Dan Hefta Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 I have been a Conan fan since I was a kid, I read several Conan novels and read all of the comics. I loved the first Conan the Barbarian movie with Arnold , hated Conan the Destoyer . This new movie is exactly what I was hoping it would be, blood, guts, sex, violence and more violence. Sure the actor playing Conan could have been a bit bigger but he nailed the part, his facial expressions and his blood lust were definately what I would expect from the Conan I admired as a young man. He is ten times the actor that Arnold ever was, that's not saying much but you know what I mean. There is a lot of hot nude women in this movie and a lot of blood, so if you are not into that? Go see a chick flick with your lady. Did I mention that there is hot nude women and blood... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakal Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Liota and I saw it yesterday...nice, brutal fight scenes. Mostly good sets (some of the miniatures were a little weak), nice costumes, lots of gore. I thought Conan was a good choice, as was Mr. Conan's Dad. No chemistry whatsoever between the 'love interest' and Conan, and not a lot of really inspiring acting. The most interesting character was Conan's pirate friend, and he was relegated to background most of the time. Still, the best "sword" movie I've seen in a long time! Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Hefta Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 Liota and I saw it yesterday...nice, brutal fight scenes. Mostly good sets (some of the miniatures were a little weak), nice costumes, lots of gore. I thought Conan was a good choice, as was Mr. Conan's Dad. No chemistry whatsoever between the 'love interest' and Conan, and not a lot of really inspiring acting. The most interesting character was Conan's pirate friend, and he was relegated to background most of the time. Still, the best "sword" movie I've seen in a long time! Alex I forgot to mention Ron Pearman playing Conan's bad ass barbarian Dad... That was awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 In the Howard originals Conan was not described as being a particularly large man, or particularly muscular with the bodybuilder physique he's been given in the comics, and of course Arnold in the movies. Rather he is repeatedly described as lean and "wolf-like". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Hefta Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 In the Howard originals Conan was not described as being a particularly large man, or particularly muscular with the bodybuilder physique he's been given in the comics, and of course Arnold in the movies. Rather he is repeatedly described as lean and "wolf-like". True, but he used Frank Frazetta's art on a lot of the covers and that paints a mental picture for me of what Conan looked like in the autors eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakal Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 The "wolf-like" was common in the stories set in his teens and early twenties, but by the time he was a pirate Howard usually described the "...Herculean physique inherited from his blacksmith father..." Any man who can break the neck of a Cimmerian bull (not those weakling Southern bulls) when he was only 15... But I agree, big and tough but not pretty-boy ripped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I read a LOT of the Conan books but I will have to admit that was 30 years ago and I don't have the best memory sometimes (or ever) but I do have a concept of what Conan should be like. Arnold was a total failure in my mind. Conan should be as adept at stealth as he is with the sword. He should be a skilled thief and a master of several languages. Maybe I have over stressed some nuances from the books that I read so long ago but I want a more well rounded Conan. I haven't seen this new one but I am hopeful that it is a little closer to the books. -ld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubber Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 The collection of the Conan novels were actually several characters that Robert Howard described. And the stories were changed to the Conan character. Several authors changed the stories to make this happen. Sprague DeCamp comes to mind. I may be wrong and or mispelled his name. Conan, Was and is a Barbarian. He is not nice nor burdened with the politics of the day. He is fair and consistant in a Barbaric way. Later rdd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 "King Osric: What daring! What outrageousness! What insolence! What arrogance!... I salute you." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 On the road away from my library but... Which Conan tale speaks at great length of the terrible assassin's guild and the training of the strangler. For several pages the incredible prowess of the mighty strangler is discussed only to have him latch onto Conan ... who laughs at him before breaking his neck like a twig...... Good stuff that Conan.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 True, but he used Frank Frazetta's art on a lot of the covers and that paints a mental picture for me of what Conan looked like in the autors eyes. Robert E. Howard died in 1936 when Frank Frazetta was eight years old. The Frazetta Conan covers are a much later addition, when the stories, originally published in the pulps in the 1930s, were collected in paperback decades later. Frazetta's first Conan cover was actually published in 1966. Frazetta never did a Conan cover during Howard's lifetime, and in any event, even if he had, in overwhelming probability that would have had nothing to do with how Conan looked in Howard's mind, and everything to do with how Conan looked in Frazetta's mind. Ask any author how much input or veto power they get on their books' cover layouts, choice of print type, the cover imagery itself. "None" will be the consistent answer. Certainly, living in Cross Plains, Texas and sending his Conan stories in to Weird Tales which had its offices in Chicago, Illinois, I'm sure the first time Howard ever saw an issue's cover was after it had already been printed, and would have had zero power to affect anything about what image it might contain. BTW, Frazetta has been quoted as saying that he never read any of the books for which he did cover paintings. From Wikipedia: "I didn't read any of it... I drew him my way. It was really rugged. And it caught on. I didn't care about what people thought. People who bought the books never complained about it. They probably didn't read them." