Between Blade Runner, The Thing, Rambo, Tootsie, Dark Crystal and even E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982 was a great year for American cinema. At the beginning of April 1982, we witnessed the arrival of a cinema license that would change the industry forever: Conan the Barbarian
Why (re)see Conan the Barbarian?
The Arnold revelation
If today, Schwarzenegger's name is engraved in the marble of the 7th art, it must be remembered that before Conan the Barbarian, his forays into cinema turned out to be either supporting roles (The Private) or dubious experiments (Hercules in New York). Two years after Conan, Arnold would work on another film that changed the face of cinema: The Terminator.
John Milius X Oliver Stone
Having just come out of “Midnight Express”, Oliver Stone (Wall Street, JFK, Platoon) writes a first screenplay under the influence of numerous substances. Taking place in a post-apocalyptic future, the script is about to be directed by Stone himself, then arrives in the hands of Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator), to finally be enormously modified by John Milius in order to make lower the stratospheric costs of the project. It was Milius himself, an ambivalent character regarding his relationship to violence, who would carry out the project and make it the cult film we know today.
An artistic success
A film is a team effort, and, while we must salute the production of John Milius, let us not forget that other big names in the profession worked on the project. Ron Cobb (Aliens, Indiana Jones, Abyss) for the sets, Renato Casaro (Dune, Army of Darkness, My Name is Nobody) for the poster and of course Basil Poledouris (RoboCop, The Hunt for Red October, Starship Troopers) for writing the extraordinary soundtrack for the feature film. An alignment of planets and talents which gives a grandiose result.
A rich universe
In addition to Robert E. Howard's stories, the world of Conan has been adapted into comics (Marvel, Dark Horse), role-playing games, board games, cartoons and video games.
Where do you watch it?
Reaction Figures Conan
Reaction Figures Conan
Reaction Figures Conan
