Conan the Barbarian

It’s now May 14th, the 30th anniversary of the American release of Conan the Barbarian.

It’s not, unfortunately, the 30th anniversary of the world-premier. That was back in March. However, it’s the one I choose to observe because it coincides with my birthday. Fortunately, I’m a few years younger than the film.

I picked the day to rewatch the film. My friends can tell that this doesn’t exactly require a lot. It’s one of my favourites and moreover, one of the few films that I can watch over and over again without ever growing bored. Somehow, there’s very little in the film that does not work. The direction is good, Schwarzenegger has the physical presence and sense of timing to pull it off, the art design is sublime, and the Basil Poledouris soundtrack knits it all together into something that is more than the sum of its parts. Every fantasy movie between Conan the Barbarian and Fellowship of the Ring – and quite a few afterwards – owe it a great debt, and there’s nary a sentence in its dialogue that is not quotable.

It’s a classic for the ages.

Fittingly, this is also the 200th post of my blog.