Conan The Barbarian

[The Limey]

The most recent UK DVD version of Conan (2007) was cut by 19 seconds of horse trips only. The sex scene with the witch is uncut.

[Damage Inc.]

Well, had Conan in my avatar forever now, so thought I'd look up if it's finally coming on BD too. :P
And glad to see it finally is.

Just a terrible cover-art indeed.
Hopefully the "FPO" means that it's yet to be determined what will be the final artwork.
I have 2 versions on DVD, with one completely gray and one very orange.
Would be great if they'd use the poster, if that's the "hand drawn" one.

Very disappointed that they didn't complete the trilogy.
And now there's some reboot coming out of which the teaser-trailer didn't even excite me a bit.
Oh well...

[The Limey]

That cover art is not yet finalised.

[Acierator]

I'm keeping my eye this page:
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/search/?searchwhere=db&q=conan
The BBFC is very transparent unlike the MPAA which never divulges information on cuts. The extanded US release of Conan is not unrated and therefore subject to cuts. I'll wait for reports on cuts before I buy either one of the movies.

Most European released are US R-rated versions by the way. The tentacles of the MPAA stretch accross the ocean while consumer watchdogs are sound asleep.

[Grifter02]

Originally Posted by Acierator

I'm keeping my eye this page:
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/search/?searchwhere=db&q=conan
The BBFC is very transparent unlike the MPAA which never divulges information on cuts. The extanded US release of Conan is not unrated and therefore subject to cuts. I'll wait for reports on cuts before I buy either one of the movies.

Most European released are US R-rated versions by the way. The tentacles of the MPAA stretch accross the ocean while consumer watchdogs are sound asleep.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say about the US release here. I have never heard of a case where a re-release of a catalog title in the US needed to be cut for an MPAA rating. The extended cut of this movie has already been released on DVD, they can't change the rating for it now. If there happens to be extra footage on the Blu-Ray, only that new material can be rated higher, the existing version of the movie has already been rated.

And by the way, unlike the BBFC, MPAA cannot force a studio to cut scenes, they can only rate it higher and then the studio decides whether to cut it to get a lower rating. The BBFC can force cuts, such as the horse tripping in Conan, and they cannot release the movie without cutting those scenes. That's the difference between censorship and ratings. So good luck with that UK release.

[whedon]

Extras include:

UK Theatrical Version (triggered from English Menu's only)
Commentary by Director John Milius & Arnold Schwarzenegger
Deleted Scenes Sequence
Conan Unchained: The Making of Conan
Conan - Rise of the Fantasy Legend
Special Effects Split Screen Video
The Conan Archives
Theatrical Trailers
New Extra: Art of Steel: The Blacksmith & Swordsman: Examines the making of and significance of Conan’s Sword. (10mins)
New Extra: Conan; From the Vault: Newly discovered interviews shot in 1982 with Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Milius, James Earl Jones and Sandhah Bergman. (10mins)

Quite curious by what the first part means. Does it mean that the Blu Ray will contain the non-BBFC version which can be selected if you opt for a different language menu?

[The Limey]

Originally Posted by whedon

Quite curious by what the first part means. Does it mean that the Blu Ray will contain the non-BBFC version which can be selected if you opt for a different language menu?

It certainly begs the question doesn't it?

[The Limey]

Looks as though this is the finalised artwork:

[karl01]

any more info if this will be uncut or cut?

[chip75]

The 'UK Theatrical Version (triggered from English Menu's only)' is a puzzle. Unless we've entered some kind of alternative dimension where there was a way to restrict access to other versions of the film on a disc (so we could only watch the UK cut version) the BBFC would still have to give the others a certificate.

I'm not overly familiar with Conan, did a lot of scenes hit the cutting room floor? Is there a three hour epic in someone's garden shed waiting to be found?

[Harry Caul]

Conan! What is best in life?
Conan: To finally see myself on Blu-ray. To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

[agent999]

Originally Posted by chip75

I'm not overly familiar with Conan, did a lot of scenes hit the cutting room floor? Is there a three hour epic in someone's garden shed waiting to be found?

A couple of horse falls and some buttock thrusting were cut out of the original UK release I think. I believe the shagging was put back in on the last UK release. The difficulty is that the US theatrical release was different to the European one (which the UK had, minus cuts). The current US DVD is the European version (I think, possibly with a little bit extra?), and the US Blu Ray is going to have a few new bits added back in as well.

I think we'll have to wait for the BBFC to see which version we're getting, but I can't imagine the BBFC letting a version go out where the horse falls are accessible in any way. Perhaps we'll be getting the same as the US Blu Ray minus horse falls with an option to see the UK theatrical version as well (minus horse falls too?). Bleedin' confusing!

I'll probably just get the US Blu Ray, it makes life easier!

[Harry Caul]

Originally Posted by agent999

A couple of horse falls and some buttock thrusting were cut out of the original UK release I think. I believe the shagging was put back in on the last UK release. The difficulty is that the US theatrical release was different to the European one (which the UK had, minus cuts). The current US DVD is the European version (I think, possibly with a little bit extra?), and the US Blu Ray is going to have a few new bits added back in as well.

