How Arnold Schwarzenegger ever managed to get elected Governor of California with this in his back catalogue is anyone's guess, it's so embarrassing as to make Max Mosley's private life look positively saintly.

In an early role, Arnie plays Conan, who as a young boy sees his father and mother slain, for no good reason, by a gang of bandits led by James Earl Jones. A few years of gruelling toil later and he's developed a physique that's as the mountainous as the background and he's out for revenge. The problem is that the pacing of the film is so slow and the action scenes so poorly handled that it feels like an eternity before he finally gets to face Earl Jones, who has in the interim turned into a Kurtz-like figure, heading a strange religious cult. The latter development isn't really surprising, in that the film was written and directed by John Milius who had previously written the screenplay for "Apocalypse Now" but who by 1981seemed to have run out of ideas (or embraced recycling before the rest of us).

It's difficult to see who this film is aimed at: action fans will be disappointed by the relative scarcity and general paucity of the action scenes - the film is no "The Terminator" - whilst anyone who likes more demanding fare is going to try and find excuses for going to bed early. To make things worse, there isn't even the hammy humour of later Arnie films - there are no appalling puns and definitely no, "I'll be back". Indeed, Arnie hardly even speaks, which is perhaps just as well as his Austrian accent here is as ridiculous as his physique.

So if you find yourself in desperate need of a decent Arnie film, buy the aforementioned "The Terminator", which has everything this heap of Bronze Age rubble lacks.

I can't understand how anyone can give this masterpiece a poor review?
This is one of the greatest fantasy movie ever made, if not the best of all.
Millius (the director) captured the Conan world and Conan himself perfectly, doing an amazing job with the special effects and props considering this was made in 1981.
All in all, emotional, amazing battle build up and some of the greatest composed music for a film of all time.
A masterpiece!
And as a massive Conan fan myself:
I can't and would never be able to accept any other actor playing Conan in the up and coming King Conan, only Arnie could ever play the role in my opinion.

Arnolds first big success then obviously The Terminator. This was another role made for him as the legendry warrior Conan. The music's great and the action is awesome. Its a really brutal and a bloody film with some great battle scenes. All the actors were great in this especially Mako and James earl Jones as the evil Thulsa Doom. I loved the whole Viking concept with big guys on horses, it really made the film more larger than life. John Mullis did a brilliant job on this film, even if it doesn't totally follow the Conan comics its a great film. Hopefully there make King Conan-Crown Of Iron next because Arnold's the perfect age for it now.

such an awesome movie! probaly my all time favroite! Arnarld Swarchdkwdjhjd is def the right person to be conan! if you have any intrests in games like D&D or warhammer then this is a must = )

Arnie roams & rambles without special-effects in this turkey.

Lacking in plot this early outing should never have left the storyboard stage. Period-settings may have been created on-the-cheap for 1950's TV though in the 21st century their appeal rests with fans & those with an interest in archive material [e.g., apprentice to the art of movie-making].

thts an insult to give such a good film 1 star :o
this film is awesome legend film i advise it a must buy :)
xx

The budget of this film and a-still-wet-behind-the-ears Arnold in his first (real) hero role should have send this straight to the B-movie list. But Milius' work was great, Arnie was ideal for the role and Basil Poledouris' score was simply one of the best epic soundtracks ever to accompany a film. And let us not forget James Earl Jones as a great villain. A must-have for all comic and fantasy fans.

This film came out in the late 70's so people who want great special effects look somewhere else. What this film has though is a great plot, great characters and great passion. John Milius is a great director, there are so many moments in this film that take my breath away, right at the beginning where conan's father tells him about the story of gods, man and giants, where conan rides on his horse across lanscapes in search of the man who killed his people and with great score coming from basil poledouris. Great scenes where conan and his comrade discuss who worships the better god only to be outwitted in the end, another scene where conan discovers the atlantean sword in a tomb of an unknown king, there is no dialogue but what makes it so wonderful is the score and arnie's portrayal of conan. I could name so many scenes but I'll end up writing the entire plot. It's truly one of the best fantasy films ever made and a timeless classic.