When Conan the Destroyer came out in the summer of 1984, those of us who were playing Dungeons and Dragons were still pumped over Conan The Barbarian. The VCR revolution had allowed us to keep watching the original film although it was in pan and scan. A bunch of us were also excited because this time around, we were over 17 which meant we could get into an R Rated film with our own IDs and not beg a parent to buy us a ticket. We had our driver’s licenses (and learner’s permits) ready to prove we didn’t need parental supervision to see Arnold Schwarzenegger slice up men, beasts and wizards. But the person in the ticket booth just asked for our money. We hadn’t noticed that Conan The Destroyer was Rated PG. Not that it ruined the experience. As we waited at the concession stand for popcorn, there was a realization that the bloody gore and nudity weren’t happening this time around. But we were still anticipating an adventure that would soon be duplicated by less creative Dungeon Masters.
Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his thieving buddy Malak (Repo Man’s Tracey Walter) are having a little private time for a memorial to Valeria. This solemn moment is destroyed when they are surrounded. A group of horsemen charge the duo except there’s just not enough to defeat Conan. What did they want to steal from a thief? Turns out that it is a job interview being conducted by Queen Taramis of Shadizar (Superman 2‘s Sarah Douglas) and her head of security Bombaata (NBA Great Wilt Chamberlin). She needs someone of Conan’s skill set for a very important mission. Her niece the Princess Jehnna (The Wonder Years‘ Olivia d’Abo) has a beauty mark that means she’s destined to restore the precious horn of the dreaming god Dagoth to a statue. She promises Conan if he helps the Princess succeed, she will bring Valeria back to life. He and Malak accept the offer. During the first part of the journey, they’re reunited with the Wizard Akiro (Hawaiian Heat‘s Mako) from the first film. Later when cutting through a town, they discover the feisty Zula chained down and fighting off the locals that want to punish her for being part of a thieving party. Conan sets her free to beat the crap out of people. Instead of running away, she joins up with the group as they go to the first castle to retrieve something that will lead to the horn. What Conan doesn’t know is that the reason the Queen insists the Princess have her virginity protected is part of the ceremony to restore the horn involves a human sacrifice of the untouched girl. Is he going to find out about this part of the bargain before it’s too late for the sweet princess?
Conan the Destroyer is more of an adventure film that the first movie. He’s given a mission from the start. While we expected the film being PG would make things boring, the excitement level jumps when Grace Jones appears on screen. When she starts flinging her pole around, you might want to duck in your recliner. She is fearless and keeps Arnold from phoning in his performance. After his memorable turn in Repo Man, Tracey Walter is back to shine in little moments and not completely steal the show. Between Arnold, Wilt and Grace, Tracey easily fits into the gaps. And there was another legend on the set although he didn’t get credit at the time. Turns out Andre the Giant plays the Dagoth monster. He must have been the only person in the film to make Arnold look like Tracey Walter’s stunt double.
After the film came out, reports kept coming that the film was supposed to be much more violent and sensual. There was a report of a love scene between the Princess and Arnold. Seeing how there’s a lot of talk about how to lose your virginity on the journey seems to make sense that she returns to the Kingdom as a woman. Susan Douglas confirmed there was a scene where the Queen seduces Conan to seal the deal. Supposedly the first cut earned an X-rating (on the bonus features they say it was only an R rating). Producer Dino De Laurentiis had the film severely editing to earn a PG. He wanted the kids in junior high playing Dungeons and Dragons to buy tickets to the film instead of waiting for home video. However the PG plan proved a failure as the film made less than half of the R-rated Conan The Barbarian. What’s strange is that even though Dino put out a Conan the Barbarian in an extended cut, he never had the missing scenes restored for a Conan The Destroyer Unrated Version video release. Even on the boxset, there are no deleted scenes.
Even with the PG rating, Conan The Destroyer is a ripping adventure. We might not get the buckets of blood and the barbarian getting freaky with royalty, but we get to see Arnold Schwarzenegger grappling with Andre the Giant and Wilt Chamberlin.
Arrow has also released Conan The Destroyer: Limited Edition on Blu-ray.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer is a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (2160p) presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) struck from the original negative. The Audio is LPCM Mono for the theatrical sound. There’s new remix in Dolby Atmos surround. The sound is clear so you can hear all of Arnold’s dialogue. The movie is subtitled.
Archive feature commentary by director Richard Fleischer has him talk about how he wanted it a little bit lighter than the original film.
