A (mostly) serious examination of the 1982 film, especially in light of the Hero's Journey template that it follows.
Пікірлер: 117
@stevena4889 ай бұрын
Again. Screw KZfaq bots. Glad we got to see the cut content
@digitaljanus9 ай бұрын
I've always loved how this film cast three athletes as its leads, and three stage-trained thespians in the key supporting roles. Schwarzenegger, Sandahl, and Lopez bring so much genuine physicality to their roles, not just the action but the slapstick bits too. While Jones, Mako, and Von Sydow bring such commanding gravitas to their monologues. Artistry, just like you said Chuck.
@KairuHakubi9 ай бұрын
There was a time when physicality could be a performance all on its own. We've definitely lost that..
@gratuitouslurking86109 ай бұрын
One interesting take I saw specifically for the movie was regarding how the Riddle of Steel is portrayed in it. At the start, Conan is told the only thing one can truly trust is the sword in one's hand. On the other side of things, you have the cult, who is trusting the will of others to the point of self-destruction. At the end of the film, with sword in one hand and a severed head in the the other, it's implied the true riddle of steel is a form of temperance or balance of these features, basically the heart of a man.
@SingularityOrbit9 ай бұрын
That gets in stabbing range of the take I ascribe to, which is that the Riddle of Steel is solved by understanding that good steel and a good sword aren't just handed to mankind -- you have to understand them. If you want swords to exist, you need someone who knows how to make one -- and that gives the swordmaker a power in the world. It's like Chuck said, that everything Conan gains is internal to himself, teaching him to endure, to fight, to think, to read, and so on. The philosophy of the movie is that it is only what you experience and learn and integrate into your own self that gives you strength. Thulsa Doom was someone who had skills -- amazing, even magical, skills -- but who treated everything and everyone as external and less important than his own greatness. Conan knew what he himself really was, and what mattered to him, and he met the world on its terms -- full of evils, but also full of worthy things to be sought and protected -- instead of imaginary terms such as what Thulsa Doom tricked his cult, and himself, into believing.
@3Havoc9 ай бұрын
I was under the impression it was the Nietzchean concept of will to power as that was the answer to the riddle of steel.
@SingularityOrbit9 ай бұрын
@@3Havoc It's absolutely connected. You have to know how to do things to do them, and you have to be willing to do the things to change the world. So it's not the same thing as Nietzsche's will to power, but a connected concept. The Nietzschean "Superman" knows how to do things, and has the will to complete the actions taht will change the world. For example, to keep coming back after a snake cult leader until the cult is gone from the world takes both skills and a _lot_ of mental endurance.
@kevinedw20029 ай бұрын
I always saw it as the antithesis of what Conan’s father told him: steel (in the form of his father’s sword) fails him, but he could put his trust in men and women and beasts.
@nickfirer99689 ай бұрын
On top of that, the Sword, the only thing he could trust, literally fails him, while men and women, the things he COULDN'T trust save him.
@ttrestle9 ай бұрын
Besides SW a new hope, Conan the barbarian were my favorite films when I was a child. I would watch them when I was 6 - 10 years old in 1986 - 1990. My dad had them recorded on VHS and I would watch these films all the time. One thing I realized is that you can watch Conan the barbarian muted and still 100% understand what is happening and route for the main character. But of course you’d never want to do that as the Conan soundtrack is literally the greatest film soundtrack ever made in human history. I honestly just listen to it on it’s own every year! I even have it in a playlist folder in my KZfaq channel.
@mbryson28999 ай бұрын
"THAT is strength. THAT is power. The strength and power of flesh." This was no throwaway line, no simple bloviation by the villain. It was a specific lesson Thulsa Doom shared with Conan. I particularly enjoyed how little dialogue the film had. So much was conveyed by the expressions of the actors. I enjoyed _The 13th Warrior_ for the same reason. So much was communicated merely by their expressions and actions, no words needed.
