What is best in life is the 4K UHD edition of “Conan the Barbarian” from Arrow Video. (2024)

The year is 1982 and the most impressively-formed human being finally gets his big Hollywood break — Arnold Schwarzenegger in John Milius’s Conan the Barbarian. While watching the movie today in 2024, it is evident that Conan is certainly a product of its time, but that does not mean, in any way shape or form, that it does not deserve a restoration from one of the best boutique labels out there today. There are so many things to love or hate about Conan the Barbarian, but one thing remains true to the test of time, this movie was the first-time audiences fully got exposed to Schwarzenegger and the rest is history. So let us dive into the movie and the restoration that this 42-year-old movie was deeply needing.

The movie focuses on Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from the time he is a child to an adult as his parents and community are killed by Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) who, atop of being a warlord, is also a sorcerer. This sets up Conan to become a master of swordsmanship and the fighter to take down, and thus begins his mission to seek revenge against the evil Thulsa. Of course, though, Conan is not on his own as he learns the life lessons and the craft from Subotai (Gary Lopez) and his equally physically impressive interest Valeria (Sandahl Bergman).

While looking at the transfer description from Arrow themselves, it appears the transfer was done from the original negative of the film. This brings up a few interesting points because there are clearly masterful changes between this newly mastered 4K and the previous Blu-ray release, but there are some moments in the film that are quiet concerning. While most of the film has vibrant rich colors throughout, bringing to life the best version of Conan audiences have been exposed to thus far, there are some moments which are so dark and dull that the image is almost lost. This is not to put the blame on Arrow as this seems to be apparently an issue with the negative clearly. While being a 42-year-old film, its possible the negative that exists was not entirely maintained and there were damages, thus leading to these incredible dark and dense scenes. However, when we’re discussing 130 minuets of film and there is maybe an entire four minutes collectively throughout the running time that are dark, that is a ratio that can certainly be lived with when the film is hands-down the best it has ever looked.

Moreover, I did just mention the 130-minute running time, which, if you’re a Conan aficionado, you may know is three minutes longer than the original theatrical cut. That is because Arrow restored all three versions of Conan the Barbarian with the theatrical cut (coming in at 127 minutes), the international cut (coming in at 129 minutes) and the extended cut (coming in at 130 minutes). In addition to the three cuts, there is a newly-restored original mono audio and remixed Dolby Atmos surround sound on all three cuts of the film, bringing this home viewing experience to the absolute top of the game.

As with all Arrow releases, there are always the extras and goodies that come with the movie atop of the gorgeous restorations they bring audiences for their collective purposes. While Arrow has decided to release Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer as two separate entries, there is also the Conan Chronicles boxset that contains both films; however we will be breaking down the physical bonuses separately. Conan the Barbarian comes with a double-sided fold-out poster, six double sided collector’s postcards, an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Walter Chaw and John Walsh, and an archive set report by Paul M. Sammon.

Now we come to the actual features on the movie itself, which are good and bad (for review purposes). We were only given the 4K disk which contains two commentary tracks and a new assembled isolated score track in lossless stereo. While the commentary tracks are always intriguing, only the new feature commentary by genre historian Sammon, who is the author of Conan: The Phenomenon, is new on the 4K itself. There are a metric ton of extras on the Blu-ray, both new and old, and these features, even sight unseen, are enough to warrant the purchase of this ‘80s classic. So sit back and enjoy Conan the Barbarian the absolute best way it has ever looked, with more features than one could ever hope to find themselves lost in.

Conan the Barbarian 4K UHD and Blu Ray Features:

• Newly restored original mono audio and remixed Dolby Atmos surround audio on all three cuts
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on all three cuts
• Archive feature commentary by director John Milius and star Arnold Schwarzenegger (Extended Cut only)
• Brand new feature commentary by genre historian Paul M. Sammon, author of Conan: The Phenomenon (Extended Cut only)
• Newly assembled isolated score track in lossless stereo (Extended Cut only)

DISC TWO – EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)

• Conan Unchained: The Making of Conan, an archive documentary from 2000 featuring interviews with Schwarzenegger, Milius, Stone, Jones, Lopez, Bergman, Poledouris and several others
• Designing Conan, a newly filmed interview with production artist William Stout
• Costuming Conan, a newly filmed interview with costume designer John Bloomfield
• Barbaric Effects, a newly filmed interview with special effects crew members Colin Arthur and Ron Hone
• Young Conan, a newly filmed interview with actor Jorge Sanz
• Conan & The Priest, a newly filmed interview with actor Jack Taylor
• Cutting the Barbarian, a newly filmed interview with assistant editor Peck Prior
• Crafting Conan’s Magic, a newly filmed interview with visual effects crew members Peter Kuran and Katherine Kean
• Barbarians and Northmen, a newly filmed interview with filmmaker Robert Eggers on the film’s influence on The Northman
• Behind the Barbarian, a newly filmed interview with John Walsh, author of Conan the Barbarian: The Official History of the Film
• A Line in the Sand, a newly filmed interview with Alfio Leotta, author of The Cinema of John Milius
• Conan: The Rise of a Fantasy Legend, an archive featurette on the film’s literary and comic book roots
• Art of Steel: Sword Makers & Masters, an archive interview with sword master Kiyoshi Yamasaki
• Conan: From the Vault, an archive compilation of on-set cast and crew interviews
• A Tribute to Basil Poledouris, a series of videos produced by the Úbeda Film Music Festival, including video of Poledouris conducting a concert of music from the film in 2006 (remixed in 5.1 surround) and interviews with collaborators such as Paul Verhoeven and Randal Kleiser
• Rarely-seen electronic press kit from 1982, featuring over half an hour of on-set footage and cast and crew interviews (from a watermarked tape source)
• Outtakes, including a deleted cameo by Milius
• Split-screen “Valeria Battles Spirits” visual effects comparison
• Conan: The Archives, a gallery of photos and production images from 2000
• Conan the Barbarian: The Musical, an affectionate comic tribute to the film by Jon & Al Kaplan
• US and International teaser and theatrical trailers
• Image gallery

Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray Limited Edition from Arrow Video U.S. January 30^th, 2024.

For more information, head to the official Arrow Video Conan the Barbarian webpage.
To purchase, head to the MVD Entertainment Group Conan the Barbarian webpage.

Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation

Tags: 4K UHD, action, adventure, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arrow Video, Ben Davidson, Cassandra Gava, Conan the Barbarian, Dino De Laurentiis Company, Edward Summer, Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A., fantasy, Gerry Lopez, home release, home video, James Earl Jones, John Milius, Mako, Max von Sydow, MVD Entertainment Group, Oliver Stone, Pressman Film, remaster, Robert E. Howard, Sandahl Bergman, Universal Pictures, Valérie Quennessen