Conan the Barbarian (1982) (Blu-ray) |
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Conan the Barbarian (1982) (Blu-ray) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Adventure |
Audio Commentary-John Milius (Director) And Arnold Schwarzenegger (Actor) Featurette-Art of Steel: Sword Makers and Masters 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 Interviews-Cast & Crew-Conan: From the Vault |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 1982 | ||
| Running Time | 130:10 (Case: 122) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | John Milius |
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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 | Standard Blu-ray | ||
| RPI | $19.95 | Music | Basil Poledouris |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 Spanish French Portuguese Italian Russian Hungarian |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 1080p | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English for the Hearing Impaired English Audio Commentary Spanish Audio Commentary Spanish French Dutch Portuguese Finnish Swedish Italian Norwegian Russian Cantonese Chinese Danish Icelandic Hebrew Polish Korean Arabic Turkish |
Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
The world is divided into those who love Conan the Barbarian, and those who cannot understand what the fuss is about. As this Blu-ray is at least the third home entertainment release of the film in Australia a plot summary is almost superfluous. A basic summary is as follows. When Conan was a child his village was destroyed and his parents killed by raiders carrying the standard of two rearing snakes led by Thulsa Doom (a wonderfully creepy James Earl Jones). The raiders take Conan and the other surviving children into slavery and put them to work pushing the Wheel of Pain (don't ask!). Conan grows up to become Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sold from the wheel, Conan fights as a gladiator before earning his freedom and setting out on a quest to find those who killed his parents. On the way he meets Subotai the archer (Gerry Lopez), Valeria (Sandahl Bergman) and a wizard (Mako) before challenging Thulsa Doom and his snake cult in his Mountain of Power. Oh, and on the way he is asked to rescue the daughter of King Osric (Max Von Sydow).
Co-written by Oliver Stone and director John Milius, Conan the Barbarian is an epic film full of rousing action, daring deeds, stirring music and a great villain; a film about courage, character, loyalty and the triumph of good over evil. Arnold Schwarzenegger is completely believable as Conan, all muscle and action but few words, James Earl Jones is a powerful villain and Max Von Sydow and Gerry Lopez offer good support. It is only Sandahl Bergman who does not quite convince, although, as she is first and foremost a dancer, she moves well in the action scenes. It is true that the giant mechanical snake does not look "real", but in an time before CGI made everything look totally unreal, it is good to see actors having something physical to work with. Indeed, Arnold and Sandahl Bergman did most of their own stunts as suitable body doubles could not be found in Spain, although during one scene stunt woman Corrie Jansen set the women's free fall record at 182 feet. This physicality gives the film a reality lacking in CGI replete films and the fight scenes, especially the battle towards the climax, are robust and exciting.. The other highlights are the set design by Ron Cobb, the stunning landscapes photographed by Duke Callaghan and the wonderful, memorable score by Basil Poledouris.
This is one of the great film scores, right up there with some of Ennio Morricone’s for Sergio Leonie, perfectly complimenting the visuals. It varies from rousing battle themes with all drums, brass and choral, to quieter cues for moments between Conan and Valeria or Conan's rescue from the Tree of Woe, to grand, operatic treatments for events such as Valeria's funeral pyre or Conan's revenge on the steps of the temple. It is moving and magnificent, and it would be impossible to imagine the film without it. In many scenes the score and visuals carry the emotions, for in this film actions often do speak louder than words. Yet, while Arnie has very little to say (he says only five words to Valeria in the entire film), the script is filled with memorable lines and speeches, including the "throne room a prison" speech by Max Von Sydow or the very moving "let others pass by in the night" monologue from Sandahl Bergman. Indeed, it is the quality of the writing from Stone and Milius that, with the score, visuals and action, elevates Conan the Barbarian far, far above the class of the genre films it spawned, including the much weaker sequel Conan the Destroyer.
Conan the Barbarian is a terrific, entertaining film that has been completely underrated. If you have not seen the film, or heard about it yet dismissed it, you can do far worse than to experience Conan in all his glory. This is a marvellous piece of filmmaking that is still exciting and stirring viewing almost 30 years after being made. And it has also never looked or sounded better than on this Blu-ray. A review on this site giving details of the DVD releases can be accessed here.
