Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. All that matters is that two stood against many. That's what's important! Valour pleases you, Crom, so grant me one request: grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to HELL with you!
Great movie moment but I always felt that scene ventured too far from the source. Crom was not prayed too, nor did he answer prayers. The Cimmerean religion was clear that Crom created a world for men to struggle in but Crom neither asked for sacrifice nor granted prayers.
When he found the sword in the crypt, the owner looked to be like a giant. The Atlantean was a one handed sword for him, a short sword, hence the shorter blade.
Conan's soundtrack is still one of the most memorable movie soundtracks I've come by.. and one of the reasons why the movie is still remembered and well liked. Conan wouldn't be much without Poledouris' soundtrack, just like Star Wars without John Williams :P
The music and soundtrack and the costumes were lifted from a Russian movie called Ivan Neveski buy Eisenstein. The music in the Russian movie is so distorted it is almost unrecognizable.
@@Wookie120 I would say more than a few. That was kind of a thing between the 1980s-2000. Especially anything considered an Epic. Most of John Carpenter's stuff, Predator, Robo Cop, Legend of the Fall, Last of the Mohicans, Quigley Down Under, 13th Warrior. And that's just off the top of my head..
I love the original Conan movie, for many reasons - the iconic look, the simple and strange story that doesn't try to be more than itself and doesn't treat you like an idiot, Arnold for everything that is Arnold, James Earl Jones, bodybuilders everywhere, the amazing thematic score, and the almost DnD like cast of characters. The movie (and the Conan stories as well) are responsible for all sorts of obnoxious Hollywood memes as well. You have the sword being cast from molten steel (rather than being forged). You have the overly ornate fantasy sword. You have the muscled warrior capable of doing anything. You have the skinny archer. I feel like more movies draw from the images and ideas of Conan than anyone is willing to admit.
+David Stewart Like Blade Runner, I don't think you can blame it for the fact that there were so, so many horrible cliched imitations. When they came out they were new, different, and utterly amazing visually.
The archer wasn't that skinny, was he? I mean, Arnold was just so huge in comparison. Either way, I totally agree that Conan the Barbarian is one of the best, if not the best, fantasy movies ever made. It feels like it has so much hidden lore and reverberating weight to its presence that maybe that world did exist 30,000 years ago. I think the acting and directing in it were great too, not stuffed with useless filler dialog, which made it seem more natural for such a brutish time.
Yeah,I think Conan the Barbarian was THE fantasy movie of that era. And it should have failed in every way-lead protagonists was a professional bodybuilder, leading actress was a professional ballerina, and you had a professional surfer as the sidekick-and yet, the characters had so much charm, humor, and intensity.
Totally agree with you on the Original being the best movie :) Arnold may not have been the greatest actor there ever was, and not even a very good representation of Conan, but the movie just had that special X factor. Something that made it a classic for me. Oh and it had James Earl Jones. That is a win right there.
+Gopher --The swords and armor were inspired, the setting was fantastic, but the real gem was the soundtrack. Epic music. Basil Poledouris nailed it. I mean, the entire first half is essentially told via music and almost no dialogue. Its not Robert E. Howard's Conan--but they wouldn't make a movie of THAT guy with contemporary sensitivities--but its the Conan that I grew up with, and I can live with that.
I’m not a sword geek but I always thought Conan’s sword was perfect. To me, not too long, not too short with great aesthetic proportions. To me. Also, I always took the material he broke off the sword to be a protective coating rather than a rust.
two points - first, the Atlantean sword was actually conceived by Hollywood production designer Ron Cobb, and the hilt sculpted by prop maker Tim Huchthausen - the blade was in fact ground by Jodie Samson, but the sword was Cobb's design. second - most of the weight of the Atlantean is in the bronze hilt, not the steel blade - all that beautiful volcano, skulls and dragon heads… lot of bronze there all that said, I totally agree with Matt: probably THE most iconic fantasy sword ever made!
They used a Japanese swordmaster for the first movie, it's possible the proportions of the sword were made to resemble those of a katana. (as that's what they trained with)
+JanPospisil42 Very likely. But movie prop swords all tend towards the thick and heavy side. Possibly this is for durability (lots of bashing in choreographed scenes). Possibly it is because thicker swords just show up on camera better. And possibly it is because the designers are idiots (more so nowadays than back in the 80's when nobody really knew any better). Or perhaps some combination of the three.
+Josh Ridinger I always thought the Atlantean sword was a well made crypthanger, designed to keep the dead king guy protected for the afterlife. And I thought the "rust" he took off was the remains of an ornate scabbard that held that sword.
To me it's one of the best sword designs in movies to date. It could be slightly longer, true, but it looks both robust enough for a barbarian and majestic at the same time. The length makes it also more versatile since Conan often ventures into caves, towers palaces and the like where a longer blade might be unwieldy.
I was always under the impression that when Conan found the sword it was in a rotting leather scabbard, not a layer of rust. Whacking it on the ground to get rid of it is still not a good idea though.
+Pablo668 Heh, Yep. It looked like something caked on to me. Reminded me of stuff that had been on the bottom of the sea for a while, and had this sort of lime coating on it.
I recall it being in the skeleton's hand, and covered with cobwebs. The original plan had been for him to fight the skeleton for the sword, but that was scrapped. But you don't get crap off a blade by whacking the edge against anything: you have to use the proper tools to remove it.
Atlantians were giants, the sword is a shortsword, If you watch the movie the skeleton was alot bigger than conan, and the skeleton hand would have fit the handle perfectly.
That's rubbish. I've read everything Robert E. Howard ever wrote. Kull (of Atlantis) was very large even for an Atlantean, but he wasn't a "giant". He had similar proportions to Conan, and both of them were described as Tiger like - large, lean, fast and strong. More like a boxer, not a body builder.
***** remember conans fathers speech to him? Once giants lived in the earth, Conan, and in the darkness of chaos they fooled Crom, and they took from him the enigma of steel...
in a lot of howard's stories they talk about the cult of Set, which was largely based around snakes and snake worship. Thulsa Doom is probably loosely based on that.
Conan's hand fell heavily on her naked shoulder. "Stand aside, girl," he mumbled. "Now is the feasting of swords." I've got to read the original stories.
The stories were written by a dweeby little guy who lived with his mother all his life, never married (never any female relationships), was basically his Mom's servant. But he had this amazing imagination, and a discipline to write. He wrote for himself. Left all the stories in a trunk, discovered after his death. And someone was smart enough to realize they had to be published.
To be fair, the Conan setting adheres relatively closely to Bronze Age Mesopotamia, when the average sword length was still 20-35 inches usually. The longer length blades didn't come around until much later in history, with most around that period coming in at right around 30 inches.
Thick blades with deep, dramatic hollow grinds and a ton of bronze for the furniture. But it looks freaking sweet. Finest looking fantasy sword out there. I wouldn't be surprised if the reason they went for a shorter sword, was because the size makes Arnold look bigger.
I have to disagree about the length. I think if it were longer it would take away from the rugged look of the blade. It really looked badass in the film like it could hack its way through anything so to speak .. the length and width said "I'm here to cleave you" kind of an inflexible indestructible look that says im stronger than the wielder. Just my feeling on it. Take care!!
I agree.. It would not look right if they had made it long..This way it looks like something between a axe and a sword. Something that a barbarian would have. Not a long slender medieval historical accurate sword.. No a beefy heavy indestructible clump of beautifully crafted metal out of this world. Besides, a short two-hand sword just looks better somehow. More indestructible as you say!!
+Edward Leachman I loved the film as a kid, but honestly, it's the beautiful score that has kept me watching it into adulthood. As Michael said, they had originally planned to use 80's pop. That would have destroyed any value the film itself had IMO and made the movie unwatchable crap, even for my sword and sorcery loving childhood self.
