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The Beastmaster (film)

The Beastmaster
TheBeastmaster.jpg
The Beastmaster movie poster
Directed by Don Coscarelli
Produced by Paul Pepperman
Donald P. Borchers
Sylvio Tabet
Written by Don Coscarelli
Paul Pepperman
Starring
Music by Lee Holdridge
Cinematography John Alcott
Edited by Roy Watts
Production
company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Leisure Investment Company
Beastmaster NV
ECTA Filmproduktion
Distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
Release date
  • August 19, 1982 (1982-08-19)
Running time
118 minutes
Country United States
Germany
Language English
Budget $9 million
Box office $14.1 million

The Beastmaster is a 1982 sword and sorcery film directed by Don Coscarelli and starring Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, John Amos and Rip Torn. The film is about a child who is stolen from his mother's womb by a witch. The child grows into Dar, who has the ability to communicate telepathically with animals. Dar grows up in a village where he learns to do battle. But the village is destroyed by a race of beast-like warriors under the control of the sorcerer Maax. Dar vows revenge and travels with new friends to stop Maax from causing any more problems.

The Beastmaster was not a great box office success in the United States but later received extensive television exposure on cable in the United States on channels TBS and HBO. The film had two sequels and a syndicated television series that chronicled the further adventures of Dar.

In the kingdom of Aruk, the high priest Maax [MAY-aks] (Rip Torn) is given a prophecy by his witches that he would die facing the son of King Zed (Rod Loomis). Learning of Maax's scheme to murder his child as a sacrificial offering to the kingdom's god Ar, Zed exiled Maax and his followers from the city. However, Maax sent one of his witches to transfer the unborn child from the womb of Zed's queen (Vanna Bonta) and into a cow to be born. After his birth the witch brands the infant with Ar's mark, but is killed by a villager who takes the infant in his care and raises him as his own son. Named Dar while raised the village of Emur, the child learns how to fight while advised by his father to keep his ability to telepathically communicate with animals a secret. Years later, a fully grown Dar (Marc Singer) witnesses his people being slaughtered by the Jun, a horde of fanatic barbarians in league with Maax. Dar, the only survivor of the attack, vows revenge and journeys to Aruk to avenge his people. In time, Dar is joined by an eagle that he named Sharak, a pair of thieving ferrets he calls Kodo and Podo, and a black tiger whom he names Ruh.


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