I think we'll have to wait for the BBFC to see which version we're getting, but I can't imagine the BBFC letting a version go out where the horse falls are accessible in any way. Perhaps we'll be getting the same as the US Blu Ray minus horse falls with an option to see the UK theatrical version as well (minus horse falls too?). Bleedin' confusing!

I'll probably just get the US Blu Ray, it makes life easier!

UK version is cut by 19 secs to remove horse falls (one of which can still be seen in the accompanying documentary on the UK DVD) and the sex scene with the witch is shortened to remove one brief shot of her bare behind and to reduce her groaning sounds from 6 to 3. The 2007 Definitive Edition DVD remains cut for horsefalls though the sex scene is intact.

Let's hope they drop the last cut for the Blu-ray.

[Damage Inc.]

What the difference between the US and UK versions which differ many minutes then?

Would there also be a difference in the scene where Conan goes up to that snake-guy?
Because one of the versions was preferred by John Milius, I forgot which version it was, something about a girl being with Conan.
But I do remember I also preferred that version, so I hope the right one is there. :P

Hm, I see the DVD I watched was 125 minutes, so these will be longer anyway.

[HexxenHammer]

Brilliant thread guys! As a huge Conan fan i feel somehow i've failed as i'm confused over the horse falls! I remember when i bought the ultimate DVD being very disappointed at the editing of the cuts but more the fight scenes that suddenly stop rather than a missing horse scene. Did the horses actually die or something as i've seen loads of films with horse falls in them? I still have the video and the fight scenes are faultless! As being fairly new to Bluray, and totally hooked, i have found distributors being lazy and just bunging dvd versions onto Bluray rather than exploiting the full potential of it!

[huntauk]

Originally Posted by HexxenHammer

Brilliant thread guys! As a huge Conan fan i feel somehow i've failed as i'm confused over the horse falls! I remember when i bought the ultimate DVD being very disappointed at the editing of the cuts but more the fight scenes that suddenly stop rather than a missing horse scene. Did the horses actually die or something as i've seen loads of films with horse falls in them? I still have the video and the fight scenes are faultless! As being fairly new to Bluray, and totally hooked, i have found distributors being lazy and just bunging dvd versions onto Bluray rather than exploiting the full potential of it!

My thoughts exactly the editing out of the falls disrupts the continuity of the fights in particular the final battle scene against Rexor and Thogrim. I'm sure if they want to omit the falls they could take some time to smooth the transitions between cuts whether that being trimming a further few frames to make the cuts less jarring.

[Douglas R]

Originally Posted by HexxenHammer

Brilliant thread guys! As a huge Conan fan i feel somehow i've failed as i'm confused over the horse falls! I remember when i bought the ultimate DVD being very disappointed at the editing of the cuts but more the fight scenes that suddenly stop rather than a missing horse scene. Did the horses actually die or something as i've seen loads of films with horse falls in them? I still have the video and the fight scenes are faultless! As being fairly new to Bluray, and totally hooked, i have found distributors being lazy and just bunging dvd versions onto Bluray rather than exploiting the full potential of it!

The problem with CONAN was that trip wires were used to make the horses fall. Trip wires are very dangerous for horses and have led to horses being injured and having to be put down. Trip wires were used in many old films but their use is illegal now. It is possible to make horses fall safely, by training, without using trip wires. Certainly Fox edited the scenes out very badly in CONAN creating very jarring scenes.

The most notorious example of use of trip wires was the filming of "The Charge of the Light Brigade" in 1936 during which many horses had to be put down and led to widespread protests.

[HexxenHammer]

Trip wires! Thats horrendous! I understand now, although it begs the question, if they haven't removed the scenes in your example "the charge of the light brigade" and we know that horses died for that film why bother taking out a few seconds that, was an awful thing to do to a horse, didn't kill any in Conan? I agree with the ban but let not the horses who suffered for the films be written out! Has the footage of the cow being slaughtered been removed from Apocalypse Now! Didn't think so!

Thanks for the replies guys!

[Douglas R]

Originally Posted by HexxenHammer

Trip wires! Thats horrendous! I understand now, although it begs the question, if they haven't removed the scenes in your example "the charge of the light brigade" and we know that horses died for that film why bother taking out a few seconds that, was an awful thing to do to a horse, didn't kill any in Conan? I agree with the ban but let not the horses who suffered for the films be written out! Has the footage of the cow being slaughtered been removed from Apocalypse Now! Didn't think so!

Thanks for the replies guys!

In fact, the horse trip wire falls in "The Charge of the Light Brigade" were removed from the UK VHS video release - although I don't think the film has ever been released on DVD in the UK.

In "Apocalypse Now" the ox was due to be ritually slaughtered anyway which is why the scene was allowed - personally I hate the scene and wish it was cut - I certainly can't watch it.

[Harry Caul]

Originally posted by Douglas R

In "Apocalypse Now" the ox was due to be ritually slaughtered anyway which is why the scene was allowed - personally I hate the scene and wish it was cut - I certainly can't watch it.

I'm happy the Ox scene is uncut. It took me a long time to realize it was animal cruelty. There's a strange kind of beauty about that ritual. Hope no PETA people are upset.