"CONAN THE BARBARIAN"
Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars)
With the remake of “Conan the Barbarian” in theaters, it’s the perfect time to re-release the original “Conan the Barbarian” on Blu-ray. It’s the role that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star, and looking back on it, you can see where he owned the film.
The movie is based on the Robert E. Howard character from other media. In the film, he sees his family slaughtered by the villainous Thulsa Doom, and after being enslaved and taught the way of the barbarian, he goes on a quest to destroy Doom and his religious cult.
This movie is essential 80s cinema with some amazing elements, including the unflinching violence for the time and the brilliant score by Basil Poledouris. It’s the kind of movie like “Scarface” that is beloved by college students and other young men fueling up on machismo. It’s not crafty dialogue, but it has some awesome scenes and impressive set pieces for a 30-year-old movie. The movie has plenty of silly moments, but for the most part it takes itself seriously. And it is one of the films that helped galvanize the landscape of sword and sandal adventures.
The Blu-ray includes all the DVD extras, including deleted scenes, a feature commentary, plus a spotlight on special effects. There’s also the featurettes “Conan Unchained,” which is the making of the film, as well as “The Conan Archives.” New features exclusive to the Blu-ray include “Art of Steel: Sword Makers and Masters” about the crafting of the weapons and “Conan: From the Vault” which features vintage footage of the stars and filmmakers being interviewed.
"CONAN THE DESTROYER"
Blu-ray Review
by Kevin Carr
MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars)
If Universal was going to release “Conan the Barbarian” on Blu-ray for the first time, why not pair it up with the lackluster sequel “Conan the Destroyer.” While Schwarzenegger was more buff for this film and wore a more recognizable Conan-esque outfit in the movie, “Destroyer” was a huge step down from the visceral ecstasy of “Barbarian.”
The wacky story follows Conan as he teams up with a thief (played by the androgynously sexy and terrifying Grace Jones) to help a teen princess (played by the alarmingly underaged and gorgeous Olivia d’Abo) and her bodyguard (played by the woefully out-of-place Wilt Chamberlain) to retrieve the Magic Horn of Dagoth. It’s another quest, but shot as a PG film. So there’s far less barbarism, no breasts and no one having sex with a demon woman who explodes in the fire.
There’s a goofy MST-3K quality about “Conan the Destroyer” that aims for family friendly but tries to be sexy as well, something we saw a lot of in the 80s. It’s got the look, the costumes and the set pieces, but the story, characters and power of the film is sorely lacking. Sure, it’s better than the later attempt at “Red Sonja,” which features Schwarzenegger as non-Conan (for rights reasons), but not by much.
The Blu-ray has much fewer features than that of “Conan the Barbarian,” offering only the theatrical trailer and the now-standard BD-Live and pocketBLU access.