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 It appears, BTW, the I am incorrect and Conan according to Howard was a large, muscular man. From Wikipedia: Appearance Conan has "sullen" or "smoldering" blue eyes and a black "square-cut mane". Howard once describes him as having a hairy chest and, while comic book interpretations often portray Conan as wearing a loincloth or other minimalist clothing, Howard describes the character as wearing whatever garb is typical for the land and culture in which Conan finds himself. Howard never gave a strict height or weight for Conan in a story, only describing him in loose terms like "giant" and "massive".[7] In the tales no human is ever described as stronger than Conan, although several are mentioned as taller (such as the strangler Baal-pteor) or of larger bulk. In a letter to P. Schuyler Miller and John D. Clark in 1936 only three months before Howard's death, Conan is described as standing 6 feet (1.8 m) and weighing 180 pounds (82 kg) when he takes part in an attack on Venarium at only 15 years old, though being far from fully grown.[8] Although Conan is muscular, Howard frequently compares his agility and way of moving to that of a panther (see for instance "Jewels of Gwahlur", "Beyond the Black River" or "Rogues in the House"). His skin is frequently characterized as bronzed from constant exposure to the sun. In his younger years, he is often depicted wearing a light chain shirt and a horned helmet, though appearances vary with different artists. During his reign as king of Aquilonia, Conan was "... a tall man, mightily shouldered and deep of chest, with a massive corded neck and heavily muscled limbs. He was clad in silk and velvet, with the royal lions of Aquilonia worked in gold upon his rich jupon, and the crown of Aquilonia shone on his square-cut black mane; but the great sword at his side seemed more natural to him than the regal accoutrements. His brow was low and broad, his eyes a volcanic blue that smoldered as if with some inner fire. His dark, scarred, almost sinister face was that of a fighting-man, and his velvet garments could not conceal the hard, dangerous lines of his limbs."[9] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Still can't see him as looking like a steroid-enhanced professional bodybuilder though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vluc Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 (edited) On the road away from my library but... Which Conan tale speaks at great length of the terrible assassin's guild and the training of the strangler. For several pages the incredible prowess of the mighty strangler is discussed only to have him latch onto Conan ... who laughs at him before breaking his neck like a twig...... Good stuff that Conan.... Baal-Pteor in "Shadows in Zamboula" Sorry, it was an awful movie. Did more to hurt the franchise than help it. This from one who has read every original REH Conan story and owns a number of the original pulps. As for how he looks as the pulp covers depicted him: Conan from "Hour of The Dragon" "Queen of the Black Coast" "The Devil in Iron" Edited August 23, 2011 by vluc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 NICE. Thanks for sharing. Any way you could make the files a bit (actually a lot) smaller so we can actually see the entire cover on the screen at once? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Is it just me, or is that "Conan as Johnny Weissmuller"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Still can't see him as looking like a steroid-enhanced professional bodybuilder though. Steroid enhanced bodybuilder or not, I bet the new Conan has never come close to a 700 pound deadlift like Arnold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 And this is significant because....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38supPat Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Lol...I'm a little concerned about how much time you guys are spending debating Conans physique... There is a lot of hot nude women in this movie ...how 'bout we discuss this for a bit...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Oh wow. Then it must be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Hefta Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 The movie is not doing very well at the box office so much for a sequel too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Hefta Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 Oh wow. Then it must be good. It doesn't hurt any! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 The movie is not doing very well at the box office so much for a sequel too bad. Obviously people aren't appreciating the highly desirable Hot Nude Chicks factor like they should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Hefta Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 The movie is not doing very well at the box office so much for a sequel too bad. Obviously people aren't appreciating the highly desirable Hot Nude Chicks factor like they should. The end of days must be near! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Hey, don't get your Ah-nold movies mixed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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