One thing to make the blade weight justified: making it really resistant to any possible snapping, to be able to take a lot of wear a normal sword would not. It is still better to use a sword that you can be faster with (so a lighter blade), but, I suppose, heavy one can parry stronger blows supernatural beings try to kill Arnie with.
I think one of the reasons for the shortness was the training given the actors was done by a specialist in Japanese sword arts, and they tend to train with a sword about that length, 26-28" blades. I forged licensed replicas of the "Father" sword for Albion for awhile. They weren't quite as heavy or as short, but they still were nearly double normal sword weight, a lot of that being the massive bronze fittings. Btw, what is best in life? Hot water, decent dentistry and good toilet paper...
Your video makes good points, but I want to retort that in the movie Conan was not a soldier going into battle. He was an adventurer, thief, raider, whatever. He had to be mobile. There are surprisingly few fight scenes in the movie, but at various times he's running across the plains, scaling the side of a tower, climbing down ropes, running thru underground tunnels, swimming, jumping, carrying princesses, all with a sword. So of course you would pick a more compact weapon, it's a compromise. Try doing all that while lugging a Zweihander around.
If I recall in one of the Conan paperbacks by Desprauge and decamp Conan found his sword in a tomb as well. Only difference was the circumstances in which he found it. I believe he was being pursued by something, probably a monster of some sort. He was disarmed except for a poignard he had with him. He was being tracked by this whatever through the jungle until he came upon some unassailable cliffs that stretched on up high as far as his eyes could see. Faced with these cliffs or his pursuer Conan chose to climb seeing as how Cimmerians were born into an environment that perfected Cimmerians as a climbing folk(which also explains the genetic strength Conan has). So Conan climb for more than a day straight up and when it seemed his strength was about to give out he found the tomb entrance carved into the side of the mountain. There he found the Atlantean weapon,not magical but made of an unknown steel alloy that was unbreakable and always kept its keen edge.
I had purchased my Atlantean sword from my cousins friend for $500 and came with a signed authentication certificate from Jody Samson. I have it hanging up in my Man Kave.
Tim Huchthausen, the prop maker, worked with swordsmith Jody Samson to create the sturdy weapons Milius thought necessary.[128] Particular attention was paid to two swords wielded by Conan: his father's sword ("Master's sword") and the blade he finds in a tomb ("Atlantean sword"). Both weapons were realized from Cobb's drawings. Their blades were hand ground from carbon steel and heat treated and left unsharpened.[129] The hilts and pommels were sculpted and cast through the lost-wax process; inscriptions were added to the blades via electrical discharge machining.[130] Samson and Huchthausen made four Master's and four Atlantean swords, at a cost of $10,000 per weapon.[6][128] Copies of the Atlantean sword were struck and given to members of the production.[128] Samson and Huchthausen agreed the weapons were heavy and unbalanced, and thus unsuitable for actual combat;[6][128] Lighter versions made of aluminum, fiberglass, and steel were struck in Madrid; these 3 pounds (1.4 kg) copies were used in the fight scenes.[32][128] According to Schwarzenegger, the heavy swords were used in close-up shots.[131] The other weapons used in the film were not as elaborate; Valeria's talwar was ground out from an aluminum sheet.[132]
I kinda both like and dislike the fact its so short. In one way it looks a little strange when its so short and bulky. But on the other hand it still looks great and it makes it look old. it is supposed to be really old weapon. And also it makes the combat to be more close up so to say. And i would not be surprised those reasons could have something to do with the fact they made it like that
+Reddokk Fheg the design makes sense kinda if your dealing with a worse off metal, as it being short & thick would make it stronger & im not sure about that world but in this one the farther back we go in time the worse the metals were so.... its supposed to be old & that means it makes sense more or less.
blackdeath4eternity Exactly. That was what i ment. But did not go into details. Thats why in general the swords was shorter the further back you go and as the tecnique to make better steel improved the swords got longer
Have you ever done a fight review on this movie i wonder? I for myself always liked (and still do) the way they've fought in this flic, especially the duel between Conan and Rexxor (sp? the fellow with that huge mustache, who's wielding dad's sword ^^) within that ring of Menhirs.
One small correction: production designer Ron Cobb designed the swords, Jody was contracted to make them. Also, having handled upwards of forty swords made by Jody Sampson, I can confirm that his own designs weren't overly heavy. I remember sitting with Jody and Peter Johnsson, while Peter examined one of Jody's swords. Peter commented, as a compliment, "it shouldn't work, but it does."I was a teenager when Conan the Barbarian was released, as well as a sword lover. Needless to say, that movie had quite an impact on me. Consequently, one of the biggest thrills of my life was getting to handle the original movie swords, as well as meeting Jody.
The actual bladed area almost never misses it's mark as all the weight is there. It's similar to wielding an axe. Having the blunt area to grab on the blade makes close quarters combat more workable than you'd think.
The only reason I can think of why they may have wanted to have a small looking sword, from purely an aesthetic point, is to make Arny look even bigger
Fun video, really enjoy these more "fun" videos in between the more serious discussions of arms and technique. Have to have some blueberries in that bran muffin. Great job!
I honestly do not understand the hate for the Jason Momoa version. If you ever read the Robert Howard stories of Conan and all the subsequent adventures, the world created, , the descriptions given the newest film is the closest one made to what Conan actually would look like and the world be. Momoa physically fits the Conan description of tall, dark hair, bronze complexion etc. The world I thought looked how I imagined the place of Conans cities, armies and peoples. I enjoyed it actually more because it fit the stories so much better visually than the 80s version.
+kuribo1 I like various material things about the film, which in some ways are closer to the books as you say. I just think that as an actual film it was bad. Barbarian, as an actual film, is pretty good.
I wholeheartedly agree; I'm only halfways through The Complete Chronicle but I see it too, it's more true to the book by a wide margin. It's not better than the old/best movie tho, but that's beside the point.
+kuribo1 The new Conan is just a generic fantasy movie with the name Conan slapped on to it. As a fan of the original novels and the comics they spawned I hated this movie. I wish Ridley Scott or Peter Jackson would do a big budjet adaptation of the original novels.
+kuribo1 basically, the fact that its closer to the source material, doesnt make it, a good movie. movies need to have their own identity, and most of the times, that means, taking liberties, or making things completly diferent, from the original source, its not needed, but its the director's job to make a good movie first, and if for that, he needs to make a white guy, asian, or a cute girl, look like the dalai lama, its his vision... in the worst case, try to imagine that as an alternate universe version.
Definitely my all favorite movies and I’ve always wanted that sword since I was a kid. Hopefully I’ll get it one day. Love the video about it thanks, brings back childhood memories!
I heard that Arnold actually added an inch to his arms wielding the sword as it was a bit heavier than one might think as it was built for looks not function.
His chest muscles were so over developed that he literally could not handle the blade properly for certain moves hence his need to lose some of the mass so he could perform them.
It would also have the effect of making the combat that much more "in your face" which is attractive from certain cinematography perspectives. Not at all sure how intentional that might have been, however. (In case no one has pointed it out yet, two swords were used in the first movie, one for fight scenes and one for closeups. The former was half the weight of the latter.)
+sotijas You can't be sure. He comes from a country where the unit of currency shares a name with a unit of weight. It could weigh as much as a sledge hammer that retails at 14 pounds.
+Nathan Brown not to mention the fact that a sledgehammer pound might be two stones and a herring which together weigh 26 and 3/16th kilograms. Seriously, look up imperial measurement units. I think they made them up for shits and giggles.
***** Even when a Pound Sterling was worth a troy pound of sterling silver any object other than a bar of unworked Sterling Silver could have a weight different from its price and both would be measured in pounds.
Can't be that heavy. Adora swings hers around one handed even untransformed. And compared to Adam she's really skinny (He-Man and She-Ra would at least have the excuse of "because magic"). Of course compared to Adam in the original 80's cartoon, nearly everyone is kind of skinny.
