Conan the Destroyer (1984)

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

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Robert E. Howard (based on the character created by), Roy Thomas (story by)

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, Olivia d'Abo

1 win & 3 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 will help them procure the horn 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:

zeus character | good versus evil | antihero | punching an animal | princess | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Conan II

Filming Locations:

Yuma, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,876,678, 1 July 1984

Gross USA:

$31,042,035

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$100,042,035

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company,Edward R. Pressman Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Arnold Schwarzenegger found the script too childish. He tried to convince producers to make more serious movie. However, his tryings failed. He was not so happy about the result. This is one of the reasons that a sequel did not follow this movie, as he lost his interest about Conan character.

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Goofs

(at around 42 mins) During the Man Ape fight, when the Man Ape has Conan in a bear hug, you can see that Conan's back is perfectly clean, then a moment later when Conan is lifted and carried on the Man Ape's shoulder, you can see a ton of blood on his back from rubbing off the Man Ape's chest. Another moment later, while Conan is breaking the mirrors, all the blood is gone.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Akiro 'The Wizard': [voiceover] Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, sword in hand. It is I, his chronicler, who knows well his saga. Now, let me tell you of the days of high adventure.

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Connections

Referenced in Saints Row IV (2013)

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.