This archetypal sword-and-sorcery-and-Schwarzenegger film introduced the Austrian bodybuilder to a mainstream audience, creating a butterfly effect with major pop-cultural and California gubernatorial ramifications. Schwarzenegger's Conan, a character originating in 1930s pulp magazines, fights, slices, and bites his way through serpents, warriors, and regrettably some innocent animals on his quest for revenge against wicked cult leader, Thulsa Doom, portrayed by James Earl Jones. Through all its primitive depictions of masculinity and femininity, the wide, harsh desert landscape and epic practical effects still pop on the big screen. – Joseph Gonzalez
