X
- 1982
- PG
- MGM/UA Entertainment Company
- 1 h 58 m
- 1982
- PG
- MGM/UA Entertainment Company
- 1 h 58 m
Summary 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.
Directed By: Don Coscarelli
Written By: Paul Pepperman, Andre Norton, Don Coscarelli
- 1982
- PG
- MGM/UA Entertainment Company
- 1 h 58 m
- 1982
- PG
- MGM/UA Entertainment Company
- 1 h 58 m
The Beastmaster
18
7.7
Where to Watch
Summary 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.
Directed By: Don Coscarelli
Written By: Paul Pepperman, Andre Norton, Don Coscarelli
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Overwhelming Dislike
Based on 4 Critic Reviews
18
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Metascore
Overwhelming Dislike
Based on 4 Critic Reviews
18
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Not much action or excitement here.
It's meant as a tiny bit of praise to say that the movie, which was made in southern California, looks as if it had been shot in Spain or Yugoslavia. It looks both big and cheap.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 24 User Ratings
7.7
71% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
29% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 24 User Ratings
7.7
71% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
29% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Too bad movies from this genre are now all but extinct. Beastmaster was one of the best movies of the early 80's Sword & Magic movies (along with Krull, Dragonslayer & Conan), if not the best. So much stuff happens in this movie and you are never left wondering what is going on. Every move is perfectly placed and paced. Marc Singer is perfectly cast as Dar. He has a legendary physique in this move, and some shots look like a Boris Vallejo painting. Tanya Roberts is perfect as his feminine foil. Jon Amos, bad ass. Rip Torn does a magnificent job as MAAX. The Deathguards, those guys running around like gorillas with spiked gloves, truly frightening. Then you have the tree people, the acid bat guys, come on what could be cooler. Though above all I have to give it up for the animals in this picture. The animals take the cake, the ferrets, the tiger, and falcon, are majestic creatures of beauty that often surpass the actors in finding moments of true beauty and comedy. Better than Conan, Beastmaster taps the main vein of the seventies fantasy feel in every way imaginable. Later in the 80's some flicks came out, like Highlander and Willow, but couldn't help the disappearance of the genre, which I feel very nostalgic about. A true classic.
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When The Beastmaster begins, it is very hard to tell what it is all about. An hour later, it is very hard to care what it is all about. Another hour later, it is very hard to remember what it was all about.
You will die at the hands of Zed's unborn son. Shucks, those wicked witches sure had a way of taking the fun out of life. Luckily for scheming kings, sadly for blameless movie-goers, such party-pooping prophecies are now mainly confined to formulaic flicks like The Beastmaster. [23 Aug 1982]
A great and entertaining fantasy movie. It is the kind of movie that critics hate and fans love. I fully admit it uses a lot of tropes, cliches, stereotypes and can be seen as cheesy but those were used well. It is enjoyable and fun to watch from start to finish. It is based on the novel “The Beast Master” from Andre Norton. Because it is an old book I do not own I cant say if it is a good or bad adaptation. The story starts when the high priest Maax from the kingdom of Aruk is given a prophecy that he will be killed in a battle with Dar the son of king Zed. Alarmed by this he send an assassin to get rid of the child. However things turn out different than expected and the child survives but is separated from his family in a small village. Even more Dar has a unique gift. He can communicate telepathically with animals. Years later the prophecy takes momentum as his village is raided by the Jun who are a horde of barbarians under Maax control. Here I stop to avoid spoilers. It is an enjoyable ride and a great final battle where a lot from before pays off. You can already see with the given set up why I said it uses a lot of tropes, stereotypes and cliches. However it is no weakness as the result is an entertaining movie and it has unique features. Because of Dars ability to talk wit animals he has companions in form of an eagle, panther and ferrets. Those are awesome, great allies for Dar and improve the movie. I think I must warn you too that there are some intense scenes here. The mindless warrior creation process is not for people with weak stomachs. The characters work well for fantasy standards. Marc Singer as Dar works excellent as protagonist. Rip Torn as Maax is so enjoyable evil. Tanya Roberts as Kiri, Josh Milrad as Tal and John Amos as Seth are great support characters. Rod Loomis as King Zed is weak but this is because the character (not actor) is a moron. I must point out that the animal companions are the hidden stars here. The sets and costumes give the movie a unique style and I did not see a weakness here. The soundtrack is sneakingly good. With this I mean you do not recognize how it enhances the movie easily until you look for this. Overall this is one of the best B fantasy movies for me even if critics hate me for the statement. It is and never wanted to be an intellectual movie so I cant rate it like one. For entertainment purpose it does it well enough. Round it up to a 9/10.
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I grew up watching this movie on weekend tv and the feel of it has stayed with me since. There were other movies of a similar genre filmed around this time period, but the Beastmaster has a vibe all its own. Marc Singer was a perfect hero, relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera, beautiful to look at, and really sold the interactions with the animals. He seemed perfectly comfortable in his body and being mostly naked throughout the film; with no air of self-consciousness or awkwardness, which also stayed with me. I was only 6 years old when I first watched the movie and remember wanting to marry him afterwards. The way the movie depicts the evil sorcery and villans was unique and memorable. The heroine was beautiful too and she and Marc had natural chemistry. I just loved this movie.
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The Beastmaster is a film that, to me, was an instant classic. This movie had everything a young boy of the 80’s could want. Action, swords, high fantasy, magic, an awesome hero, a sexy love interest (played by future Bond Girl Tanya Roberts), and really badass villains. This was the kind of movie that you reenacted on the playground at school, the kind you acted out with your action figures. I can’t tell you how many times me and my friends would play out the adventure of The Beastmaster!
for more go to: ****/p93it6-oQ
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Old 80’s B movie, a classic of TV re-runs.
It's a Sword and Sorcery story about a man (with a misterious past and the supernatural ability to talk and "command" animals) that takes on a journey for revenge against a great evil.
It push all the buttons for this kind of movie:
Action, good intentions, magic, cruel comic book villain, gorgeous outdoor scene, daring escapes, muscles, monsters and so on
I'm old enough to remember this in TV but I watched it only recently (**** entertain still and it is not so campy like You'd think .
Beware though that real animals in this movie seems treated sometimes a little carelessy, compared to modern standards (covered in paint, tossed, thrown in water...)
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