"Why wouldn't you use James Earl Jones' voice?"
Because they've already got Mako's voice for the narration, our ears can only handle so much greatness

Younger people don't realize how impactful "Conan" was. The novels were reprinted in the 60s-70s and the sales went through the roof because of the groundbreaking cover art of painter Frank Frazzetta. Frazzetta's breathtaking art was unlike anything the world had seen before. In many ways it could be said he IS responsible for the fantasy genre. No doubt D & D was heavily influenced by Conan. The Novels were quickly adapted into comic books and then eventually into this movie. This was Arnold Schwarzenegger's first major lead role and it rocketed him to stardom. Every Tom Dick and Harry was throwing money at Arnold after this. The lead Female lost a finger during the filming of this movie.

The sword was not rusty, it had a crust of centuries of dust and cobwebs on it. It was Atlantean steel and superior to other steels, no rust.

Not only is this movie so singularly unique and awesome, but the score is imo one of the best classical suites for film every recorded.

Fun Fact: The actor who played the wizard is Mako, original voice of Aku from Samurai Jack and Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Basil Poledouris' score really elevates this movie into epic territory.  The film was made 40 years ago and has really aged well, due to its music and its magnificent practical effects.

In my opinion this is still one of the best fantasy films ever!

The final shot of King Conan on the throne was actually the FIRST thing they shot. This was the first of a planned trilogy chronicling his rise to power. The one sequel they did make abandoned that plan and went in a different direction, adding more VFX and comedy relief and toning it down to a PG-13

FYI:  I did a video conference with the Governors Office in California when Arnold was Governor.  And, he gave us (three K-8 school classes) a virtual tour of his office.  Guess what was over the mantle in the California Governors office?  THAT Sword... The staff were all excited to see it... the kids didn't know who "Conan" was... made us feel old.

I believe the ending when Conan drops the sword and Thulsa Dooms head on the stairs leaving him alone atop the stairs is the answer to the riddle of steel as was hinted at by the opening Nietzsche quote.

1. His dad wrongly believed the strength of steel was the answer, but as we saw that can be broken when Conan broke his father's sword.

2. Thulsa Doom wrongly believed the answer was the strength of flesh, but as we saw his flesh failed with his beheading and his followers leaving.

3. It was Conan's strength of will that could not be broken the whole movie and is why he is left standing at the top of the stairs.
edit: reading comments 98th emperor stated this!

"To crush your enemies,
to see them driven before you,
and to hear the lamentation of the women"

is actually based on a real quote by the Great Khan:


"The greatest happiness is to scatter your enemy, to drive him before you, to see his cities reduced to ashes, to see those who love him shrouded in tears, and to gather into your bosom his wives and daughters."

The "Barbarian" class was definitely an attempt to make Conan "playable" in the game, waaaay back in the day. The flavor of the class changed a bit in the intervening editions, but its origins are definitely here, and the pulp books, and probably the Marvel comic series... plus Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo's art, of course

Basil Poledouris, imo, is right up there with John Williams when it comes to composing epic scores

In the end, Conan wields his father's broken sword and Falsa Doom's head symbolizing neither had the answer to the riddle of steel. It is the strength of a man's will that determines the strength of the steel and flesh.

I love how Simone completely wrong footed George, by doing a 'normal' introduction for a change.

Gary Gygax (dnd's central creator) was so into Conan he actually created multiple character sheets for Conan tracking what he thought his stats were at various ages.  There are photos of them available online.

Conan has everything to do with D&D! The original Conan books were one of the key inspirations for fantasy gaming as we know it. In fact without Robert E Howard and Conan, we probably wouldn’t have D&D. So excited to watch the reaction!

Sandahl Bergman always said that her height was 5'9" because "no woman should be over 6' tall," ( she was 6'1")
All the backup actors were friends from Golds Gym... The witch was a fellow competitor from the Mr./Miss. World competition. The two goons of Tulsa Doom were former football linemen and Subati was Jerry Garcia, a pro surfer.
Arnie actually bit the neck off a dead vulture!.
Arnie had to lose about 30 lbs off his training weight to actually be able to properly weld the sword safely.

This is set in a mythical time known as the Hyborian Age. Robert E. Howard created the basic lore that involved influences of a lot of diferent ancient civilizations, from european, african and asian.

Also, from what little I know, Tulsa Doom was one of the last of a tribe of snake men that could hypnotize people with a stare.

Simone's "This is what i wanted.... yes.... yes...." was the best part