FANTASY AND ADVENTURE MOVIES DiscussionsFANTASY AND ADVENTURE MOVIES
On this topic, I’d like to discuss some movies of a similar genre to that of the Lord of the Rings. Some of them have been my favourites for years. Feel free to post comments and information on movies of your choice that cover this genre.
My first topic here covers my favourite fictional character in movies - Conan the Barbarian of Cimmeria.
The CONAN Movies
Conan the Barbarian – was the first movie made on this awesome sword swinging character of Ancient lore. Created by Robert Ervin Howard in the mid 1930s, Conan of Cimmeria has remained one of the most popular characters of the ‘Sword and Sandal' genre of Fantasy fiction.
Even though the movie has disregarded most of the original Howardian text, it is a masterpiece on its own. Bodybuilder turned actor, Arnold Schwartzenegger of Austria did a fairly good job as the barbarian warrior, under the direction of John Milius.
The story of the movie, albeit altered greatly from the history of Conan in the books by REH, tells of his life from childhood and of how his world is changed by an evil wizard, Thulsa Doom, played by James Earl Jones(the voice of Darth Vader). The movie then goes on to show Conan leading a life as a thief, mercenary and warrior, aided by likeminded companions, Valeria, Sabotia and Akiro, but always with a desire for revenge on Doom. He finally kills Doom in his own temple of Set, the vile god of snakes and serpents.
Conan the Destroyer – In this sequel, which failed miserably at the box office, Arnold Schwartzenegger portrays Conan once again. The plot here requires Conan to escort a young princess, Jennah, played by Olivia D’Abo, on her quest in resurrecting a god, dagoth, under the guidance of her evil aunt, Taramis. Conan, aided by his friends, Malak, Akiro and Zula help in the quest but then must save Jennah from the evil god. They succeed and Conan gets on with his quest. Which would have been done in the third movie if only this one hadn’t bombed.
Conan of Aquilona – This is supposed to be in the making. Rumours are all over the internet and also on the tabloids. They assumed Arnold to return as Conan, but in a tale where Conan is King of Aquilonia and around 60 years of age.
There are other movies I’d like to cover in my next posts here’s a list of them.
The 13th Warrior *ing – Antonio Banderas and Vladimir Kulich
Kull the Conqueror *ing – Kevin Sorbo and Tia Carrera
Red Sonja *ing – Bridgitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwartzenegger
The Mummy and its sequel. *ing – Branden Fraser, Rachel Weiss and Arnold Vosloo.
The Scorpion King *ing – Dwayne Roberts, Kelly Hu and Michael Clark Duncan
The Princess Bride *ing – Andre the Giant
The Never Ending Story *ing – some kids
Willow *ing – Val Kilmer and his wife
Gladiator *ing – Russell Crowe and Joachim Phoenix
Robin Hood *ing – Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman
To name a few
And maybe some movies featuring comic book super heroes and also other fantasy type themes
Re: HARRY POTTER?
I have a quick question about the Conan the Barbarian movie. What was with the witch? You know ... the one that Conon got to know real quick... Why did she lure him into her home only to have her way with him and then try to kill him? But she didn't try very hard!
Why didn't she use her magic against him?
Its the only part of the movie that I don't get. She predicts that he will one day be a king, and then tries to claw his face off. Was she nutty, or just very lusty ?
CONAN
The first Conan movie, well, banked on certain movie (r-rated)gimmicks, to make it work. And the witch sequence was one of them.
In the original Conan storyline, an old Shaman predicts Conan's future to being a King of a powerful nation. Since they re-hashed the entire Conan history for the movie, they added in the witch part. There is a Conan story by REH where he meets up with a witch in the forest, but that had an entirely different plot.
Thulsa Doom, the viliian in the movie, is a sorcerer who existed 8000 years befoe Conan's time. But because he's such a cool baddie the movie people decided to have him in this movie.
Valeria, the blond thief in Zamora for the movie, in the Conan tales is actually a pirate captain whom Conan meets in the high seas in his late thirties.
And Zula, the wild woman warrior in Conan 2, in the tales is a male warrior wizard from the dark lands of ancient Africa.
They hashed and re-hased everything for the movies and most Conan fans still resent that. And to make things even worse, the movie people messed up the Kull storyline too for the movies. Kull was a barbarian king, an ancestor of Conan who actually fought Thulsa Doom.
Quote:Valeria, the blond thief in Zamora for the movie, in the Conan tales is actually a pirate captain whom Conan meets in the high seas in his late thirties.
You'll be pleased to hear Cim that I actually have a Conan the barbarian book, and in it he is with this Zamora chick. (They are lost in some forest were a strange creature is hunting them, so they flee to some castle, were a different race of people are waring against each other). Very amusing. I'd tell you the title but I have the book in storage, along with one of my fav books- Red Sonya (spelling?). I think The book was number 23, but don't quote me on that. I hope to collect more, but they are rare to come across.
I believe you're talking about the comic books published by Marvel from the 60s to the 90s. Yeah they are great, but really hard to get.
Lucky for me I got a hold of my Dad's collection of 280 Conan and 250 Savage Sword of Conan issues. Its mine, all mine now. Talk about being born with a silver spoon in the mouth. heh!
Red Sonja, yeah, her books are cool too. She was created by Marvel's own Roy Thomas. But to really get the feel of the Conan adventures, I suggest you read the original works of Robert Ervin Howard, Conan's creator. There's a new reprint treasury volume of REH's tales, available at a steal on ebay.
And speaking of comics, you must get a hold of the newly released 'Conan" by Dark Horse comics. I'm sure they are available in Ozland.
Re: CONAN
I love collecting comics. I remember buying a few re-released Conan comics, but these particular ones didn't last long. I wasn't much into them in this form anyway. I liked the books better.
ebay...I should check it out!
Thanks for the tip Cim
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Yes I am a Hobbit and a fat one at that!
... the one that Conon got to know real quick... Why did she lure him into her home only to have her way with him and then try to kill him? But she didn't try very hard! 
?
(They are lost in some forest were a strange creature is hunting them, so they flee to some castle, were a different race of people are waring against each other). Very amusing. I'd tell you the title but I have the book in storage, along with one of my fav books- Red Sonya (spelling?). I think The book was number 23, but don't quote me on that. I hope to collect more, but they are rare to come across.
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