Conan the Barbarian (1982) Rank 5 Reviews

Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)

On album, Conan the Barbarian has had another storied history. A very early CD was issued not long after the identical LPs hit stores in 1982. Most of the early Milan/MCA Records pressings came outside the United States, with the only CD ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)

RevolutionSF (Joe Crowe)

I'll be blunt. "Conan the Barbarian" is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. It is part of the foundation of my genre movie interests and beliefs, right up there with "Superman the Movie," "Empire Strikes Back," and "Raiders of the Lost Ark." ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at RevolutionSF (Joe Crowe)

Draxblog Movie Reviews

Disparity between popular and critically acclaimed movies isn't something that should catch any reviewer by surprise. On the other hand, sometimes things get a little bit personal. In my case, I was puzzled by the low rating of a movie I consider one of ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Draxblog Movie Reviews

eFilmCritic

For most, a simple fantasy tale of a warrior, a cunning barbarian who's got a medieval putdown for every sword slice and a way with the ladies. But for some, an allegory for self-reliance and spiritual and personal strength. A great movie from the ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at eFilmCritic

Teleport City Cinematics

I remember the scene as if it was yesterday, probably because not much has changed since it first happened. I was over at my friend Robby's house. Though we lived out in the sticks and couldn't get cable television yet, his family had a satellite dish ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Teleport City Cinematics

B-Movie Film Vault (Jordan Garren)

Wow... what a spectacular movie! After all these years, it still hasn't lost any of it's greatness. What makes it so great? Well first off, the casting! Every damn actor and actress in this film did a great job with their role. Not a single person was ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at B-Movie Film Vault (Jordan Garren)

Dragan Antulov

However, it looked like a good time for Dino de Laurentiis, Italian movie producer who saw megasuccess of Donner's SUPERMAN as an impulse to start making his own movie adaptations of popular comic books. His previous attempt in that direction, FLASH ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Dragan Antulov

Dante's Inferno

It seems only fitting that after watching a whole slew of Sword and Sorcery movies that I view this. after all, the popularity of this movie helped spawn a lot of the admittedly crappy Sword and Sorcery movies in the 80's. When this movie first went to ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Dante's Inferno

Audio Revolution

'Conan the Barbarian' rouses all kinds of contradictory responses and comments. At once irritating and entertaining, it's also sophisticated and childish, imaginative and prosaic, exciting and ponderous, stunning and forgettable. It's hard to resist the ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Audio Revolution

eFilmCritic.com (The Grinch)

For most, a simple fantasy tale of a warrior, a cunning barbarian who's got a medieval putdown for every sword slice and a way with the ladies. But for some, an allegory for self-reliance and spiritual and personal strength. A great movie from the ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at eFilmCritic.com (The Grinch)

ScifiWatch

A young boy is captured after having witnessed the brutal murder of his people, including his parents, at the hands of Thulsa Doom, head of the snake-cult Set. He is sold into slavery where he works throughout his childhood chained to the Wheel of Pain ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at ScifiWatch

Robert B. Marks

I wish Hollywood still made films like _Conan the Barbarian_. Based loosely on the stories by Robert E. Howard, this film is an excellent example of the film-maker's art. Interestingly enough, the majority of the material for _Conan the Barbarian_ ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Robert B. Marks

DVD Verdict (Norman Short)

Conan the Barbarian is perhaps best known as the movie that made Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator II: Judgment Day, True Lies, Total Recall) famous. It transformed him from being known primarily as a body builder into a movie star. This film is much ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Verdict (Norman Short)

Kult Movie Maximus

Here's a really good movie and probably the most widely-seen as you're likely to find on my page. Extremely successful and endlessly, this film almost completely revived the genre of Sword & Sandal epics once so popular in the 50's and 60's. Arnold ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Kult Movie Maximus

Three Movie Buffs (Eric Nash)

Conan the Barbarian is fast paced, but at 129 minutes, it does take awhile for the thrust of the plot to get going. Still, all that action and a smattering of humor make this a great action flick and one of the best of its genre. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Three Movie Buffs (Eric Nash)

Reel.com DVD review (Marc Fortier)

Though its brutish simplicity is what is best remembered about Conan the Barbarian, the film is legendary as the one that shot Arnold Schwarzenegger to superstardom. Now Universal presents undoubtedly the most in-depth DVD presentation of a ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Reel.com DVD review (Marc Fortier)

ToxicUniverse.com (Jeremiah Kipp)

You might want to avoid showing Conan to little kids, although it'll certainly appeal to them-they may find more in common with it than adults. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at ToxicUniverse.com (Jeremiah Kipp)

