Conan the Barbarian
1982
**
Director: John Milius
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Sandahl Bergman, Ben Davidson, Gerry Lopez, Mako, Valérie Quennessen, William Smith, Max von Sydow, Sven-Ole Thorsen
Conan, a slave-turned-warrior, seeks vengeance against the sorcerer who destroyed his village and killed his parents. John Milius' pompous and mystical epic has not stood the test of time. The story is silly and the action scenes are incredibly clunky. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the hero in his breakthrough role, but his stiff performance is not the worst of the bunch. The costumes, group scenes, and the omnipresent soundtrack by Basil Poledouris are the saving grace. Based on Robert E. Howard's pulp novels. Followed by Conan the Destroyer.
