""Conan the Barbarian" movie: new or old?" Topic

What is the best thing in a Conan movie ?

The old one has a dark, cruel and sinister atmosphere that you don't see anymore in nowadays films.
It's got Arnold, and a fantastic soundtrack too!
Old of course

Has to be the Governor of California version for me!
He really did get to be king of Aquilonia!!

Old.

It was the best thing Arnie ever did and JJ is right, the soundtrack rocks!

To crush your enemies, drive them before you, and hear the lamentations of their women.

Old. Music and overall Ron Cobb design. It probably helped that they had L. Sprague DeCamp as a technical advisor.

Old.

Dave

Arnold by a very long mile.

The new one was 2 hours of my life I'll not get back.

I can't believe some people think the new one is "closer to Howard." If anything, it was closer to several stitched-together episodes of that execrable Conan TV show of a few years back. Momoa's *build* might be closer to Howard's description, but the plot and Conan's behavior certainly wasn't.

Old. Closer to the Savage Sword Of Conan comics put out by Marvel in the eighties. Arnold even looks like Joe Chiodo's and John Buscema's renditions of Conan, IMHO.

Old.

In all seriousness: there *was* a Conan remake?

James Earl Jones as a bad guy. 'Nuff said.

Arnold by a very long mile.

The new one was 2 hours of my life I'll not get back.

That.

By praising a movie for its score, you are condemning it with your faint praise.

Movies are primarily visual. But without the musical scores they are very flat, with few exceptions. There is nothing "faint" about Poledouris' music. I am glad that Conan the Barbarian was made, simply because without it, that fantastic music never would have been composed. The same can be said for opera: sitting through the opera is a severe trial for many/most; but the instrumental music deriving from it is classical at its best….

While it is true that a great musical score can elevate an 'OK' movie to brilliant, the reverse is also true. A poor score will destroy a movie.

The purpose of the music is to carry emotions into the audience that you cannot access visually.

The first trailer for Iron Man: a bunch of dudes come running up, hearing something slam into a steel vault door. The second slam, the door is resonating in a deep growl and there's a *dent* in the door from the inside. The third slam, the door resonates and it almost sounded like the bent opening chord of 'Iron Man' (did I just hear that? Naaaaah, they couldn't be…), and there is a distinctly *fist-shaped* dent in that vault door. The fourth slam, and the door flies off it's hinges as you get the Sabbath original 'Iron Man'… You could have heard the cheers in the lobby.

The original Star Wars Episode 1 trailer: rolling steppes, and grav-tanks coming over the crest. Then the droid carriers crest the hill, stop, and start unloading. No music, just the sound effects. (What the heck movie is this for?) And then, the trumpet fanfare of the Theme. You could hear the cheers outside on the street.

Is it a James Bond movie without the James Bond theme? Not really, it's just some spy flick.

Is it Star Wars without the Imperial March?

Music will make or break a movie. The best writing in the world will not make up for a poor score.

Trouble with film music now is its all-pervading. Instead of emphasising a critical point, or helping the suspension of disbelief it's used by directors who think the audience are morons, unable to think. Ooh, a sad scene, sad music, ooh, the audience should feel slightly nervous, slightly nervous music. It was my one of my main problems with the LOTR films, the music never let up. Perhaps it's a sign of a mediocre director who lacks the talent or a perceived belief modern audiences need to be led like sheep.

I just cannot figure out that given the solid Conan background and some great stand-alone stories by Howard that would translate to film, that Conan movies always try to rewrite the background and re-make Conan.

I like Jason Mamoa but his Conan movie was a super stinker. It made the original look like Shakespeare. I don't blame him though. I would almost rate it a Zardoz.

no comparison: old. better story, better music, better action, not to mention the remake blows even worse than conan the destroyer. old one gave you a sense of age and decadence … new one was just another flavor of generic crap that hollywood has been cranking out last few years, like watching an extended music video

Good, it's not just me then. Old Conan movie is a great movie and the new one is a stinker. What is the matter with movies today? Modern Hollywood makes the mistake of thinking special effects are more important than story and character.

A good fantasy movie should feel like you are going on an adventure; you are drawn into the story and don't know what is going to happen next. All too often in modern films it feels like you've seen this before; the word "formulaic" comes to mind. I want a character I can root for, not a cookie cutter caricature that I've seen in a dozen other movies. I also want a good script with original and interesting dialogue, not mindless drivel that yields to the forces of political correctness.

Old Conan movie had all those things plus a great score that only enhanced the movie.

USAFpilot, that's why I prefer foreign films. (the stories might still be formulaic, but it's not a formula I recognize yet).