Matt, i'm dying to see you making review of the battle of the mounds in Conan the Barbarian (1982), and also of his "recovery training". Thanks in advance! :)
It's very katana-like. Katanas have long handles and relatively short blades. It's more katana-like than any other sword I can think off. In the training montages they actually use katanas and when Conan is training with his sword at the beach he uses it like a katana. Further, in the production photos it shows the sword-master training the actors who are all holding katanas.
Yes, exactly, remember what's best in life:"Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women." and not that idiotic, embarrassing, disgusting, emo crap:"I live, I love, I slay"!
Actualy, it goes: “I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. I seek not beyond death. It may be the blackness averred by the Nemedian skeptics, or Crom's realm of ice and cloud, or the snowy plains and vaulted halls of the Nordheimer's Valhalla. I know not, nor do I care. Let me live deep while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame and crimson, and I am content. Let teachers and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.” That's the original Conan's speach from "Queen of the Black Coast", one of Robert E. Howard's original Conan novel's ;)
Saw the film as a kid with my Dad. Shortly after it first came out. The thing that struck me then and still does now. Is in the scene where Conan finds the Atlantean sword, the skeleton of the king, or chieftan whose hand it rests under is HUGE. A person even bigger than Conan himself. So in Atlantean terms. Maybe the sword Conan finds is a short sword?
+LaughingOwlKiller Though I would love to hear Matt's take on some of the weapons from Lord of the Rings, like The Orcish ones, the Gondorian and other swords like that just for fun.
+scarfacemperor I bought a battle ready Anduril sword from Darksword. I haven't made a review of it yet but I find it comparable to their 2 handed Templar. It's on the heavy side but the weight of the pommel brings the COB back towards handle about 4 to 5 inches from the guard. It's an impressive looking sword and people are always drawn to it when they enter my house.
+Sam Coren "Finding some enemies. Proving them wrong in front of everyone. And listening to the lamentation of their supporters." - Conan the Contrarian +Nick Federov Thus he spake.
+MrClintz28 To seize your enemy's total possessions. To clasp to your bosom his wives and daughters. To ride off on his horse leaving his women weeping. This is life's greatest pleasure. Hail to the Khan.
I think the sword makes sense when you look at it as a ceremonial weapon for a king with specific tastes. Somebody with status enough to have a sword that well made may very well never have used it in battle. They could afford to have a fancy showy sword for daily wear, parades, ceremonies and the like with more practical swords, maces, or hammers that they rode to battle with. In this context the well made and practical, if highly stylized, weapon makes sense. Conan using it also makes sense as he would have been familiar with weapons. With this sword, he has a weapon to use for the time being and even if he'd not found the weapon to his liking he probably could have gotten enough value in trade to get a more functional weapon with coin to spare.
I'm still trying to figure out what was wrong with the new Conan film. I grew up with the originals as well, but at least from my perspective, the modern version with Jason Momoa stayed a little truer to the novels as far as Conan's personality and the look of the world of the Hyborean age - again, at least they did to me. What exactly did you not like about the remake, +Scholagladiatoria ?
Sifuben Could you maybe clarify that a bit? I mean, no disrespect to the former governor of the state that I reside in is not exactly known for his ability to portray anything more than a confused muscle-headed barbarian killing machine, a soulless automaton killing machine, or an angry killing machine with a score to settle :P
+izonker I am with you mate, did also like the new Conan movie. And had also the feeling that it was stick closer to Hyborean Age Setting. Would have loved to see a sequel! Age of Conan probably did this to me, after playing this game I can never watch the old movies with the same eyes again.
Soulknife83 Reading the books, the old ones with Frank Frazetta (sp?) artwork on the cover was what ruined the old movies for me, I never imagined Conan to be the thick-headed and easily outwitted mountain of muscle as Schwartzenegger portrayed him, but rather as someone who had spent their entire life doing whatever it took to survive, The Conan of the books was a more than just a warrior, and did use his brains as much as he did his brawn.
+izonker I like the original films personally, even now. The new one wasn't bad per se I enjoyed it but it was just meh... a regular Hollywood CGI action flick. I think it suffered from the same thing as the Hobbit films did, overblown pointless epicness. Where everything is so amazing or so epic and so detached from common experience or reality that it all just kind of washes away any imaginative impact it may have. It's like overexposure in a picture. Fortunately in Arnies time they simply lacked the technology to make this happen and so everything is far more grounded, believable and interesting despite the fact it had scenarios that were even more far fetched (like the crystal castle with mirrors). They were more human in their totality. At least that's my take.
I always thought the shortness/thickness of the blade was an aesthetic design choice, rather than for an actual, practical reason with the prop. As in it was supposed to make the sword look more archaic and crude.
I had heard that they made it heavy intentionally so his muscles really struggled and bulged to use. Also I believe there were 10 made for the movie. They often show up at the Arnolds Fitness Expo and they charge 10 dollars to hold it and take a picture.
The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth and see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride their horses and clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.
+Nick Fedorov You know I just typed that, while I actually liked the film in terms of much closer to physical look and world portrayal than the 80s version. I just thought in fit better.
Oliver Stone's Conan was to take place in a post apocalyptic future full of mutants. I don't think the anti-war Stone would of done Conan justice. Momoa looked more like Conan should but yes the movie was pure Hollywood mindless garbage.
As i remember the first idea was to give that role to Sylvester Stallone, but for some reason it was not possible so Arnold got it instead, hovever i think Arnold did a suprisingly good job anyway, i know lot of guys like Arnolds version better.
Oh, no. Those movies do not hold up well. I saw them again 2 years ago and would have preferred to keep my memories. It has some very iconic moments and a couple good scenes but it's dated, has a lot of bad acting and bad effects. But my biggest problem with them after having read the books is that they are far more D&D than Conan.
+Cesar “Isaac” Perez He was supposed to..but they could not work out a deal with the Howard group to get the rights to use Conan. But, I find the idea of a film being "dated" to be an odd one. Art and Entertainment has no expiration date. If you no longer find something entertaining that's fine, but the age of something should have no bearing on something being entertaining or not.
That's ridiculous. I've handled the sword and it's completely badass. maybe its better in medium close engagement. The sword is perfect. Robert e Howard's Conan could use any sword or axe he wanted. or knife or Dirk. Also, the movie Conan the barbarian is the best ever. The author of this video is oblivious that they used real sharp swords. real wolves too. who cares?
Seeing the various official material again made me think that there is probably a specific reason why the blade is so short but heavily decorated. A longer sword would either not fit on the promo poster or waste a lot of space upwards which would take the focus away from arnolds impressive upper body. Similar to actual filming where a very short sword is easier to arrange for closeups.
It's a fantasy sword. It may have also been a style choice used to show that this weapon was from a whole different material culture. The skeleton in the tomb was also quite large so for that guy it may have been a short sword.
I think they must have wanted a sword that looked as "powerful" and bulky as Conan himself, which is probably why they went with the really wide blade. I've also always thought it looked a bit short, especially in the hands of a big guy like Arnie, but I've actually never looked up the measurements of it. I just assumed that it looked especially short due to the wide blade. Interesting video. Cheers :)
I would say the wooden sledgehammer was accurate because if you remember in 47 Ronin one of the samurai used a wooden mallet to open the front door of their targets residence ! Also was a common weapon used in samurai folklore !
