Conan the Barbarian: 2 Disc Special Edition (1982)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Adventure	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio Audio Commentary-John Milius (Director) And Arnold Schwarzenegger (Actor) Web Links Featurette-Conan - The Rise Of A Fantasy Legend Featurette-Making Of-Conan Unchained: The Making Of Conan Featurette-Special Effects Split Screen Video Gallery-The Conan Archives Deleted Scenes Theatrical Trailer Production Notes
Rating
Year Of Production	1982
Running Time	125:04
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (49:44) Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	John Milius
Studio Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger James Earl Jones Max Von Sydow Sandahl Bergman Ben Davidson Cassandra Gava Gerry Lopez Mako Valérie Quennessen William Smith Luis Barboo Franco Columbu Leslie Foldvary
Case	?
RPI	$36.95	Music	Basil Poledouris

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired English Audio Commentary	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Robert E. Howard's legendary sword and sorcery franchise, starring the recently appointed governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a bona-fide fantasy classic packed with vengeful battles, evil magic and scantily-clad buxom wenches in distress. What more could you ask for in a film? This is the second release of this film in Region 4; the May 2002 release was reviewed by TonyR. I don't intend to provide a lengthy plot synopsis in this review, so if you'd like to read a bit about the film itself, visit Tony's excellent review here.

    I understand that most readers will visit this review for a comparison between the original Special Edition and the new 2-Disc Special Edition, so I've made a comparison table of the two below with the new 2-disc SE on the right column. Items in bold red are unique to that release.

    The runtime difference of four seconds represents some extra black silence at the end of the feature in the original release of the film. Both cuts are identical. As far as soundtracks go, the bitrate has been increased on both of the original soundtracks, with the addition of a dts option. The extras are unchanged aside from a new featurette covering Conan's creator, Robert E. Howard, and the transition of the character from pulp magazine Weird Tales to comics and films. Also, the cast and crew biographies are gone, probably because they are now outdated. The anti piracy propaganda and Fox promo reel can be fast forwarded or skipped by pressing the menu key on your remote. There is one still screen between the two that completely locks your player for five seconds.

    So, is it worth upgrading? In my opinion, no. The new dts soundtrack adds little in the way of immersion or punch, and the additional featurette is a bit brief. The video transfer still harbours a lack of detail, and to warrant a re-release it should have been upgraded in my opinion. This title is scheduled to be released by Universal in Region 1 on the new HD-DVD format early next year and I for one will be very interested to see how it scrubs up in hi-definition.

Video

    Firstly, I must say that judging by the placement of film artefacts and the like, this transfer is identical to the original release. This video transfer is good considering the age of the film, however the level of sharpness has not been improved at all.

    The transfer is presented in the film's original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

    The distinct lack of detail in this transfer was my main gripe with the original release, and the issue persists in this new version. Scenes such as the vast panoramic view of the landscape at 14:20 lack any sharpness or depth of detail. Another example that strikes me is the wide shot of Conan and his Mum at 9:40, the detail so poor that the viewer cannot make out the expressions on their faces. Shadow detail on the other hand is quite good, as are the film's deep black levels.

    Most colours appear bold and true, although I have always felt that the young Conan's lips seem to be unnaturally rosy at 5:02. This was present even in my old VHS version and is just one of those annoying things you pick up after having watched a film an unfathomable number of times.

    MPEG artefacting is completely absent. Film artefacts consisting of dust and dirt are concentrated around reel transitions and composite effects shots, but as a whole are well restrained for a film of this age. I noted a few instances that seemed to contain an elevated amount of film grain, but these were few and fairly unobtrusive. Telecine wobble is visible to a small degree, but is similarly mild in nature.

    Two English subtitle streams are included; one for the feature and another for the commentary. The commentary stream is new for this release. Both are comprised of the same black and white font and are easy to read, however they simplify sentences often.

    Disc one is dual layered, with the layer transition placed during the feature at 49:43. This location is ideally suited, since it is a brief, silent fade to black. The extras disc is DVD5 format.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are three English soundtracks accompanying this film on DVD. The default soundtrack is Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s), partnered by a manually selectable dts equivalent (768Kb/s). The third soundtrack option is a commentary from Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Director John Milius. I listened to the dts and commentary tracks in their entirety and sampled the Dolby Digital 5.1 periodically. For all intents and purposes, this is the same audio mix that was contained on the original release three years ago.

