Tsubaki Sanjûrô (1962)

Conan the Barbarian
Ok, we've all seen Conan; lets talk about this unbelievable uproarious commentary.
If you have yet to experience all the, "exACtly"s and "I knowwww"s, Please pop this dvd in and select the alternate soundtrack.

Most striking to me is that in every other actor's commentary ever made, the actors refer to their characters in a familiar third person, for instance, "John was feeling very jealous after seeing the (blah, blah, blah) and I felt that John would want to (blah, blah, blah)" et cetera, et cetera... Well, Not Arnold. His commentary on Conan is strictly first person, for instance "I really got laid a lot in dis movie." Hilarious!!!

Other notables include such fantastically insightful observations like, "Wow, look at how huge I was. Remember how many weights I had to lift to be so huge?"

Anyway, I don't want to give too much more away. If you have this collector's edition and have not yet experienced the commentary, please watch it now!!! Trust me, It'll make ya' wonder how he ever beat Gary Coleman in that election.

The Riddle of Steel. The philosophy of Conan.
This is the film that introduced me to the world of Robert E. Howard. While it does stray from the original tales of the Cimmerian warrior, the movie does capture the essence of Conan. It is a violent film and a violent world this anti-hero lives in. He is not a good guy in the sense of the traditional hero. More often than not, Conan only becomes a hero while saving his own skin. (Much like Han Solo in Star Wars)
In this film we see a tragic story unfold. A band of raiders rides in and slaughters Conan's village and sells the young lad into slavery. Eventually our hero gains his freedom and embarks on a quest to find the man who killed his people. A noble quest to be sure except Conan's motives are not pure. Conan does not follow the evil Thulsa Doom (JAMES EARL JONES) to put the world right. Conan's quest is a quest of vengence plain and simple and along the way we see just how powerful vengence can be. It can be more powerful than riches, friendship, love, and even death as we see our hero faced with each. Yet we also see a parallel theme carried in the film: "The riddle of steel."
The movie really jumps into the question of steels power. In many ways this question is answered by Thulsa Doom when Conan is captured by his men. The villian tells Conan "Steel is not strong boy...FLESH is stonger!" Is this the answer to the riddle or is there more to it?
***SPOILER ALERT****
Later in the film we see the sword of Conan's father get shattered in battle further perpetuating this ideal. Yet, at the films climax Conan returns with this broken sword and vanquishes his foe. Even broken steel is dangerous. So, who knows the real answer to the riddle? I've pondered the question for a long time but there are other scenes in the film that show steel is stronger. It breaks Conan's chains, it saves him from wolves. Yet, without the strength of body the steel is useless. The key example is seen in the Atlantean cave where Conan finds the tomb of a dead warrior grasping a sword.
*****END SPOILER****
Lastly, the music in the film is absolutly beautiful. Basil Poledouris has produced one of the most memorable scores of all time, and even if you don't enjoy the film I suggest picking up the soundtrack. It really is a fantastic piece of work.

Great extras
The extra footage is awesome, makes you wonder why they clipped it for the theatrical release