The Barbarians Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Barbarians Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 22, 2026

Ruggero Deodato's"The Barbarians" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson and vintage trailers. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Two beefcakes and an apple

Someone, please, bring back the 1980s. And please, do not forget to include whatever it was in the water that Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus were drinking in their offices. This magical substance is needed badly so that genre films become genre films again. They do not have to be great. They just have to be sincere and ooze the same energy that genre films had during the 1980s.

Ruggero Deodato’s The Barbarians is a prime example of a genre film that only the 1980s could have produced. It is utterly ridiculous, a mish-mash of mad ideas, making you wonder whether the people who greenlighted it and the people who made it were former patients of a mental institution. It has many parts that quite simply do not come together to create a proper, logical narrative in which different characters have meaningful relationships. It is a staged mayhem in which loony characters engage in loony activities, the overwhelming majority of which look like instant improvisations. And yet, it is exactly why The Barbarians entertains very well. It is sincere and loaded with pure energy, like all proper genre films.

At the center of the mayhem are Peter and David Paul, playing twin brothers known as The Barbarians, enslaved as kids by the evil warlord Kadar (Richard Lynch) and free again as grown men, ready to protect the Queen of their tribe. Complicating their task is a magic stone that Kadar wants to rule the world, which their tribe can use to prosper again. During the inevitable clash between good and evil, the twin brothers become heroes, and the world barely avoids a disaster.

A logical mind cannot possibly defend what The Barbarians sells as entertainment. However, The Barbarians was not meant for the logical mind, and once this is understood, what it sells becomes intriguing and, as sacrilegious as it may sound, even possible to admire. It is because everyone before Deodato’s camera is contributing to the mayhem with unmissable enthusiasm, which is the catalyst for the energy that makes The Barbarians attractive.

The humor permeating the mayhem also helps The Barbarians tremendously. It is by no means great. In fact, most of it is pretty silly. For example, in a crucial sequence, while attempting to accomplish something very important, the twin brothers enter a harem and instantly get distracted. However, it does not feel like the humor is forced into the mayhem. It happens organically. It is contagious, too, encouraging all actors to continue improvising, which is what keeps the mayhem going.

Despite obvious production limitations, The Barbarians often produces surprisingly great stylized visuals, some featuring equally great special effects. Also, there are a lot of interesting period costumes, some of which, like the ones seen in the second and third acts, could have been used in big-budget Hollywood productions.

The biggest surprise is the inclusion of yet another great electronic score by Pino Donaggio, who scored several of Brian De Palma's most pupular films, like Body Double and Dressed to Kill, as well as Nic Roeg's cult shocker Don't Look Now.

The Barbarians Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Barbarians arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The entire film has a very attractive, faithful, organic appearance. In a few areas, select shadow nuances and finer details could be more convincing, but even there, delineation, clarity, and depth remain very pleasing. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. Color reproduction and balance are very good. There is a lot of unique stylization work throughout the film, and on this presentation, virtually all of it looks either very good or great. The darker footage that emphasizes primary blue, brown, and red looks particularly great. Image stability is excellent. There are no big and distracting surface imperfections to report in our review. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Barbarians Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very strong. It is particularly effective while handling Pino Donaggio's electronic score, which does plenty to support the desired atmosphere. The action-heavy material sounds good, too. However, for obvious reasons, it lacks the great dynamic contrasts that you will encounter in modern soundtracks. All dialogue si very clear, sharp, and easy to follow.

The Barbarians Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this archival commentary was recorded by critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson.

• Trailers - presented here are a couple of original trailers for The Barbarians and Double Trouble. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

The Barbarians Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ruggero Deodato's The Barbarians is a silly film, trying to entertain in ways that no rational mind can defend. However, it is not conceived to entertain the rational mind, and once this is understood, it becomes easy to like. I enjoy some of its over-the-top mayhem significantly more than the similar mayhem Red Sonja, Conan the Barbarian, and Conan the Destroyer produce because Peter and David Paul are hilariously bad actors. Kino Lorber's release brings a solid, faithful organic presentation of The Barbarians, so if you are a fan of the film, grab a copy for your collection. RECOMMENDED.