My thoughts are that Milius designed it as the side arm of an ancient pre-cataclysmic high civilization. It was meant for a larger man than Arnie. As Conan’s father tells him in the beginning “Once there were Giants, Conan, Giants and they lived in the earth…” It would appear, properly so that this sword was not meant to “fit” Arnie, but was forged for a huge being as a personal side arm. If, as, a Giant or god-king was using the secretive and divine technology of steel against copper/bronze armor then hafting the sword for a CQC kill shot would explain the fore-hilt castings. It would also seem that although to Conan the blade was fairly massive; in the hands of a Giant warlord it would closely resemble the early bronze and iron sword swords. Being a divine technology with limited resources to produce, an early steel sword for a Giant would be rather small and perhaps only mimic the sweeping long battle blades wielded by the gods in the visual representation but not the size hence the need for choking up on such a glade for armor piercing CQC. The Atlantean warlord does appear larger than Conan also with what appear to be homo sapiens sized burial slaves. Perhaps Milius created what he thought a great Giant warlord would haft as a precious sidearm from stolen technology belonging to the gods. Anyways, back to reality; fun topic though. Cheers!
Ron Cobb designed the sword, but yes Jody Samson made it. A truly beautiful sword of the silver screen!!!!! I'm lucky enough to own one of the Albion swords.
Very nice video - I agree with everything about the sword, which was fantastic. Just a thought, perhaps on a total side note: When Conan acquires the sword in the 1st movie, he's not actually taking it from a dead king (although that's partly what one is meant to think) - he's receiving it from Crom - remember the beginning of the movie, Conan's Dad: "Crom is your God...Crom and he lives in the earth...he left the riddle of steel for men. Not Gods, not Giants, just men." Crom, given that he lives under the earth and sky, and as Subotai says he lives "under the four winds", is essentially Kronos, the despotic leader of the Titanic Gods, and Kronos, like Crom with steel, also mythologically had a connection to a sharp metal - adamant. When Conan falls into the Tomb, he is symbolically meeting Crom, and in the movie Crom has chosen Conan as his Champion - it is Crom that sees to his sudden release (as no explanation is ever given there) , Crom that gets him into the tomb, gives him the sword (ala 'he left he left the riddle of steel for men'), and in fact symbolically marks Conan as King when the crown of the skeleton falls off. I think that's why the tomb scene is so good; people only subconsciously recognize that Conan's God is being reflected. Anyhow, Thought I'd throw that out there. Cheers, and awesome video. : O )
random fact about the brass shrouded riccaso/ shoulder. Some bowie and fighting knives had brass/copper rods along the bk edge to help with parrying by stopping steel on steel sliding of blades towards the hand. The softer metal causes the steel blades to bite and stick so u can manipulate them away. Almost similar to full back edge "jimping" on fighting knives.
I basicly see Conans sword as a giant fighting knife. And him being so strong id see conan wearing out a normal sword pretty quickly. (btw im a bladesmith and make pattern welded full sized blades) So im not entirely talking out my ass.
Speaking of iconic fantasy swords here are some I would like to hear you review. He-Man's sword from the campy 80s cartoon. Narsil, Sting and Gimli's axe from Jackson's LOTR trilogy. And the big sword from Kevin Costner's Robin Hood, the one Sheriff of Nottingham used against him at the end, which actually belonged to Robin's father. Good old Brian Blessed. Oh yeah and I'd be interested to hear your opinion about the fighting in Bakshi's animated LOTR. Yours, a subscriber.
I've always assumed it wasn't corrosion he knocked off in the tomb, but rather the remains of the previous scabbard. He does immediately make a new one after he goes outside and gets to know the wolves.
30 years ago I had a sword professionally made to the same dimensions of Conan's father's sword. It is made of tempered spring steel and is very heavy.
I remember reading an article and interview with Arnie at the time and he was saying the "hero" version of the sword was extremely heavy and most of the time he used an aluminium copy of it and a rubber version for actual fight scenes.
He cracked the rotted remnants of the sheath off the blade, not the corrosion. Love the video Matt.
+Arbhall McDougall Aha, you know, I never thought of that, but it makes sense!
+Arbhall McDougall Plus, Magical Sword.
+scholagladiatoria A revised position based on the receipt of new and logical information. Man of science, the internet salutes you!
+Arbhall McDougall Why did that never occur to me? That scene always bothered me, but now it suddenly makes perfect sense! Thanks!
+scholagladiatoria I'd always thought the blade had been clayed in some fashion to prevent massive corrosion. Magic rituals, etc.
Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. All that matters is that two stood against many. That's what's important! Valour pleases you, Crom, so grant me one request: grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to HELL with you!
Best. Prayer. Ever.
HOOORA!
Great movie moment but I always felt that scene ventured too far from the source. Crom was not prayed too, nor did he answer prayers. The Cimmerean religion was clear that Crom created a world for men to struggle in but Crom neither asked for sacrifice nor granted prayers.
When he found the sword in the crypt, the owner looked to be like a giant. The Atlantean was a one handed sword for him, a short sword, hence the shorter blade.
It was the tomb of King Kull!
I've been trying to get this idea out, for years. It was great to come here, and see it written out... even if I'm years late to the party. haha
To crush your enemies, and see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!
WRONG! The open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair.
Yall's both wrong it's beef beer and bitches. my war cry
Ronald Owens, Michael Martin, glenn houston (I live in Houston) you've confused me. I WANT IT ALL!
That is good
Conan's soundtrack is still one of the most memorable movie soundtracks I've come by.. and one of the reasons why the movie is still remembered and well liked. Conan wouldn't be much without Poledouris' soundtrack, just like Star Wars without John Williams :P
Foksuh I've heard they considered a contemporary soundtrack. Thank god that didn't happen.
The music and soundtrack and the costumes were lifted from a Russian movie called Ivan Neveski buy Eisenstein. The music in the Russian movie is so distorted it is almost unrecognizable.
I agree. The same as the sound track from Last Samurai. Only a few movies have such classic soundtracks.
@@Wookie120 I would say more than a few. That was kind of a thing between the 1980s-2000. Especially anything considered an Epic. Most of John Carpenter's stuff, Predator, Robo Cop, Legend of the Fall, Last of the Mohicans, Quigley Down Under, 13th Warrior. And that's just off the top of my head..
I actually went out and bought that on cassette. It was my beginning of my love of soundtracks. Good call bro...
I love the original Conan movie, for many reasons - the iconic look, the simple and strange story that doesn't try to be more than itself and doesn't treat you like an idiot, Arnold for everything that is Arnold, James Earl Jones, bodybuilders everywhere, the amazing thematic score, and the almost DnD like cast of characters.
The movie (and the Conan stories as well) are responsible for all sorts of obnoxious Hollywood memes as well. You have the sword being cast from molten steel (rather than being forged). You have the overly ornate fantasy sword. You have the muscled warrior capable of doing anything. You have the skinny archer. I feel like more movies draw from the images and ideas of Conan than anyone is willing to admit.
+David Stewart Like Blade Runner, I don't think you can blame it for the fact that there were so, so many horrible cliched imitations. When they came out they were new, different, and utterly amazing visually.
The archer wasn't that skinny, was he? I mean, Arnold was just so huge in comparison. Either way, I totally agree that Conan the Barbarian is one of the best, if not the best, fantasy movies ever made. It feels like it has so much hidden lore and reverberating weight to its presence that maybe that world did exist 30,000 years ago. I think the acting and directing in it were great too, not stuffed with useless filler dialog, which made it seem more natural for such a brutish time.
Yeah,I think Conan the Barbarian was THE fantasy movie of that era. And it should have failed in every way-lead protagonists was a professional bodybuilder, leading actress was a professional ballerina, and you had a professional surfer as the sidekick-and yet, the characters had so much charm, humor, and intensity.
The movie drew inspiration from Frazzetta's conan and barbarian artwork...that is where the tropes originate.
The "Director's Cut" is even better. I swear by Crom!
What daring ! What outrageousness ! What insolence ! What arrogance ! I salute you.
Chew it slowly, it's the good stuff.
He was killed in the garden. The lions ate him.
The lions ate him...
Conan the barbarian is the best fantasy movie ever made.
