0 Comments | Add

 

Rate & Share:

 

Related Links:

 

Info:

THE BEASTMASTER

THE BEASTMASTER
© 2001 Anchor Bay Entertainment

In a kingdom in the distant past, the High Priest Maax (Rip Torn, FREDDY GOT FINGERED) is told by his trio of sexy-bodied/ugly-faced witchwomen that King Zed's unborn son will grow up to kill him. Not one to take this lightly, he offers to King Zed the idea that perhaps there should be some child sacrifices and that the god Ar is kinda interested in the King's son. The King calls BS on that and tells Maax to make like a tree and leave. Maax doesn't like this one bit and he arranges to have the King's unborn son transferred to the body of an ox; this ox will then be taken to a secluded location where... basically Maax, rather than just stab the queen to death, does the standard round about scheme that offers plenty of opportunity for the child to be saved.

The child is saved by a local villager who raises the boy, named Dar, as his own. During a bear attack that leaves one villager dead, Dar (played here by Billy Jacoby, JUST ONE OF THE GUYS) discovers that he has the ability to communicate with the animals. Years later, while out in the fields, Dar's (now played by Marc Singer, V) village is attacked and the inhabitants are all, except for Dar, killed. So our hero goes out into the world to seek vengeance. During his perilous journey, which involves quicksand, sword battles, and twirling around a big piece of wood, he meets his animal companions: a hawk, two ferrets (Kodo and Podo) and a Bengal tiger in blackface (Ruh). Once all four are together, Dar gets to say his "I'm ready to whoop some ass" line: "I have my eyes [hawk]... I have my cunning [ferrets]... and now I have strength [tiger]."

As the journey continues, Dar falls in love with his cousin (hey, did Thomas Hardy write this?) Kiri (Tanya Roberts), meets up with his unknown younger brother Tal (Josh Milrad), and befriends fellow warrior Seth (John Amos). Together, with the animals, they form a fighting team ready to put the boot firmly up Maax's butt.

Director/co-writer Don Coscarelli really came up with a winner here, a classic example of enthusiasm winning out over competence. For all that's ludicrous about the story, Coscarelli hit upon some key ideas that have helped make the film such a smash. First there is the inclusion of they young (early teens) Tal, who not only becomes friends with the hero but also goes out and kicks some butt himself, even getting shot. Young children watching this film will identify with Tal, and spend many days on the playground insisting, with physical violence promised if denied, that they will play Tal yet again - having honed their portrayal with thousands of viewings of THE BEASTMASTER. Second are the animals; kids love animals and they love the idea of talking to animals - they think that's cool. They will watch THE BEASTMASTER till their little eyes bleed, just to see the wonderful man who talks to the animals over and over and over again. Third are the creepy monsters who populate Coscarelli's film sparingly. Coscarelli proves his imaginative PHANTASM was no fluke with the unnerving monsters he brings to the screen. Kids love unnerving monsters and it gives them an excuse as to why they wet their beds. Fourth is Tanya Roberts' topless scene. Young boys love topless women. They will watch the film over and over again, freezing that scene. Going over it slowly, then quickly, then at varying speeds till they get a migraine from standing so close to the screen, and then they'll watch it again.

Of course there's also plot, pacing and cinematography, but what kid cares about those?

Parents' love THE BEASTMASTER because it gives them a chance to shove their pop culture past down the throats of their little nestlings. They also love the film because it holds their children spellbound while they go about their affairs.

Naturally there are other reasons that BEASTMASTER is such a great watch, but those fall in the "intangible mysteries of the cosmos" category.

Acting is not a major concern in a fantasy epic like THE BEASTMASTER, so if you think you see some, stop the movie, rewind and you'll find out it was just gas.

Did you know that Demi Moore was originally up for the Kiri role, but the powers that be decided to put in Tanya Roberts instead? While Moore certainly would have been interesting, could anyone else have matched the coked out look that Ms. Roberts brought to the film?

The young actor who played Tal, Josh Milrad, was nominated for the young artists award "best young supporting actor in a motion picture" in 1983 for this film. I wonder if he puts that on his Burger King applications?

Such an enjoyable film deserves the four star treatment on DVD and Anchor Bay gives longtime fans just that.

Anchor Bay includes a nicely done 16-page booklet about the film and new promotional artwork that, unlike the original release advertisement, isn't so obviously a complete rip-off of the Star Wars poster.

The film is presented widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 TVs. The picture varies throughout due to the various stocks used; at one point it'll be crystal clear, the next grainy. The transfer is good enough to make the varying quality of the print seem more jarring then ever before.

The sound... well, Anchor Bay has entered DTS territory, with a THX remastering job, and boy does that Lee Holdridge score sound awesome. You've also never felt the chills that Marc Singer's hawk calls can create when surrounding your brain as they do here.

As an extra there is approximately 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage narrated by Don Coscarelli and co-writer Paul Pepperman. The footage is mostly unexciting scenes of set construction (Wow, they're painting the fiberglass tree trunk! Ooooo, they're nailing planks of wood together.) backed with some rather engaging, and funny, behind scenes footage of actual filming. Coscarelli and Pepperman's commentary makes the most of the material and keeps you interested.

The two return to provide a rather engaging feature audio commentary. They have a good rapport and are rather candid about the filming experience.

There is a talent bio section and, like most of Anchor Bay's talent bios, these include rather informative essays on the cast and crew. There's also an Easter Egg go to the extras menu, push down all the way, a yellow dot appears, hit enter - where you're treated to deleted nude sex scenes, minus sound, of Tanya Roberts and Mark Singer while Ruh, the blackface Bengal tiger, looks bored in the background. It's a good thing this scene was cut; tests show its inclusion would have made pre-pubescent boys explode.

Rounding out the extras are the original production art, posters and still galleries, and the original theatrical trailer.

While THE BEASTMASTER may have its faults, they only add to the charm. For while the film may not be the most polished out there, it's never boring and the kids love it. It's spawned two sequels (BEASTMASTER 2: THROUGH THE PORTAL OF TIME and BEASTMASTER III: THE EYE OF BRAXUS) and a syndicated television show (BEASTMASTER: THE LEGEND CONTINUES) - not bad for a movie that only grossed $3,561,475 on its initial release.