Page 1 of 5
1
2
3
... LastLast
  1. #1

    Is Conan the Barbarian one of the greatest movies ever

    Recently watching movies that come on and being a little older 38 Conan the Barbarian came on TV and that is just one of those movies when on you have to watch it. For me maybe being my age it just inspired me to want to be a Barbarian and Powerful like Arnold was in Conan. Probably also why in most games I am always wielding a sword. Diablo of course a Barb. WoW of course a Prot warrior.

    However it's been some time since I watched it and it really was a classic with a great story too that i think I missed when I was younger. Conan had a rough life and tragic one and ended up turning it into the stuff of Legends. Then of course one of the most Amazing soundtracks of all time.

    Well I know the forums has a very diverse group of people so What did you love or hate about Conan the Barbarian. Was it before your time or did you love it as I did?

    If for someone reason someone hasn't seen Conan the Barbarian then of course add it to the list so there is a link of a Trailer type video for you to decide if it is for you or not.

    Here Below is a short story film Tribute of Conan the Barbarian.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZlO5XT8qPk

  2. #2
    Not really? No, it's not a bad movie, it's enjoyable because it's so goddamned hammy and it's Arnold, but it's not the kind of quality piece like LotR f.ex.

    Personally I find it otherwise boring and very stereotypical of the time it was made in, so...meh.
    Last edited by Halyon; 2017-03-11 at 04:48 PM.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Halyon View Post
    Not really? No, it's not a bad movie, it's enjoyable because it's so goddamned hammy and it's Arnold, but it's not the kind of quality piece like LotR f.ex.
    Well you have to also keep in mind that it came out in 1982. So I would put this against movies like Rocky or something in that time frame of classics. This movie though kinda started the entire early battles in that timeframe too. So it paved a way for other movies. Guess how i look at it. So has that timeless quality. I do like LotR with that being said though.

    Also you can put on the Conan Soundtrack and listen to it all the way through cause of how Epic it is. Not many movies you can do that.

  4. #4
    Funny fact Arnie was already a millionair prior to making this movie.
    People thought he wasn't that smart as his english wasn't that good and because he spoke slow but turns out he made serious bank by using investing his body building winnings into real estate and flipping the buildings he bought.

    And to top it of this movie was and still is a great Arnie movie.
    Want to play SWTOR again and get 7 free days of subscription access + free ingame goodies: http://www.swtor.com/r/d5LnJT

  5. #5
    Dreadlord Metallourlante's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Mega-City One
    Posts
    932
    Every movie with Arnold in it can potentially be the greatest movie ever made. Yes, even Kindergarten Cop.
    More seriously though, it was one my favorite movie when I was a kid. I was and still am a fan of Conan (read all books, read all comics, play most of the games etc) and Conan the Barbarian is a freaking classic.
    Some people can hate it but it just feels so right and you feel so good when you watch it.

    I need to re-watch it ASAP.

  6. #6
    Deleted
    Good movie, its for me in my top 100 movies of all time for sure. (soundtrack might be one of the best ever)
    But if i compare it to Terminator2, Aliens and Godfather (movies from around that time) i think those aged better then Conan the Barbarian and rank them above it.

    But never the less great movie idd, its Arnold in his prime.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Risale View Post
    Funny fact Arnie was already a millionair prior to making this movie.
    People thought he wasn't that smart as his english wasn't that good and because he spoke slow but turns out he made serious bank by using investing his body building winnings into real estate and flipping the buildings he bought.

    And to top it of this movie was and still is a great Arnie movie.
    You are correct. I have an even better story that not many know of. Arnold is a genius and a true competitor. After Arnold retired from winning 6 Mr. Olympia titles he was riding on the plane to the 1980 Mr. Olympia. All the competitors were like Wow Arnold you look amazing. He said that he was training for his upcoming roll in Conan the Barbarian. He then got off the plane and said I will be competing in the Mr. Olympia which was his plan all along. He won his 7th and final Olympia that year after making a comeback. Till this day the competitors hate the fact that he did this and some retired early and went on strike from bodybuilding.

    I think that is one of the best stories in sports. Google 1980 Olympia. It's a good read and solidifies Arnold as one of the best.

  8. #8
    Banned Hammerfest's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    United States of America
    Posts
    7,995
    I think it's dated now, but I really enjoyed the movie and still enjoy it once in a while today. I loved the Basil Poledouris score. I also liked the Spanish filming locations (I recognize a lot of the locales from Spaghetti Westerns like "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly"). James Earl Jones's Thulsa Doom was pretty creepy/scarey when I was a kid.

    Later on, as I began reading actual Robert E. Howard material, I became a little less enamored with the film. Right now if you ask me who the most physically accurate Conan is in film, I'd have to say the James Momou version (despite that film being something just above bad). Momou looked like a Frazetta painting and more closely resembled the character as described in the Howard material. Arnold's Conan did not. The whole "Wheel Of Pain" origin, while cool in its own right, isn't from the source material either, as far as I know.

