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!

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

The most powerful legend of all is back in a new adventure.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Mexico

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Conan: King of Thieves

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, Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 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.

---

Goofs

(at around 40 mins) At the beginning of the fight against the Man Ape, the Man Ape swipes his claw, striking the left side of Conan's head which knocks him down. Conan holds that spot in pain. A moment later, while Man Ape has Conan in a choke hold, he also scratches his face in the same place where was just claw-swiped. Those claw and scratch marks on his face and left side of his head are visible.

---

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.

---

Alternate Versions

UK cinema and video versions were cut by 28 secs to remove horsefalls and shots of a camel being hit on the head. The 2004 Sanctuary DVD had similar cuts (reduced to 19 secs) but received an additional cut to a scene where Conan punches a horse. Both scenes were included in High Fliers UK Blu-ray release.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Josh Brolin/Artie Lange/Giada De Laurentiis (2014)

User Reviews

Entertaining but not as good as Conan The Barbarian

I have been captivated by Conan's heroic fantasy world for many years. For this reason alone I am rating this film as 6/10. Do not expect a continuation of the first Conan film. 'Conan The Destroyer' is too light in its scope and Conan is not the same man anymore. The villains are also not as menacing.

Having said that it was good to see Grace Jones and Sarah Douglas and also Conan's companions had good lines and were very funny at times.

As a side note I found the adjective 'Destroyer' in the title quite misleading and unfortunate. For those of us that read the Conan novels we see Conan driven by his own motivations, and fighting his battles only if he had to and not for the sake of destroying. The film distributors could have picked something else to promote the movie.