A Binge too Far #48: The epic Conan duo (1982 – 1984)

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Despite his limited skills as an actor and mostly with dialogue, Arnold Schwarzenegger was undeniably star material, and with very few lines to deliver he employed his otherworldly posture in order to become Conan, in a couple of films that were successful enough to guarantee the second coming of the ‘sword and sandal’ genre.

 

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

 

Upon seeing his people suffering genocide and the beheading of his own mother, a kid is growing up to become Conan the Barbarian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and fight for revenge, using his god-like strength and his skills with the sword.

 

Based on Robert E. Howard’s same-titled ‘down and dirty’ comic book character that was devoured by fans of pulp fiction, and turned into screenplay format by none other than Oliver Stone (of all people) and John Milius (who also directed, mostly competently enough and often with loads of inspiration), this may not be as risky as its source material, but you still get enough nudity and beheadings to justify its R rating. Produced by Rafaela De Laurentiis on a $20 million budget, it became a phenomenon as it grossed a stunning $79.1 million, singlehandedly spawning the second wave of the ‘sword and sandal’ genre. It greatly benefits from a cast that includes James Earl Jones and Max Von Sydow, but its true power is the game-changing soundtrack by Basil Poledouris.

 

Conan the Destroyer (1984)

Conan the Destroyer (1984)

 

Evil Queen Taramis of Shadizar [Sarah Douglas from Superman (1978)] is testing the strength of Conan (returning Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his (comic relief) sidekick Malak [Tracey Walter, later in Batman (1989)] and once that is proven they are assigned to aid her niece, Princess Jehnna [Olivia d’Abo, later in Point of No Return (1993)] to a journey gain back a precious horn jewel.

 

Based on Robert E. Howard’s comic book, this time the story was turned into a screenplay by Stanley Mann, while directorial duties went to Richard Fleischer, who is handling the material with the same gusto dictated by the original outing. Its sensibilities however are approached in different manner, and while there are a few beheadings on display, the nudity is notably absent and a ‘safe for all’ PG rating resulted. This sequel is not as lively, but it is also not entirely soulless, mainly due to the excellent work of composer Basil Poledouris. It was once again produced by Rafaela De Laurentiis on an $18 million budget, but it grossed a mere $31 million and the sequel promised on the end credits never materialized.

 

Afterword

 

Robert E. Howard’s works were also the inspiration behind the similar Red Sonja (1985), also featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Conan was the subject of several 1990s animated series, as well as an ill-fated live action series that lasted a mere one season. In the 2000s Conan fans were treated to a few video games featuring their favourite barbarian, but it was in 2011 that we saw him returning to the big screen in live action form with Conan the Barbarian featuring Jason Momoa in the title role.

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Movie Review: Salvador (1986; Hemdale/MGM/UA/Twilight Time)

...ya' know?? It's often quite interesting and intriguing, the evolution of a filmmaker. The inaugural hits...the initial misses...and that marked milestone of a film, which carries said filmmaker to greater heights, even to the point where, for good or for bad, whatever comes after, is still quite anticipated and well-received by viewing critics and audiences alike. For most, one's introduction to a specific filmmaker is typically something wrought well-after that aforementioned milestone, and after having been privy of latter, higher-profile work, curiosity prescribes...even sometimes demands one to back-pedal to that now-renowned and revered filmmaker's earlier work...

...cutting to the chase, let's just throw the name out there, 'kay?? Ready, go...Director Oliver Stone. Bam!! Right away, what comes to most folks' minds are the high-profile films of keen political rhetorics, observations and engagements, whether such things are observed and/or depicted in the exploitative media ("Natural Born Killers"), in a war-torn battleground ("Platoon", amongst others), in the high-rise financial arena (...can you say, "Wall Street"), on the grassy football gridiron (...a la, "Any Given Sunday"), or heck, even in the obvious of politically-driven locales...namely Washington, D.C., itself (..."JFK", "Nixon", "W.", etc.), Of course, there are those moments of filmmaking escapism...for lack of a better word...'breaks' in the political rhetorie, so to speak, as director Stone etches out the smaller, eclectic, more character driven stories (...of course, we're talking "Talk Radio", "U-Turn", "Savages"...the