    The English dialogue is generally clear and succinct, with no major enunciation issues. The film's ADR is seamless, aside from one line that has bugged me for years. When conversing with Valeria for the first time at 39:45, Conan's "No" response doesn't nearly match his lip movements or body language. As with the lip colouring issue I mentioned earlier, it's just one of those niggling things that develops as a result of watching a film so many times. Audio sync is perfect.

    If you're familiar with the original release of this film on DVD, you'll be aware of the front-heavy soundtrack that was included last time. Use of the surround channels hasn't changed, mainly consisting of the soundtrack score slightly spilling to the rears now and then. Voices and effects are generally confined to the front centre channel, while the front left and right channels deliver bursts of the score.

    In comparing the different tracks, the dts has slightly more bottom end but is otherwise identical to the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack in all respects.

    The score by Basil Poledouris is grand, with a fantastically epic feel. I can never picture this film in my mind without adding the theme - the two mesh perfectly.

    The subwoofer delivered a flutter now and then in response to the film's bombastic score, but doesn't make itself felt as much as it should. The scene involving Conan tipping the cauldron down the stairs at 91:43 has the potential to be really loud and confronting to the viewer, but it delivers nothing but a whimper. Shortly after, when the marble column falls, the bottom end could be great but doesn't deliver. I realise that this is an older film, but to give it a dts soundtrack should imply a much more satisfying surround mix.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    This is the same range of extra material that can be found on the original single disc version, with the addition of one new featurette and a Fox weblink.

Menu

Disc One

Audio Commentary-John Milius (Director) & Arnold Schwarzenegger (Actor)

    These two fellows share a few anecdotes from the production of the film, however there is quite a bit of overlap with the making of. I believe TonyR mentioned that point in his review as well, however this is still worthwhile viewing.

Web Links

    Nothing more than a url for additional Fox propaganda. The link isn't active via your PC.

Disc Two

Featurette-Conan - The Rise Of A Fantasy Legend (18:24)

    This recently produced featurette briefly covers the origins of the Conan character and its creator, Robert E. Howard, who is revealed to be quite an eccentric. We trace the evolution of the tale from pulp magazine Weird Tales to comic, and finally film. Some very pale looking comic book types ladle praise on the franchise, likening it to Lord of the Rings. I found some worthwhile background on the creator here, but other portions are plain ordinary. This is presented in 1.78:1, with 16x9 enhancement.

Making Of Featurette-Conan Unchained (53:13)

    This is an extensive look at the production of the film, featuring contributions from many cast and crew. The only representation we receive of the creator Robert E. Howard is some heavily colourised photographs that could really be anyone. I guess the above featurette may have been produced to correct that oversight. This making of is presented in 1.33:1, full frame.

Featurette-Special Effects Split Screen (1:39)

    A short piece presented in 1.33:1 full frame, showing before and after captures of the scene involving the demons trying to take Conan.

Video Gallery-The Conan Archives (11:49)

    A rather lengthy gallery of scrolling stills, covering Production Drawings, Production Photographs and Publicity. The stills are presented in 1.33:1 (full frame) and accompanied by a passage from the score.

Deleted Scenes (5:29)

    There are three deleted sequences, presented in 2.35:1, but without 16x9 enhancement.

• The John Milius cameo Lizard on a Stick
• The many deaths of King Osric (Max Von Sydow), in alternate angles, one of which contains no audio.
• A short piece showing Conan being pursued by dogs

Theatrical Trailers (3:47)

    Two very similar trailers played back-to-back, presented in 1.85:1 without 16x9 enhancement.

Production Notes

    There are fifteen pages of notes to read, including a sizeable contribution from designer Ron Cobb. All pages are 16x9 enhanced.

    Region 1 has The Complete Quest, a package with both Barbarian and Destroyer on a dual layered disc. It seems to be retailing cheap, but Destroyer is not 16x9 enhanced. As I stated above, Universal have scheduled a HD-DVD release of this film for early next year in Region 1. For now, it looks like the Region 4 is the way to go.

    The video transfer is good considering the age of the film, but has not been considerably improved upon for this release.

    The audio bitrate has been increased for this edition, and a dts option added. There is little to separate the two soundtracks.

    The extras are excellent for a twenty-four year old film.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall