Conan the Destroyer also is 30 years old!

Thirty years already! I have a love-hate relationship with this movie. After the very intense Conan the Barbarian by John Milius, indeed not necessarily 100% faithful to the character but-who-cares-it's-a-blast, Conan the Destroyer goes 180 to become family entertainment. Less violent, less sexy, with the mandatory "funny" sidekick... nothing to write home about at first glance.

And yet, the film has nonetheless some charm regardless of its age and flaws. Schwarzenegger never looked as impressive physically, since Richard Fleisher had found him, believe it or not, "not muscled enough" when he met him for the first time! The Grace Jones character looks fierce enough to stand to Conan himself! The sets are superb, the fights well staged, the cinematography of Jack Cardiff exemplary, and the music of Basil Poledouris as always extraordinary.

But there's apparently a whole different movie that ended up on the cutting room's floor. The first version of the film had indeed been rated R, as the first one! The was recut to fit a PG rating. Among the scenes that disappeared, a love scene between the queen and Conan! And a longer fight between Conan and the greenish monster.

While waiting, who knows, to see some day a restored version of the movie as it was intended in the beginning, I appreciate it for what it is, an honest entertainement!