There was Conan the Barbarian before them. But pretty much everything else in the genre was mediocre or cringe-worthy.

On the other hand, I remember fondly the movie nights a local sci-fi club used to run until the mid-2000s. There were so many terrible Conan clones that were enormously entertaining. And there were some brilliant moments in the early LOTR movies. Such as "Where There's a Whip".

Conan the Barbarian: co-written by Oliver Stone, directed by John Milius, music composed by Basil Poledouris. Oh, and co-starring James Earl Jones and Max von Sydow. An astounding lineup.

I agree with you about Conan the Barbarian being a high note. That movie doesn’t get enough credit. There are very few better in the whole genre.