A barbarian trained in the arts of war joins with thieves in a quest to solve the riddle of steel and find the sorcerer responsible for the genocide of his people in this faithful adaptation of Robert E. Howards sword and sorcery adventures. This film briefly sparked a wave of fantasy films including the sequel Conan the Destroyer in the early 80s.
Review
In an age of Xenaesque fantasy adventure films (al la the tepid Scorpion King) It is startling to go back and see just how good this movie still is. "Conan" is not for the faint of heart and not just for gore there are far more bloody movies out there but for the uncompromising warriorethos John Milius infused into his vision. There is nothing PC about this fantasy world. When he is asked "what is best in life" Conan paraphrases Genghis Khan "Crush your enemies see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women!" We are not led to believe he is kidding. It is true that Arnold is no great actor but it is also true he has always stuck with parts he can handle and he does a fine job as Conan but the real star here is the director. John Milius is one of the greats totally unappreciated in his time and his sweeping scope and epic gritty battle sequences add a dimension lacking from almost every other S&S film. There is a grim aura of doom pervading the movie that fits the original Howard stories to a T and I think Robert E Howard would have really liked this movie. James Earl Jones gives a killer performance as the evil Thulsa Doom rivalling Darth Vader himself. A last point in this films favor is the score. Basil Poledouris turned out his best score ever for this film Brooding powerful and operatic it lends the film a grandeur Hercules could only dream of. I must have seen this film 40 times and I still never get tired of it.