“That which does not kill us makes us stronger,” is how the philosopher Nietzsche so elegantly put it. This quote leads into the forging of a sword and some powerful music. Thus begins, in my opinion, one of the greatest movies of all time: “Conan the Barbarian.”
This piece of genius takes place in prehistory, where many brave men fought and died by the sword. Steel was more important then gold or jewels. Of all these great men, none were more powerful, or commanded a sword better, then Conan. However, this was not always true.
“His was a tale of sorrow,” as the narrator rightly says. Indeed, Conan’s life would have broken most of us. However, it simply forged in him an indomitable will, and an iron determination.
In the beginning, Conan’s mother and father are mercilessly slaughtered, along with his entire village. The children, however, are spared and taken to be slaves. They are placed at a giant wheel with spokes so they can grind flower for their masters. Their conditions are horrendous. These poor wretches work snow, rain, wind, or shine. Eventually they all die except Conan. We see this amazing progression where he gets bigger and stronger. Until eventually we see the awe inspiring image of our muscle bound hero: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The whole movie is ingeniously thought out. The forging of a sword from weak iron ore into powerful steel mirrors Conan’s own progression through life. The wheel was the forging of his body; the next part is about the spirit.
Now after Conan has survived where so many have failed, his reward is to be thrown into the gladiator pit so his captors can make money off his suffering. I told you his journey was sad. He learns quickly that its kill or be killed. He lives for the crowd’s “howls of lust and fury” as the narrator says. Eventually, he has won so many times that a Chinese emperor buys him. Conan is educated and taught how to fight with a sword. His master decides Conan has been caged too long and lets him go. Finally, his dream becomes reality. He is free. His forging is complete and its time to reap his revenge.
I’ll end there, so as not to spoil the whole movie. Suffice it to say that it is an incredible quest of self discovery, and movies just are not made like this anymore.
I love this movie for the element of philosophy and the great story telling. There isn’t a great deal of dialogue, but it just works for this movie. Part of the reason is the incredible music. These songs are created by the great Basil Poledouris. They really help tell the story and move you. Conan’s journey has many parallels to forging a sword, as he had to forge himself. This is a story about determination and will. We all could do well to learn something from it. That’s why Conan the Barbarian is one of my favorite movies of all time.
No comments:
Post a Comment