@andersonic9 ай бұрын
The 1982 movie still really stands apart for how it depicts a lost history sword and sorcery tale. No similar movie feels quite like it, let alone the other Conan films. Despite coming out in 1982 it's very much a 70's film with its naturalism and auteur freedom to do something new. Conan The Destroyer was, alas, a thoroughly 80's film.
@GPlewright9 ай бұрын
Fully agreed. The sequel was trashy.
@barreloffun109 ай бұрын
One of the greatest films ever made. Thank you, John Milius.
@NickJohnCoop9 ай бұрын
This is one of the best summations of Conan I’ve ever heard and of course it was done here. Well done Chuck, it’s a crime what YT makes your job harder.
@aegisgfx9 ай бұрын
It's an absolute travesty that Conan 2 sucked so bad and became the same shlock that all the Conan rip offs were
@KairuHakubi9 ай бұрын
like a literal crime. the kind of crime where the only thing keeping the people responsible out of prison is corrupt judges, and presumably organized crime protects said judges from disbarment somehow.
@aegisgfx9 ай бұрын
@@KairuHakubi like.. what?
@KairuHakubi9 ай бұрын
@@aegisgfx please rephrase the question
@aegisgfx9 ай бұрын
@@KairuHakubi why are you talking about corrupt judges? I have no idea how what you said makes any sense in terms of a movie like Conan
@jessesloan8649 ай бұрын
My dad and I watched this film often. He would often cite the scene where Conan's mother meets eyes with Doom. With eyes alone, they seem to exchange an understanding that the child will live, if the mother allows herself to die. Then her head falls. Dark scene.
@adrak919 ай бұрын
Yes it's a masterpiece, dismissed by those blinded by preconceptions.
@wyldekey9 ай бұрын
A couple years ago I heard rumors that a King Conan film might happen with Arnold. I'm still hoping. It would be glorious!
@robo50139 ай бұрын
It got cancelled when his new Terminator movie didn't do well at the box office.
@ttrestle9 ай бұрын
He should’ve done it years ago
@mbryson28999 ай бұрын
So many stories could be set in the Hyborian Age. I'd enjoy films or a show set there whether they included Arnold or not. The books always focused on Conan, but there were many other heroes and adversaries who played parts. Who would not want to sail with Belit and her crew?
@darsebi9 ай бұрын
The Riddle of steel is in your grasp. Crom is pleased.
@StephenGillie9 ай бұрын
Oh yeah - Cave Dwellers. Was just thinking about "Princess Hubcap" for my weekly MST3k movie night.
@JackChurchill1019 ай бұрын
When people ask about my favourite films, I always put this in the top three, and make the point that it is so utterly underrated as "a cheesy fantasy movie with a dumb bullock of a lead actor". The soundtrack, world-building, action, cinematography, theme and direction were all fantastic. That most of the film is non-verbal, except for shakespearian monologues just sells it even more. I think Arnold has around ten lines of dialogue the whole movie (outside of philosophy with Subatai). The rest is physicality. The father has a speech about the gods and the source of man's strength, then we have almost no dialogue until Conan and Subatai discuss religion, then the next major dialogue is the king reflecting on achieving wealth but losing a child, then the lover gives a speech about how love is the most valuable thing in life, then the next dialogue is the villain giving a philosophy of power, then the lover gives another speech about sacrifice, then the last speech is the villain telling the hero how He had shaped the hero through his pain and vengeance. I love the dialogue in this film. And delivered so adeptly against the non-verbal scenes. These people are not dumb savages, but have ancient wisdom lost to the ages.
@7Seraphem79 ай бұрын
Stormlight Archives has my favorite response to that whole "I made you strong!" line from some asshole who made the character's life hell then tries to claim they owe them for it. "Ten spears go out battle, nine of them shatter. Did that war forge the one that remained? No... it merely revealed the spear the would not break."
@Gallasl6669 ай бұрын
One of my favorites. When we got cable tv somewhere around 82-83. I watched this countless times along with Star Trek 2.
@Tacom4ster9 ай бұрын
One of my fav soundtracks
@CaminoAir9 ай бұрын
As always, an excellent analysis. Thank you.
