This Movie Is 37 Years Old, And Is STILL One Of the Very Best Sword And Sorcery Movies Ever

Why is that? The dated FX seem cheesy today. The acting is largely unremarkable. The production design is really very good. The soundtrack is amazing. The story is extremely compelling, a revenge and redemption narrative with few equals. Arnie was at his second-hugest, after Commando. The cinematography holds up, even today, very well indeed. I, however, submit that it was the dialogue in the script that carries this along, mostly Valaria’s lines. To wit: “Do you want to live forever?” (delivered twice), “I have never had so much as now. All my life, I’ve been alone. I have looked into the huts and tents of others and seen them huddled around fires, but I’ve always passed by. You and I, we have warmth. That’s so hard to find in this world. Let someone else pass by. Let us take the world by the throat and give us what WE desire,” and “All the gods, they cannot severe us. If I were dead, and you still fighting fighting for life, I’d come back from the darkness, from the pit of Hell, to fight at your side.” Then, after her death, she resurrects in full-on Valkyrie regalia to save Conan and drolly ask, “Do you want to live forever?” Withal, this is passionate monologue that, in the S&S genre, is as good as it gets. Speaking for myself, I think the combination of story, music, cinematography, Arnie’s physical culture and Sandahl’s Terpsichorian artistry, plus the dialogue and production design sustain this movie as one of the very best sword and sorcery films to this day; and the direction is canny and good. Your thoughts?