The Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Classic On Netflix That Will Get Your Blood Pumping
Whether they are old or young, one thing that action movie buffs can agree on is that when Arnold Schwarzenegger pops up, everyone’s in for a good time. That’s especially true of his older work, and it doesn’t get much older–or more iconic–than his swords and sorcery classic that you can stream today. If you’re ready to get your blood pumping, then you need to check out Arnold Schwarzenegger kicking all kinds of ass in the original Conan the Barbarian on Netflix.
Conan the Barbarian, one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first films, is streaming on Netflix.
While Arnold Schwarzenegger is definitely the most compelling part of the film, Conan the Barbarian had a lot of great talent behind the camera to help make this movie a hit. It was directed by Hollywood legend John Milius, the man responsible for writing and directing the original Red Dawn as well as writing Apocalypse Now.
If that’s not enough, he helped write the script for Conan, and his cowriter was fellow Hollywood legend Oliver Stone.
In his own way, Milius was probably the best choice for writing and directing Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian because this movie is an adaptation of the original novels and short stories written by Robert Howard.
With his script for Apocalypse Now, Milius had proven he knew how to adapt literature (in that case, he was adapting the classic Joseph Conrad novella Heart of Darkness) into a hit Hollywood film. However, the journey to getting Conan made was just as difficult and just as perilous as any completed by the titular warrior.
On-location filming in places like Yugoslavia and Spain helped Conan’s onscreen adventures seem appropriately exotic, and the sets quite literally brought Frank Frazetta’s breathtaking designs to life.
For example, the film rights were secured by Edward R. Pressman and Edward Summer in 1975, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was selected to star as Conan the Barbarian in 1977. When their efforts to make the film fell through, they ended up selling all of the rights to Dino De Laurentiis.
Despite having the right at this point to recast the role, De Laurentiis and his daughter Raffaella (who produced the film) retained Schwarzenegger for the title part.
That’s not surprising, though, as almost everyone involved with the film at different stages felt that Arnold Schwarzenegger was perfect for the role of Conan the Barbarian. At the time, most people who knew of the Conan character knew him from the iconic novel covers painted by fantasy art legend Frank Frazetta.
We say “almost” perfect because, somewhat hilariously, Arnold Schwarzenegger was originally considered too big (quite literally) to play the role of Conan the Barbarian.
When the original producers first watched his film Pumping Iron, they agreed that Schwarzenegger was nearly perfect for the role because he looked like the towering, muscular figure of Conan in real life.
We say “almost” perfect because, somewhat hilariously, Arnold Schwarzenegger was originally considered too big (quite literally) to play the role of Conan the Barbarian. Director John Milius wanted Conan to look a bit more like an athlete and a bit less like a bodybuilder, so the lead actor had to train for 18 months, ultimately losing 30 pounds and some of his legendary muscle mass to get the part.
Still, Schwarzenegger knew this film was basically his ticket to Hollywood stardom, so he put up with both the physical training and the weeks of professional voice training required so that he could believably deliver his dialogue.
Even if you’re not that interested in Arnold Schwarzenegger (and first off, how dare you), there is a lot to love in this first Conan the Barbarian film. On-location filming in places like Yugoslavia and Spain helped Conan’s onscreen adventures seem appropriately exotic, and the sets quite literally brought Frank Frazetta’s breathtaking designs to life.
All of this added up to a real hit: the movie has a 66 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes (meaning it’s “certified fresh”), and it grossed somewhere between $68.9 million and $79.1 million against a budget of only $20 million.
Around here, we’re big fans of both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Conan the Barbarian, and we encourage any fantasy fans to check the film out on Netflix today. Without the success of this movie, we may never have had later fantasy staples such as the Lord of the Rings films or the Game of Thrones television show. We also wouldn’t have Conan’s wonderfully insane quote about what is best in life, and even if you don’t plan to “crush your enemies” or “see them driven before you,” you can at least get your weekend started without our favorite trio: swords, sorcery, and Schwarzenegger.
