Conan the Bartbarian (1982)

Ah, Conan the Barbarian (1982)—a primal symphony of steel, vengeance, and muscle-bound destiny.

In the shadowed age of Hyboria, young Conan watches his village razed and his parents slain by Thulsa Doom, a hypnotic cult leader with a serpent’s gaze and a voice like velvet-wrapped menace (played by James Earl Jones). Enslaved and chained to the Wheel of Pain, Conan grows into a titan of a man—Arnold Schwarzenegger in his breakout role—hardened by suffering and forged for battle.

Once freed, Conan becomes a gladiator, thief, and wanderer, joined by the fierce warrior Valeria and the archer Subotai. Together, they seek riches, adventure, and ultimately, revenge. Their quest leads them to the Mountain of Power, where Doom’s snake cult thrives, and where Conan must confront not only his enemy but the riddle of steel—a philosophical challenge about strength, flesh, and the will to wield power.

Directed by John Milius and co-written with Oliver Stone, the film blends mythic grandeur with brutal action, underscored by Basil Poledouris’s thunderous score. It’s not just a sword-and-sorcery epic—it’s a meditation on fate, freedom, and the fire that drives a man to carve his own legend.

I found one scene a bit disturbing where Conan is rewarded in his cell with the pleasure of a woman. I am assuming in that period, slavery was part of normal life. Indeed, Conan himself was a slave.