The Conan Completist

SOURCES: thearnoldfans, David C. Smith.
AUDIO COMMENTARY: Not.
NOVELIZATION: Yes.
COMIC BOOK: Not.
FILMED?: Yes.
EXTRAS LAST UPDATE: ---

Fifth “lost scene” listed by CromIsGod on thearnoldfans.com:

A pickpocket tries to steal something from Conan in Shadizar and Conan promptly cuts off his arm.

In the old forum of the same site, CromIsGod was evoking again this scene, with some more details:

In one scene, when Conan is walking through Shadizar with Subotai for the first time, some would-be-thief tries to pickpocket Conan and gets his arm cut clean off and the guy run off screaming!

David C. Smith also mentions this scene in his essay, while bringing to it an additional element, but of importance (concerning what exactly the thief tried to steal from Conan) :

Quite a lot of material was clipped from Conan and Subotai’s exploration of Shadizar, including Conan’s lopping off the hand of a thief who tries to steal his sword (...).

The scene does not appear in the comic book version of the movie, but it appears in the novelization, in a form however slightly different:

In these back streets lurked violence and sudden death, as well. Once, as Conan and Subotai strode through the crowd, a woman screamed. Men, cursing, scuttled away on furtive feet. In a trice, the two found themselves alone in the narrow way, with their hands on the hilts of their blades. At their feet, a man writhed as he clutched a wound in his belly from which a steady stream of blood trickled through his fingers.
"What..." began Conan uncertainly.
"Ask not," whispered Subotai. "Let us be gone, before the Watch comes by."
Conan shrugged as the Hyrkanian led him away by an obscure aperture between two buildings.

In addition, there are various production stills from this scene. I found three of them. Oddly, on two of them, Conan is not dressed exactly like on the third (he is wearing wolf skins leggings, over his trousers). This small detail, apparently insignificant, and to which one could find at least two logical explanations [1], is in fact revealing of a larger "problem", which (maybe) casts doubt over the fact that this scene (and others) is happening in Shadizar.

In the final cut, Conan and Subotai cross two cities. But, when looking at it a little more closely, it becomes clear that they were originally crossing at least three cities: the costumes which they are wearing don't match from one shot to another, and this, even inside of a given city. Let us take for example the first city: in the shot of their arrival to the gates, and on the great square, Subotai is bare-chested and wearing a gray turban around his head. In the following shot (supposed to take place in the same city), here he is suddenly covered of a leather coat with fur collar! In the second city, it is the reverse which occurs.

Very quickly, it thus becomes obvious that Milius filmed, not two, but three cities crossings/explorations (to, probably, obtain some graduation effect, Subotai making Conan discovering increasingly important cities as they advance). To each new city logically corresponds a costumes change:

	• FIRST CITY: Conan and Subotai both are wearing thick furs (skins of wolves for the first, jacket with fur collar for the second), in other words the same clothing which they already wore in the Wolf Wotch and Four Winds scenes. Scenes concerned: the elephant/Milius cameo appearance/"How does the wind never get in here?" [2]
	• SECOND CITY: Conan is wearing a leather tunic (but he has kept his leggings in wolf skins), while Subotai goes bare-chested and a turban on his head. Scenes concerned: "An old and cruel civilization..."/The large square/The black salesman of swords/The street pedlars.
	• THIRD CITY: Conan has left his leggings (and changed his bracelets), and Subotai is wearing his jacket again. Scenes concerned: Ron Cobb cameo/"A pittance to protect you from evil", the lama, the sacred cow, the camel/ "Chew it slowly, it's the good stuff"

Finally, Milius and his film editors have condensed the three city crossings to make only two of them (which explains, a posteriori, the costumes continuity errors). One obviously loses there some coherence: Conan and Subotai always moving more to the South, it was normal that they get dressed less and less warmly.

It remains to name these three cities (which is unfortunately never made in the film). The Wolf Witch had advised Conan to go "to Zamora!", but it is a kingdom (ruled by Osric). The third city seems to be the capital, since one sees there the palace of the king sitting on the heights: it is thus Shadizar. The first city, definitely more modest in scale, could well be Yazdir, a border-city mentioned in the novelization [3]. As for the second city, it's a mystery. It is however there that was taking place the lost pickpocket scene. Then, to say that it is Shadizar (as do, for example, CromIsGod and David C. Smith) is thus probably an error. [4]

ConanCompletist 2004