BeyondHollywood.com

onan" is known for many things, one of which is making an international star out of a then unknown bodybuilder name Arnold Schwarzenegger; the other is setting the benchmark for all Barbarian films to come. After the success of "Conan," the markets were ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at BeyondHollywood.com

Shadow's B-Movie Graveyard

Conan the Barbarian is a fun film. Certainly it is the best example of the Swords and Sorcery subgenre of fantasy films. Beyond that, it exudes a certain brutal and primitive charm. Not to be over analyzed, it exists purely on a popcorn movie level. Even ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Shadow's B-Movie Graveyard

MichaelDVD Region 4 (Rob Giles)

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 ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at MichaelDVD Region 4 (Rob Giles)

Dark Horizons (Garth Franklin)

A little over two decades later 'Conan' has aged decently, though the likes of "Xena" and "Lord of the Rings" have easily surpassed this sword-and-sorcery effort by such a margin it renders it somewhat moot. Nevertheless, John Milius for a good part ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Dark Horizons (Garth Franklin)

DVD Monsters and Critics (Andy McKeague)

Firstly, 'Conan The Barbarian' is a great slice of pulp. There is little difference to what was released before, so why go to the length of repackaging and re-releasing this movie in this edition ? What is new is the movie has now a DTS sound option, but ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Monsters and Critics (Andy McKeague)

SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review

The character of Conan the Barbarian was a creation of author Robert E. Howard. With his stirring and full-blooded writing, Robert E. Howard became one of the finest pulp adventure writers of the early 1930s. Conan the Barbarian was the most ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review

IOFilm

As well as the usual trailers and poster and design galleries there are a host of documentaries, including an hour long one that reunites all of the major players, discussing how the film came to be. For fans, this is un-missable stuff. Schwarzenneger ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at IOFilm

DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)

Long before Arnold Schwarzeneggar played the low-key, lowlife in End of Days, he was playing comic-book heroes in the likes of Conan the Barbarian and it's sequal, Conan the Destroyer. At that time, Arnold was basically known for his body, basically he ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)

DVD Lard - Region 2 Special Edition

Developed from the books of Robert E. Howard, this tells one of then tales of Conan the Cimmerian who, taken into slavery as a child when his village was destroyed and his parents murdered by raiders, is bent on vengeance and the destruction of those ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Lard - Region 2 Special Edition

BBC Films (Almar Haflidason)

Arnold Schwarzenegger gets angry, mythical style, in John Milius' mighty "Conan the Barbarian". It may be over 20 years old now, but with the treatment it's getting on DVD, and talks of a new sequel, this film hasn't looked so exciting in years. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at BBC Films (Almar Haflidason)

filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

"Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women!" When it comes to the great lines (and mottos) of cinema, it doesn't get much better than this. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

DVD Net (Vince Carrozza)

It's a little known fact that Arnold Schwarzenneger actually recorded two audio commentaries for Conan the Barbarian. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Net (Vince Carrozza)

DVD Times

Conan the Barbarian begins as it means to go on; as incredibly cheesy spectacle. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Times

The Onion A.V. Club (Keith Phipps)

Though now impossible to imagine in hands other than Francis Ford Coppola's, Apocalypse Now once belonged to John Milius, the Red Dawn writer and director whose militarist sensibility would surely have resulted in a very different version had it been ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at The Onion A.V. Club (Keith Phipps)

ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

Even 17 years after its release, Conan the Barbarian still weaves a spell capable of ensorcelling fans of fantasy adventure. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

Not since Bambi's mother was killed has there been a cannier movie for kids than CONAN THE BARBARIAN. It's not supposed to be just a kids' movie, of course, and I imagine a lot of other ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)

The movie that really made Arnold Schwartzenegger famous, "Conan The Barbarian" took a leap off the printed page and onto the big screen. The 1982 film stared Arnold in the title role, a warrior walking around in a wild world of monsters and plenty of ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)

Boxoffice Magazine

A film that has become far more legendary since its release than it really deserves to be, 1981's "Conan the Barbarian" has somehow earned a steady following of fans over the years. In the age of "Gladiator" it looks rougher and less sophisticated than ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Boxoffice Magazine

Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)

Ah, the early 'Eighties. Hollywood doesn't do violence and sex like they did back then. Take as example The Road Warrior. Or John Carpenter's The Thing. Or any teenage sex comedy back then. Notice how today's movies seldomly have any sex or violence in ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)

Movie Reviews UK

A "swords & sorcery" epic certainly, but Conan the Barbarian succeeds where others fail with high production values, choice casting and a sly script. As with all of the best fantasy, the setting is a time in the distant past when life was simple, if ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Movie Reviews UK

DVD Review e-zine

For many fans of the "sword & sorcery" genre, "Conan the Barbarian" remains the benchmark film. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Review e-zine

