https://www.cbr.com/conan-the-barbarian-movie-failure-hollywood-lessons/
Conan the Barbarian was a big hit and became an '80s classic. The swords-and-sorcery movies that followed missed the reasons for its appeal.
So, the lesson is, it's gotta be rated R in order for it to be successful.
I suppose it's a valid point to make. Conan The Destroyer was not a very good film, some might even call it "garbage". However, Dragonslayer is a good movie. Krull had some interesting moments but it wasn't a breakthrough in the genre. Excalibur is a great film and I would say it's better than Conan.
If they made another Conan movie, it would be hard to picture Arnold doing it because of his age but anything is possible. I guess, it could work, maybe they could use some aging CGI or something.
But I still haven't watched the Jason Momoa film, I've heard so many bad things about it. He was great in Game Of Thrones though. If you haven't watched it, check it out!! It really is a great TV show. Hands down, best swords-and-sorcery show ever made.
Of course, it's hard to compare films to TV shows, but Excalibur is probably my second favorite after GoT.
Don't forget about The Sword and The Sorcerer. It was just as good as Conan the Barbarian and made a boat load of cash.
shareI do agree, TSaTS is a good movie. But wow, this is like being reunited with a long lost relative. lol. It's been a very long time since I've seen it, not sure if I would still call it good today. Either way, the entertainment value is pretty high for that movie.
shareGo and watch it. It still holds up. Trust me.
shareNo, it wasn't as good. It was good, don't get me wrong. I quite enjoyed it (though if you ever get a chance to see the long-delayed sequel "Tales of an Ancient Empire," pass it up -- it's legitimately one of the worst movies I've ever seen). But the B-movie budget is apparent in all kinds of ways, as is the B-movie acting. Lee Horsely, Richard Lynch, Richard Moll, George Maharis, Simon MacCorkindale, and Anthony DeLongis all turn in good performances. Kathleen Beller is alright, though a little stiff and wooden. Nearly all the bit-part supporting players in the movie though genuinely could not act their way out of a paper bag. Even actors like Joe Regalbuto, whom I've seen in other parts, which he played just fine, was just awful in this.
"The Sword and The Sorcerer" was a good, entertaining, but definitely B-grade film. "Conan the Barbarian," which was not a B-movie, towers over it.
The Momoa film is okay, but it can't touch this one. Momoa is good in it, it's just that the movie doesn't have the special magic that this one has.
shareAce, have you watched Game Of Thrones yet? If not, I must insist that you watch it. lol..
It is such a great show. Although, the final season (8 seasons in all) could have been a lot better. The casting is so great in GoT. Everyone fits their role perfectly, and the dialogue is really good. The magic/fantasy stuff takes a back seat, it doesn't dominate the story like in does in some of the other fantasy/medieval movies and TV shows.
Here's the season 1 trailer for GoT... I might have linked this to you before but here it is again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjqEWgDVPe0
In regards to the Momoa film, I might check it out someday but I just know I'll compare it to the Arnold movie and probably be disappointed by it. Is it worth watching or just forget about it?
I've also been watching a recommendation that you suggested a few months ago, it's the show called The Last Kingdom. So far, it's good, not as good as GoT of course, ;) but still its some entertaining stuff. I'm on season 2 right now. I really like King Alfred, played by David Dawson. So far, in my view, he's been the star of the show. But TLK does feature some pretty interesting characters.
I have not seen GoT yet. I did recently acquire the paperbacks (most of which don't have "Now a hit show on HBO!" decals on them!) and I am planning to start reading and watching soon. When GoT first came out, I had recently watched Rome and a couple of other prestige shows with strong emphasis on nudity. I was a little over that format, and just hearing about how much nudity was crawling around GoT made me not want to watch it. I'm not a prude; I don't want to hide from the human form, but I was just a little tired of the obvious ploy to grab eyeballs that was 2000s prestige TV nude scenes.
It also just seemed like a huge commitment.
I am aware of it and I know I'll love it when I get into it.
If you're a sword-and-sorcery fan (I'm assuming yes) then, yeah, the Momoa film is probably worth watching. Definitely do your best to think of it as its own thing and not hold it to Arnold's high bar. This film is, in my opinion, much, much better, and you have to remember that the Momoa movie isn't going to be that. But if you're looking for a decent S&S film with some good F/X, it's got what you want. Momoa does a good job in the role, too.
Alfred is definitely my favourite character, too. He's the most complex, I think, and he always seems to be fairly clever. Some of the other characters are almost willfully obtuse. Even Uthred makes some blunders in season one that I found a little frustrating. Alfred isn't always nice, but he seems to try to be just, and he is definitely a great character. The actor crushes every scene, too. I also really like the nun. I don't remember her name anymore...
