Film

Conan the Barbarian

Name: Conan the Barbarian
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Action
Released: 1982
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Sandahl Bergman, Ben Davidson, Cassandra Gava

Revenge action

John Milius's 1982 sword-and-sorcery epic that made Schwarzenegger a movie star, powered by Basil Poledouris's thunderous score and a sincerely mythic, almost solemn tone beneath the pulp. It's slow-building, brutal, and dead serious about its philosophy amid the blood and spectacle. For fans of muscle-bound revenge sagas who don't mind chanting cults and unhurried 1980s pacing.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want sword-and-sorcery built on blunt physical spectacle, a lean hero who says little, a score that sounds like a war drum, and you don't mind a plot that moves in big slabs.

Skip it if you need dialogue-driven stories or quick cutting, since this is slow to build, often grim in its violence, and happy to linger on its sword fights and ritual.

What it asks of you: It runs well over two hours at a pace that favors long stretches of travel and camp over tight plotting, so settle in and let the scenes breathe.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Gladiator2000

Revenge, slavery, and a stolen destiny playing out in blood-soaked arenas — Ridley Scott gives the barbarian-avenges-his-family formula operatic scale, real grief, and one of cinema's great vengeful stares.

But It's polished Hollywood spectacle where Conan is raw pulp; if you wanted grindhouse grit, this can feel stately.

The Northman2022

A Viking prince's revenge quest rendered as fever dream — grunting, mythic, and genuinely strange, with the same barbaric sincerity Milius aimed for pushed even further into ritual and madness.

But Deliberately alienating and arthouse-paced; if you want Conan's pulpy fun, this trades fun for dread.

Excalibur1981

John Boorman's Arthurian epic from the same era shares Conan's oiled armour, thunderous score, and total commitment to myth as something worth taking dead seriously.

But More Shakespearean speechifying and less axe-swinging than you might want after Conan's lean brutality.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Conan the Barbarian

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried1924

Milius wanted Conan to feel like ancient myth rendered as cinema, and this is the film that invented that mode — the same solemn belief in its own legend, decades before genre fantasy existed as a category.

Fritz Lang's silent epic is doing sword-and-sorcery myth — dragon slaying, cursed treasure, fated heroes — nearly sixty years before Milius, with astonishing sets and a completely straight face.

But Silent and black-and-white, running long across its parts; patience for intertitles and 1920s pacing required.

Highlander1986

Immortal swordsmen, ancient grudges, and a synth-rock soundtrack — pure 80s sword fantasy with the same 'there can be only one' primal simplicity Conan trades in.

But Cheesier and more overtly comic-bookish; the tone swings from solemn to silly more than Conan's does.

The 13th Warrior1999

Vikings fighting an ancient horror in the fog, loosely built from a Beowulf riff — muscular, myth-soaked adventure with the same lone-warrior-among-strangers energy.

But Famously troubled production shows in choppy pacing and a script that never quite finds its footing.

Predator1987

Schwarzenegger again, stripped of magic and myth, hunting and being hunted in the jungle — a leaner showcase of the same physical, almost silent screen presence.

But No sorcery, no epic scope — this is a tight thriller, not a sprawling saga.

Clash of the Titans1981

Stop-motion gods, monsters, and doomed heroes from the same early-80s moment when practical-effects mythology still ruled — a companion piece in spirit and vintage.

But Creakier effects and a gentler PG tone; nowhere near as violent or grown-up as Conan.

Willow1988

George Lucas and Ron Howard's fairy-tale adventure trades barbarism for whimsy but keeps the quest structure and practical-creature craftsmanship intact.

But Family-friendly and playful where Conan is grim; expect jokes and dwarves, not decapitations.

The Beastmaster1982

Released the same year, this is Conan's scrappier cousin — a telepathic-with-animals hero, low-budget sword-and-sorcery charm, and a cult following of its own.

But Thinner story and rougher production values; this is B-movie comfort food, not a landmark.

Berserk1997

Same orphan-to-killing-machine revenge arc against a charismatic dark-magic cult leader, just moved from live-action pulp into animation and cranked several notches darker.

An orphaned swordsman raised for violence turns his rage on the cult leader who destroyed everything he loved — the exact engine of Conan's revenge plot, rebuilt as brutal, operatic Japanese animation.

But Far bloodier and more despairing than Conan ever gets, with a notoriously grim mid-series turn that isn't for everyone.

Apocalypto2006

Same bones as Conan — village destroyed, family taken, one survivor turns hunter — but played as a historical survival thriller instead of fantasy, proving the revenge structure needs no sorcery to work.

Mel Gibson strips the fantasy trappings away entirely — no magic, no sorcery, just a man hunted through the jungle avenging his family, shot with total, unglamorous conviction in Yucatec Maya.

But Relentlessly grim and violent without Conan's pulpy fun or muscle-bound spectacle; this is punishing, not entertaining in the same way.