Conan, the 30th anniversarry

May the 14th, 1982, 30 years ago today the unmatched movie summer of 1982 begins….

The first big movie to kick off the season was Universal Pictures’ Conan the Barbarian.  I had been waiting for this one for well over three years, when it was announced somewhere in 1979 that Super Body Builder Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast to play the starring role.  Like most of my friends at the gym, Arnold was a huge role model, and everyone aspired to work out hard and to be like him!!!  It was a huge day when the news came out that the king was going to be Conan; Arnold was born to play this part and, although his acting is not his sharpest talent, looking invincible and destroying everything with a sword was!!!

I was going to college in Arizona at the time, and my movie going buddies Rod Andrewson, Steve Boltz, Mark Zainer, and my cousin Jeff Goff were all ready for this one.  Opening night at the Mann’s Christown Theater was packed, and once the movie started, the cheers and howls never stopped. The film was 2 hour + roller coaster ride of incredible carnage and violence that was pretty hard to take at the time.  This was the begining of the bloody epic films, and the Summer of 82 had several more in store before the season was through.

Conan was an incredible film.  It is epic in it’s scope and visual scenery, and it stays fairly faithful to the novels by Robert E. Howard.  The film was written for the screen by Oliver Stone and John Milius (who was also the director).  Ron Cobb was the production Designer,  William Stout and Pier Luigi Basile made up the rest of the art department.  Cobb’s work has always been the cornerstone of my inspiration and art career and, for me, Conan was a visual feast of Ron’s talent.  From Swords to Temples his imagination was free to run wild, as well as the fine works of Stout and Basile. The incredible costumes were designed by John Bloomfield, and there are so many styles and tribes of people he had to design for, not to mention a huge cast of actors and hundreds and hundreds of extras that had to be suited.

One of my favorite parts of the film is the musical score composed by Basil Poledouris.  Basil is legendary and his work for Conan is definitely one of his many shining stars!!!  A robust and Romantic score filled with memorable themes, and his use of the choir only added to the majesty of the underlying voice he created to carry us to another place and time.  There are many versions of this soundtrack out but there are only one or two complete scores available.  These would be the best to seek out.  The original soundtrack was on vinyl  and accompanied the release of the film.  Because of the time restrictions of an LP there was only about 45 minutes of music to listen to from a 70 to 80 minute complete score.  Not until I did find the complete soundtrack some 20 years later did I realize how much beautiful, subtle music there was carrying the easier moments in the movie.

The filming locations for the most part were all in Spain except for a few in Canada.  Duke Callaghan’s cinematography is breathtaking to say the least, and his use of natural light and surroundings added yet another beautiful layer to the films exotic look.  The casting was perfect from the big parts to the minor roles, and there were some big names in this one.  James Earl Jones as the evil Thulsa Doom, Max von Sydow as King Osric, and Mako as the wizard.  Arnold’s costars were excellently cast, and their parts made for the right character balance for supporting roles.  Gerry Lopez played Subotai the archer, and Sandahl Bergman played Conan’s love and protector Valeria.  This was a big role or Sadahl who was previously a professional dancer.  Her work can be seen in “All that Jazz” and also as one of Olivia Newton John’s sister muse’s in (one of my guilty pleasure films) “Xanadu”.

I’m sure most of you reading this have seen “Conan,” but for those of you who haven’t, it is worth your time.  The movie is dated but stands the test of time pretty well.  Lots of long establishing shots and fixed camera dialog scenes let you know your in the 80’s, and I find it a fresh reminder that the camera does not have to be moving at all times to tell a story.

Milius succeeded in turning a fairly simple story into a much larger than life motion Picture.  “Conan” cost 20 million dollars to make, and at the time that was a fairly expensive price tag.  Box office grosses were high and the film made it’s money back inside of it’s first two weeks in theaters.  Overall the film was loved by moviegoers and received mostly positive ratings from the critics…I saw this one at least 6 times over the Summer, and it was a must VHS purchase when it came out the following Summer.

There is a lot out on the web about this movie so below are some of my fav links to go to if you’re in the mood for more about “CONAN THE BARBARIAN.”  If you’re an old reader to this blog, You know a lot about production designer Ron Cobb.  If you’re a new reader, here is a link to a post from several years ago showing Ron’s art from Conan…  https://johneaves.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/conan-and-cobb/     The art of Bill stout can be seen at, http://conancompletist.com/EN/william_stout.html      This is a fabulous website telling you everything about everything Conan,  http://conancompletist.com/EN/home.htm

OK fellow fans have fun, and hope you enjoy the grabs below.

