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DVK-on-Ahch-To
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TL;DR: Somewhat surprisingly to my expectations given Conan movie reputation, the answer is "Yes" for all but the original "Conan the Barbarian" (which fails due to only having one named female character).


Conan the Barbarian - You shall not pass!

  1. Has 2+ named women characters: No.

    Valeria is named. As far as I know, the princess, Conan's mother and the witch aren't. No other speaking female characters I recall.

  2. They talk to each other: Clearly, no.

  3. ... about something besides a man: Clearly, no.

    On the plus side, Valeria mostly talks about looting and fighting.


Red Sonja - Yes

  1. Has 2+ named women characters: Sonya herslf; Queen Gedren; Varna (Red Sonja's Sister); Kendra the High Priestess.

  2. They talk to each other: Yes (see #3)

  3. ... about something besides a man: Yes.

    • Varna tells Sonja what happened at the temple, and urges her to find the Talisman and destroy it.

    • Sonya discusses their common past with Gedren; as well as discusses Talisman with her. Men aren't even in the picture.


Conan the Destroyer: - Yes

As a matter of fact, Overthinkingit.com "Conan the Liberal" article claims (somewhat hyperbolically I think) that "Conan the Destroyer ... is... the only fantasy movie I’m aware of to pass the famous Bechdel test".

  1. Has 2+ named women characters: Zula, Queen Taramis, Princess Jehnna

  2. They talk to each other: Yes (see #3)

  3. ... about something besides a man: Yes.

    • Queen Taramis and Princess Jehnna talk about Jehnna's nightmare.
    • Queen Taramis asks Princess Jehnna to bring the "treasure" to her.
    • Zula and Princess Jehnna discuss Zula becoming her Captain of the Guard. This one nails it.

Conan the Barbarian remake - Yes

  1. Has 2+ named women characters: Tamara, Marique, Maliva (Marique's mother)

  2. They talk to each other: Yes (see #3)

  3. ... about something besides a man: Yes.

    • Tamara and Marique discuss resurrecting Marique's mother:

      MARIQUE
      My mother wore this gown on her wedding day. It flatters you.
      TAMARA
      I am NOT your mother.
      MARIQUE
      No, but you will be. Imagine your body is a vessel and your soul is the water that fills it. When your blood seeds the mask, my father will empty you. And my mother’s soul will rise.
      TAMARA
      I would rather die.

DVK-on-Ahch-To
  • 344.1k
  • 162
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  • 2.1k