Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian, starring Arnold Schwarznegger ★★★★★
I’ve seen this movie probably more than 30 times, yet it continually remains funny and fresh. First inspired by Dr. Pridjian to watch this film, it nearly became a cult film for the General Surgeons at Cook County Hospital. We would get together just to watch Arnold do his thing. This film is difficult to take seriously. The plot is stupid, the acting is horrid, but quotes are often from historic characters, like Gengis Khan or historical situations. The music of Prokofiev is used prolifically. It was seen again only because Andrew Flanagan had never seen Conan before, and New Year’s eve seemed the most fitting time to watch it if we weren’t going to watch another version of Die Fledermaus. In spite of all its stupidity, the movie seems to work, and it’s nice to see the governor of California in one of his earlier roles. Though there is a modest amount of partial nudity, it is never presented in a vile fashion, and the biggest aspect to prevent kids from watching this film is the sheer violence that occurs. Of course, this film can turn one into a violent person, as is witnessed by a generation of surgeons from Cook County Hospital.