Conan the Barbarian

"Thief. Warrior. Gladiator. King."

1982 2h 10m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 2,951

AdventureFantasyAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.

“Thief. Warrior. Gladiator. King.”

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Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Conan
James Earl Jones
Thulsa Doom
Sandahl Bergman
Valeria
Ben Davidson
Rexor
Cassandra Gava
The Witch
Gerry Lopez
Subotai
Mako
The Wizard
Valérie Quennessen
The Princess

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Milius
Writers: Oliver Stone, John Milius
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

44 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Conan the Barbarian Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Milius, shot by Duke Callaghan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Basil Poledouris. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Carroll Timothy O'Meara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones and Sandahl Bergman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Thief. Warrior. Gladiator. King.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Milius directs. Duke Callaghan behind the camera. Basil Poledouris scores. Carroll Timothy O'Meara cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.4× over at the box office.
244 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Conan the Barbarian Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by John Milius, shot by Duke Callaghan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Basil Poledouris. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Carroll Timothy O'Meara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones and Sandahl Bergman carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Thief. Warrior. Gladiator. King.".
9IMDB entry: tt0082198 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 22 themes, including "based on novel or book", "gladiator", "fight", "magic".

The technical file

Cinematography: Duke Callaghan
Original score: Basil Poledouris
Editing: Carroll Timothy O'Meara
Production design: Ron Cobb
Costume design: John Bloomfield
Makeup / hair: Paquita Núñez
Sound: Wayne Artman
Stunt coordinator: Juan Maján
Runtime: 130 min · 2h 10m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $68,851,475
Return: 344% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Awards

Saturn Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Conan the Barbarian Collection

Conan the Barbarian, (also known as Conan the Cimmerian), is one of the key characters in the Swords & Sorcery / Fantasy genres. This collection includes the theatrical releases of the Conan titles.

Also by

John Milius

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-04-28
★ 8/10
Though definitely a guilty pleasure from the cheesy 80's of which I grew up, this is such outstandingly fun. It's so unique a cinematic experience, knowing what we know of Schwarzenegger's life and career the 34 years since, seeing him at this juncture, as he's just starting out. (No, I haven't seen 'Stay Hungry' yet.) Part of me always wishes he had simply stuck to these films (as well as the 'Terminator' series), and was still making them. In his prime, I dare you to find anyone better at this kind of material. Director Milius has a fine feel for the swords-and-sandals/fantasy worldscape this material requires. An excellent and underrated supporting cast is here at well to help Arnie out, too.
Wuchak2018-08-24
★ 8/10
"Sit here... SIT HERE" I was hugely disappointed by "Conan the Barbarian" (1982) when I first viewed it because it deviated too far from the blueprint established by creator Robert E. Howard. Yeah, they got many things right, but the things they got wrong ruined the film for me. Yet I’ve warmed up to it over time because one can’t deny the film’s merits. If you’re a fan of the books and the faithful comics, it’s important to realize going in that this is an ALTERNATIVE Conan, similar to Howard's, but far from a strict interpretation. The flaws mostly have to do with John Milius and Oliver Stone's deviation from Howard. Consider the opening sequence of Conan as a little boy on his father’s knee getting advice about the trustworthiness of the sword: Sorry, but the lad looks like an average soft suburbanite boy, not a tough kid that grew up in the wilds of Cimmeria, land of darkness and deep night. Secondly, the "wheel of pain" sequence is just dumb. I have a bit more respect for this part now that I realize it's a metaphor for the cyclical drudgery of grade school but, c'mon, the REAL Conan wouldn't spend that many years in captivity! He would have escaped long before, not to mention slay his captors. I suppose it helps when consider that Stone & Milius were taking bits from Howard’s other creations, like Kull, who was a slave for a few years. Thirdly, when they first meet Valeria while robbing the temple of Set the flick cops a decidedly campy tone. Although Sandahl Bergman is great throughout the rest of the picture that initial meeting is pretty cringe-inducing. It was at this point that I really tuned out when I first viewed the film. Fourthly, one of the worst parts is when Conan grovels at Thulsa Doom's feet crying, "You killed my father; you killed my mother!" This in no way resembles Howard's Conan. But, in its defense, it does make Conan more human and therefore more relate-able to the viewer. Thankfully, the film has several strengths, starting with the magnificent and awe-inspiring score by Basil Poledouris. The movie's worth viewing just to hear this score. Secondly, despite acceptable discrepancies (e.g. Conan has black hair not brown), the casting is quite good; although Schwarzenegger doesn’t really reflect the air of REH’s character (Jason Momoa is far better). Thirdly, Milius & Stone show their brilliance by incorporating Genghis Khan's historical quote in Conan's response to "What is best in life?" Conan answers: "To crush enemies, see dem driven before you and to hear da lamentation of der women." Fourthly, the locations, sets and costuming are superb. They certainly got the LOOK of Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age right. Fifthly, As long as one is prepared to accept the deviation from Howard's Conan, the story keeps your interest throughout (which is my way of determining the worthiness of ANY flick). Sixthly, Sandahl Bergman is super sharp and sexy; she possesses a certain barbaric beauty essential to the role and it's hard not to gaze at her shapely form in awe when she's on screen. Lastly, the overall tone of the film is quite serious and brooding. Despite Valeria's initial campy sequence mentioned earlier and a couple of amusing scenes with Mako, the film eludes the rut of camp (unfortunately the 1984 sequel cannot boast of this quality). SPECIAL MOMENTS AND INTERESTING ITEMS: •The love scene between Conan & Valeria and, later, the death/funeral pyre scenes are reverent, beautiful and moving. The accompanying piece by Poledouris is emotionally potent. •Conan's spiritual evolution in regards to sexuality and love is interesting: His first exposure is as a slave when beautiful women are occasionally thrown to him for the amusement of those watching. After he acquires his freedom his first (and presumably only) experience with casual sex goes horribly wrong. Later in Zamora he dismisses the solicitations of prostitutes with a wave and a derogatory word. Finally he meets Valeria and discovers true love and commitment, conveyed well in the love/death/funeral scenes noted above. •Both the battles inside the mountain fortress and, later, the showdown at the mounds are thrilling with the accompanying score getting your blood pumping. •Right before the battle at the mounds Conan and Subotai brace themselves as the 'riders of doom' trot forth. You can see the bold determination on their faces: They have no other recourse; they will stand and fight as men, come what may. (All men will eventually have to stand and fight in this manner one way or another, and we wuss out at our own peril). •After their unlikely victory Conan raises his arms (and weapons) in salute to the altar where Valeria was cremated. It gives you goosebumps. Both "The Complete Quest" and "Collector's Edition" contain an excellent 55-minute "Making Of" documentary wherein all of the principle actors and creators are interviewed, as well as an excellent commentary by Milius and Schwarzenegger. FINAL ANALYSIS: Like I said, I've finally come to see the magnificence of "Conan the Barbarian," but I had to get over my hang ups concerning the deviations from Howard's Conan to see it. As an ALTERNATIVE Conan it's a nigh masterpiece of cinematic art. One last thing: Um, don't use that first line of dialogue ("Sit here... SIT HERE") on your wife or girlfriend; I tried it and she didn't take too kindly to it! The film runs 2 hours, 9 minutes, and was shot in Spain. GRADE: A-