BEASTMASTER
The success of this first wave of sword and sorcery films paved the way for a second wave. Amongst this crop was The Beastmaster. The Beastmaster, like the others was not a runaway hit when it was released. To be fair though, it was up against some pretty stiff competition, including ET – the Extra Terrestrial, An Officer and a Gentleman and The Road Warrior (or Mad Max 2 as it will always been known to me). But the film did reasonable business, making around three-million dollars in the United States, which was about a third of the films production costs. The film did well in Europe, on video, and became a mainstay on cable television. It has been reported that a comedian remarked that the meaning of HBO was not ‘Home Box Office’, but ‘Hey, Beastmaster’s On’.
#1 by Ed on February 28, 2010 - 10:04 pm
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One of my all time favorites. My favorite bit from this film is an amusing moment after the little kid is saved by the falcon. Torn just has a great reaction to it, trying to play it off as something he intended to happen. Pretty funny.
#2 by rjschwarz on March 1, 2010 - 9:58 am
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Watched this with the audio commentary and found it fascinating. They used models for the distant shots of the cities at times. Models in the foreground but they look like they are behind the actors. Very clever, I’d never heard of that sort of thing. Then they put little mirrors where the torches on the gate of the model would be and put real torches somewhere off camera where they would reflect in the tiny mirrors. Very clever, I’d never heard of such a thing. Those two little bits gave me a new appreciation of the movie. Why couldn’t more sword and sorcery movies have tried such a thing (like the Gore movies for example), much better than matte paintings or trying to pass off a couple hovels or a cave as a city.
#3 by supersonic on March 9, 2010 - 4:09 pm
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The technique of a miniature castle in the foreground was regularly used back in the black&white era…
#4 by The Rev. D.D. on March 1, 2010 - 9:32 pm
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“You see? Ar has spoken, he wants your children!!”
Yeah, I like that little attempt to save face. I also love the tiger, who mostly sits around and looks like he wishes all this foolishness would stop so he could take a nap.
I have affection for this movie that is probably too strong for it on its own merits, but I refuse to apologize for it.
And that was before I saw the uncut version. DAMN, that Tanya Roberts was a fine woman. (Still was, at least when she was on “That ’70s Show.”)
#5 by lyzard on March 1, 2010 - 10:39 pm
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Beastmaster 2 certainly has played here, David, ‘cos that’s the one I’ve seen; I have an idea it was on TV (i.e. pre-cable), so it would have been a while ago. I remember finding it confusing (not having seen Part 1 for backstory), and spending most of it making “Is that a ferret in your pants – ?” jokes.
#6 by Jen S on March 1, 2010 - 11:41 pm
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One of my very first riffing experiences came from Beastmaster, when as a kid my sister and I were watching it with our dad during on of its roughly six thousand broadcasts that week.
When Marc is rescued by the ferrets, he holds them up and asks aloud, “Now what shall I call you?” My dad promptly said “Lunch and Dinner.”
#7 by The Rev. D.D. on March 2, 2010 - 7:55 am
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Beastmaster 3, between the plot and the special effects, felt like a rejected episode of “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.”
It was still rather better than the second one though.
#8 by David on March 2, 2010 - 2:49 pm
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Thanks for the comments guys. It looks like I am preaching to the converted – it seems that quite a few people look back at The Beastmaster with as much affection as I do.
All I have to do now, is rectify my criminal neglect of B2 and B3 (no banana jokes)!
#9 by supersonic on March 9, 2010 - 4:11 pm
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Back in the day, I actually considered Beastmaster a better film than the overblown Conan.
I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t still think so if I were to watch it again now.
#10 by lyzard on March 2, 2010 - 4:38 pm
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Whaddya know? I went to put Beastmaster in my rental queue, and it already is.
So, is it possible to watch these films without going “Duh!” all the way through them? Because that’s my other main memory…
#11 by Blake on March 2, 2010 - 7:14 pm
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I still need to watch the movie.
#12 by Elizabeth the Ferret on March 7, 2010 - 3:24 am
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Ah, Beastmaster. I watched it a lot when I was a bitty little ferret, and I loved it. I still do, and I have the overwhelming urge to go rent it now.