 |  | Discs are defective! Do not buy. |  |
Warning! Do not buy this product. The discs are DEFECTIVE. Towards the end of the first movie - Conan the Destroyer - there is serious digital artifacting that ruins both the video and the sound and sometimes even stops the disc entirely. This has been the case with all three copies that I have purchased.
October 9, 20084 stars for value. Both Conan movies for $10. What else is there to say.
Don't expect to find Red Sonja here. That's not a Conan movie.... technically.
September 14, 2008 | | Robert E. Howard it ain't | |
Violent and entertaining, both films are, in the end, a real disappointment to anyone who is actually familiar with the 21 Conan stories of Robert E. Howard -- and I don't mean via Marvel Comics. I mean those original tales that predominately appeared between 1933 and 1936. (A few that were found after Howard's death appeared in the 1950's in various sf & fantasy magazines.) Published in the legendary WEIRD TALES magazine at a time when that publication also featured the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch and so many others. Conan's character is best summed up by the scene in "Phoenix On the Sword" where King Conan is attacked in his bedchamber by assasins. With one hand against the wall behind him and a battle axe in the other, he says to his attackers through bruised and bloody lips, "Who dies first?" In all the interviews I have ever seen of John Milius about Howard and Conan -- including the features and commentary on CONAN THE BARBARIAN -- one important thing is blatantly apparent: he never understood Howard or Conan. He wanted to make a barbarian picture and this was the vehicle. In the process he takes bits and set pieces from several different Conan stories and you get this goofy amalgamation that distorts the Conan legend. One nice touch though, William Smith as Conan's dad. Had this project been a decade earlier he would have been perfect as Conan. As for CONAN THE DESTROYER, this one depicts a Conan closer to Howard's vision of a super barbarian, it plays for laughs to an ungodly degree and ultimately comes off as cheesy. Schwarzenegger as Conan ... not bad but Bill Smith would have been better. I am cautiously hopeful that Lionsgate will launch a series on the character that Howard would be happy with. I was relieved when Milius involvement ended some years ago. He got it wrong over a quarter of a century ago, why should anyone think he'd be better now? An interesting oversight: no where in CTB is Sandahl Bergman's character ever called "Valeria" by name! Maybe something ended up on the cutting room floor. Originally Milius casting vision (Schwarzenegger was associated for the project since 1977 when Edward Pressman acquired the rights) had been Sean Connery as Thulsa Doom (who is actually a character out of one of REH's King Kull of Atlantis stories), Raquel Welch as Valeria and Lou Ferrigno as one of Doom's henchman -- most probably the role played by former Oakland Raider Ben Davidson. Mako's role would have gone to John Huston. A pity. Now what do I like about this movie you ask? Great score by the late Basil Pouldouris. The battle on the mounds between Conan, Subotai (surfer Jerry Lopez), Rexor (Davidson) and Thorgrim (Scandanivian weight lifter and karate champion Sven Ole Thorson). On a different note William Smith has said in interviews over the years that after he beat Arnold in arm wrestling he was never again asked to be in a Schwarzenegger movie! (Little did Arnie know that along with being a film biker, bare-knuckle brawler, and various crazed over the edge psychos, Smith was also a body builder, Gold Glove champion while in the Air Force and two-time arm wrestling champion.)
August 6, 2008 | | A Tale of Two Movies: One Great, One Bad.... | |
This double sided DVD contains both Conan movies:
"Conan the Barbarian" is full of violence, blood, gore, sex, nudity, and substance abuse. Being a father of 3, that makes this movie one of my biggest guilty pleasures!
Several observations:
* James Earl Jones is fantastic as the understatedly evil Falsa Doom
* "Arni" is the perfect Conan...buff, brusk, and focused
* The cinematography is just outstanding
* Great music score
* Not for kids (for reasons listed above)
This is a very good action movie and is highly recommended for fans of the Sword & Sorcery genre.
"Conan the Destroyer", this disappointing sequel to the entertaining and well made "Conan the Barbarian" is an example of what happens when studios attempt to broaden the appeal of a movie for younger audiences. This movie tries to inject more slapstick humor and includes "big name" stars (Grace Jones and Wilt Chamberlain), while sacrificing much of the story line, effective characters, and raw action that made the first movie so watchable. The special effects were also weaker and often seemed out of place, making this a real step backwards.
This set is a great value and is worth having. Recommended!
August 5, 2008| | | Two great classic movies in one set | |
Both movies are great. If you are fan of the comics published from marvel you will enjoy these films for sure. I rate it 4 instead of 5 because I feel they should have added more special features in the DVD set.
June 4, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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