@joshydarroch9 ай бұрын
Fantastic breakdown. Likely the best done on Conan. SFDebris once again never fails to impress and amaze in his thoroughly researched and thoughtful analysis, and tactful use of language to convey his breakdown. Bravo.
@jamesmurray85589 ай бұрын
The best movie of Arnold. Been a fan since 1975 when he was in Birmingham, I am in the last scene of that movie.
@entropy119 ай бұрын
Though movie conan has such a contrary background to Howard's Conan, born on a battlefield and raised within the Cimmerian tribe and already a powerful warrior and fighter by the time he leaves them to seek his adventure, the movie manages to keep the core of Conan's personality and essence intact.
@TI44389 ай бұрын
Yup. It was so well done few hard-core Conan fans find fault.
@aelfredrex83549 ай бұрын
Howard's Conan was far smarter than the movie Conan.
@TI44389 ай бұрын
@@aelfredrex8354 the movie Conan was just starting out.
@ActionFigureAtorium9 ай бұрын
Oliver Harper be damned! This is one of the best entertainment/movie discussion channels. Keep it going.
@VanGugenhiemer9 ай бұрын
Thank you for articulating what makes this film so great.
@hunterschoumacher95609 ай бұрын
16+ minute video with no mention of the great Basil Poledouris' soundtrack 🤔
@SteelBreeze0219 ай бұрын
👍
@mbryson28999 ай бұрын
He spoke about the sountrack in the companion video.
@jasonstewart72825 ай бұрын
love your take on the hero's journey in the film
@radiak559 ай бұрын
I also share the same sentiment towards the viewing of the movie. Although I did watch it when I was a kid, i barely remember anything other than Arnold at the wheel. It wasn't until rewatching it online did I get to experience what I've come to appreciate from the later movies of the previous century, a level of craftsmanship that has gone from many movies of today. It's not that it's a lost art or that movies of the past where higher forms of art but rather that you can tell that there was a considerable level of effort and thought put into all aspects of a movie, even if the final result was not a terribly great movie or worthwhile story. But still, the attempt to put all effort into the project, even if it's an adaptation for the purpose of brand expansion, still makes the movie solid in that regard. I think that today it has advanced to a point like comics in the 90s where the business end of things have produced much fluff ala assembly line that takes away from a worthwhile experience. Like have all kinds of flavors but it all taste like a bland knock off brand.
@richardbehrle14969 ай бұрын
I remember watching this movie in the 80s and I loved it despite all the negative reviews. It is a great movie! And now it's a classic.
@613harbinger3169 ай бұрын
Oh man! Cave Dwellers! I've watched the MST3K of that sooo many times. How awesome would it have been if Ator actually did have a tank made of coconuts waiting for him in the courtyard? ...and thank you so much for an explanation for those baffling title and credits scenes!
@thatguybehindtheglass9 ай бұрын
Thong! The fish is ready!
@SMunro9 ай бұрын
"I am your Father..."
@seatspud9 ай бұрын
"No, no. That's not true. That's impossible!"
@maeve6159 ай бұрын
10:08 Thank you for that observation. I've recently started playing a barbarian in a DnD campaign, and she's not the stereotype of dim-witted savage. She thinks, plans, and she's brutally patient. Your remark helped me articulate a philosophical point about her existence. She has detached/disengaged from the laws (written and unwritten) of society, and has had to embrace a more natural law governed by her existence, because she is unable to re-integrate after events in her backstory. She's a barbarian because she has realized and rejected the artifice of imposed law, and lives by a code that flows from within her sense of self. + edit + 12:16 my appreciation for mentioning this. I only had it once, and I am permanently dealing with muscle fatigue + neurological issue as a result.
@aelfredrex83549 ай бұрын
I want to see them make a film actually using one of Howard's stories, like "A Witch Shall Be Born" or "Black Colossus", both with good plots and battle scenes that could make for a full movie.
@Don-ol8ze9 ай бұрын
I think "Black Colossus" could have great potential. Also, "Queen of the Black Coast" could be fantastic, though potentially problematic to make faithfully in the modern day - not impossible, but a challenge. Or what about "Hour of the Dragon" - a trilogy perhaps?
