Rating: ****
Director: John Milius
Music: Basil Poledouris
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Sandahl Bergman,
Gerry Lopez, Mako, Max Von Sydow
A spectacular sword and sorcery film and the perfect role for musclebound newcomer Arnold Schwarzenegger. A young Conan is torn from his village and family and raised as a slave, later to be sold as a pit fighter. He excels at this and soon becomes a legendary arena fighter. When he escapes this life, he meets up with a couple of thieves (Gerry Lopez and Sandahl Bergman) and eventually gets the chance to avenge his parents' murders by killing the evil Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones). The film is gorgeous and the music is incredible and inspiring. All of the characters and performances are right on the money and the action sequences are superb. Combined with a tight and intelligent script, you get the finest barbarian film ever made. It also contains one of the finest and most tasteful love scenes ever captured on film, equalled only by the love scene in James Cameron's "The Terminator" (1984).