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:

The eagle often refused to fly on cue so in order to shoot footage of it in the air it was dropped from a trapdoor in a hot air balloon.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Both ferrets are male, yet one gives birth to kits at the end.

Quotes:

Dar: [re: the eagle] I have my eyes...
[re: the ferrets]
Dar: I have my cunning...
[re: the tiger]
Dar: and I have my strength.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Style Wars (1983)

Classic B-Movie swords-and-sorcery

For one of the slew of quickly produced movies of the 80's this one is pretty good. You've got Marc Singer when he was young and fit (not leathery and ancient like in the later movies of this series) and Tanya Roberts who is hot in this film. You've got swordfights, sorcery, the whole works. That said, I did find the ferrets a little annoying, but that's just me.

On the whole the movie works well and there are some touches, like the flying humanoids that envelop and dissolve their prey, that just make the film.

SUMMARY: Hero who can talk to animals sets out to overthrow an evil warlord.