If there’s one hill we’ll die on, it’s that PHYSICAL MEDIA IS IMPORTANT, and worth having. This thought brought to you this week by Arrow Video’s newest 4K collection announcement. It’s “Conan The Barbarian” and “Conan The Destroyer!”
Be prepared for all-new 4K remasters of both classic Arnold Schwarzenegger films, with Atmos remixes those iconic Basil Poledouris scores. Here’s a list of what you’ll be getting with “The Conan Chronicles” (it’s a lot!):
- Brand new 4K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentations of both films in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Three versions of Conan the Barbarian via seamless branching: Theatrical Cut (127 mins), International Cut (129 mins) and Extended Cut (130 mins)
- Newly restored original mono audio and remixed Dolby Atmos surround audio for both films
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on both films
- Archive commentary for Conan the Barbarian by John Milius and Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Archive commentaries for Conan the Destroyer by Richard Fleischer and actors Olivia d’Abo, Tracey Walter and Sarah Douglas
- Brand new commentaries for both films by genre historian Paul M. Sammon
- Newly assembled isolated score tracks in lossless stereo for both films
- Newly filmed interviews for Conan the Barbarian with production artist William Stout, costume designer John Bloomfield, special effects crew members Colin Arthur and Ron Hone, actors Jorge Sanz and Jack Taylor, assistant editor Peck Prior, visual effects animators Peter Kuran and Katherine Kean, filmmaker Robert Eggers (The Northman) and authors John Walsh and Alfio Leotto
- Newly filmed interviews for Conan the Destroyer with Bloomfield and Walsh, casting director Johanna Ray, art director Kevin Phipps and stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong
- Conan Unchained: The Making of Conan, an archive documentary from 2000 featuring interviews with Schwarzenegger, Milius, Stone, Jones, Lopez, Bergman, Poledouris and several others
- Archive bonus features for both films, including interviews with sword master Kiyoshi Yamasaki, writers Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway and Poledouris, outtakes and more
- A Tribute to Basil Poledouris, a series of videos produced by the Úbeda Film Music Festival, including video of Poledouris conducting a concert of music from Conan the Barbarian in 2006 (remixed in 5.1 surround)
- Theatrical trailers and image galleries for both films
- Double-sided fold-out posters for both films
- Twelve double-sided collectors’ postcards
- Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Walter Chaw and John Walsh, and archive set reports for both films by Paul M. Sammon
You can pre-order from Amazon and Arrow now. It’s expected to start shipping January 16th, 2024.
