REMAKE VS. REBOOT: CONAN THE BARBARIAN

Great work, Sebastian. Love this column idea too, as the whole reboot/remake/requel/re-imagining thing has escalated to the point of utter confusion in recent times. I agree that the whole phenomenon is something that's more to do with studios trying to dodge the negative connotations of the word 'remake' than anything else, but it's good to have something that breaks down what exactly an individual film is trying to do. If anything, it might help us all decide what bloody term fits what!

Cool, thanks. It's definitely a work in progress, feel free to make suggestions/criticisms.

Great article and great idea for an ongoing feature. Milius' film is a favorite, and every time I watch I'm amazed at how great it is. Thematically, visually, sonically the movie is just great. I love how throughout the film Conan is confronted with the riddle of steel and how when he discovers the answer he silently accepts the truth and confronts Thulsa Doom. A lesser film would have given Conan a monologue where he explains the answer to the riddle to the villain and to the audience. 

I was always secretly hoping that Milius and Arnold would reunite to do King Conan, but alas we got the Marcus Nispel remake instead. I didn't bother to see it because it looked awful, and like you pointed out Sebastian, it looked like a pale imitation of Milius' sword and sorcery opera. 

Great column idea Sebastion and a fantastic first entry. It was always pretty obvious, even from the broadest trailers that the people behind the 2011 iteration were saying that Howard was their inspiration on the one hand mouths while obviously aping Milius original. It's what turned me off bothering with this new edition.

Nice job on the article.

I would like to see Fright Night 1985 vs Fright Night 2011.

A great start to what will certainly be a wonderful column..........................and definitely one that there is PLENTY of material to fuel the fire.  I can't wait to see you compare Carpenter and Zombie!

Yeah a really nice start. Very balanced approach that I appreciated.

Neat idea. Still haven't finished the new Conan. Don't really feel much of an urge to try again...

Future installment idea: Predator vs Predators

I'm looking forward to the Fright Night entry.

You could argue that both flicks got the obvious "sword through the name" imagery from the 70s Marvel comics.

And the elements that the remake didn't lift from Milius flick, Nispel lifted from DESTROYER and KULL flicks (specifically the female lead characterization).

I watched part of ORIGINAL CONAN once, but didn't finish it. I've not seen the reboot. After having perused this handy guide, and given that ORIGINAL CONAN is now on INSTANT, I think I'll finish up the original before moving on to the remake/reboot