The Conan Chronicles
Directed by John Milius and Robert Fleischer.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Sandahl Bergman, Ben Davidson, Cassandra Gaviola, Gerry Lopez, Mako, Valerie Quennessen, William Smith, Max von Sydow, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Tracey Walter, Olivia d’Abo, and Sarah Douglas.
SYNOPSIS:
What is best in life? I’d say this new Arrow 4K Ultra HD edition of the two 80s Conan movies is right up there, especially if you’re a fan. Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer have both been faithfully restored in 4K, and Arrow commissioned a bunch of new bonus features for the two films. They even threw in some great swag. Highly recommended.
1982’s Conan the Barbarian and its follow-up, 1984’s Conan the Destroyer, form one of the oddest two-film outings in film history. I’ll get into more details further down the page, but my TL;DR assessment of those movies is: A debut that nails the tone of the source material and a follow-up that features a more campy tone along with so-called “stunt casting,” among other dubious choices.
Given their origins in the early 1980s, both movies have been released on just about every home video format in existence, and Arrow Video has now trumped them all with an edition that’s a must-buy for fans.
I’ll even go so far as to say that if you’re as lukewarm on the second movie as I am, it’s still worth your while to buy the two-film collection, dubbed The Conan Chronicles, just because it will be a beautiful addition to your movie library shelves.
Like the boutique company has done with other genre classics, Arrow has pulled out all the stops for The Conan Chronicles. Available in either Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD, it includes three discs (one for each film and a third platter for more bonus features), a pair of posters, 12 postcards, and a booklet with two new essays and archival set reports.
Of course, you can also buy either film individually, with both formats available, and you’ll still get the relevant poster for that movie, the postcards, and the booklet. Arrow has essentially become the equivalent of the Criterion Collection, just for the kinds of movies that Criterion probably wouldn’t release. (Yes, I know Criterion has issued its share of genre films, which is why I said “probably.”)
Arrow also put resources into 4K restorations of both films, presenting them with image quality that’s likely as good as you’ll ever see in your home. 4K Ultra HD is almost certainly the final stop for physical media, which is fine because it suits the purposes of pretty much everyone, even cinephiles with high-end home theater setups. You might not be one of them, but you can see a purchase like this as future-proofing your home video library for the day when you can join their ranks.
Let’s move on to a look at both films in this set:
Conan the Barbarian, 1982.
Like Flash Gordon, another genre movie from Dino De Laurentiis’s production company of that era, Conan’s film debut is pretty much perfect. Arnold Schwarzenegger was born to play the role, and John Milius’s script, with an assist from Oliver Stone, captures the character’s pulp origins with the right amount of bombast and hyperbole.
James Earl Jones brings his wonderful baritone to the part of Tulsa Doom, leader of a group who killed Conan’s parents and the rest of his village and later chained him to the Wheel of Pain for the rest of his childhood and adolescence.
Adult Conan becomes a feared gladiator and later earns his freedom. After finding his famous sword in a tomb and joining forces with the thief Subotai (Gerry Lopez) and the fighter Valeria (Sandahl Bergman), the trio eventually end up trying to infiltrate Thulsa Doom’s castle to rescue a princess. Conan, of course, wants revenge, too.
Three versions of the movie — theatrical, international cut, and extended cut — are available, although the run-time isn’t that different between them. The differences between them consist mostly of extra footage in various scenes. Your mileage may vary regarding which one you prefer.
You’ll also find a pair of commentary tracks, but only for the extended cut. The first one is a fun track with Milius and Schwarzenegger. Given how big both of their personalities are, it’s not a surprise that this is an enjoyable listen. Of particular interest is Milius’s discussion of the Conan trilogy he had planned. Alas.
The other track is a new one with well-known author Paul M. Sammon, who was on set during the making of the movie and has tons of interesting information to share.
There’s also a Blu-ray that contains a ton of content. I know I usually put bonus features in bullet points, but in this case, that feels like a lot of data entry, so you’ll just have to trust me here.
Arrow commissioned nine new interviews here, and they mostly focus on little nooks and crannies, like the now-adult actor who plays kid Conan in the prologue and director Robert Eggers, who discusses the influence the film had on The Northman.
On top of that, Arrow has included a lot of archival material. I don’t know if everything from previous home video editions is here, but I have to assume anything that’s missing is pretty minor. The centerpiece is the 53-minute Conan Unchained: The Making of Conan, which Laurent Bouzereau created for the original DVD release.
You also get many more interviews, some of more recent vintage and others that were shot in 1981 and 1982, along with a tribute to composer Basil Poloedouris, three deleted scenes, and more. Four trailers, two from the US and one for the international release, round out the platter. Whew.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Conan the Destroyer, 1984.
Remember when I said that John Milius talks about the trilogy he had planned in the commentary track for the first movie? Yeah, that obviously didn’t happen. Instead, De Laurentiis brought in director Richard Fleischer to helm a movie that aimed for a PG rating, instead of its predecessor’s R rating, to help shore up box office results.
To be fair, the end product isn’t awful, and it has its share of fun moments, but it’s obvious that it had the potential to be more like the first film, and maybe better box office success could have brought Milius back for a third installment.
So-called “stunt casting” also had an impact on the story, which involves Conan undertaking a quest for Queen Taramis of Shadizar in exchange for having Valeria resurrected. (I don’t think anyone reading this needs a spoiler warning for that bit of information about a character from the first film.)
Singer and model Grace Jones, who was well-known at the time, joins the quest in the role of the bandit Zula, while Bombaata, the captain of the queen’s royal guard, is played by basketball star Wilt Chamberlain. Neither of them is awful in their role, but their presence, especially at the time, was distracting; the choices seemed to have been made for the media interest both of them would arouse.
Conan’s party also includes the thief Malak and the wizard Akiro, who returns from the first movie too. If the make-up of that group and the nature of their quest sound a bit like something straight from the game Dungeons & Dragons, well, yeah, I have to assume that was intentional, given D&D’s popularity at the time.
This time, the bonus features are confined to the 4K Ultra HD disc, starting with a new commentary track also voiced by Paul M. Sammon, who has plenty of good information to dispense to Conan fans. A pair of archival commentaries, one with Fleischer and the other with cast members Olivia d’Abo & Tracey Walter, are also included.
As with the first movie, Arrow also put together some new interviews, this time covering the casting, costume design, art direction, and stunt coordination. A fifth new interview features writer John Walsh (Conan the Barbarian: The Official History of the Film), who provides more of the kind of insight that Sammon serves up.
A pair of archival featurettes totaling about half an hour and two theatrical trailers round out the platter.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
