Conan The Barbarian [Blu-ray] [1982] (Region 2) (Import)

This new edition of Conan the Barbarian serves up the best quality yet, the picture is slightly better due to the special features being on a seperate disc, but the main improvement is the sound.
The legendary soundtrack is now rendered (at last!)in pure DTS sound providing 5.1 channel perfection and it sounds incredible!
The special features from the 2003 'Special Edition' are reproduced here, with the only new feature (not history of fantasy films as advertised)being a short history of Conan with interviews with various fantasy writers, including those who worked on Marvels comic book adaption, Artists and the great James Earl Jones.
'Conan the Barbarian: Collectors Edition' delivers the goods, and if it were not for the daft censorship of BBFC butchering parts of this glorious film, then I would be quite comfortable in labeling this as Cinematic perfection.

This DVD is a must for your collection and I insist you order now!

Conan The Barbarian is probably my fave film. Since 2002, this film has been released on DVD 4 times, 2 of which were Special Editions, and now this Definitive Edition. All my life I had been waiting for a uncut version, but once again its the same old, same old - I'm not sure what the previous reviewer was on about concerning some cuts 'restored' but the fact is that like the previous DVD releases, some of the 'horse fall' scenes have been cut, mostly in the final battle sequence. Its particularly poxy because, like before, if you watch the Conan Unchained documentary on Disc 2, you will see one of the cut scenes shown ! (its the scene where Conan, and Rexor on a horse, charge each other, and Conan cuts at the legs of the horse - in the film, the actual fall sequence of the horse is cut, but its in the Documentary - ludicrous). As before, the film features the extended 'directors cut' ending with the Princess reinstated (on the old VHS Pan & Scan copies, the final scene did not have the Princess and is much shorter, but all the DVD releases have the extended ending - the old VHS ending would have been an interesting extra) and also has the short Subotai and Conan remeniscing scene (between the Funeral Pyre and Battle Of The Mounds) which was in the previous version and is similar to the scene early on when Conan and Subotai talk about the gods. I'll give this release one star cos the metal tin case is beautiful ! - but if you want an uncut version, the best route is to buy the US version (Region 1) from Amazon.com or the French "Edition Prestige" from Amazon.fr, which is Region 2 and has the English 5.1 soundtrack.

At long last, 'Conan the Barbarian' comes to Blu-ray. I'm sure most of you reading this will already be familiar with the film, so I'll be brief. It's magnificent. The land of Hyboria is brought to vivid life, the action is brutal and exciting, Basil Poledouris' score is simply breathtaking, James Earl Jones is evil incarnate, Arnold punches a camel... Sure, it's also clunky and dated in that charmingly 80s way, and there's some unintentional comedy on offer (not least from Arnie's "UARGHAAAARGHNYUARGH" moments). But it's such a spectacle that almost all of its shortcomings are forgiven.

As for the new hi-def transfer, it's sort of a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that, for the most part, this presents a very pleasing and filmic viewing experience. There are no DNR issues to report (at least none that I could detect), and film grain has been rightfully preserved. This is quite a soft-looking film by nature - the same goes for most 80s movies - but there is still a decent amount of fine detail to be spotted.

BUT, the bad news: edge enhancement. It sticks out like a sore thumb, I'm afraid, and can be very distracting in certain scenes. Just watch the early sequence where Thulsa Doom lops off Conan's mother's head. When the young Barbarian looks unbelievably at his now motherless hand, his fingers are surrounded by jarring, thick white bars.

So a little disappointing, but certainly not a deal breaker. As previously stated, it generally looks fine, and is the best the film has looked since its orginal release. I have no complaints about the revamped HD sound, however. This is Poledouris at his most thunderous/tender/epic/enchanting, I could go on.

I guess the extras do deserve a mention. Everything from the previous special edition DVD has returned, along with three new docos - one covering the art of sword making, another comprised of early interview footage featuring Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones, while the last takes an interesting look at the history of the Conan character. It's a good collection of bonus features which should please most 'Conan' fans. Of course, the main draw here is the legendary commentary provided by Arnold and director John Milius. Just... give it a listen.

All in all, this is a worthy upgrade over the DVD (and as another, more enthusiastic review has noted, it is now uncut in the UK providing you change your player's Disc Menu Language setting prior to putting the disc in). Universal will be releasing a new extended cut in the States this August, and their transfer may well best Fox's effort here, but for those who desire the original cut in its best quality yet, I highly recommend this.

Artwork's a bit crap though, isn't it?

EDIT: Should have done this ages ago, sorry, but it turns out that Universal's US release used the exact same transfer. The only difference between them is that Universal's doesn't have the "Wild Blueberries" scene (where Conan and Subotai have that heart-to-heart talk) which takes place just before the climactic battle. So the UK release is actually longer for once.

Also, it turns out that there ARE audio issues. I still stand by my original score, but check out the comments for more info.