Agreed
Agreed, too.
Totally agree with you on the Original being the best movie :) Arnold may not have been the greatest actor there ever was, and not even a very good representation of Conan, but the movie just had that special X factor. Something that made it a classic for me.
Oh and it had James Earl Jones. That is a win right there.
+Gopher Most action movies as best judged by their villains. :D
+Gopher --The swords and armor were inspired, the setting was fantastic, but the real gem was the soundtrack. Epic music. Basil Poledouris nailed it. I mean, the entire first half is essentially told via music and almost no dialogue. Its not Robert E. Howard's Conan--but they wouldn't make a movie of THAT guy with contemporary sensitivities--but its the Conan that I grew up with, and I can live with that.
+Gopher Wow Gopher! Yes the first is the best
Did not expect to see you comment here :) Any chance you'll be releasing an iHUD mod for FO4?
Did not expect to see you comment here :) Any chance you'll be releasing an iHUD mod for FO4?
What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?
+Fistwagon Look at your body, the desire in your heart...I GAVE YOU THIS!!!
+Fistwagon I am the well that you flow from!
+Will nonya When I am gone it will be as if you never existed.
Citrakite What would your world be, without me? My son.
+Decay The Shaolin would disagree with this statement.
This. This you can trust.
I’m not a sword geek but I always thought Conan’s sword was perfect. To me, not too long, not too short with great aesthetic proportions. To me.
Also, I always took the material he broke off the sword to be a protective coating rather than a rust.
two points - first, the Atlantean sword was actually conceived by Hollywood production designer Ron Cobb, and the hilt sculpted by prop maker Tim Huchthausen - the blade was in fact ground by Jodie Samson, but the sword was Cobb's design.
second - most of the weight of the Atlantean is in the bronze hilt, not the steel blade - all that beautiful volcano, skulls and dragon heads… lot of bronze there
all that said, I totally agree with Matt: probably THE most iconic fantasy sword ever made!
They used a Japanese swordmaster for the first movie, it's possible the proportions of the sword were made to resemble those of a katana. (as that's what they trained with)
+JanPospisil42 Yes I wondered if that was related.
Exactly.
+JanPospisil42 Very likely. But movie prop swords all tend towards the thick and heavy side. Possibly this is for durability (lots of bashing in choreographed scenes). Possibly it is because thicker swords just show up on camera better. And possibly it is because the designers are idiots (more so nowadays than back in the 80's when nobody really knew any better). Or perhaps some combination of the three.
+Josh Ridinger I always thought the Atlantean sword was a well made crypthanger, designed to keep the dead king guy protected for the afterlife.
And I thought the "rust" he took off was the remains of an ornate scabbard that held that sword.
Bob MiLaplace That's an interesting interpretation, actually.
To me it's one of the best sword designs in movies to date. It could be slightly longer, true, but it looks both robust enough for a barbarian and majestic at the same time. The length makes it also more versatile since Conan often ventures into caves, towers palaces and the like where a longer blade might be unwieldy.
I was always under the impression that when Conan found the sword it was in a rotting leather scabbard, not a layer of rust.
Whacking it on the ground to get rid of it is still not a good idea though.
+Pablo668 Heh, Yep. It looked like something caked on to me. Reminded me of stuff that had been on the bottom of the sea for a while, and had this sort of lime coating on it.
+Pablo668 Maybe the tomb had been submerged? The hair on the slave girl skeleton was still intact, though.
I recall it being in the skeleton's hand, and covered with cobwebs. The original plan had been for him to fight the skeleton for the sword, but that was scrapped.
But you don't get crap off a blade by whacking the edge against anything: you have to use the proper tools to remove it.
ahh... that makes sense. I always thought it was a build up of calcium or something haha
Limestone, I think you mean. At any rate, a mineral that can be deposited by water.
Atlantians were giants, the sword is a shortsword, If you watch the movie the skeleton was alot bigger than conan, and the skeleton hand would have fit the handle perfectly.
That's rubbish. I've read everything Robert E. Howard ever wrote. Kull (of Atlantis) was very large even for an Atlantean, but he wasn't a "giant". He had similar proportions to Conan, and both of them were described as Tiger like - large, lean, fast and strong. More like a boxer, not a body builder.
They were bigger men.
The movies are a separate continuity from Howard's original stories. After all, since when does Thulsa Doom have a snake cult?
***** remember conans fathers speech to him? Once giants lived in the earth, Conan, and in the darkness of chaos they fooled Crom, and they took from him the enigma of steel...
in a lot of howard's stories they talk about the cult of Set, which was largely based around snakes and snake worship. Thulsa Doom is probably loosely based on that.
Conan's hand fell heavily on her naked shoulder.
"Stand aside, girl," he mumbled. "Now is the feasting of swords."
I've got to read the original stories.
The stories were written by a dweeby little guy who lived with his mother all his life, never married (never any female relationships), was basically his Mom's servant.
But he had this amazing imagination, and a discipline to write. He wrote for himself. Left all the stories in a trunk, discovered after his death.
And someone was smart enough to realize they had to be published.
To be fair, the Conan setting adheres relatively closely to Bronze Age Mesopotamia, when the average sword length was still 20-35 inches usually. The longer length blades didn't come around until much later in history, with most around that period coming in at right around 30 inches.
Thick blades with deep, dramatic hollow grinds and a ton of bronze for the furniture. But it looks freaking sweet. Finest looking fantasy sword out there. I wouldn't be surprised if the reason they went for a shorter sword, was because the size makes Arnold look bigger.
They probably wanted a shorter sword for movie reasons. I never noticed it was short.
I have to disagree about the length. I think if it were longer it would take away from the rugged look of the blade. It really looked badass in the film like it could hack its way through anything so to speak .. the length and width said "I'm here to cleave you" kind of an inflexible indestructible look that says im stronger than the wielder. Just my feeling on it. Take care!!
I agree.. It would not look right if they had made it long..This way it looks like something between a axe and a sword. Something that a barbarian would have. Not a long slender medieval historical accurate sword.. No a beefy heavy indestructible clump of beautifully crafted metal out of this world. Besides, a short two-hand sword just looks better somehow. More indestructible as you say!!
Great music from that film.
+Edward Leachman Was just a narrow chance it could have ended up with 80s pop music. See: Kull.
+Edward Leachman Basil Poledouris was a genius.
+Edward Leachman I loved the film as a kid, but honestly, it's the beautiful score that has kept me watching it into adulthood. As Michael said, they had originally planned to use 80's pop. That would have destroyed any value the film itself had IMO and made the movie unwatchable crap, even for my sword and sorcery loving childhood self.
+Kenneth Pryde It was one of the first film score CD's I ever bought. Still get a visceral response to it.
+Edward Leachman Seconded. I wore out the tape when I was a kid and went through two CD's. We listened to it all the time during the invasion in OIF1.
One thing to make the blade weight justified: making it really resistant to any possible snapping, to be able to take a lot of wear a normal sword would not. It is still better to use a sword that you can be faster with (so a lighter blade), but, I suppose, heavy one can parry stronger blows supernatural beings try to kill Arnie with.
I think one of the reasons for the shortness was the training given the actors was done by a specialist in Japanese sword arts, and they tend to train with a sword about that length, 26-28" blades. I forged licensed replicas of the "Father" sword for Albion for awhile. They weren't quite as heavy or as short, but they still were nearly double normal sword weight, a lot of that being the massive bronze fittings.
Btw, what is best in life? Hot water, decent dentistry and good toilet paper...
I'm with you on CTB. Superb film, without any irony. Genuine quality film with great cinematography, and of course, the soundtrack.
It is an iconic cinema weapon and an iconic fantasy sword. It's certainly not over the top or impractical as quite a few fantasy swords have been.
Crush your enemies, see them driven before you and to hear the lamentation of their women!