Popcorn Pictures Review

The feature film to give Arnie his first leading role, Conan the Barbarian is complete pre-adolescent male entertainment. Big swords, lots of brutal violence, lashings of gore, females shedding clothes and then even more big swords, violence, gore and ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Popcorn Pictures Review

Films on Disc (Stuart J. Kobak)

Before Arnold Schwarzenegger proved he could play a terminator with convincing realism, he had to flex his muscles as Conan. He's pretty stiff as the barbarian fated to lead a people, but he tries hard to make the comic book script by John Milius and ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Films on Disc (Stuart J. Kobak)

DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)

...should appeal to most anyone with a bent for fantasy and swashbuckling derring-do. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)

Eccentric Cinema

Even before donning the dark shades and leather jacket of the Terminator, it was his role as Conan - the iron-thewed warrior of pulp writer Robert E. Howard's ripping fantasy yarns - that made Arnold Schwarzenegger an international movie star. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Eccentric Cinema

filmcritic.com

"Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women!" When it comes to the great lines (and mottos) of cinema, it doesn't get much better than this. Arnold Schwarzenegger's second most well-known role is a giddy and ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at filmcritic.com

Time Out

Big blokes, each seized by some grand costume fetish, hack divots out of each other with big broadswords. Deaths take for ever, years pass in a flash as our muscle-bound hero pursues his Quest for the Father (a villain who, delightfully, transmogrifies ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Time Out

DVD Town (John J. Puccio)

Everybody has to start somewhere. Big Arnold started in 1970 with "Hercules in New York," followed by a half dozen other films that got him known as a body builder, like "Stay Hungry" and "Pumping Iron," but just barely as an actor. His real break was ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at DVD Town (John J. Puccio)

Mondo Digital

"What is best in life, Conan?" "To crush ya enemies, have them brought before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women." Well, what else can you say about this one? John Milius' ultra-macho "guy movie" version of our primeval past was Arnold ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Mondo Digital

IOFilm

Surely you know that Conan The Barbarian is the film that truly put Arnie on the map. Before that all the great man was known for was being big and strong and for winning those competitions where you have to be big and strong. Sure, The Terminator ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at IOFilm

Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

Yes, it's Arnie's first breakthrough role, and one of his more memorable ones, as Robert E. Howard's literary creation comes to life in Conan the Barbarian. It's the early 80s, and a wildly popular role playing game called "Dungeons and Dragons" was ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

At-A-Glance Film Reviews

Conan the Barbarian has its share of redeeming qualities. It's got a good, if underused, villain in James Earl Jones, whose monologue on flesh and steel and snake arrows are fascinating, and it's got an inspired, if overused, soundtrack. So what's the ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at At-A-Glance Film Reviews

Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

Yes, it's Arnie's first breakthrough role, and one of his more memorable ones, as Robert E. Howard's literary creation comes to life in Conan the Barbarian. It's the early 80s, and a wildly popular role playing game called "Dungeons and Dragons" was ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)

Robert E. Howard's pulp Sword & Sorcery hero, well-known to generations of Marvel comic book readers, Conan The Barbarian (played perfectly by Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of his earliest roles) makes it to the big screen. No comic book stuff here: ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)

I Viddied it on the Screen (Alex Jackson)

I'm not sure how I can adequately convey how disappointed I am in Conan the Barbarian. The film was directed and co-written by John Milius, based on Robert E. Howard's pulp stories. Milius wrote the original screenplay for Apocalypse Now. He intended it ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at I Viddied it on the Screen (Alex Jackson)

Tail Slate (Michael Sheridan)

I was seven years old when I first saw this film. I was shocked when I learned this, actually. I remember seeing it in the theater, but didn't realize that I was only seven. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Tail Slate (Michael Sheridan)

Movie Gurus (John Ulmer)

I'm not much of a fan of these corny sword-fighting-barbarian movies, but this one is at least recommendable. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Movie Gurus (John Ulmer)

Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

We've never been much bothered by the scanned-and-cropped version of Conan the Barbarian. The film has its pleasures (not the least of which was Sandahl Bergman, who was cast for her physique instead of her face, her close-ups gloriously real and far ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

Travis Hoover's Days of Thunder (Travis Hoover)

Conan the Barbarian is every bit as campy as you've heard, or remembered, or dreamed of- but it's something else, too. Buried beneath the tan landscapes and inexpressive acting is a barely- contained hysteria waiting to get out; like everything else that ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at Travis Hoover's Days of Thunder (Travis Hoover)

New York Times (Vincent Canby)

Conan the Barbarian is an extremely long, frequently incoherent, ineptly staged adventure-fantasy set in a prehistoric past. ...read the complete Conan the Barbarian movie review at New York Times (Vincent Canby)

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