@KairuHakubi9 ай бұрын
Sometimes it's nice to be reminded why you're still a popular reviewer. these deep-ass dives into themes n junk really do good stuff in my brain.
@BenLWolf5 ай бұрын
HOLY CRAP?! you didn't see conan until NOW? I was completely pop culture starved and I STILL grew up on the conan movies!
@diredier9 ай бұрын
Amazing analysis, so many brilliant ideas!
@davdia9 ай бұрын
First of all, this just popped into my feed and I could not be more delighted. You were literally the first video reviewer I ever followed, and did so for a few years when you were just starting out with adding DS9 content, followed you to your site, watched Madoka because of your review (watched your first installation, then the series, then the rest; thanks so much for that). I love how you went in depth on Conan, which for me is a childhood classic. The only place we differ is in the interpretation of Conan as king. I believe that him becoming king was in a way proving Thulsa Doom right. The position of such power was willed by the people - and even if killed, there would be another to take his place. Even when he was publicly beheaded (in a scene that evokes Aztec symbology), another king rose to the same position, with the same power. But perhaps that's just me loving the Shakespearean pathos of James Earl Jones.
@jamesabernethy78969 ай бұрын
Although not one of my favourite movies of all time, it's one that I enjoy watching and admire as a film. I've also watched your three parter. You have a great way of breaking things down but you also have a very creative sense of humour for your more comical takes. You do both sides of your channel very well.
@Didymus20X69 ай бұрын
Also, in the Director's Cut of the film, it turns out that Osric's daughter helps Conan sneak into Thulsa Doom's fortress. And after Conan kills Doom, she bows down to worship Conan. But Conan pulls her to her feet (essentially rejecting her worship), but then invites her to travel with him. It is also interesting that this cult and the one it was inspired by are both run by men named Jones.
@Blackferret669 ай бұрын
I love the aesthetics of the costumes in this movie. They look primitive/Iron Age, but also detailed and stylized.
@BigGator59 ай бұрын
I like the the extended version better. It adds a little something extra. People say that it changes the movie, but I think that it's an acceptable change that makes sense to me (at least). Go with God and Be Safe from Evil. 😎 👍
@shokmusic_AC9 ай бұрын
Excellent reflection on an amazing film. You summed up the philosophy of John Milius very well. If you haven't already, please watch the Milius/Arnold commentary on Conan. Its very good. Cheers.
@Chimeragui9 ай бұрын
It should also be noted that the adage "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is itself an oversimplification because it would in fact be more accurate to say "What doesn't kill you, the _Recovery from_ will make you stronger." Not too long ago, I came across a post on Tumblr that explained the truth of the adage by likening it to a bookshelf being glued back together. Wood glue has be given time to set before you can put anything on the broken shelves because if you try to use them too early, they will just collapse as if they had never been fixed at all. Whatever had broken those shelves in the first place was not the thing that made them stronger. It was being fixed that made them stronger.
@joshydarroch9 ай бұрын
Not oversimplified at all... The 'recovery' is simply the clear implication and actual point of the original quote. That is the understanding that is intentionally meant to be drawn from it, it doesn't need to be spelled out. Becoming stronger from something that impacts you negatively yet does not end your being IS literally recovery. It's just simple implication. Not sure how you missed this but yeah.
@Zeithri9 ай бұрын
A great movie my former childhood friend introduced me to when we were like 10. I didn't like it back then, and he liked it because " _Hurr durr big cool muscle man that talks about killing!_ ". As we grew up, I think he never grew beyond that mentality, but to me this movie had a change in my mind from " _Dumb Barbarian movie_ " to " _Excellent Swords & Sandals movie with fantastic music and much deeper than I saw as a kid._ " I love that quote! " _I've had the best things in Life. Now I want something better: The touch of a lover, the companionship of a friend, and the freedom to walk this world unburdened._ "
@GPlewright9 ай бұрын
I rewatched this for the first time since my childhood viewing and was genuinely shocked at how disturbing certain moments of this film are. The whole cult thing is unsettling and then there’s the cannibalism and the cooked body parts coming out of the big pot… maybe on the old CRT TVs I couldn’t make out what the bits were but I was genuinely uncomfortable and surprised I’d seen it as a child.