Archive feature commentary by actors Olivia d’Abo and Tracey Walter has the recount their roles. Walter talks about how his agent called him to say that if he could get on a plane that night, he had the role. They were a week into the shoot when David Lander parted. He said Danny DeVito turned the role down. I would have paid to see Danny DeVito riding a horse across the Mexican desert.
Archive feature commentary by actor Sarah Douglas with genre historians Kim Newman & Stephen Jones. Sarah is great as she recounts her time on the shoot. Because her character didn’t have that many scenes, she spent a lot of time flying between England and Mexico. She talks of her friendship with Grace Jones. There’s a great Superman flying audition story.
Audio Commentary by genre historian Paul M. Sammon, author of Conan: The Phenomenon. He gets into a lot of details about the sequel.
Isolated score track in LPCM 2.0 which sounds better than the original mono mix. It allows you to fully appreciate Basil Poledouris’ score.
Casting the Destroyer (5:12) has casting director Johanna Ray break down why she brought in certain actors and non-actors to the film. Turns out David Lander (Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley) was originally Malak. They had to let Lander go and replace him with Tracey Walter. It appears that Lander’s problems on set had to deal with the onset of MS.
Cut from a Different Cloth (9:10) has costume designer John Bloomfield has him talk about returning to the world of Conan. Richard Fleischer wanted Arnold’s costumes to not cover up his body so much. Grace Jones showed up early on the location and ended up talking to John. He jokes how he had to double his budget to get enough leather to cover Wilt Chamberlin. There’s a photo of Wilt and Andre the Giant on the set. Sarah Douglas impressed John by pointing out that her house was once owned by Edith Head.
Dune and the Destroyer (15:23) has art director Kevin Phipps talk about doing both Dune and Conan The Destroyer in Mexico City for Dino. He worked his way up the crew on Dune to assistant art director. He showed Frank Herbert around the set. The author of the book cried at how they had made his world happen. He shifted over to Conan the Destroyer as Art Director in charge of the sets. He gets into the scene where Arnold busts all the mirrors. Kevin’s wife did the princess outfits.
Swords, Sorcery & Stunts (13:17) has stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong also talk about going from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom to Mexico to work on Conan The Destroyer. He had to look for a horse that could handle Wilt Chamberlin. He also had to figure out how to double for Arnold which didn’t happen often. He talks about the Fickle Finger of Richard Fleischer. He also has an interesting tale about seeing the film in Thailand.
Behind the Destroyer (10:00) has John Walsh, author of Conan the Barbarian: The Official History of the Film give background on the film. The big thing was producer Ed Pressman wanted the film lighter and more like Indiana Jones and Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad films. He gets into how the film was originally Rated R and Dino had it cut down to PG. He mentions how Oscar winner Jack Cardriff was the cinematographer. The box office for Conan the Destroyer wasn’t as good as the original. He mentions that King Conan never got made because Red Sonja was a flop and Arnold started getting famous not playing Conan.
Conan: The Making of a Comic Book Legend (14:06) has writers Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway discuss the character’s place at Marvel comics. Thomas was working at DC for two weeks when he bumped into Stan Lee during lunch. Lee offered him a job on the spot. The comic book adapted the stories by Frank E. Howard and others. He worked on the second script when Roger Donaldson was attached to direct. This was for a previous DVD release.
Basil Poledouris: Composing the Conan Saga (17:17) has the composer talk about his scores for both films. He points out that Milius had so little dialogue that he needed the score to create an opera element. He gets into how he works from a sketch of his music and an arranger expanding it to the instruments. This was from the 2001 DVD release.
Trailer Gallery has two Theatrical trailers (2:23) & (1:32) show off Arnold’s fighting skills.
Image gallery has over 100 press photos, behind the scenes shots and posters.
Double-sided fold-out poster is perfect for you workout space.
Six double-sided collectors’ postcards are suitable for framing.
Illustrated collectors’ booklet contains essays by Walter Chaw and John Walsh, and an archive set report by Paul M. Sammon
Arrow Video presents Conan The Destroyer: Limited Edition. Directed by Richard Fleischer. Screenplay by Stanley Mann. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Mako, Tracey Walter, Sarah Douglas, Olivia d’Abo, Jeff Corey, Sven-Ole Thorsen & André the Giant. Running Time: 103 minutes. Rating: Rated PG. Release Date: January 30, 2024.
