Idiot-Deluxe The Beastmaster: A grand and timelessly classic barbarian's tale, one that oozes dark sorcery and human sacrifice and has much in the way of slaughter by the sword. Having seen it many times, I'd say the film hit's most of it's marks and achieves all it sets out to do and does so with an infectious enthusiasm and terrific pacing; which was aided immensely by it's intriguing story and a great cast (including a slew of memorable villains). It would seem that Don Coscarelli and company had just enough of a budget to make it work, as the films relatively strong production values prevents it from having a "cheap look", which effectively elevates the film above the stench of mediocrity; thus preventing The Beastmaster from being "just another cheap fantasy flick". Which it certainly isn't.Familiar with the genre and having seen many a fantasy tale, I find The Beastmaster to have a near perfect balance between scenes of combat, trekking sequences with sprawling scenery, scenes of fiery human sacrifice, an assortment of unusual animalistic activities (and several key moments that divulge fragments of it's the story). The film effectively convey's "high adventure" and for the next 118 minutes all of it's primal "beastie" elements unfold in a most compellingly beautiful and, at times, lurid way; which plays a leading hand in helping to explain this distinctive films irrepressible sense of vigor and compelling "beast-based" brand of storytelling. But in the simplest of terms The Beastmaster is a grand tale revenge and a fantastical one at that!Beautifully done by Don Coscarelli and his crew, The Beastmaster is a film that often defies it's modest budget and comes off as a very efficient piece of storytelling. Economically filmed on what looks to me like a budget of no more then 2 to 3 million dollar's; I've seen several similar movies, with a much bigger budget, that are nowhere near as good as this. It's truly amazing at times (and if the inspiration is there), at just how complete a package a low-budget film can be (Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Terminator for example). Boasting beautiful cinematography, which is often further enhanced by what looks like some pretty spectacular looking copter-footage and I'm especially fond of all it's striking sunlit location shooting. In addition to fine photography, it's editing is consistently tight n' snappy and even artful at times. Film editing is very often an unsung hero and that's particularly true in the case of fast paced action films, with all their fast-cutting, which is typically intricate and complex (for example take a look at the editing of Fury Road).The big action scenes in this film are, naturally, climatic high-point's and there are several of them, but the two that strike me the most is when Dar battles the Jun Horde! A ruthless army of armored marauders on horseback, whose leader... well lets just say he wears a helmet that you remember long afterwards. From the striking sunset sequence, when the Jun's ride in and reduce Dar's village to fiery waste or better yet the finale with the burning, flame-spewing, castle moat! Let's not forget the sacrificial temple (which is easily the movies biggest and most expensive set) and the demonic, blood-thirsty, high priest, Maax. Factual speaking, this movie packs not one, but two finales - both of which are spectacular looking sequences.One of the imprints that The Beastmaster leaves on my mind, is that it would appear at times that the art direction of this film, tends to draw up some kind of grand inspiration from the famous and widely-known paintings of the late-great fantasy artist Frank Frazetta (which is factually true for the Conan films). Many of the visuals in this film more than hint at this and the primitive, medieval world of The Beastmaster is grandly depicted as such - as a luridly evil and violent realm of barbarism and murder, with a hint of wizardry. Not at all unlike the oil paintings of Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, Gerald Brom and other top-tier artists of the genre. The net result is a fantasy film which is visually grand, almost as much so as the two Conan films from 81' and 84', but they both had decidedly bigger budgets.The musical contributions of Lee Holdridge warrant some mentioning, never the best or best-known of film composers, yet however for The Beastmaster, Holdridge put together a melodically rich and rousing score, that mirrors well the films beautiful, yet lurid imagery. Ultimately when you add it all up, the numerous elements that I've touched upon (and the several that I've over-looked) all contribute to the unique vision behind what's one the all-time best fantasy films. The Beastmaster is a grand and sweeping tale and is always a pleasure to watch time and again (but NOT SO for it's terrible, terrible sequel). With all that being said, The Beastmaster still isn't as good as Arnold's "Conan The Barbarian", released the previous year, which is probably still the best film of it's kind.In times past, did anyone ever notice this??? The Beastmaster, along with "Clash of the Titans" and "Conan The Barbarian", these three fantasy films from the early eighties, all enjoyed a -very- steady rotation on movie mogul Ted Turner's TBS Superstation; and if it's any indicator I'd be willing to wager that The Beastmaster is one of billionaire Ted's favorite movies. Oh yeah, those telecasts often looked just terrible - especially so in Conan's case.And for the beer enthusiast's out there, there's actually a beer (probably a stout) called "Jun Horde". Brewed by the "Hoof Hearted Brewery" out of Marengo, Ohio. And for fans of Hawk The Slayer, try kicking back with a full-bodied "Voltan Russian Imperial Stout". It's for real and I'm absolutely not kidding.Conclusion: A tightly crafted fantasy and Marc Singer totally rocks it, as Dar: The Beastmaster!

