Conan - Man of War

I really liked this - it gave me vibes watching the Wizard of Oz to Dark Side of the Moon or the the last battle at the end of Narnia whilst listening to Shine on you crazy diamond.... but done a bit more precisely.

The music is a great choice and the plot really flows- this doesn't drag at all and kept me interested all the way through.

Really small but perhaps keeping some of the boy and his father's chat at the beginning and the final conversation between Thulsa Doom and Conan is really badass,. Would add to the impact (perhaps) .

Very good edit.

This ruled exactly as hard as you want it to. Can't think of anything else to say. Possibly the most metal movie ever made with an actual metal soundtrack and tightened to the pace of a killer grindhouse movie, all in a perfectly designed package with cool BTS extras. An all-timer; I can only hope that John Milius gets to see this.

Just as wide-eyed Spinal Tap acolytes rever Valhalla for the mere existence of Manowar, so too the burgeoning ranks of fanedit viewers ought to worship TMBTM for this sonic swash through the Hyborian Age. I needlessly feared I would not like this “silent” Conan. Too loud or too dumb. Turns out, this nicely trimmed version is well thought out and well executed. What you hear is what you see. Or as one might say - Behold!

Video - MPEG 720 X 480p. I foolishly dropped a lower rez file, then got the DVD. Wise choice. There are several cuts - probably more than I suspect - and though I noticed a missing sequence here and there, I never noticed from sloppy or abrupt cutting.

Audio - 2 Channel stereo, AC3. No subs, not that it matters. As indicated fully in title and notes, this is primarily a “silent” version of Conan, with music by metal group Manowar replacing most of the dialogue and all of the Poldoris score. The syncing of music to onscreen action is outstanding. Riffs roar during mayhem, caress melodic during pensive or thoughtful moments. The dialogue is not fully absent, though some of the transitions out of dialogue back to Manowar are a bit steep. One that comes to mind is just before Conan and Subotai reflect on the wind that blows through all mens’ soul. Not a complaint.

Narrative - Several scenes were deleted. While I noticed them, their ommission did not affect the story. Dialogue is at an absolute minimum in this, such as when King Osric hires the trio for a mission. This edit bore up well, and TMBTM selected wisely. You don’t have to know the underlying story to follow along, although additional spoken bits would have helped. I can see where sections of this might head scratching. R E Howard fans, you should have no trouble tracking the story and understanding character motivations.

Enjoyment - Midway through the film, Conan and Valeria surrender to romantic urges. While watching I detected the opening strains of the music and thought, “That sounds like Nessun Dorma.” Sure enough, the opening strains of Puccini’s Turandot swelled. Even though I knew that TMBTM had replaced all music with MOW, I asked myself, “Michael Bolton?” (the ex-shaghead once released a disc of personal opera faves.) Of course not, it was Manowar attempting a number completely beyond them.

What an audacious choice, however! It capsized the mood in a manner that was seriously wrong yet so totally fitting. I was laughing out loud, shaking my head, and clapping. Such an unexpected selection.

The DVD has several nice gems, by the way, including an entertaining menu that affords tender-foots a glimpse into the Manowar world. Will this replace my Conan? No. Will I replay this again? Yes! Will I play it during the next house bash. Absolutely!! Get those relatives outta my home permanently.

out of all the classic arnold films for some reason conan is a film i haven't re-watched to often, the last time i saw it was around 5 years ago and i felt it was a little ponderous at best. this version quickens the pace moving the film along while never feeling as if anything major had been removed that spoils the narrative.

the new soundtrack works really well in telling the story without any dialogue at the start of the film. having not read too much info regarding the edit i thought maybe the hole film would be like this. luckily there is dialogue that breaks the music throughout the edit.

i guess to really enjoy the edit you have to be a fan of the music and to be honest it's not my cup of tea. i also feel that the edit could have included sound effects during these music parts. for me the muted sound with the music playing over would have benefited with some sound effects because when the song finishes we then return to the conan film in which there isn't any music so we hear all the background noises (if that makes sense)

overall i enjoyed conan a lot more this time time around but it still isn't an arnie film that i see myself returning to soon.

Replacing the soundtrack of the definitive Sword and Sorcery movie with some of Manowar's best music was exactly what this and other universes need, and I can only thank the hell out of The Man Behind the Mask for pleasing the Gods of War.

A/V Quality: 10
-Visual Editing: 10

A lot of scenes were cut and rearranged in this edit specifically to keep in touch with the music, and it worked without a hitch. There were also some nice visual additions that include polishing and eighties-ing up the training montage and a special cameo from Anthony Hopkins.

-Audio Editing: 10

The entire soundtrack and most of the dialogue is cut to make room for more Manowar. One scene in which Thulsa Doom's speech is replaced by a spoken segment of the album Gods of War was a nice touch.

Narrative: 10

Conan: Man of War is essentially a 96 minute music video and yet I was still engrossed in the basic story. Conan's parents were still murdered by Thulsa Doom and Conan was still on his mission to get his revenge. It was pretty cool how little the journey itself changed.
If Conan the Barbarian were a rock opera, it would basically be this.

Enjoyment: 10

This isn't exactly a go-to edition of the fantastic Conan: the Barbarian, and it was never intended to be. Think of it as a kickass ode to a kickass movie with a load of kickass music rolled up in a ball of screaming sweating barbarian metal.