@Caernath9 ай бұрын
That talk about our hero healing the cultists make me imagine him as Conan the Physician. 👨⚕
@tkc11299 ай бұрын
Great analysis.
@ReaverLordTonus9 ай бұрын
Wow, you mention that the villain played by James Earl Jones is revealed as the Hero's father, and there was no joke in there?
@ShadowWingTronix9 ай бұрын
Well, claimed to be his father, but I think it was figurative. His actions made Conan who and what he is now, a sort of second birth.
@starwarsnerd1009 ай бұрын
It was in the the videos on his other channel
@sgtgrossy82422 ай бұрын
Great video, but your interpretation of his rise to King is an idealized one. In the books by Robert E. Howard, he becomes King by his own hand. He takes it by partnering with disaffected royals and he kills a weak King for his crown. He was never elevated with consent of followers. His rule of Aquilonia was plagued by intrigues and assassination attempts that make him long for the freedom and simplicity of a barbarians life. So he didn't win followers by honor and respect who then made him their King based on admiration. He took what he desired based on the exercise of his will via his strength.
@epicmage829 ай бұрын
Great break down. I appreciate it. 👍
@yesway9809 ай бұрын
A good analysis, although it must be pointed out that Doom killed Conan's mother with steel.
@Petequinn7419 ай бұрын
Conan great movie
@jeremyherndon29749 ай бұрын
What? That is not the ruins of Atlantis!! I'm relatively sure it is at most a colony of Atlantis!
@Quasimodo-mq8tw9 ай бұрын
This just made realize that kingdom of haven is a blatant adaptation of the heores Journey. A few story choices make so much more sense now...
@nothumbbowler18029 ай бұрын
Great review. I'm not sure how many people watch this and understand what the themes are. It often seems people can't get past, Arnold, with a sword, killing people. John Milius's next film, Red Dawn is similar. Too what any other director would have turned into some 80's action schlock and made something with deeper themes that went over people's head.
@digitaljanus9 ай бұрын
Would another director have given the antagonist of an "Americans fighting to reclaim the homeland" movie the main character arc of the film? That the climax of the movie turns on? I'm not so sure.
@nothumbbowler18029 ай бұрын
@@digitaljanus One of the themes of Red Dawn was that neither side was in the right. Humanity and Inhumanity was displayed on both sides. Robert's character arc was a study in how war turns people into psychopaths. And the only reason the partisans could give for being in the right was "because we live here." Film had nothing to do with anti-communism, but people will see what they want to see. If anything it was an anti-cold war film.
@goransekulic36719 ай бұрын
It is a great movie, but regarding Conan lore, it is all ... ugh, I can barely watch it! Thoth-Amon(let's use his real name) is also such a fascinating character. One rarely sees such a great duality as Conan Thoth in the same movie. And, if you ask me, it is true. Without Thoth's actions and words, Conan would be nothing.
@robo50139 ай бұрын
Yeah I get a good chuckle when people who have only ever watched the movie start talking about Conan like they know all about him.
@goransekulic36719 ай бұрын
@@robo5013 Know what would be awesome? A Humble Conan Book Bundle.
@boobah56439 ай бұрын
Conan might not have become who he eventually became, but that's hardly 'nothing.' And there's a level of intentionality necessary to claim credit for something which is entirely lacking.
@Frank_429 ай бұрын
Not a lot of dialogue, but what was there was both memorable and worth remembering. The speeches given by Jones and Von Sydow in particular sound as if they should have been written in antiquity by a much more important author. Arnold himself began a long standing tradition of memorable one liners that were expected in all of his subsequent films. Later Conan films ranged from goofy to forgettable. More dialogue does not always translate into better dialogue. It takes more than just a moronic body builder to embody Conan. Arnold's accent, even though it was European, gave him a far more exotic tone than anything Jason Mamoa left behind in his version, and he was able to say a lot more without speaking. Sometimes talking more can if anything give away bad writing and stupidity as was the case with Mamoa's version of Aquaman. To be fair, these days a lot of stupidity is deliberate.