Conan the Barbarian is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the original theatrical ratio, in 1080p. It is not quite as sharp as modern films but I doubt if this 30 year old film has ever looked better. Colours are natural, and Sandahl Bergman’s golden hair stands out. Skin tones are good, backs solid and shadow detail very good allowing us to see, for example, every detail in the gloom when Conan enters the Atlantean king’s burial chamber or the detail on the costumes and weapons in King Osric’s throne room. The widescreen cinematography highlights stunning: images, such as a lone horseman on the bleak landscape, red sun over pounding surf, or the massive set of the temple of Thulsa Doom on the hillside. Brightness and contract are consistent. Aside from quite obvious grain, I did not notice any film, or film to video artefacts.
There are numerous subtitles available including English for the hearing impaired plus approximately 26 European and Asian languages. There are also English and Spanish subtitles for the audio commentary.
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The main audio is English DTS HD MA 5.1 although there are dubs available in another 9 languages.
This is where the Blu-ray is vastly superior to the DVD, for even the dts audio on the Special Edition was not very impressive. On the Blu-ray, dialogue is clear and easy to understand. While the audio is still front oriented and there are no obvious pans across the surrounds even in the battle sequences, the surround speakers do create an enveloping feel with ambient sound. However, the real boost is to the wonderful score of Basil Poledouris, which fills the room impressively, greatly adding to the film experience. The sub woofer supports galloping horses and some destruction of scenery but again it is the score that benefits.
Lip Sync is good.
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The extras on the Blu-ray are the same as the previous 2 disc DVD Special Edition, and are in SD, except as otherwise noted below. The extras are extensive, genuine and interesting, aiding to one’s enjoyment of the film.
Milius and Schwarzenegger obviously enjoyed themselves and have a good rapport, but they basically do not speak about the production of the film. Instead, the track is filled with "I love this sequence", "look at that", "this is my favourite scene" or "isn't that beautiful". Whatever production information there is comes from Milius while Schwarzenegger says "exactly" numerous times. They may have a good time, but this is not a great commentary track.
Six scenes:
New and HD. A look at the process of making edged weapons with Albion Armourers from Glarus WI in the US who make replicas of Conan’s sword and other weapons. The second half is an interview and demonstration of sword techniques with Sensei Yamazaki, who was Conan’s sword master in the film. Thirty years later, he still moves pretty well!
New, SD. Interviews shot in 1982 at the time of making the film interspersed with clips from the film: Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Milius, James Earl Jones and Sandahl Bergman contribute. Video and audio quality varies, as one might expect.
An excellent, comprehensive documentary, with input from all the major contributors to the film including Edward R Pressman (Executive Producer), Dino de Laurentiis (Producer), Raffaella de Laurentiis (Producer), John Milius (Writer / Director), Ron Cobb (Production Design), Terry Leonard (Stunt Coordinator), Oliver Stone (Scriptwriter), Basil Poledouris (Composer) and actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max Von Sydow (on the perils of blood bags), Sandahl Bergman and Gerry Lopez. The featurette covers a wide range of topics including casting, set and production design, stunts, working with real snakes, special effects, the score and the use of a real vulture in the Tree of Woe scene! This is entertaining, informative, never dull and is one of the better documentaries of its type. I didn't know, for example, that the film had been offered to Ridley Scott who turned it down.
Various comic book people talk about the creation of Conan by Texan Robert E. Howard in the pulp fiction novels of the 1930s, the essence of the character of Conan, the Marvel comic books and the film creating a fantasy genre. It is interesting, although not of the same standard as the Conan Unchained feature, partly because James Earl Jones is the only cast member to contribute. As well, the only really interesting insight is provided by fantasy writer Michael Moorcock.
Two views of the sequence where the Furies attempt to take Conan. On the top is the raw footage, on the bottom the finished film with special effects added.
A selection of stills, automatically progressing accompanied by the film’s music. They are in three sections:
Two trailers playing one after the other. Both are dramatic and the second especially makes good use of the music from the film. The quality varies.
There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
All versions have the same extras.
Conan the Barbarian is the film that made Arnold Schwarzenegger an action hero. Almost 30 years later it is still a great film full of rousing action, daring deeds, stirring music and a great villain. The film has never looked or sounded better than on this Blu-ray release and the range of extras are extensive and genuinely entertaining. Most have already appeared on previous DVD releases of the film but if you enjoy the film, or Arnie, this is the way to see it. If you have not already experienced the joys of Conan the Barbarian, don’t hesitate.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony BDP-S350, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG 42inch Hi-Def LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | NAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated. |
| Amplification | NAD T737 |
| Speakers | Studio Acoustics 5.1 |