You know what is good in life?  Mondo's amazing new 'Conan The Barbarian' poster. And the lamentations of the wimmens.

Credit: Mondo News

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It's hard to believe that the summer of 1982 is already upon us.

Oh, sure, it happened 30 years ago, but what I'm talking about is the Alamo Drafthouse celebration of what I consider the best genre summer of all time.  This week, they're warming up with a Tuesday booking for the great sleazy "Vice Squad," and then the party starts in earnest with "Conan The Barbarian" this Friday.

HitFix is pleased to co-present this first weekend's movie, and as part of that, we've got a very special premiere for you today of Mondo's special poster that they've put together for the event.  Believe me when I say to you, there are very few things that are going to make me this happy this year.

Unlike "Blade Runner" or "The Thing," two films that have become critical hits in the 30 years since their release, "Conan The Barbarian" is still dismissed by many, and that drives me crazy.  I think it's a genuinely great film, and while it's not exactly my interpretation of Robert E. Howard's dark and strange pulp stories about the sword-bearing Cimmerian, I love what John Milius did with it.  It's one of my favorite performances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, too, and I think he benefits enormously from Sandahl Bergman's work in the film.  She makes him more soulful simply because of how she plays against him.

The poster by Jason Edmiston will be available in either a regular version (the one with the green fire) for $45, or in the variant version with the red fire, which goes for $85.  There are only 320 being printed of the regular version and 100 of the variants, all of them measuring 24 x 36".  The poster will be sold at the screenings on May 11th, and while the 7:00 PM show is sold out, there are still tickets available for the 10:30 PM show.

The movie will play through the weekend, so there are plenty of chances to see it theatrically if you're not specifically interested in the poster, and this is just the beginning of what promises to be a really wonderful line-up from the Alamo all summer long.

As part of the celebration, I plan to post reviews for each of the movies they're featuring the night before the movies "open," as if they were brand new films.  It'll give me a chance to write reviews of movies that I've discussed many time but never reviewed, and it will be a great way to relive that amazing summer, week by week, savoring each of the films anew.

Here's the regular version of the poster:

And here's the variant:

Gorgeous work, and this is the first time Mondo's done anything for "Conan."  Here's hoping it's not the last.

As always, you'll find everything you need to know about the programming schedule, including how to get tickets, at the Alamo's website.

Drew McWeeny
Film Editor

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A respected critic and commentator for fifteen years, Drew McWeeny helped create the online film community as "Moriarty" at Ain't It Cool News, and now proudly leads two budding Film Nerds in their ongoing movie education.