CONAN THE BARBARIAN

BASIL POLEDOURIS

Rating:

Original Review: You know how people often associate the music of Basil Poledouris with a "huge" orchestral sound? Well, this is the soundtrack to listen to if you want a perfect example of what everyone means. It's not just huge. It's massive, awesome, monumental, gigantic. Conan the Barbarian is, without a doubt, one of the most impressive scores I have ever heard. Even in 1982, when the film was released, Conan was a mammoth undertaking. Taking the pulp novels of Robert E. Howard as his base, director John Milius made stunning use of Eastern European locations, created incredible action sequences, lavish sets and costumes, and had a certain Austrian bodybuilder by the name of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role.

Just as important as all these visual elements was Poledouris' score, which was intended to act as a storytelling mechanism, filling the gaps left by the intentionally sparse dialogue. Poledouris spent months perfecting his score, which has a majestic and, at times, almost biblical feel to it. Many of the cues are highly reminiscent of the work of Miklós Rózsa and Alfred Newman in terms of the grandeur and the sheer epic scale the music, and there are a smattering of Slavic, medieval and middle eastern rhythms in there, as well as Latin chants and soft, western textures. The opening ten minutes of the CD are totally and utterly mind-blowing. Beginning with the now legendary main title 'Anvil of Crom', with its pounding metal percussion and powerful horn melody, the music goes on to present a lush, lyrical rendition of the 'Riddle of Steel' theme, which represents the heroic crusade of Conan himself. However, is not long before the score heads off into action territory again, with the incredible 'Riders of Doom'. Although obviously influenced by Orff's Carmina Burana and the Gregorian chant Dies Irae, this cue reaches new heights of orchestral intensity, and the combination of a full orchestra, thunderous percussion and a Latin chorus makes for a totally engrossing and enthralling five minutes.

You would have though that, after this phenomenal beginning, the score would begin to drag a little, but in fact, every single track on the entire album is noteworthy. The highlights are far too numerous to mention but, of these, there are still several significant pieces. 'The Wheel of Pain' is a dour, monotonous march reminiscent of the galley ship scenes from Ben-Hur, which is accentuated by nerve-wracking metal screeches that depict young Conan's traumatic childhood spent in painful slavery. 'Theology/Civilization' is a gentle, almost folk-like cue which underscores the scenes of Conan's gradual transformation from mindless pit-fighter to an educated, but embittered warrior with soft clarinets and delicately tinkling cymbals and bells. 'Wifeing', the love theme from Conan, again highlights Poledouris' flexibility in that he is able to compose a touching, tender romantic melody that sits perfectly with the enormous action scenes. 'Mountain of Power Procession' is a grandiose march that one can imagine accompanying images Julius Caesar or Pontius Pilate, atop a thoroughbred stallion through hordes of Roman citizens. 'The Orgy', which was co-written by Poledouris' then seven-year old daughter Zoe, is a magnificent progression from a simple, repeated melody into a sumptuous exotic dance, and 'Funeral Pyre' shows Poledouris at his most emotionally heightened, lending his cue an air of sorrow and woe that stirs the sentiments.

The soundtrack was released twice, first in 1982 as an accompaniment to the film on the Milan label, and then again by Varčse in 1989 with approximately twenty minutes of extra music, and I strongly urge you to seek out the latter release at any cost. There isn't really anything more I can say to stress how brilliant this score is. In no uncertain terms, Conan the Barbarian is an essential addition to any self-respecting film music fan's collection and, in my opinion, is one of the greatest film scores of the eighties.

Track Listing: Running Time: 67 minutes 54 seconds

Varčse Sarabande VSD-5390 (1982)

Music composed and conducted by Basil Poledouris. Performed by The Orchestra and Chorus di Santa Cecilia and The Radio Symphony of Rome. Orchestrations by Greig McRitchie. Recorded and mixed by Pedrego Savina and Frank Jones. Album produced by Basil Poledouris.


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These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1998. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those of my employer, the Trent Institute for Health Services Research, or those of the University of Sheffield.