CONAN THE BARBARIAN & CONAN THE DESTROYER Coming To Blu-Ray (1 Viewer)

[SWFF]

DVD REVIEW: Universal Home Entertainment has just announced Blu-Ray Disc versions of Conan The Barbarian and Conan The Destroyer, bringing these Arnold Schwarzenegger fantasy movies to high definition later this summer. In Conan The Barbarian, the Cimmeran Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is captured as a child after his parents' savage murder by raiding Vanir led by Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), head also of the snake-cult of Set. Fifteen years of agony, first chained to the Wheel Oo Pain grinding grain and then enslaved as a pit fighter, forge a magnificent body and indomitable spirit. Freed miraculously one day by his owner, Conan, with his companions Suboti the Mongol (Mako) and Valeria, Queen of Thieves, sets forth upon his quest to learn "the riddle of steel" which, his father has prophesied, will confer ultimate power; and to kill the arch-villain Thulsa Doom. In the second Conan epic, Conan The Destroyer, he is asked by the evil Queen Taramis to accompany a beautiful young princess to find a magic treasure. If he returns with the treasure and the virgin, the Queen promises to bring his beloved Valeria back from the dead. But little does he know that she plans to kill them both, or that the return of the treasure will mean the extinction of mankind. No bonus materials or specs have been announced yet, but expect the full complement of bonus features from the DVD versions to be present on these releases when they arrive in stores on August 2 for $26.98 each.

 

[Brisby]

"Conan! What is best in life...?"


"Touh krush youhr enemiez, zee dem driven befouh youh, and to heah de lamentations of de wimmen!"

 

[Cinescott]

Nice, I hope Universal changes its ways and actually tries with these.

 

[Radioman970]

I have the double DVD set. I don't desire an upgrade. But...I'd sure love to encourage more of this kind of thing. So I may have to buy it just for that.

 

[TheBat]

thank you very much for the news!


Jacob

 

[Ruz-El]

I'll pick up the first one if it's done right. Love that movie. Destroyer though... it will have to be presented spectacularly or in a really cheap bundle with the first one to get me to drop money on it. It's practically unwatchable compared to the first film.

 

[TheBat]

netflix streaming is playing conan the destroyer in HD and in proper widescreen format. you can take a look at it there.


Jacob

 

[Dick]

I am aware this film had monaural sound theatrically, but I would love a new 5.1 (or better) sound field option with which to really enjoy the wonderful Basil Poledouris score.

 

[john a hunter]

I recall that DeLaurentis nixed a stereo track for the first Conan in the then newish Dolby Stereo format. That was inspite the first reel being mixed for him to show how impressive it would be. Hopefully there is at least a full stereo music track somewhere.!

 

[Chad R]

Originally Posted by john a hunter

I recall that DeLaurentis nixed a stereo track for the first Conan in the then newish Dolby Stereo format. That was inspite the first reel being mixed for him to show how impressive it would be. Hopefully there is at least a full stereo music track somewhere.!

I'm 98% sure the score was recorded in stereo. I remember being perplexed that it was stereo but the film wasn't.

 

[TheBat]

the region 2/4 of conan the barbarian has a 5.1 soundtrack.

there is also a 2 disc cd soundtrack for the original movie as well.

http://www.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm/ID/14468/CONAN-THE-BARBARIAN-2CD/


Jacob

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Before I get boo'd out of the thread I should explain why I voted for Destroyer. I saw it first when I was 13 and was just smitten with Olivia d'Abo. Having (finally) matured and seen both films Conan is the better film, but in honor of that summer where I wore out a VHS tape of Destroyer I had to vote for it...

 

[Paul_Scott]

The delightful Miss D'abo is just one of the reasons I've always enjoyed Destroyer more (a BIG one to be sure, as like you, she was close to my age at the time). Frankly, I've just always found it a pulpier, breezier, Saturday Matinee kind of movie, and one that closer mimicked the Marvel comics run I was reading at the time. Sure it's full of cheesy man-in-a-rubber-suit scenes, but the difference between Destroyer and Barbarian is that Destroyer has a plot that moves. It's ironic that so many people for years would rate Superman 2 as better than the first because it seemed more action packed. I always thought it crass, cheap, cheesy and lacked the class of the original, so I never rated it very high. Here the situation is reversed and the first time I watched the original Conan movie, it struck me as ponderous and anti-climactic, whereas the sequel was far less pretentious and just seemed eager to entertain. In a sense, it reminds me of a Harryhausen movie, which is not a bad thing.


I'm willing to give Barbarian another shot when it hits Bd. Maybe my opinion will change. But as right now, I'm very happy Universal is kicking out Destroyer at the same time, as that is going to be the one I grab first.

Originally Posted by Adam Gregorich

Before I get boo'd out of the thread I should explain why I voted for Destroyer. I saw it first when I was 13 and was just smitten with Olivia d'Abo. ...

 

[Shane D]

i just ordered that soundtrack last friday. im eagerly waiting for it. hopefully today. definately one of the best sound tracks ever done. i listen to the original recording all the time. im looking forward to hearing this expanded version

 

[Radioman970]

Oh! For better sound..that would be a definite upgrade worthy aspect of this release. [/url]

[/quote]

 

[john a hunter]

The score certainly was in stereo which makes it all the more annoying that the whole film was not dubbed into Dolby Stereo.I have never had the PAL disc so can't comment on whether the transfer is in "proper" stereo not rechannelled mono. Perhaps someone who has the disc can comment?

 

[Jim_K]

Excellent!!


Love Milius' Conan the Barbarian which for me captures the spirit of the Robert E Howard stories even though Arnold's Conan is a bit dimwitted compared to the literary version. I've also been a fan of Marvel's Conan (both the comic and the Savage Sword magazine) since the 1970's but the bland Destroyer just falls flat for me.

It's sad that King Conan starring Arnold never got made.

 

[TheBat]

The mgm overseas release of Conan The Destroyer features a commentary with Olivia d'Abo and tracy walters. there is also a commentary with the director and composer basil poledouris. that is for region 2, 5.


Jacob

 

[Douglas R]

Originally Posted by john a hunter

The score certainly was in stereo which makes it all the more annoying that the whole film was not dubbed into Dolby Stereo.I have never had the PAL disc so can't comment on whether the transfer is in "proper" stereo not rechannelled mono. Perhaps someone who has the disc can comment?

The music for films has been recorded by the studios in stereo since the '50s but very few of the actual films (apart from '50s CinemaScope films) have been in stereo. Although just about all films are now stereo, at the time of CONAN the industry was still going through the transition from mono to Dolby Stereo so it wasn't particularly unusual that it was not mixed to stereo.


The Region 2 DVD released by Fox, who distributed the film in Europe, has a remixed soundtrack with the music in true stereo (it's definitely not rechannelled mono).

 

[Lord Dalek]

Originally Posted by Douglas R The Region 2 DVD released by Fox, who distributed the film in Europe, has a remixed soundtrack with the music in true stereo (it's definitely not rechannelled mono).

Actually it is partially. The original stereo tapes for much of Conan The Barbarian were not well preserved and about 1/4 of its score has completely deteriorated.