@reidmason25516 ай бұрын
Arnold's a better actor than he gets credit for. It's the accent and cadence of his speech that makes people underestimate him.
@dzilla20999 ай бұрын
I love your videos I was wondering if you could re-upload your Mothra review if not it’s fine I would really like to see it
@paytonturner14219 ай бұрын
Can you do the Gargoyles comic books that are Canon to the main continuity as the Animated Series.
@paulanerruhrpott61889 ай бұрын
Wow thats unexpected
@ChatarraCrow9 ай бұрын
My Conan clone is about a Martian colonist who after the failed invasion of Earth, goes on adventures outside the solar system.
@snoo3339 ай бұрын
thanks
@louiscyfear8789 ай бұрын
NYC TAXES is the reason the Knicks haven't won a championship since 1973
@drewamongstus9 ай бұрын
At the end do you think they were going to light themselves on fire or go light the cities on fire ?
@ImpudentInfidel9 ай бұрын
It's weird that the bots give you this much trouble but resction videos of someone watching an uncut movie or whatever in a window is just fine.
@jasonstewart72825 ай бұрын
we the people
@dm1219849 ай бұрын
God i hate how youtube searching for copyrighted content. It deserves to collapse and be replaced with something at least a tiny bit better.
@NoFormalTraining5 ай бұрын
I had a re-watch of both of Arnolds Conan movies, and while my opinion of the sequel has improved, it still lacks the substance of this movie.
@jeffjenner50309 ай бұрын
Nice . 🙂
@EricFeldmann9 ай бұрын
it was a tomb of an Atlantean not Atlantas
@Atrox1518 ай бұрын
1:14 Don't forget that Conan came to know the pleasures of women...for he was bred to the finest stock.
@michaelammons49659 ай бұрын
Did you ever notice that Conan and Apocalypse Now have nearly identical endings
@SupremeGreatGrandmaster9 ай бұрын
John Milius wrote Apocalypse Now.
@michaelammons49659 ай бұрын
@@SupremeGreatGrandmaster I know
@kkupsky63219 ай бұрын
Jim jones and Jonestown had a lot to do with
@thatguyinaband63419 ай бұрын
great job! PS. covid didn't permanently injure people as much as the vaccine did
@fmsyntheses9 ай бұрын
One of the few examples of non-degenerate cinema. Milius was too good for them.
@caesarmendez67829 ай бұрын
I despised the movie's story and costumes but the other production values and music were impressive.
@Kenshiro3rd9 ай бұрын
15:48 Wrong. Conan is not elevated by others who value the virtues he embodies and thusly convinced of his greatness. He is not made king by others. The movies and novels BOTH state this. Just as stated in the novels & Mako's narration, "he became king by his own hand." in other words he elevated himself by killing the previous king. He is a tyrant in the classical and very literal sense. To have others elevate him is the OPPOSITE of this, and antithetical to everything he actually strives for. He quite literally rejects this in the next movie (Conan The Destroyer) when the Princess turned Queen (who he rescued) offers him her hand in marriage, stating that his kingdom lies elsewhere waiting for him to take it.
@MatthewGill-nv4tb9 ай бұрын
Conan to me was comparable to fist full of dollars. You can put it on mute and it's still an amazing movie... Makes me depressed seeing what we get
@bigd76969 ай бұрын
Proves to be the ruins of Atlantis? You make a lot of strange assumptions here my friend.
@nickfirer99689 ай бұрын
No. I'm sorry. A child hiding from a raid is NOT a refusal to call to action. Not EVERYTHING fits nor has to fit Joseph Campbell's reductionist storytelling railroad.
@ermacarr66179 ай бұрын
1st time a black man actually portrayed an egyptian as it's supposed to be.