jvance-566-20403 This was one of the VHS movies my 2 young sons would watch over and over again. I have to admit I ended up watching it myself more than once, and not just because of the gloriously attractive Tanya Roberts.No great acting here, no snappy dialog or stunning morality tale. Just a beefcake guy with some very cute animal sidekicks and a nice hunk of arm candy duking it out with evil forces.Rip Torn and John Amos show off their significant acting chops to add a little legitimacy, but what everyone wants to see are the animals kicking butt and saving the day. Bulging biceps and bosoms are always great accessories. Hey, if I were 8 or 10 years old I would have loved it too.Maybe kids today would prefer the modern animation and CGI, but it might be worth a shot.

utgard14 An evil cult leader named Maax (Rip Torn) is freaked out about a prophecy surrounding the King's unborn son so he tries to have the baby killed. But a villager saves the boy and raises him as his own. The boy is named Dar and grows into Marc Singer with the ability to communicate with animals. When Dar's village is raided and all of the villagers killed, he sets out to get revenge on the one responsible -- Maax. Along the way, he is joined by John Amos, sexy Tanya Roberts, and some furry friends.As with most sword & sorcery movies from the '80s, this bears more than a few similarities to Conan the Barbarian. Obviously it's not as good but the inspiration is clearly there. Beastmaster is very cheesy and hard to take seriously. I mean, at the end of the day, "guy who talks to ferrets" is a difficult concept to make work as anything other than a punchline. It's also overlong and full of poorly choreographed action scenes. For his part, Marc Singer does fine and knows when to play it tongue-in-cheek and when not to. Rip Torn is a total ham as the villain. Tanya Roberts actually takes her role seriously, which is embarrassing for her but fun for us. She looks great, of course.So yeah it's cheesy and laughable but it's also entertaining. You can shut your mind off and enjoy it as a simple fantasy adventure flick or you can spend a couple of hours poking fun at it. One question I had while watching is why did Dar never try to talk to the horses of the bad guys and make them stop? In the village raid scene and the climax, the bad guys are all on horses and yet the guy who communicates with animals makes no effort to use that to his advantage. Anyway, it's a good way to pass the time. Followed by two terrible sequels and a forgettable TV series.

Paul Magne Haakonsen I remember watching "The Beastmaster" when I was a kid, and I thoroughly enjoyed it back then. And as I purchased the DVD in 2013 and re-visited the movie for another watching, I can honestly say that I enjoy it as much today as I did back then.This is a classic tale of sword and sorcery. An infant is rescued from a ritual offering and grow up on the plains with herders and huntsmen, fully unaware of his royal heritage. Growing up, Dar discovers that he has abilities that allow him mastery over animals and being capable of communicating with them. Drawn into a game of treachery and heroism, Dar have to take up the fight against the vile sorcerer Maax.Sure, this was shot back in 1982, but it was a blast then, and it is actually quite fun to watch even in 2013. The effects were adequately back then and serves their point straight on. However, don't prepare to be dazzled by today's standards. But if you are a fan of the sword and sorcery genre, then "The Beastmaster" is a sure must-watch-movie.The people cast for the various roles did good jobs with their given roles, and I don't really remember Marc Singer as being that buffed and muscular when I saw him in the original "V" series. But he was really well-cast for the role of Dar/The Beastmaster. Even the animals trained for the movie were doing good jobs."The Beastmaster" is a an excellent sword and sorcery movie, and a very formidable choice of movie to the "Conan" movies. I thoroughly enjoy this 1982 movie and I know that I will put it back in the DVD player again after some years.