Miniatures for Conan the barbarian (1982) Dir: John Millius
 
 

 There are not much Sword and Sorcery movies, and I think "Conan" was pretty much an entertaining and exciting one. Maybe it wasn’t a great film, but I’ve always like it

The fact that it was filmed in Spain, and I’ve met some of the crew members, helps me to get information and pictures.  I’ve built that little site, as a tribute to some of the technicians and artists involved at the FX and art department.

As far as I known,  Emilio Ruiz del Rio who was in charge of foreground miniatures, made two glass shots.

The first was at the scene when Conan is still slave and chained to that millstone. The director wanted to show how times goes by, shooting the same set at different seasons. They build the set on location at Soria and it was filmed summer, autumn and spring. Then they hoped the snow appear at winter. But it didn´t snowed that year.

The wheel of pain, where young Conan was chained. Designed by William Stout.

The full size wheel buitl in Soria.

 

Emilio Ruiz painted the snow in a huge sheet of glass, on front of a miniature of the wheel of pain. That shot was finally cut from the final edit.
   
 
 

The second glass shot was at the end of the movie. In fact is one of the last images. When Conan carries the princes going down from the temple. Far away, in the distance, there were some tomatoe plantations cover with huge plastics.  Emilio Ruiz painted some landscape over a sheet of glass to cover the unwanted elements.

Emilio Ruiz painting a glass shot in Alamería.

When the shooting was finished, back to Los Angeles, they realize that the shot wasn't what they really wanted. Emilio´s painting  was only a faraway view of some dry arid lands, and they think that it needs a cloudy sky with some light rays  illuminating the land.  So they get in contact with Jim Danforth to make a new matte painting.
The movie was release with two different versions for U.S.A and Europe and they used both paintings, one of them in every version.

Here is the shot with the painting of Emilio Ruiz.

 
 

This is the Jim Danforth painting.

 

Emilio Ruiz also painted a view of  village with the snake tower, for a sequence of Conan´s travel searching for Thulsa Doom. That shot was also cut from the final editing.
This time, instead od using  glass, he  executed the painting on a cut out aluminum piece.

Foreground miniatures where made for the city of  Shadizar

This foreground miniature was shot using the walls of the "Alcazaba" of Almeria, an old arabic fortification.

The temple of the King Osrick

Detail of the King´s temple.

Another view of the miniature.

 

William Stout also made some designs for the tower of the snakes.

The tower of the snakes.

 

Another view of the miniature. See the king´s temple miniature at the background.

 

The miniature of the tower was used to complete different views of some villages during Conan’s travel in search of Tulsa Doom.
The walls and the gate at the frontal part are real set built in Almeria for the film "El Condor". Emilio completed the city with two forefround miniatures at both sides.

Conan finds some skeletons of old warriors into a cave, when is haunted by  wolfes.
William Stout design of the skeleton./ The warrior skeleton on the set.

Next page:  Animatronic effects, and makeup for Conan.
 

(To see more pictures of Emilio Ruiz del Rio go to:  http://www.iespana.es/Tertre-Rouge/inicio.htm  )