Cheap Conan the Barbarian - Collector's Edition (DVD) (Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones) (John Milius) Price

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Customer Reviews of Conan the Barbarian - Collector's Edition

Fantastic, but could have been more faithful to the books
OK, I gave this epic slab of sword and sorcery cinema four stars instead of five because the screenplay is not based on any one specific Robert E. Howard story: John Milius and Oliver Stone wrote their own story and threw in incidents from various Howard books to add flavor (Thulsa Doom is a character of their own creation...in the books, Thoth Amon is Conan's arch-enemy; the details of Conan's youth are entirely different; Valeria is a minor character who appeared in the book "Conan The Warrior", which is set quite a bit later in Conan's life...in the film she is the love of his life, while in the novels he falls in love with Zenobia, etc.). That being said, the film DID capture the atmosphere of the Hyborian world quite nicely and the musical score is absolutely perfect (Basil Pouledoris' re-working of Karl Orf's Carmina Burana). The movie pulls off quite a feat in that it manages to tell a story and convey an atmosphere while making minimal use of dialog: facial expressions, brutal action, subtle interplay of light and shadow, and the awesome music take you back to a dangerous time when the world was young. Although Arnold Schwarzeneggar was perhaps not the best choice for the role (the Conan of the novels, with his Gaelic mannerisms, comes much closer to a young, buffed Sean Connery), I will forever identify him with the character after seeing the film. This is arguably the best movie in the fantasy genre; better than Dragon Slayer, Excaliber, and the animated Tolkien films combined. I make no excuses for liking escapist fantasy in the sword and sorcery vain...I'm sick of the leftist Hollywood elite telling me what to like, how to act, what to read, who to hang around with, and what I should consider "art"...if you feel the same way, see this movie (or others like it) and rejoice in the fact that you are enjoying yourself and are not trying to save the damn world. Oh, yeah, you will appreciate the film (and the books) more if you dig Nietzsche...

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Conan the epic
Know that during the age that fell after the oceans drank Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Arias, there went Conan. And while many have emulated (in modern tongue, the word has been expanded to the phrase "blatant" rip-off") his feats in book and film, this flick by John Milus and with Arnold Schwarzennegar remains faithful to the rogue hero's spirit. In some pre-modern age, an age of armies, kings and sorcerers, Conan is raised in slavery after his village is massacred by the evil Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones). Hinting at many Conan stories, the script has the boy toiling for years as a slave at the "Wheel" before being sold as a prizefighter. Learning the skills of death, he is unceremoniously dumped by his owner, and finds himself a vagabond. Becoming a thief, Conan learns through a medium of his fate to rise to the rule of a modern kingdom (the story is narrated by a mystic who will serve the future king). He meets and joins forces with Valeria, a sly thief. Together, the two despoil palaces and temples - one belonging to a cult that worships Thulsa Doom himself. Conan is far too mercenary to consider vengeance against Doom...at first. Instead, he is soon "recruited" by a tired old king (Max Von Sydow, who owns one of the palaces that Conan has visited) and given an offer he dare not refuse - find and bring back the king's wayward daughter, a recent adherent of the Cult of Doom. Much adventure, pain and suffering follow.

Though taking liberties with Howard's legend, or just mixing up some stuff (Valeria was never a serious love interest - the script seems to confuse her with the pirate queen Belit; Conan does meet Doom, but the sorceror is actually a refugee of an earlier time in which he tangled with King Kull, a barbarian king of Atlantis), this flick gets the heart right and even irons out the theme underlying Conan's legend: though explicitly down on Conan's ways (in truth, we're all barbarians, is what Rob Howard says), the legend actually finds a way to weasel a sense of honor or duty out of the guy, allowing him to achieve rule over a kingdom, and hold it. The climax is not when Conan meets Doom for the last time, but immediately before his last battle, when Conan prays to Crom, the Cimmerian Deity. He doesn't pray for victory, only that people remember how the few stood against the many. This is a barbarian you can live with

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The best Epic movie that exists!!!
When does a movie become classic? When it tops the box office? When it has thousands of supporting actors, or a great budget? Maybe when it has a dozen of well known actors.

The way I understand classic is this:
Whenever I watch this movie on the tv I am hooked! Everytime that I see Conan and listen to the glorius soundtrack feels like seeing it for the first time. That is even when I have seen this movie for a hundred times. You never get bored by watching this movie. So when I think of the best movie in epic Conan the Barbarian comes first in my mind. Not poor Troia, not the Gladiator. The lord of the Rings could come in my mind but it doesn't (another masterpiece). Sometimes Braveheart feels like the best classic or even Spartacus. -"Legend" seems even more epic but it leans more to the fantasy side- But I am sure of it.
Conan topps them all.

Half the value of the movie is the soundtrack. Poleduris is fantastic and I believe that there is no person who will doubt the value of this soundtrack. He respects Howard's creation and pays tribute by making this movie glorius with his music. Many tried to copy him through the years but he was the first who set the standards with his creation from another time.

Arnold Swatzeneger could instead be the president of the US at that time than being the governor of California nowadays!! He could have done it with his sword!! If you don't believe me just watch the movie!!!

Everybody that worked in this movie actors, and producers knew what they where doing and loved what they where doing. This is how classics are made.

This review is not to persuade you to buy the cd or anything. It is just my way to say thanks for such a great movie to exist. A movie that from start to the end makes you one with the character and lets you compare it with other hollow movies that like to call themselves epic movies.