    I also dug Sven-Ole Thorsen and his big ass hammer...


  9. #9
    Interesting input Hammerfest I haven't read Robert E. Howard material. Maybe that should go on my list.

  10. #10
    Jason Momoa was indeed physically a lot closer to Conan's description from the stories than Arnold was, even if the movie itself was kinda lacking. But Arnold's version was still great, and the movie is awesome. And the soundtrack is probably the best ever.

  11. #11
    Elemental Lord callipygoustp's Avatar
    7+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Buffalo, NY
    Posts
    8,659
    One of my all time favorites, even with the "hammyness". Love the first third of the movie the most.

  12. #12
    It's been my absolute most favorite movie since I was a kid, even now this movie far surpasses any of the LoTR movies or other fantasy/medieval type movies. Fun fact: there's basically a genre of music out there that lyrically revolves around this movie and the comics. Even when I was younger back in the late 90's I had a band called "Tower of Set", that we basically had our songs based on Conan. People ate that up.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Feel The Power View Post
    It's been my absolute most favorite movie since I was a kid, even now this movie far surpasses any of the LoTR movies or other fantasy/medieval type movies. Fun fact: there's basically a genre of music out there that lyrically revolves around this movie and the comics. Even when I was younger back in the late 90's I had a band called "Tower of Set", that we basically had our songs based on Conan. People ate that up.
    Indeed this movie influenced so much.

  14. #14
    The best part is in the bazaar(I think) near beginning of the movie, a panning shot, you can see a guy fucking a goat. Not sure if it is any more modern versions but it was on my VHS copy.

  15. #15
    I don't know about "greatest ever", but definitely not given the credit & appreciation its due.

    Just the fact that people are trying to compare it to the LOTR liveactions shows how firm its footprint is.

    LOTR received a MASSIVE budget... 3 decades later, and had the full support of modern CGI techniques... and still ended up being fairly horrid. (I still prefer the originals, although they obviously don't flow together the same way the liveactions do)

    Conan helped make the fantasy/scifi genre mainstream... so that budgets could be a little more opened up as the audience nowadays isn't quite so "niche" anymore.

  16. #16
    Pandaren Monk thewallofsleep's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Maine, US
    Posts
    1,940
    Quote Originally Posted by Tromage View Post
    But if i compare it to Terminator2, Aliens and Godfather (movies from around that time)
    Those movies were all released in different decades. Aliens came out only 4 years after Conan, but that's the closest. The Godfather came out 10 years before Conan, and T2 came out 10 years after it.

    I personally love Conan, but I don't consider it to be one of the greatest films of all time. I think The Godfather is definitely superior, but that's because it's a masterpiece. Aliens and T2 are also technically better, but I don't enjoy them as much as Conan, purely because of the sci-fi theme. Swords always beat guns in my eyes.

  17. #17
    eh.... solid 6.5/10

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by thewallofsleep View Post
    Those movies were all released in different decades. Aliens came out only 4 years after Conan, but that's the closest. The Godfather came out 10 years before Conan, and T2 came out 10 years after it.

    I personally love Conan, but I don't consider it to be one of the greatest films of all time. I think The Godfather is definitely superior, but that's because it's a masterpiece. Aliens and T2 are also technically better, but I don't enjoy them as much as Conan, purely because of the sci-fi theme. Swords always beat guns in my eyes.
    First franchise that came to mind for modern comparison would be Riddick. I think Conan is easily head & shoulders over anything in that franchise giving the timegap consideration though.

    And you can't bring Godfather anywhere's near this thread. Its a timeless masterpiece... and any comparison isn't giving Conan the credit its due.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by TheAbomb View Post
    Recently watching movies that come on and being a little older 38 Conan the Barbarian came on TV and that is just one of those movies when on you have to watch it. For me maybe being my age it just inspired me to want to be a Barbarian and Powerful like Arnold was in Conan. Probably also why in most games I am always wielding a sword. Diablo of course a Barb. WoW of course a Prot warrior.

    However it's been some time since I watched it and it really was a classic with a great story too that i think I missed when I was younger. Conan had a rough life and tragic one and ended up turning it into the stuff of Legends. Then of course one of the most Amazing soundtracks of all time.

    Well I know the forums has a very diverse group of people so What did you love or hate about Conan the Barbarian. Was it before your time or did you love it as I did?

    If for someone reason someone hasn't seen Conan the Barbarian then of course add it to the list so there is a link of a Trailer type video for you to decide if it is for you or not.

    Here Below is a short story film Tribute of Conan the Barbarian.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZlO5XT8qPk
    yes. it was pretty good for its time.
    There is no Bad RNG just Bad LTP

  20. #20
    Er.... no. Entertaining but seriously doesn't quality to be the "greatest movie ever".

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •