 mins) During the battle at the orgy, the camouflage body paint on the three warriors keeps changing patterns and alternating between fresh and dull.

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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

European version features alternate footage and is slightly re-edited. The first R1 DVD release has the US theatrical cut of the film, while the newer R1 Special Edition DVD adds some deleted scenes and features the longer/alternate international version (130 minutes). There are 4 minutes of additional scenes in the DVD Chapter "Doom's Day" involving the Princess (Valerie Quennessen) where she is shown with Conan entering Doom's Mountain and watching as Conan confronts and kills Thulsa Doom and burns the palace. Conan is later seen to lead her by the hand and then carrying her away. The last sentence of Conan's "A King by his own hand" silent text ending "but that is another story" has been changed to read "And this story shall also be told" and includes a voice over by Mako (Akiro)

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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