25 Years of Fantasy Swords in the Movies: a Retrospective
by Dyroza
25 Years of Fantasy Swords in the Movies: a Retrospective
The movie Conan, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, was released in 1982 and the sword called “The Atlantean” was specifically designed for the movie and for the actor. It was given a major role in the movie because it played a major role in the Conan stories and novels written by Robert E. Howard. The sword itself proved to be very popular and replicas were created for sale on the mass market. Twenty-five years later replicas of the Atlantean are still made and sold. This sword started a whole trend in movie making and today fantasy moviemakers take great care to design, create, and market unique swords as part of the movie and as part of their marketing. This can be seen in the recently released movie 300, which has caused a resurgence in the gladiator type sword. And the new Harry Potter movie will spotlight a sword wielded by Harry himself. This sword