Search - Conan the Barbarian [Collector's Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Graphic Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity Movie Release: 1982 DVD Release: 05/30/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered,Special Collection Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 9 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sword-and-Sorcery, Fantasy Adventure See Also: Conan the Barbarian

John Milius's jingoistic direction and pulpy screenplay fit perfectly into this film version of the Robert E. Howard fantasy story of the sword and sorcery hero, Conan the Barbarian. Complementing Mulius's heavy metal production is Arnold Schwarzenegger's leaden acting, which in any other context would be deadly, but here (as in The Terminator) corresponds nicely with the whole sonorous project. The story begins when a horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. The Wheel of Pain seems to have as its only purpose the building up of Conan's muscles, so it's no surprise that one day Conan grows up to become Arnold Schwarzenegger. 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 (James Earl Jones), the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria (Sandahl Bergman) and Subota (Gerry Lopez). The trio comes upon a weird snake cult, linked to Doom, and Conan wants to trek off to Doom's mountain retreat to kill him. But he is prevented from doing that by King Osrik (Max Von Sydow), who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Arnold Schwarzenegger - Conan
James Earl Jones - Thulsa Doom
Max von Sydow - King Osric
Sandahl Bergman - Valeria
Ben Davidson - Rexor

One of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's first forays into Hollywood cinema, Conan the Barbarian is the story of one man's quest for vengeance among a dangerous and barbaric land. This is the second release of this film on DVD by Universal, and the image quality on this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer looks miles above the previous release. Colors are very vibrant and full while the black levels are deep and dark. Only a slight amount of grain shows up in a few spots, and edge enhancement/digital artifacting is never present. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono and sounds passable. Of course, this being a Mono soundtrack, the depth and fidelity are missing, though overall, the bulk of the dialogue, effects, and music are free of any excessive distortion or hiss. Also included on this disc are French subtitles.
This edition of =Conan the Barbarian is a "collector's edition" and sports some fine new extra features. The first is a commentary track by director John Milius and Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is a very enlightening commentary track with both participants sounding very chatty and friendly. A brand new 53-minute documentary, "Conan Unchained," written, directed, and produced by Laurent Bouzereau, is a great retrospective on the film which includes interviews with many of the actors and filmmakers. Featuring lots of behind-the-scenes information and interviews, this is a great retrospective piece for fans. About six minutes of deleted scenes are included that don't add much to the proceedings. A special effects clip shows a shot with and without the inserted special effects. Finally there is an archive gallery with images and artwork from the film, two theatrical trailers, production notes, cast and filmmaker bios, and a DVD-ROM section with additional production materials and web links. Like mad dogs to rare beef, fans of the film should drool over this DVD for years to come. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide