Sword and sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian has become a cult classic for many reasons, including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s breakthrough performance as Robert E. Howard’s musclebound warrior and the movie’s Ron Cobb-designed, Frank Frazetta-inspired sets. (It also has some killer quotable lines.)
Out today, John Walsh’s Conan the Barbarian: The Official Story of the Film takes a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the 1982 fantasy favourite, directed by John Milius, who also co-wrote the script with Oliver Stone. According to publisher Titan Books, it’s “a lush hardback volume celebrating the cult-classic film with exclusive interviews, official behind-the-scenes imagery, [and] concept art for the production.” io9 is thrilled to have eight exclusive images to share from the book, which hits shelves today (order a copy here).
Scroll through—crush your enemies, see them driven before you, hear the lamentations of their women; you know the drill—to see them all!
Art by poster artist Renato Casaro
![](https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--2hk339-M--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1857bb958c90c11b120185d74ed623d6.png)
The orgy scene
![](https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--JwKvLhbF--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/7e5f516314e58666b4b343e95c89a288.jpg)
“Mountain of power”
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Director and co-writer John Milius with star Arnold Schwarzenegger
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Bladesmith Jody Samson
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Behind the scenes
![](https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--kEbQc-z1--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/7448bc9109fbef1be205bfe763d7dd19.jpg)
Gerry Lopez (Subotai) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Conan)
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Arnold with the camera
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