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Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian

Adventure · Fantasy · Action · 1982

A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.

Movie details

Conan the Barbarian

“Thief. Warrior. Gladiator. King.”

1982 Adventure · Fantasy · Action 2h 10m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Conan the Barbarian?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Milius

Written by

John Milius · Oliver Stone · Edward Summer

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Conan

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones

Thulsa Doom

Max von Sydow

Max von Sydow

King Osric

Sandahl Bergman

Sandahl Bergman

Valeria

B

Ben Davidson

Rexor

Cassandra Gava

Cassandra Gava

The Witch

Gerry Lopez

Gerry Lopez

Subotai

Court is in session

Put Conan the Barbarian on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.