Review: The Beastmaster
Blu-ray: The Beastmaster (1982)
A buff Marc Singer in a loin cloth. Tanya Roberts boobs. A tiger painted black. Stunt ferrets. A human baby born from an ox.
All the above, and more, is in The Beastmaster; a movie that is as mad as a box of frogs and non-stop fun for its entire 118 minute running time.
Written and directed by Don Coscarelli, The Beastmaster is a ‘sword and sorcery’ story of Dar (Marc Singer); a man who can telepathically communicate with animals. This skill comes in very handy as he attempts to have his revenge on the evil warrior tribe who slaughtered the people of his village.
Despite its modest budget, there are some genuinely beautiful looking shots…which usually precede yet another crazy moment in its bonkers narrative. Many of the scenes have a tonality to them which resemble Coscarelli’s earlier visuals on Phantasm: lots of primary colours set against (not too convincing) green screen work, which gives an ‘otherworldly’ feel to everything.
The Beastmaster is a prime example of a movie that you don’t watch to admire the academy award baiting acting, or the deep and meaningful narrative. This is watched because you want to see Marc Singer being saved from quicksand by a couple of resourceful ferrets, or to once again take in the sheer majesty of ‘the witches’ scene at the beginning.
In short, you watch The Beastmaster to have fun, and even on repeat viewings, you always get 118 minutes packed with it.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Audio Commentary with Director Don Coscarelli and Producer Paul Pepperman
- The Saga Of The Beastmaster featurette – 55 Mins
Review by Dave (host of 60 Minutes With) from a disc kindly supplied by Umbrella Entertainment.
