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Conan the Destroyer

Composed, Conducted, and Produced by:
Basil Poledouris
Orchestrated by:
Jack Smalley
Greig McRitchie
Scott Smalley

Label:
Varèse Sarabande
Release Date:
November 10th, 1992

Also See:

Conan the Barbarian

Audio Clips:

4. Elite Guard Attacks (0:32), 160K conan_destroyer4.ra

5. Crystal Palace (0:29), 146K conan_destroyer5.ra

10. The Scrolls of Skelos (0:32), 160K conan_destroyer10.ra

13. Conan & Bombaata Battle (0:301), 155K conan_destroyer13.ra

Availability:

  Regular U.S. release, but completely out of print.


Awards:

  None.








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Conan the Destroyer

Audio | Availability | Viewer Ratings | Tracks | Viewer Comments | Notes & Quotes
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  Used Price: $86.66

  Sales Rank: 116089



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Filmtracks Recommends:

Buy it... if you're the #1 die-hard fan of the Conan the Barbarian score and you want some nominal expansion of the same sound.

Avoid it... if you hold Conan the Barbarian with high regard and you don't want to hear a poor performing group mangle parts of its lesser sequel.



Filmtracks Editorial Review:

Poledouris
Conan the Destroyer: (Basil Poledouris) With the stunning success of John Milius' Conan the Barbarian two years earlier, a sequel set with Conan once again in the Hyborean age was inevitable. Other than the executive production team, only three elements returned for the sequel: actors Schwarzenegger and Mako, as well as composer Basil Poledouris. Despite early ideas of utilizing a pop/rock score for the first film, Poledouris had beaten the odds and produced one of the finest pre-historic orchestral scores in the history of film. Twenty years later, Conan the Barbarian still stands as the most outstanding achievement of Poledouris' career. Thus, his return for Conan the Destroyer was an immediate necessity. Not returning for the sequel, though, was the same brutally classic vision of the Hyborean age that Oliver Stone and John Milius had created in the first film. Some will argue that new director Richard Fleischer, a veteran filmmaker in his own rights, built an extension of the Hyborean age in the sequel film... following a different avenue that developed other aspects of Conan's character and his surroundings. Others will argue that Conan the Destroyer was a monumental failure simply because it lost the classic realism and solitude that made the first film so enticing. The majority of audiences agreed with the latter opinion, tired of Conan and exhausted by the 1980's bombardment of fantasy adventure films set in pre-historic times. Poledouris' score suffered from the same exhaustion, even though the composer once again attempted to recreate a sound for ancient times that did not follow any of the rhythmic or lyrical rules of modern music. He mirrored the director's lighter, more humorous take on the series and offered a work that is less weighty in its own drama. The Conan the Destroyer score moves with greater agility on its feet while also utilizing about half of the themes from the first film.

Returning is the opening Crom theme from the first film, representing the universe of Conan, as well as the "Riders of Doom" cue that often accompanies battle on horseback. Conan's journey theme ("Riddle of Steel") makes less of an appearance, though the "Valeria Remembered" cue does offer a hearty performance of the love theme from Conan the Barbarian. The slow, pounding theme for the religious mass at Doom's mountain in the first film makes an ill-advised appearance. Sorely missing is the vivacious civilization theme, which is odd, given Conan's return to the same locations (and meeting the same camel!) in Conan the Destroyer. Poledouris instead offers two stunning new themes and motifs in the sequel, represented in "Elite Guard Attacks" and "Crystal Palace" (especially note the Western, Cherry 2000-like theme at 4:00 into that latter cue). The action-packed confrontation and battle music in these cues is at the same level as Poledouris' previous effort. He also transforms the overarching theme for the series into an effective dueling motif that culminates into the massive "Conan & Bombaata Battle." Unfortunately for Conan the Destroyer, the recording quality and performances are significantly lacking. The score was recorded with only a single orchestra in Rome this time, and minus the chorus. The performances by the "Unione Musicisti Di Roma" orchestra are hideous in parts, with the horns often missing key notes entirely during important sequences. This problem is accentuated by the fact that Poledouris wrote Conan the Destroyer in same the demanding fashion as Conan the Barbarian, so the flaws stand out very obviously. The sequel score also sounds more dated in its recording technology, with a older, muted sound in several key cues. Thus, you have an excellent composition nearly ruined by its performers, and Poledouris fans should hope beyond hope that Conan the Destroyer is re-recorded properly someday (along, of course, with parts of the first score). The album for Conan the Destroyer is just as out of print as the Varèse Sarabande Conan the Barbarian one. This time, however, the album could be missed without much great loss to even a Poledouris collector. ***

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   Viewer Ratings and Comments:



   Track Listings:
Total Time: 33:10

    • 1. Main Title/Riders of Taramis (3:31)
    • 2. Valeria Remembered (3:02)
    • 3. The Horn of Dagoth (2:17)
    • 4. Elite Guard Attacks (2:23)
    • 5. Crystal Palace (6:00)
    • 6. The Katta (1:05)
    • 7. Dream Quest (1:30)
    		 • 8. Night Bird (2:21)
    • 9. Approach to Shadizaar (1:40)
    • 10. The Scrolls of Skelos (2:26)
    • 11. Duelling Wizards (1:25)
    • 12. Illusion's Lake (1:27)
    • 13. Conan & Bombaata Battle (1:16)

    (some listed track times on the album are slightly incorrect)
   Notes and Quotes:

    The out-of-print Varèse Sarabande album, like Conan the Barbarian, had detailed notes about both the score and film.







All artwork and sound clips from Conan the Destroyer are Copyright © 1992, Varèse Sarabande. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 6/18/03, updated 6/24/03. Review Version 4.2 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2003-2008, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved.