- Format: DVD-Video, PAL
- Language English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Sanctuary
- DVD Release Date: 17 Jun 2008
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B0001M1JQ6
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 66,514 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
The dark, brooding tone of Conan the Barbarian is replaced in this rousing sequel by a lighter, more humorous tone and one of the campiest casts ever assembled. In Conan the Destroyer, our massively muscular hero (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is assigned by a duplicitous queen (Sarah Douglas) to escort a virgin princess (Olivia d'Abo) on a treacherous trek to a crystal palace where they will retrieve a priceless gemstone. Basketball champ and self-described Lothario Wilt Chamberlain plays Bombaata, a warrior sent on a secret mission to kill Conan, and the androgynous Grace Jones plays Zula, a wild woman who becomes Conan's loyal ally. Some consider this sequel a disappointment but the film makes no apologies for its silliness, and that's the key to its success as gloriously pulpy entertainment. --Jeff Shannon
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Far from "Collector's edition"!,
By
This review is from: Conan The Destroyer (Collector's Edition) [DVD] (DVD)
If you like myself were hoping for a definitive collector's edition,then think again!
While the packaging is all very lovely and you do get a very nice detailed booklet and some nice postcards,the actual disc is a dreadful release.For a start the opening fight scene is cut to ribbons,the scene where Conan knocks out the camel is again cut and really for a collector's edition,you would expect these scenes to be re-instated. The extra features on this disc are particularly lame.There is a really poor quiz,but the crowning glory of bad is the commentary.Sarah Douglas does little more than ramble on and on about how wonderful she is and very little that she mentions has anything to do with the movie at all. Kim Newman chimes in every so often in a really cynical manner,and overall,this is easily the worst commentary ever added to a dvd. In conclusion,if you want a copy of this film,then hunt out the vastly superior region 4 Australian version or make do with the ordinary region one version from America.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Strange casting decisions quickly sink this Conan sequel,
By Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
This review is from: Conan the Destroyer [DVD] [1984] (DVD)
The 1982 film "Conan the Barbarian" is the film that gets the credit (or blame) for turning Arnold Schwarzenegger into a movie star, but it should be remembered more as the best Sword & Sorcery film produced to date. The main reasons, besides Schwarzenegger cutting an imposing figure as Conan, flexing his muscles and swinging his big sword, was that director John Milius treated the characters seriously and avoided descending into camp. But for the 1984 sequel "Conan the Destroyer," the key factor seemed to be coming up with casting in a similar vein to the logic that had landed Arnold the role. The story of "Conan the Destroyer" was by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, a pair of writers for Marvel Comics. Thomas was the writer for Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian," often adapating Robert E. Howard's stories, whether they were originally Conan stories or not. The story is a basic quest story where Conan escorts a virgin princess to bring back a powerful gem from a crystal palace, which will then be returned to a queen (Sarah Douglas), who turns out to be evil and wants to sacrifice the princess so the gem can used to summon an ancient demon, at which point wackiness will ensue. The problem is not in the story, which certainly allows you to string together a series of Sword & Sorcery adventures, but in the casting. The princess is played by Olivia d'Abo, who simply looks too young (i.e., Conan was forever leaving pregnant princesses behind in his various adventures but there is not chance for that sort of chemistry here). Her body guard, Bombaata, is played by basketball Hall of Famer, Wilt Chamberlain, while Zula, the warrior woman who joins the group is played by Grace Jones, the singer/dancer/model/crazy woman. Comic relif, which was relatively absent in the orignal film, is provided by Tracey Walter as Malak. With such casting the descent into camp becomes inevitable. Besides, there is nothing in this film even close to rivaling Arnold’s best moments in the original. Those who have actually read the originally Conan stories will also find it rather distressing that Toth-Amon, the great Stygian wizard who was Conan's biggest enemy in the Howard stories, is reduced to a pit stop on this quest (I remember thinking at the time that this was the equivalent of Darth Vader being one of the guys that got dispatched at the Cantina in "Star Wars"). Thomas and Conway were upset by Stanley Mann's final screenplay, as well as the finished film, and ended up turning their story into the graphic novel "Conan and the Horn of Azoth," with art by Mike Docherty (all the names got changed to avoid any confusion). Ultimately, "Conan the Destroyer" gets three stars because we round down simply to make sure that it is clear that "Conan the Barbarian" was a better movie. Besides, this 1984 film pretty much killed the franchise, although Milius is apparently preparing a 2005 film "King Conan: Crown of Iron," which there being a lot of speculation as to who will play Conan now that Arnold is Governor of Cal-e-fornia (the hot names are apparently all wrestlers).
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Give 'The Destroyer' a chance! It's a great film!,
By TatSho (WA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Conan the Destroyer [DVD] [1984] (DVD)
I am writing this review because I have read the other reviews on here and I think everyone is being way too harsh on this film. While as a whole, Conan the Barbarian (the 1st film) is much better and has a better plot and better villain, what do you expect? It's very rare that a sequel can surpass the original. However, Conan the Destroyer was a film I watched over and over growing up and I loved it every time. I even have inside jokes with my family regarding the film. And frankly, I think it's much more fun to watch than Conan the Barbarian. Grace Jones is fantastic in it. She's reason enough to want to watch it. And Arnold reprises his role as Conan nicely. This sequel has a much lighter tone to it, but there's more than enough action for those of you that crave it. Amazon has it at a great price, so don't miss out on this great movie!!
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