Until LOTR, the best fantasy movie made
This one is easily an underrated classic, and one of the few films I actually like better every time I see it. It has all of the elements of your standard "swords and sandals" fantasy - the buxom warrior babes, the bloody swordfights, the unstoppable hero - but what makes it work are a few choice directorial decisions made by John Millius.
Most of these sorts of movies get bogged down in heavy-handed, or simply corny, dialog. Millius's decision was to stip out every bit of dialogue that wasn't absolutely needed for the story, and allow huge chunks of the movie to play out in near silence. The movie is 90% carried solely by the visuals and Basil Poledouris' incredible operatic soundtrack. This allowed them to show a story which would normally be trite, cliched, and even corny in such a way that it comes off more like a Wagner production.
It even has surprising depth, or at least the illusion thereof. By stripping out the dialogue, the movie *suggests* as much as it actually tells, which adds greatly to its rewatchability. Why, for example, does Conan laugh upon the Tree of Woe? We're never told, we're only given the vaguest hints - but contemplating what could have been going through Conan's mind at that point makes it appear far richer.
Excellent photography and an almost dream-like flow furhter add to it. But if artistic stuff isn't your bag, it also has loads of sex, nudity, and some truly spectacular battle scenes. And contrary to a lot of reviewers, I love James Earl Jones' understated performance as Thulsa Doom. Chewing the scenery and going over the top would have been too easy. Instead he is the wolf in sheep's clothing, someone you *know* to be evil, yet casts a seductive air of love and peace around him.
All in all, a truly great action movie, and one that deserves to keep being seen.
Most of these sorts of movies get bogged down in heavy-handed, or simply corny, dialog. Millius's decision was to stip out every bit of dialogue that wasn't absolutely needed for the story, and allow huge chunks of the movie to play out in near silence. The movie is 90% carried solely by the visuals and Basil Poledouris' incredible operatic soundtrack. This allowed them to show a story which would normally be trite, cliched, and even corny in such a way that it comes off more like a Wagner production.
It even has surprising depth, or at least the illusion thereof. By stripping out the dialogue, the movie *suggests* as much as it actually tells, which adds greatly to its rewatchability. Why, for example, does Conan laugh upon the Tree of Woe? We're never told, we're only given the vaguest hints - but contemplating what could have been going through Conan's mind at that point makes it appear far richer.
Excellent photography and an almost dream-like flow furhter add to it. But if artistic stuff isn't your bag, it also has loads of sex, nudity, and some truly spectacular battle scenes. And contrary to a lot of reviewers, I love James Earl Jones' understated performance as Thulsa Doom. Chewing the scenery and going over the top would have been too easy. Instead he is the wolf in sheep's clothing, someone you *know* to be evil, yet casts a seductive air of love and peace around him.
All in all, a truly great action movie, and one that deserves to keep being seen.
- WizardX
- Nov 29, 2003