Zen_Hydra
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Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659 
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Apr 4, 2022 20:27:50 GMT
I always assumed the Atlantian sword was made of orichalcum (a mystical metal Plato mentions in his telling of the Atlantis myth).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2022 20:45:35 GMT
Everything I have found out about the Atlantean comes from interviews with John Milius,Jody Sampson and Ron Cobb production designer. Ron Cobb designed several versions of both swords. The Atlantean was made after the destruction of Atlantis. Since its hilt imagery depicts events before, during and the escape from Atlantis.The dead Atlantean was not a king according to John Milius he was a general. When he died he was buried with his belongs including horses and servants. As someone mentioned he was a giant while John Milius as far as I know never gave an exact height but its somewhere between 8-9 feet tall. Making the Atlantean a one handed sword for him. The blade was made of an advance steel which is why the corrosion came off when Conan hit on the rocks. This is what we should cite every time someone complains the sword is too short to be a longsword and too big to be an arming sword. So much of the film is told through visual language and music. I think we ought to know the skeletal remains of the general are meant to be giant. Conan's father discussed their cosmological beliefs at the start of the film, and it pretty much parallels what is shown in the tomb of the Atlantean. The filmmakers could have gone a bit bigger, or done just a little bit more to convey the difference in size. I needed know explanation or reference for my viewing, but that's just me. |
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Post by treeslicer on Apr 4, 2022 20:55:47 GMT
Something I found...........
"John Milius found Jody Sampson, a man John declared to be “the finest sword maker in the world” and commissioned Jody to make the hero version (the sword used for close-ups) of Conan’s sword. When it was delivered, Milius was beside himself with glee. He proudly invited Steven Spielberg over to gaze upon this incredible sword. “Watch this!” John instructed. Milius took the sword and threw it at a wall. The sword did not stick in the wall — it zoomed right through it, arriving at a stop just inches away from the head of a film editor working in the next room. John retrieved the sword and offered it to Steven. “Test it out,” Milius offered. “This sword can cut through an engine block!” Steven took the sword and swung it toward the floor. Upon hitting the floor, this very expensive sword broke in two. Steven sheepishly handed John back his sword pieces and left the room. Milius had the most shocked and forlorn expression on his face that I had ever seen." 
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2022 20:59:09 GMT
Something I found...........
"John Milius found Jody Sampson, a man John declared to be “the finest sword maker in the world” and commissioned Jody to make the hero version (the sword used for close-ups) of Conan’s sword. When it was delivered, Milius was beside himself with glee. He proudly invited Steven Spielberg over to gaze upon this incredible sword. “Watch this!” John instructed. Milius took the sword and threw it at a wall. The sword did not stick in the wall — it zoomed right through it, arriving at a stop just inches away from the head of a film editor working in the next room. John retrieved the sword and offered it to Steven. “Test it out,” Milius offered. “This sword can cut through an engine block!” Steven took the sword and swung it toward the floor. Upon hitting the floor, this very expensive sword broke in two. Steven sheepishly handed John back his sword pieces and left the room. Milius had the most shocked and forlorn expression on his face that I had ever seen."
That's a beautiful microcosm of Spielberg and Milius, and it doesn't even have to be factually true to be TRUE (I have no reason to doubt it's accuracy either). I did a lot of reading about Milius for a podcast pilot I made on Conan The Barbarian, and Spielberg and Lucas came up quite often, as they all went to the same film school, as did Coppola. This story made me smile. |
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Post by blairbob on Apr 8, 2022 8:50:44 GMT
From everything I've read about Milius, this would not surprise me at all lol.
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Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,659
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Post by Zen_Hydra on Apr 8, 2022 11:25:37 GMT
From everything I've read about Milius, this would not surprise me at all lol. “F*ck It, Dude, Let’s Go Bowling.” |
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Post by blairbob on Apr 10, 2022 3:23:09 GMT
I feel like I need to watch that commentary between Arnie and John while drinking. It's been too long.
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