The Beastmaster

The Beastmaster
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDon Coscarelli
Written byDon Coscarelli
Paul Pepperman
Based on
(uncredited, see ยง Production)
Produced byPaul Pepperman
Donald P. Borchers
Sylvio Tabet
Starring
CinematographyJohn Alcott
Edited byRoy Watts
Music byLee Holdridge
Production
companies
  • Beastmaster N.V.
  • ECTA Filmproduktion, GmbH & Co., K.G
Distributed byMGM/UA Entertainment Co.
Release date
  • August 20, 1982 (1982-08-20)
Running time
118 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • West Germany
LanguageEnglish
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. Very loosely based on the 1959 science fiction novel The Beast Master by Alice "Andre" Norton, the film is about a man who can communicate with animals, who fights an evil wizard and his army.

Commercially, The Beastmaster was not considered a box office success during its original cinematic run, but later received extensive television exposure and success on cable in the American market on channels TBS, TNT, and HBO.

The original film spawned two sequels; the 1991 theatrical film Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, and the 1996 television film Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus. In 1999, the syndicated Beastmaster television series "inspired by the book" re-imagined the adventures of Dar with alternate allies and villains.