It's an iconic design; all these years later and it's still instantly recognizable.
I suspect the short blade was so they could show the entire sword in promotional posters, without zooming too far out from the figure.
Watching this and reading the comments makes me want to watch the Conan movies all over again....and thats a WIN in my book.
Your video makes good points, but I want to retort that in the movie Conan was not a soldier going into battle. He was an adventurer, thief, raider, whatever. He had to be mobile. There are surprisingly few fight scenes in the movie, but at various times he's running across the plains, scaling the side of a tower, climbing down ropes, running thru underground tunnels, swimming, jumping, carrying princesses, all with a sword. So of course you would pick a more compact weapon, it's a compromise. Try doing all that while lugging a Zweihander around.
If I recall in one of the Conan paperbacks by Desprauge and decamp Conan found his sword in a tomb as well. Only difference was the circumstances in which he found it. I believe he was being pursued by something, probably a monster of some sort. He was disarmed except for a poignard he had with him. He was being tracked by this whatever through the jungle until he came upon some unassailable cliffs that stretched on up high as far as his eyes could see. Faced with these cliffs or his pursuer Conan chose to climb seeing as how Cimmerians were born into an environment that perfected Cimmerians as a climbing folk(which also explains the genetic strength Conan has). So Conan climb for more than a day straight up and when it seemed his strength was about to give out he found the tomb entrance carved into the side of the mountain. There he found the Atlantean weapon,not magical but made of an unknown steel alloy that was unbreakable and always kept its keen edge.
I had purchased my Atlantean sword from my cousins friend for $500 and came with a signed authentication certificate from Jody Samson. I have it hanging up in my Man Kave.
I have to go an listen to the Conan soundtrack now. Such great music.
Tim Huchthausen, the prop maker, worked with swordsmith Jody Samson to create the sturdy weapons Milius thought necessary.[128] Particular attention was paid to two swords wielded by Conan: his father's sword ("Master's sword") and the blade he finds in a tomb ("Atlantean sword"). Both weapons were realized from Cobb's drawings. Their blades were hand ground from carbon steel and heat treated and left unsharpened.[129] The hilts and pommels were sculpted and cast through the lost-wax process; inscriptions were added to the blades via electrical discharge machining.[130] Samson and Huchthausen made four Master's and four Atlantean swords, at a cost of $10,000 per weapon.[6][128] Copies of the Atlantean sword were struck and given to members of the production.[128]
Samson and Huchthausen agreed the weapons were heavy and unbalanced, and thus unsuitable for actual combat;[6][128] Lighter versions made of aluminum, fiberglass, and steel were struck in Madrid; these 3 pounds (1.4 kg) copies were used in the fight scenes.[32][128] According to Schwarzenegger, the heavy swords were used in close-up shots.[131] The other weapons used in the film were not as elaborate; Valeria's talwar was ground out from an aluminum sheet.[132]
I kinda both like and dislike the fact its so short. In one way it looks a little strange when its so short and bulky.
But on the other hand it still looks great and it makes it look old. it is supposed to be really old weapon.
And also it makes the combat to be more close up so to say. And i would not be surprised those reasons could have something to do with the fact they made it like that
+Reddokk Fheg Exactly; we don't know their ways of war.
+Reddokk Fheg the design makes sense kinda if your dealing with a worse off metal, as it being short & thick would make it stronger & im not sure about that world but in this one the farther back we go in time the worse the metals were so.... its supposed to be old & that means it makes sense more or less.
blackdeath4eternity Exactly. That was what i ment. But did not go into details.
Thats why in general the swords was shorter the further back you go and as the tecnique to make better steel improved the swords got longer
+Reddokk Fheg exactly :)
Your "corrosion/dirt" was the rotten scabbard.
Have you ever done a fight review on this movie i wonder? I for myself always liked (and still do) the way they've fought in this flic,
especially the duel between Conan and Rexxor (sp? the fellow with that huge mustache, who's wielding dad's sword ^^) within that ring of Menhirs.
Thank you very much for reviewing my favorite sword of all time!
One small correction: production designer Ron Cobb designed the swords, Jody was contracted to make them. Also, having handled upwards of forty swords made by Jody Sampson, I can confirm that his own designs weren't overly heavy. I remember sitting with Jody and Peter Johnsson, while Peter examined one of Jody's swords. Peter commented, as a compliment, "it shouldn't work, but it does."I was a teenager when Conan the Barbarian was released, as well as a sword lover. Needless to say, that movie had quite an impact on me. Consequently, one of the biggest thrills of my life was getting to handle the original movie swords, as well as meeting Jody.
i like these kinds of videos ... please make more such critics of fantasy weapons
I love these reviews on fantasy swords from people who know a thing or two about real historical swords.
This video was very entertaning! Please make more like this! I am sure many would love to hear your thoughts about fantacy weapons. Cheers :)
The actual bladed area almost never misses it's mark as all the weight is there. It's similar to wielding an axe. Having the blunt area to grab on the blade makes close quarters combat more workable than you'd think.
Awesome soundtrack for that first film.
The only reason I can think of why they may have wanted to have a small looking sword, from purely an aesthetic point, is to make Arny look even bigger
It's easier to fit in frame
Fun video, really enjoy these more "fun" videos in between the more serious discussions of arms and technique. Have to have some blueberries in that bran muffin. Great job!
Love the review! And also the reference. Cheers!
Next stop: The Excalibur.
+Robert Tauzer Which one? :P
+Robert Tauzer The Sword of Promised Victory from Fate/Stay Night?
+Why Jay All of them. All of them, spot-welded together.
Excalibur was by a mythological character called Waylon the smith in England and Volund the smith in Norse mythology.
My two favorite movies.
I honestly do not understand the hate for the Jason Momoa version. If you ever read the Robert Howard stories of Conan and all the subsequent adventures, the world created, , the descriptions given the newest film is the closest one made to what Conan actually would look like and the world be. Momoa physically fits the Conan description of tall, dark hair, bronze complexion etc. The world I thought looked how I imagined the place of Conans cities, armies and peoples. I enjoyed it actually more because it fit the stories so much better visually than the 80s version.
+kuribo1 I like various material things about the film, which in some ways are closer to the books as you say. I just think that as an actual film it was bad. Barbarian, as an actual film, is pretty good.
scholagladiatoria
We can go along with that.
I wholeheartedly agree; I'm only halfways through The Complete Chronicle but I see it too, it's more true to the book by a wide margin.
It's not better than the old/best movie tho, but that's beside the point.
+kuribo1 The new Conan is just a generic fantasy movie with the name Conan slapped on to it. As a fan of the original novels and the comics they spawned I hated this movie. I wish Ridley Scott or Peter Jackson would do a big budjet adaptation of the original novels.
+kuribo1 basically, the fact that its closer to the source material, doesnt make it, a good movie.
movies need to have their own identity, and most of the times, that means, taking liberties, or making things completly diferent, from the original source, its not needed, but its the director's job to make a good movie first, and if for that, he needs to make a white guy, asian, or a cute girl, look like the dalai lama, its his vision...
in the worst case, try to imagine that as an alternate universe version.
Definitely my all favorite movies and I’ve always wanted that sword since I was a kid. Hopefully I’ll get it one day. Love the video about it thanks, brings back childhood memories!
I forged many of the blades for Albion's "Father" sword, if you're interested they were 5160 steel. Samson did the castings for the piece.
I heard that Arnold actually added an inch to his arms wielding the sword as it was a bit heavier than one might think as it was built for looks not function.
I heard he lost a lot of weight for the role so he could move better.
His chest muscles were so over developed that he literally could not handle the blade properly for certain moves hence his need to lose some of the mass so he could perform them.
Conan the Barbarian is not a genuine good film. It's a genuine masterpiece.
It would also have the effect of making the combat that much more "in your face" which is attractive from certain cinematography perspectives. Not at all sure how intentional that might have been, however.