I actually haven't watched the last season or two (there's even a movie now!) and so I'm also planning to rewatch the whole show now that there's more. I love it. It's really great, although I have a feeling you're right and that GoT is the better series.
Yeah, the nudity and sex are pretty heavy in GoT but it's not so much that it'll make you stop watching. The nudes do seem to have a purpose rather than to be simply gratuitous nudes to keep people watching. Rather, they display a person's character and morals rather than just debauchery for the sake of having debauchery. Although, one character's insatiable appetite for sex could be seen as simple drunken lust. You'll be able to guess who that character is in the first 2 or 3 episodes. lol...
I can't guarantee that you'll like it but it was a TV phenomenon for a reason. The stroy-lines are just really good.
And yes, Alfred is a great character, I think they could make an entire movie simply based on this character. But yeah, the other characters are just a little bit buffoonish but I do like the overall story so far. We'll see how the rest of it goes. I'll have to check out the movie too.
It's not the presence of nudity/sex in film and television that switches me off, per se, it was just that there seemed to be a glut of it. Or maybe I just happened to have those shows recommended to me at the time Game of Thrones first hit the airwaves. Either way, I just wasn't in the mood for it at the time.
Enough people love it that I'd be an anomaly if I didn't. I don't have anything to prove, so I'm not going to huffily declare that GoT "sucks" just to be edgy or anything.
I have a fondness for this kind of show, too. The Last Kingdom is one of the better ones I've seen. The gritty, historical saga about guys hitting each other with sharpened metal... good stuff. I went through a phase where I was watching a tonne of it. TLK, Vikings, and Knightfall, basically in a row. I really liked Knightfall, too. Vikings is okay, but I'm not wild about it. I'm in the middle of The Witcher right now. Not sure if I'll stick with it after Cavill exits, though.
Yeah, you gotta watch GoT. It's the Rolls Royce of medieval adventure/fantasy type shows, it's the best of the best.
And believe me, it's not "edgy" for the sake of being edgy, it's very authentic and has a sense of greater meaning to it that lies underneath the actual stories the characters represent. You'll just feel for the characters so much. You'll end up picking 3 or 4 that are your favorites but you'll have a soft spot for all of them, even the ones that you could easily hate. haha...
That's not to say that there aren't some real dastardly characters in GoT, there are definitely those types but even those have their place in this medieval setting.
But anyhow, I don't want to build it up too much, you just gotta check it out and see for yourself.
It really is a marvelous piece of film/TV.
Excalibur is a great film and I would say it's better than Conan.
I suppose the adventure genre can be geared more towards a younger audience today but there are still some very adult oriented shows around like Game Of Thrones for example. Also, The Last Kingdom is another one that's not for a young audience.
But I see what you mean about not learning from Excalibur. There should have been more movies like Excalibur back in the day. I really liked ET though, it was fun to watch.
I liked ET when I was young. Now I find it overly cutesy in a clinical, obvious sort of way.
shareNone of the other fantasy movies of the 80s had the epic Poledouris soundtrack either. It's what drives Conan forward. The Destroyer had 1 or 2 great track by Poledouris, but he mostly recycled his work from the first movie.
shareIt's been so long since I've seen C:TD. I can't remember the music in it but if it was the same as the music in C:TB then yeah, it was good. TB soundtrack is a great one.
But I consider TD to be such a poor film that I've never re-watched it. Shame really because TB was good.
Beastmaster is another solid 80s S&S movie.
shareBeastmaster was a good movie. I haven't seen it in a long time, not sure if I would still like it today but I did years ago.
shareNow I need to rewatch it to see if it holds up.
shareJust searched it, looks like the only way to watch it is on Prime. But I noticed there's actually a part 2 and 3. I didn't know they made 3 Beastmaster films. The sequels probably suck though.
shareI think I've seen 2, and it wasn't good. They did a tv series too, and that's free on Tubi. As far as the movie, well...all movies can be watched for free these days,lol.
shareYeah, I can remember the really bad second part and the TV show which was the typical End Action 90s show, it felt like a Lost World knock-off.
shareyeah, despite always being a fan of the genre, I just couldn't get into those 90s fantasy series. The looked cheesy as hell to me, even back then. Xena and Hercules were popular as hell though.
shareHercules and also Xena had imo compelling story arcs (in later seasons) and charismatic actors. For the budget and what they wanted to be, they made the imo the best out of it. Other knock-offs which tried to replicate the formula usually failed, because they were not able to get charismatic actors at all.
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