The Beastmaster ^ Maax is a twisted cult leader out to steal the thrown of King Zed, but when Zed banishes Maax, he sends one of his three witches to steal Zed's unborn son. Ripping him right out of his mother's womb with magic and placing it a cow's womb, she took him to die. But a brave hunter killed the witch and rescued the young boy. Naming him Dar, they find out at a young age that he possess the power to communicate with animals. But Maax sends his thugs called the horde to wipe out his peaceful village, thanks to a brave dog Dar survived again and makes plans on using his powers to kill Maax to avenge his people and his foster Father. This movie is tremendously entertaining from start to finish. I thoroughly recommend you see this timeless fantasy classic.
Being very young in the 80's, I missed a lot of the sword'n'sorcery movies that came out during that time period. As a consequence, I tend to watch them now for entertainment value, as opposed to nostalgia value. Although I loved the Conan movies (Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer) and enjoyed Red Sonja, I can't say that "Beastmaster" is a classic that demands addition to my library.
For the time period, there's actually a surprising level of violence and gratuitous T&A in this movie. Of course, all the sword'n'sorcery movies of the era specialize in violence, but you've got to give this movie credit for the specter of an unborn baby being transferred from its mother's womb (while she watches in helpless horror) to that of a nearby livestock beast - who is then slaughtered so that the baby can be sliced out. There's a heavy emphasis on "sexy ugly" here - with all the female antagonists consisting of a leprous face perched on a siren's body. And then, of course, there's the mandatory "topless bathing" scene so that the heroine can get her 'assets' out for the hero to ogle.
If anything, the heroine is the person I liked best in this film. She's competent to a fault - to a point where I actually expected her to turn out evil, just because she was *that* useful. When she didn't Heel Face Turn, I was pleasantly surprised - if a little sad to see that the 80's "Beastmaster" chick was allowed to be more useful than the 2009 Bond girl we watched the night before. But I digress.
The special effects are campily bad, but in a sweet sort of way - oh, for the days when a 'panther' was not computer generated, but rather a trained tiger with a coat of black paint on its skin. (Also, for the innocence of those days where a black panther was considered a normal addition to a pale-brown desert.) But what was the director *thinking*, when it came time to nobly sacrifice one of the fuzzy animals?
Ultimately, there's nothing wrong with "Beastmaster", and if you're watching for nostalgia, this DVD will provide all you need (albeit without subtitles for the hard of hearing, a baffling decision), but if you're viewing these movies for the first time, I'd recommend taking a pass and watching "Conan" instead - there's not much here for newcomers, in my personal opinion.
~ Ana Mardoll
Movie has one part that skips. ^ The product arrived quickly. Looked in good condition. When played the dvd, there is one section that pauses and skips over it. Will not play that one section which is about 5-10 minutes of the video skipped. Otherwise the rest of the movie plays fine. Movie is low budget, but we bought it for childhood memories. Watched it when we were kids and wanted to see it again!
Great flick! ^ This is a classic. There haven't been any movies in the recent past that are anywhere near as good as this one for this type of movie. The fact that this version has lots of special features and a booklet inside it are great for the true fans. Really great deal for what it is.
Highly reccomend! ^ Thanks so much. Quick delivery happened like clockwork! My son is very happy. He can't find this movie anywhere. Also, I chose this seller because of his low rate of complaints. I will always pay a little more to buy from a seller with the highest Positive Feedback.
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