(In case no one has pointed it out yet, two swords were used in the first movie, one for fight scenes and one for closeups. The former was half the weight of the latter.)
Met Jody Samson at the Sothern Renaissance Faire many years ago. Even had some one sheets of Excalibur & design copies of First Knight signed by him.
"it would've weighed as much as a 14 pound sledge hammer"
did you mean to say it would've weighed 14 pounds?
+sotijas LOL yeah
+sotijas You can't be sure. He comes from a country where the unit of currency shares a name with a unit of weight. It could weigh as much as a sledge hammer that retails at 14 pounds.
+Nathan Brown not to mention the fact that a sledgehammer pound might be two stones and a herring which together weigh 26 and 3/16th kilograms. Seriously, look up imperial measurement units. I think they made them up for shits and giggles.
maybe it weighs as much as a 14 pound sack of squirrels, or feathers even
***** Even when a Pound Sterling was worth a troy pound of sterling silver any object other than a bar of unworked Sterling Silver could have a weight different from its price and both would be measured in pounds.
when are you going to review he-man's sword :D
+Stephen InGermany Fabulous secret powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said "fucking hell, this thing weighs a ton!"
"I *need* the power. I *need* the power of Grayskull! To lift this fucking thing!"
Can't be that heavy. Adora swings hers around one handed even untransformed. And compared to Adam she's really skinny (He-Man and She-Ra would at least have the excuse of "because magic"). Of course compared to Adam in the original 80's cartoon, nearly everyone is kind of skinny.
Matt, i'm dying to see you making review of the battle of the mounds in Conan the Barbarian (1982), and also of his "recovery training". Thanks in advance! :)
Good review, looking forward to more hopefully. You've also made me really want to go watch the movie.
Fuck yes!
Though I'd suggest the proportions of the sword made it very katana-ish to match the style of swordsmanship used in a lot of the film.
It's very katana-like. Katanas have long handles and relatively short blades. It's more katana-like than any other sword I can think off. In the training montages they actually use katanas and when Conan is training with his sword at the beach he uses it like a katana. Further, in the production photos it shows the sword-master training the actors who are all holding katanas.
Yes, exactly, remember what's best in life:"Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women." and not that idiotic, embarrassing, disgusting, emo crap:"I live, I love, I slay"!
Actualy, it goes: “I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. I seek not beyond death. It may be the blackness averred by the Nemedian skeptics, or Crom's realm of ice and cloud, or the snowy plains and vaulted halls of the Nordheimer's Valhalla. I know not, nor do I care. Let me live deep while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame and crimson, and I am content. Let teachers and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.”
That's the original Conan's speach from "Queen of the Black Coast", one of Robert E. Howard's original Conan novel's ;)
Great video, Matt!
Really enjoyed this!
And I also just love Conan The Barbarian (the real one. ;) )
Saw the film as a kid with my Dad. Shortly after it first came out. The thing that struck me then and still does now. Is in the scene where Conan finds the Atlantean sword, the skeleton of the king, or chieftan whose hand it rests under is HUGE. A person even bigger than Conan himself. So in Atlantean terms. Maybe the sword Conan finds is a short sword?
What do you think about Narsil/Anduril from the Lord of the Rings movies ?
+scarfacemperor It's just a Longsword...no real out there fantasy elements to it
+LaughingOwlKiller Though I would love to hear Matt's take on some of the weapons from Lord of the Rings, like The Orcish ones, the Gondorian and other swords like that just for fun.
+scarfacemperor I always loved the Sting, something really awesome about that weapon, Matt could review the rest of the weapons too, Gimlis axes etc
+scarfacemperor I bought a battle ready Anduril sword from Darksword. I haven't made a review of it yet but I find it comparable to their 2 handed Templar. It's on the heavy side but the weight of the pommel brings the COB back towards handle about 4 to 5 inches from the guard. It's an impressive looking sword and people are always drawn to it when they enter my house.
+scarfacemperor better than this shit
"Conan! What is best in life?!"
+Sam Coren
"Hot water, good dentistry and soft lavatory paper"
A good bank account, a good cook, and a good metabolism.
+Sam Coren
"Finding some enemies.
Proving them wrong in front of everyone.
And listening to the lamentation of their supporters."
- Conan the Contrarian
+Nick Federov
Thus he spake.
+Sam Coren, Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women.
+MrClintz28 To seize your enemy's total possessions. To clasp to your bosom his wives and daughters. To ride off on his horse leaving his women weeping. This is life's greatest pleasure.
Hail to the Khan.
I think the sword makes sense when you look at it as a ceremonial weapon for a king with specific tastes. Somebody with status enough to have a sword that well made may very well never have used it in battle. They could afford to have a fancy showy sword for daily wear, parades, ceremonies and the like with more practical swords, maces, or hammers that they rode to battle with.
In this context the well made and practical, if highly stylized, weapon makes sense. Conan using it also makes sense as he would have been familiar with weapons. With this sword, he has a weapon to use for the time being and even if he'd not found the weapon to his liking he probably could have gotten enough value in trade to get a more functional weapon with coin to spare.
Best soundtrack ever! Best sword created and used in any movie no matter what length it was specifically! Most iconic sword in any movie ever made!
To drive my enemies before me, that is what is best in life. I tried explaining that to the cops but spent the night in jail.
To drive the cops before me...
That sword is to get in close, and chop, chop, chop... any Viking could tell you that.
Awesome weapon. Outstanding as usual, fine sir. Great work! ⚔️🛡️👍👍👏🔥
What is best in life: To crush your enemies! To see them driven before you! And to hear the lamentation of their women!
Rust or Atlantean cosmoline?
OR a sheath?
I'm still trying to figure out what was wrong with the new Conan film. I grew up with the originals as well, but at least from my perspective, the modern version with Jason Momoa stayed a little truer to the novels as far as Conan's personality and the look of the world of the Hyborean age - again, at least they did to me. What exactly did you not like about the remake, +Scholagladiatoria ?
it seems like a feature length episode of Hercules?
Sifuben Could you maybe clarify that a bit? I mean, no disrespect to the former governor of the state that I reside in is not exactly known for his ability to portray anything more than a confused muscle-headed barbarian killing machine, a soulless automaton killing machine, or an angry killing machine with a score to settle :P
+izonker I am with you mate, did also like the new Conan movie. And had also the feeling that it was stick closer to Hyborean Age Setting. Would have loved to see a sequel! Age of Conan probably did this to me, after playing this game I can never watch the old movies with the same eyes again.
Soulknife83 Reading the books, the old ones with Frank Frazetta (sp?) artwork on the cover was what ruined the old movies for me, I never imagined Conan to be the thick-headed and easily outwitted mountain of muscle as Schwartzenegger portrayed him, but rather as someone who had spent their entire life doing whatever it took to survive, The Conan of the books was a more than just a warrior, and did use his brains as much as he did his brawn.
+izonker
I like the original films personally, even now. The new one wasn't bad per se I enjoyed it but it was just meh... a regular Hollywood CGI action flick. I think it suffered from the same thing as the Hobbit films did, overblown pointless epicness. Where everything is so amazing or so epic and so detached from common experience or reality that it all just kind of washes away any imaginative impact it may have. It's like overexposure in a picture. Fortunately in Arnies time they simply lacked the technology to make this happen and so everything is far more grounded, believable and interesting despite the fact it had scenarios that were even more far fetched (like the crystal castle with mirrors). They were more human in their totality. At least that's my take.
I always thought the shortness/thickness of the blade was an aesthetic design choice, rather than for an actual, practical reason with the prop. As in it was supposed to make the sword look more archaic and crude.
I had heard that they made it heavy intentionally so his muscles really struggled and bulged to use. Also I believe there were 10 made for the movie. They often show up at the Arnolds Fitness Expo and they charge 10 dollars to hold it and take a picture.
