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| 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.
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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.
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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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