Conan the Barbarian has been a staple of Hollywood cinema since the ’80s, and the character has been brought to life on TV and film 7 times thus far. Whether you’re a fan of Jason Momoa’s take on the warrior-king in the 2011 series reboot or favor the originals with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the franchise’s brutal, sword-wielding action has kept audiences captivated for decades.

However, no adaptation or reboot has come close to topping the gory heights of John Milius’ Conan the Barbarian in 1982. It’s jam-packed with bloody action, swordplay, and – most importantly – a tall, muscle-bound Arnold in his breakout role opposite the sinister Thulsa Doom. Even amid the franchise’s recent difficulties, such as the disappointing news about Netflix’s Conan the Barbarian series from director Robert Rodriguez, the 1982 film still stands triumphant even 43 years later.

Why Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1982 Conan The Barbarian Movie Is Still The Best

Arnold’s Performance Is Unbeatable As Conan

John Milius’ Conan the Barbarian transformed Robert E. Howard’s pulp fiction into the stuff of legend on the silver screen. In the film, a young Conan is captured and enslaved after his village is mᴀssacred by the malevolent Thulsa Doom, played by the late James Earl Jones. While imprisoned, he trains nonstop as a gladiator, eventually winning his freedom and setting out on a mythic quest for revenge against the fearsome cult leader.

What separates the 1982 film from its successors is the ruthless performance from Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan, whose physicality takes a backseat to the actor’s stoicism. Determination drives the plot of Conan the Barbarian, and the тιтular hero can best be described as a quiet, avenging force of destiny. Though later adaptations have tried to capture the magic of the original film, none so far have been able to recreate the most critical element: Conan’s intense, vengeful spirit that leads him toward his fate with Doom.

Schwarzenegger’s Biggest Compeтιтion Is 2023’s Little-Known Conan Movie

She Is Conann Is The Best Conan Movie This Century

Perhaps the only film adaptation that’s come close to challenging the 1982 classic is She Is Conann, by French director Bertrand Mandico. She Is Conann reimagines the Robert E. Howard story through a feminist lens that sees “Conann” portrayed by four different actresses across various timelines. The 2023 festival favorite succeeded at reigniting the spirit of the Conan mythos primarily through its psychedelic experimentation, which removes all bounds of setting, space, and time and allows Conan to be explored in unique directions.

Truthfully, She is Conann is the perfect example of one of the possible directions Conan the Barbarian franchise could go in the future, not strictly in an avant-garde, post-feminist path, but rather in an out-of-the-box, experimental route. One of the most fascinating elements of She is Conann is the exploration of Conan in different temporal settings: imagine the creative opportunities that could open up if Conan were set in the modern era. The fact of the matter is, we’ve seen the Conan story over and over again, and even though it’s one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s greatest movies of the ’80s, we’re in dire need of an update to the series.