The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth and see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride their horses and clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.
Genghis Khan
can't disagree about films.
BUT! Conan played by Jason Momoa is much closer to original stories.Too bad the film is horrendous.
+Nick Fedorov Conan played by Jason Momoa is kind of like Horus played by... oh, wait.
+Nick Fedorov You know I just typed that, while I actually liked the film in terms of much closer to physical look and world portrayal than the 80s version. I just thought in fit better.
the only reason the first wasn't was that Oliver stone pulled out when the producers were being ass hats
Oliver Stone's Conan was to take place in a post apocalyptic future full of mutants. I don't think the anti-war Stone would of done Conan justice. Momoa looked more like Conan should but yes the movie was pure Hollywood mindless garbage.
As i remember the first idea was to give that role to Sylvester Stallone, but for some reason it was not possible so Arnold got it instead, hovever i think Arnold did a suprisingly good job anyway, i know lot of guys like Arnolds version better.
very nice. Best review of a film weapon ive seen
I watched these movies so many times when I was younger.
Oh, no. Those movies do not hold up well. I saw them again 2 years ago and would have preferred to keep my memories.
It has some very iconic moments and a couple good scenes but it's dated, has a lot of bad acting and bad effects.
But my biggest problem with them after having read the books is that they are far more D&D than Conan.
+Cesar “Isaac” Perez I had a similar experience with Red Sonja recently. It was not nearly as good as I remembered.
+neanderthor66 Yeah... that one wasn't even good when it came out. I remember thinking Arnold played Conan in it...
+Cesar “Isaac” Perez He was supposed to..but they could not work out a deal with the Howard group to get the rights to use Conan. But, I find the idea of a film being "dated" to be an odd one. Art and Entertainment has no expiration date. If you no longer find something entertaining that's fine, but the age of something should have no bearing on something being entertaining or not.
That's ridiculous. I've handled the sword and it's completely badass. maybe its better in medium close engagement. The sword is perfect.
Robert e Howard's Conan could use any sword or axe he wanted. or knife or Dirk. Also, the movie Conan the barbarian is the best ever. The author of this video is oblivious that they used real sharp swords. real wolves too. who cares?
Congrats, Matt featured your comment on Facebook.
real wolves? maybe, except for the one that barks as only a dog can do.
The original Conan is a classic. Well written and directed with a great story line.
Seeing the various official material again made me think that there is probably a specific reason why the blade is so short but heavily decorated.
A longer sword would either not fit on the promo poster or waste a lot of space upwards which would take the focus away from arnolds impressive upper body. Similar to actual filming where a very short sword is easier to arrange for closeups.
It's a fantasy sword. It may have also been a style choice used to show that this weapon was from a whole different material culture. The skeleton in the tomb was also quite large so for that guy it may have been a short sword.
IIRC the '70's comics often were fairly realistic in terms of blade styles and size.
Good points Matt.
Another sword that tickled my fancy was the Sleepy Hollow one , not sure if it had a name.
I think Albion did a replica at one time.
I think they must have wanted a sword that looked as "powerful" and bulky as Conan himself, which is probably why they went with the really wide blade. I've also always thought it looked a bit short, especially in the hands of a big guy like Arnie, but I've actually never looked up the measurements of it. I just assumed that it looked especially short due to the wide blade. Interesting video. Cheers :)
I would say the wooden sledgehammer was accurate because if you remember in 47 Ronin one of the samurai used a wooden mallet to open the front door of their targets residence ! Also was a common weapon used in samurai folklore !
My thoughts are that Milius designed it as the side arm of
an ancient pre-cataclysmic high civilization. It was meant for a larger man
than Arnie. As Conan’s father tells him in the beginning “Once there were
Giants, Conan, Giants and they lived in the earth…” It would appear, properly so
that this sword was not meant to “fit” Arnie, but was forged for a huge being
as a personal side arm. If, as, a Giant or god-king was using the secretive and
divine technology of steel against copper/bronze armor then hafting the sword
for a CQC kill shot would explain the fore-hilt castings. It would also seem
that although to Conan the blade was fairly massive; in the hands of a Giant warlord
it would closely resemble the early bronze and iron sword swords. Being a divine
technology with limited resources to produce, an early steel sword for a Giant
would be rather small and perhaps only mimic the sweeping long battle blades wielded
by the gods in the visual representation but not the size hence the need for
choking up on such a glade for armor piercing CQC. The Atlantean warlord does
appear larger than Conan also with what appear to be homo sapiens sized burial
slaves. Perhaps Milius created what he thought a great Giant warlord would haft
as a precious sidearm from stolen technology belonging to the gods. Anyways,
back to reality; fun topic though. Cheers!
Ron Cobb designed the sword, but yes Jody Samson made it. A truly beautiful sword of the silver screen!!!!! I'm lucky enough to own one of the Albion swords.
No. It isn't a special type of steel. It was the sword's sheath, that was rotten, but still somewhat protected the weapon.
Very nice video - I agree with everything about the sword, which was fantastic. Just a thought, perhaps on a total side note: When Conan acquires the sword in the 1st movie, he's not actually taking it from a dead king (although that's partly what one is meant to think) - he's receiving it from Crom - remember the beginning of the movie, Conan's Dad: "Crom is your God...Crom and he lives in the earth...he left the riddle of steel for men. Not Gods, not Giants, just men." Crom, given that he lives under the earth and sky, and as Subotai says he lives "under the four winds", is essentially Kronos, the despotic leader of the Titanic Gods, and Kronos, like Crom with steel, also mythologically had a connection to a sharp metal - adamant. When Conan falls into the Tomb, he is symbolically meeting Crom, and in the movie Crom has chosen Conan as his Champion - it is Crom that sees to his sudden release (as no explanation is ever given there) , Crom that gets him into the tomb, gives him the sword (ala 'he left he left the riddle of steel for men'), and in fact symbolically marks Conan as King when the crown of the skeleton falls off. I think that's why the tomb scene is so good; people only subconsciously recognize that Conan's God is being reflected. Anyhow, Thought I'd throw that out there. Cheers, and awesome video. : O )
random fact about the brass shrouded riccaso/ shoulder. Some bowie and fighting knives had brass/copper rods along the bk edge to help with parrying by stopping steel on steel sliding of blades towards the hand. The softer metal causes the steel blades to bite and stick so u can manipulate them away. Almost similar to full back edge "jimping" on fighting knives.
I basicly see Conans sword as a giant fighting knife. And him being so strong id see conan wearing out a normal sword pretty quickly. (btw im a bladesmith and make pattern welded full sized blades) So im not entirely talking out my ass.
I'd always understood (perhaps erroneously) that it was designed to be heavy to get Arnie's muscles rippling in the action shots
Speaking of iconic fantasy swords here are some I would like to hear you review. He-Man's sword from the campy 80s cartoon. Narsil, Sting and Gimli's axe from Jackson's LOTR trilogy. And the big sword from Kevin Costner's Robin Hood, the one Sheriff of Nottingham used against him at the end, which actually belonged to Robin's father. Good old Brian Blessed.
Oh yeah and I'd be interested to hear your opinion about the fighting in Bakshi's animated LOTR.
Yours, a subscriber.
I've always assumed it wasn't corrosion he knocked off in the tomb, but rather the remains of the previous scabbard. He does immediately make a new one after he goes outside and gets to know the wolves.
30 years ago I had a sword professionally made to the same dimensions of Conan's father's sword. It is made of tempered spring steel and is very heavy.
I know it's old but have to say this all takes place before even B.C. era. It works as far as technology and imperical data. Thanks.
I remember reading an article and interview with Arnie at the time and he was saying the "hero" version of the sword was extremely heavy and most of the time he used an aluminium copy of it and a rubber version for actual fight scenes.