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Released by: Universal Studios
Released on: 8/2/2011
Director: John Milius
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Mako
Year: 1982
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The Movie:
Based on the stories by Robert E. Howard (which in turn inspired the comic book series from Marvel), John Milius' big screen adaptation of Conan The Barbarian, written by Oliver Stone, might take some liberties with Howard's mythology but in the end stands the test of time as a great big slice of dumb entertainment and a decent adaptation of the source material.
The film begins when the sinister Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones in a bad wig) and his cultists slaughter a Cimmerian village and kill the parents of a boy who is then sold into slavery and forced to grow up working 'The Wheel Of Pain' before being traded off to another master to work as a pit fighter. Now a grown man, Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) eventually gets his freedom and before you know it he's hooked up with a foxy blonde thief named Valeria (Sandahl Bergman) and an archer named Subtoi (Gerry Lopez) and has made his way into Thulsa Doom's snake cult headquarters, killed giant snake and stolen a valuable gem.
Conan's feats bring him to the attention of King Osric (Max Von Sydow), who hires him to go and get his daughter back for him. It seems she's joined Thulsa Doom's cult and has no intentions of coming home again. As Conan and his pals cross paths with Doom's minions, the find some help from a strange wizard named Akiro (Mako) and eventually wind up for a showdown in which Conan hopes to solve the 'riddle of steel' and avenge the deaths of his parents and fellow Cimmerians.
While Conan The Barbarian might not be the best example of heavy character development or deep storytelling, it sure is a lot of fun. Arnold is actually quite good in the role so long as you don't think about his accent too much and the supporting players are decent here as well, Mako in particular, who also serves as the film's narrator. All involved are suitable larger than life, James Earl Jones especially as he plays his sinister antagonist with plenty of enthusiasm.
Working firmly in R-rated territory (as it should be, and unlike the PG rated sequel, Conan The Destroyer), Milius' picture is in keeping with Howard's stories in that Conan is prone to sleeping with as many women as he sees fit and isn't afraid to get as violent as the situation calls for. As such, there's a fair bit of topless nudity in the movie and some violence that, when compared to the watered down follow up, can be quite surprising. Throats are slit, giant snakes are stabbed, heads are chopped off and blood flows rather freely in the film but despite all of the sensationalist elements the movie never feels too gratuitous or over the top.
Set to a great score courtesy of the late Basil Poledouris the movie is also very well shot and features some great location work and some impressive set design. Things are a little dated here and there but overall, the movie does hold up rather well, probably far better than those outside of its fan base would expect it to.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Universal's AVC encoded 2.35.1 widescreen 1080p high definition transfer of Conan The Barbarian doesn't look bad but understandably doesn't quite compare to newer features on the same format. Detail is much improved over the previous DVD versions of the movie as is texture and color reproduction even if some shots definitely do look noticeably softer than others (as they always have). The image is generally clean, not suffering from any serious print damage even if the odd speck and small scratch shows up, with its grain structure thankfully more or less intact. There are no problems with heavy edge enhancement even if some light to moderate instances are around if you look for them, nor are there any compression artifacts to complain about. Black levels are, for the most part, quite good but there is a little bit of background noise in a few darker spots. Overall though, the image here is a definite and noticeable improvement over what has come before it.
Audio chores are handled by an English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix with optional subtitles provided in French and English SDH. Once again we have an improvement over the DVD as this lossless track offers a considerably more natural sounding experience. Surrounds are used well to build atmosphere and to spread out the now semi-iconic score to nice effect while the levels are properly balanced. There are no issues with hiss or distortion, nor should there be, and dialogue remains clear and audible throughout playback.
Most of the extras are carried over from the previous special edition DVD release, starting with the commentary track from director John Milius and leading man Arnold Schwarzenegger. These guys are having a good time with this track, taking a laid back approach and making some jokes at the film's expense from time to time, but also sharing some interesting stories about the production, the popularity of the film, and the various cast and crew members who worked on the picture with them.
Also carried over are five and a half minutes worth of unfinished deleted scenes, a brief two minute bit on the special effects work seen in the film, and the eleven minute The Conan Archives which is basically a slideshow. More importantly, Universal has also carried over the fifty-three minute documentary, Conan Unchained: The Making of Conan the Barbarian, which is an interesting retrospective look back at the making of the movie with input from producer Edward Pressman, director John Milius, producer Dino DeLaurentis, a few cast and crew members and even good old Oliver Stone who helped write the film. It's a pretty thorough and engaging look at the movie and its legacy and those who haven't already seen it will definitely want to check it out.
New to this Blu-ray release are two exclusive featurettes, the first of which is The Art Of Steel: Sword Makers and Masters, a fourteen minute bit that looks at what goes into making the swords for a movie like this. The second is Conan: From the Vault, a ten minute segment containing some archival on set interviews from 1982 that are, if a bit on the fluffy side, still a fun watch. Rounding out the extras are a couple of theatrical trailers, animated menus and Blu-ray Live functionality. All of the extras are in standard definition except where noted.
The Final Word:
While some more in-depth extras certainly would have been welcome, at least Universal carried over everything from the previous DVD and threw in a few minor new additions. The transfer, while not perfect, is a definite upgrade over the DVD as is the lossless audio track - as to the movie itself? It's just as much dumb fun as it's ever been and one of Arnold's shining moments.
Click the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