The Universal logo of 1982

The credits role over a montage of imagery showing the creation of Conan’s father’s sword

the beautiful art of metal carving is seen under the writers credits

The story begins with a young Conan and his father talking about trust and steel.

Conan’s quiet village is under attack from Thulsa Doom’s (James Earl Jones) army.

This is Franco Columbu, one of Arnold’s body building buddies.

Through the snowy mist they ride, Dooms men have come to kill everyone they encounter.

Conan and his mother are the last to take a stand against Doom.

The sword of Conan’s father is presented to Doom.

Doom has the power to hypnotize and he will’s Conan’s mother to lower her sword. In a grim moment Doom swirls and beheads young Conan’s mother while he is still holding her hand.

the tragedy at hand

Children were the only survivors of the attack and they were sent to the North to serve out their lives as slaves.

The wheel of pain!

Young Conan is chained to the wheel and this is where he’ll stay for the next 10 years or so.

A montage of shots showing a young boy turn to a man follow, and one by one the other children die off leaving the loan Conan to push the wheel.

Muscles grow.

At the end of the Montage we are introduced to Conan the man and the first time we see Arnold.

Conan is purchased by a promoter and he introduces his prize to the arena for one on one combat…. Conan becomes unbeatable and is the fans favorite fighter, heaping great wealth upon his master.

Conan is introduced to the ways of the sword as well as reading and writing.

Conan’s master feels he has had his prize to long and lets the chained beast go before it can turn on him. Conan roams the land and discovers an ancient temple and a sword that will make him free.

Conan takes the sword from the ancient kings remains.

the house of the witch.

Conan and Subotai meet up and become thieves.

Ron Cobb as the Black Lotus dealer.

One of Doom’s snake towers.

Valeria (Sanahl Bergman) joins Conan and Subotai, and the three become one tough team.

from Xanadu to Conan.

the three thieves rob one of Dooms towers and kill his prized snake.

King Osric (Max Von Sydow) has the three captured and holds their robbery of Doom in high regards, He makes them an offer to go to Dooms mountain and get his daughter back from Doom’s cult.

Conan slips out in the night to find Doom leaving his partners behind, he comes across an ancient burial ground and the strange little wizard that looks after the place.

Mako plays the wizard and the two become quick friends.

Conan steals the robes from an overly friendly Priest and heads for Dooms temple, One of Cobbs incredible designs. Fun to look back at a time when throngs of extras were real people and not CG.

Another incredible full sized set and not a lick of it built by computer.

King Osric’s daughter.

Doom addresses his followers.

Conan is caught & beaten and then presented to Doom for judgement.

Doom explains the riddle of steel before sentencing Conan to contemplate things as he is to be crucified.

the tree of woe

Conan’s dead body is found and brought back to the wizards burial ground, there Valeria makes a pact with the gods if they will bring Conan back to life. The wizard then begins to prepare the body for the trial of demons.

night of the demons

The gods grant Valeria’s request and Conan stands again and ready to fight again.

The three ride off together to Dooms mountain to save the kings daughter and save revenge on Doom for another day.

Doom has made Osric’s daughter his main lady and they watch over the orgy of his main followers before them, Conan’s team silently move in.

a wild sequence begins as the mood of the temple is calm, Doom’s figure begins to transform.

As the sequence continues we find out that Doom is a serpent as well

so this is paradise

the battle begins

Conan on the prowl

They will all drown in lakes of blood,,,, Doom’s curse as the thieves make off with the princess leaving his temple in shambles and his slaves and servants slain.

The evil army ride’s, Doom has killed Valeria and Conan awaits his coming with hate and vengence

Conan, Subotai, and the wizard horrifically defeat doom’s men in a bloody battle at the burial grounds.

Doom watches as his men are killed, he tries to kill the princess unsuccessfully thus heaping her vengeance on him as he rides off back to his temple.

With the aid of Osric’s daughter Conan finally gets to Doom and severs his head with the very sword that Doom used to cut off his mother’s head when he was a boy

With Doom dead his followers go back to their homes and villages and Conan burns the temple down. That is the full sized set burning in the background

Conan takes Osric’s daughter home

The film ends with a continuing narrative by mako, An image of Conan sitting on a thrown fills the frame and we are promised another adventure where Conan becomes king by his own hand.. We are still waiting 30 years later