The Beastmaster (1982)

Director:

Don Coscarelli

Writers:

Don Coscarelli (written by)
Paul Pepperman (written by)

Release Date:

20 August 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Action | Adventure

Plot:

A sword-and-sorcery fantasy about a young man's search for revenge. Armed with supernatural powers, the handsome hero and his animal allies wage war against marauding forces.

Plot Keywords:

Magic | Village | Dog | Sword And Sorcery | Pyre

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Marc Singer	...	Dar
Tanya Roberts	...	Kiri
Rip Torn	...	Maax
John Amos	...	Seth
Joshua Milrad	...	Tal (as Josh Milrad)
Rod Loomis	...	King Zed
Ben Hammer	...	Young Dar's Father
Ralph Strait	...	Sacco
Billy Jayne	...	Young Dar (as Billy Jacoby)
Janet DeMay	...	Witchwoman #1
Christine Kellogg	...	Witchwoman #2
Janet Jones	...	Witchwoman #3
Tony Epper	...	Jun Leader
Vanna Bonta	...	Zed's Wife
Kim Tabet	...	Sacco's Daughter

Also Known As:

Beastmaster - Der Befreier (West Germany)
Dar l'invincible (France) [fr]
El señor de las bestias (Spain) [es]
Kaan principe guerriero (Italy) [it]
Kungasonen (Sweden) [sv]
O Guerreiro Sagrado (Portugal) [pt]
Varvaros mahitis (Greece) [el]
Voittamaton kostaja (Finland) [fi]
Wladca zwierzat (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

118 min | Germany:90 min (25 fps) (video version)

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | USA:PG (certificate #26762) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | West Germany:12 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Lake Pyramid, California, USA

Company:

Beastmaster NV

Trivia:

Dar's black tiger is actually a regular striped tiger dyed black. The dye would wash off around the mouth whenever the tiger took a drink, so throughout the film the stripes are often visible around the mouth.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the river-ferry sequence when Kiri is wrapping the rope around the water filled jugs, the rope is on the outside of her body "trapping" her between it and the water. In the next shot, the rope is behind her so that she is no longer "trapped"

Quotes:

Dar: I've never seen a... pilgrim... who could use a staff the way you did.
Seth: Ah, but sir; all pilgrims share a deep love of life; especially their own!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Style Wars (1983)

Caw caw caw --- "He is the Beastmaster!"

How can anyone not like the Beastmaster? It's what movies are all about - it's got a hero, his woman, a villain, sidekicks, animals, loincloths, violence and much much more! It's one of the earliest of films that HBO would play about 4 times a day so it was almost always available. John Amos from Roots and Good Times cheeses it up but damn, do I have a soft spot for the guy. Dar looks like my brother Eric. Rip Torn is a villain with bad teeth! The freaky eagle/vampire things are nutty. It's got ferrets - FERRETS in co-starring roles! Plus a panther and hawks and B-dialog and swords and last but not least "crazy-eyes" herself, Tonya Roberts! Yowza! It's basically a goulash of afternoon delight. Straight B an 85 - 8 out of 10. Caw caw! Catch it one time or a dozen, you'll love it.