Conan le Barbare

a film about a young barbarian's quest to avenge his parents' deaths. The story is set in the fictional Hyborian Age, thousands of years before the rise of modern civilization. The film opens with the title card, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger", a paraphrasing of Friedrich Nietzsche, followed by a voice-over that establishes the film as the story of Conan's origin. I love the use of Genghis Khan's speech: "The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride their horses, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters." I mean, you know, it's sexist and horribly crude, but perfect for the world of barbarians. For all its faults, this is a true staple of the fantasy genre. It can be denounced as overly violent (true) and feeding into male prepubescent fantasy (true), but look at the source material: early 20th century pulp. This is exactly what it is supposed to be.