Ok, as you can hear in the latest installment of The Audio Edition (see above), Doug and I got into a short debate about which film was better: The original Conan the Barbarian, or the original The Highlander. We decided to let you guys decide.
Now remember, we’re not asking “who would win in a fight”, or even which film you liked more. The question is, “Which of the two movies was a better overall motion picture”? So head into the comments area and leave us your two cents worth.
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I recently rented Conan and turned off Highlander that was on free TV. Therefore, I’ll go with Conan. Great villans in both. Arnold beats the wimpy french guy. The philosphical underpinnings of Conan are better than the sci fi aspects of Highlander. Also, for chicks sake, Conan for hotter and cooler female charachters.
More quotable lines in Conan.
Conan would take Duncan MacLeod’s head off, then say, “Wow, look at all the pretty lights…”
Conan The Barbarian is arguably the greatest movie ever so…
Let’s rate this on the breakdown. Who’s better in each of these categories?
Sword – Conan (Atlantean)
Look – Conan
Actor – Conan (Arnold)
Story – Conan
Villain – Conan (Thulsa Doom)
Filmmaking – Conan (Milius)
Score – Conan
Love Interest – Conan
Everything – Conan
This isn’t even a comparison. Conan the Barbarian is a classic film, Highlander is a riduclous cult movie.
Get it together, everyone. You are a nerd if you like Highlander more.
Conan. Good film, lousy sequels.
Highlander. Great fucking sci-fi classic. Also Lousy sequels.
Endgame doesn’t count because it is Duncan’s Universe.
WAR MASTER: WHAT IS GOOD IN LIFE?
CONAN: CRUSH YOUR ENEMIES, SEE THEM DRIVEN BEFORE YOU, AND HEAR THE LAMENTATION OF THE WOMEN.
That speaks for itself.
WAR MASTER: WHAT IS GOOD IN LIF?
CONAN: CRUSH YOUR ENEMIES SEE THEM DRIVEN BEFORE YOU AND HAR THE LAMENTATION OF THE WOMEN.
That speaks for itself.
There can be only one… Highlander of course.
what the fuck Conan is a sucker
HIGHLANDER RULZ!
what hte fuck Conan is a sucker
HIGHLANDER RULZ!
guys, what are you wasting your time with. The Barbarian is the greatest movie ever. He’s tripping balls and knocks out a camel, how sick is that. Not to mention how he taps all the finest bitches and throws them into fire when he’s done.
Any of you guys know what black lotus stingeon is? some type of hardcore hallucinogen?
Conan is by far the better film. It succeded in making a mythical world seem real. I certainly don’t enjoy having this clown as my Governer, but I won’t hold that against the good movies he made.
Highlander, on the other hand, was a great story adequately put on film. Even though the Pro Wrestling intro does much to date it, the story is so gripping that it still works today.
I would, however, like to nominate Highlander 2 for the
“What the F*** happened? Award” for most disappointing sequel. I mean, I can’t think of any other sequel that was not only completely disgraceful in and of itself but also did so much to undermnine the sanctity of the original. “We’re aliens.” OOF.
First off yes Conan fans are not so defensive as they are loyal. Can’t blame them, it’s Conan!!!
But between these two great movies, I would have to say Conan is the better film. This in no way takes away from the success or entertainment value of Highlander, which in it’s own right is a great movie. But the setting of Conan, the “feel” of the movie, is second to none.
Though Conan does not boast the acting pool of Highlander (sorry but Arnie had a LOT to learn in his early career), most of the lines from Conan come from James Earl Jones, not the main characters, which makes it a lot easier to take considering the talent involved at the time. Also the score for Conan is second to none.
With that said, Highlander does have one thing Conan doesn’t, awesome story line,. Oh and it has Sean Connery and the Kurgan (what a villain)! :)
In the end, both great movies.
Conan is the best of the two & if ever a fight between the two came about, Conan would rule!!!
Merv – Basil Poledouris Is fantastic.
I love his Robocop score as well.
This is a catfight in here – I love it.
Highlander has an amazing story that still captures the imagination.
Although that’s tough for me being a mindless Arnie fan.
I saw a crap Highlander sequel of late and although it was utter drivel, the story still fires you.
Highlander for me too.
Oh yeah, sooo insecure.
John Milius vs Russell Mulcahy.
SOOOO insecure.
I am laughing out loud man.
Nuff said!
most conan fans seem highly defensive. going so far as to take cheap shots at highlander. while highlander fans seem to at least accept conan is a good movie. Insecure perhaps?
This bickering is pointless. Highlander is an entertaining piece of shit. Conan is filmmaking at its best. Period.
Highlander R U Guys Joking???
CONAN has a much finer plot, better actors & you have Arnold At his Prime (In looks & Strength).
I like Highlander as well i liked the series as well.
But if you compare the two films the better is Conan, it has to be,,,,
Conan was made in 1982 where special effects, C.G.I’s weren’t all that common.
I believe if that movie was made now with all the gore, blood etc. (If you actually read the Conan books youll understand what i mean) you can do with special effects these days it would have been another Braveheart or Gladiator like Hit or Maybe even bigger.
Highlander-its not even close. I love Aaaanuld, but Highlander was just too cool. Conan had like one great line and the rest of the flick was boring.
I give Conan the nod, mainly because of Basil Poledouris’s fantastic score. The movie had some good shiver moments too. As well as James Earl Jones.
The original Highlander movie was pretty much incomprehensible. Now the Director’s Cut, OTOH, is one of the classics of fantistic film.
Conan beats the original Highlander due to Highlander suckage. Conan gets trounced by the depth and imagination that went into the Highlander Director’s cut (plus one of the evil villains in film history.)
Hmm, seeing as I don’t think either of them is all that great I would pick subsequent movies with the same characters that I thought were better. Red Sonja(with Arnold’s Conan character) and Highlander: Endgame(which was just infinitely cooler having both McLeods and the uber-evil Bruce Payne. Out of those two I’d pick Highlander:Endgame. But, for the sake of this blog I’ll pick Conan. Yes, I do believe Arnold can make cool movies.
HIGHLANDER.
No question.
Wow. I’m surprised at how many Conan fans are out there. I have to go with highlander, better movie/acting/story/etc…………”There can be only one!”
Aren’t we comparing apples and oranges here?
They are both good films for their respective genres, though Conan could have had a bit better acting.
Well, I have to agree with John on this one. I like Highlander much more than Conan. To tell the truh it’s one of my favourite movies.
Conan by a long shot, i mean the movie is just a very entertaining adventure piece. Highlander, i.e. Christopher Lambert, is also quite a wimpy character compared to Ahnold.
For my two cents, Conan doesn’t come close to Highlander. As far as how well the movie aged… think of it this way: If both films were released again today (no sequels were ever made), The Highlander would be much better recieved than a barbarian flick.
And I actually think Connor would beat Conan in a fight. Remember, Connor was a practicing swordsman for 400 years. Conan for like 30 years. Not to mention… Connor has the unfair advantage of being immortal. Just my 2 cents worth.
Conan The Barbarian! Are you guys crazy? No contest here. Conan is a classic, and the highlander is a dud. If you sat down to watch these today, you would realize that Conan ages much better than highlander. I watched highlander recently and I couldn’t watch more than ten minutes. And I’m even a fan of the highlander series!
Conan would win the fight but the best film is Highlander. Hands down.
Conan of course.
he is a frickin’ barbarian for god’s sake.
what more do you people want?