Conan the Barbarian (1982) is a sword-and-sorcery adventure directed by John Milius and loosely based on the character created by Robert E. Howard. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Conan, a warrior whose village is destroyed as a child by the followers of the cult leader Thulsa Doom, played by James Earl Jones. After years of slavery and fighting as a gladiator, Conan gains his freedom and sets out across the Hyborian world, eventually turning his journey into a search for the man responsible for the deaths of his parents. Sandahl Bergman co-stars as the warrior and thief Valeria, alongside Gerry Lopez as Subotai and Max von Sydow as King Osric. The film became one of Schwarzenegger’s breakthrough roles and is also remembered for its large-scale production design and Basil Poledouris’ powerful orchestral score.
Conan the Barbarian (1982) was filmed primarily across Spain, where deserts, mountains, forests and unusual rock formations were combined to create the different regions of Conan’s world. The Cimmerian village seen at the beginning of the film was constructed in the forests around Valsaín near Segovia, while the Wheel of Pain sequence was filmed near La Hija de Dios in the province of Ávila. Ciudad Encantada in Cuenca, with its distinctive natural rock formations, provided the setting for Conan’s encounter with the witch. Much of the film was shot farther south in the province of Almería, including the deserts around Tabernas, the dunes and landscapes of Cabo de Gata, the salt marshes at Almerimar and Peñón de Bernal, where the enormous Temple of Set was constructed. The Alcazaba of Almería was transformed into a busy marketplace, while the old El Condor western set was rebuilt to represent the city of Shadizar. Other Spanish locations included Sierra Nevada, the Picos de Europa and several areas around Madrid, including Colmenar Viejo, Manzanares el Real, Navacerrada and Talamanca del Jarama. Interior sets were built in large industrial spaces outside Madrid and at Torrejón Air Base, allowing the production to combine real Spanish landscapes with some of the film’s most elaborate fantasy sets.
Alcazaba of Almería
The Alcazaba of Almería is in Cleopatra, The Rat Patrol, Duffy, Patton, The Horsemen, Antony and Cleopatra, The Four Musketeers, The Wind and the Lion and more.