The Beastmaster

Those with a fondness for sword-and-sorcery camp may recall Don Coscarelli's 1982 costume actioner, based on Andre Norton's 1959 fantasy novel, featuring a loincloth-clad Marc Singer as Dar, an exiled prince (unbeknownst to him) who grows into a powerful warrior with distinctly Dr. Dolittle-like skills. With the aid of his animal friends--pet ferrets Kodo and Podo, eagle Sharak, and tiger Rhu--and Waikiki beach cavewoman attired slave girl Tanya Roberts (who would two years later make the wretched Sheena: Queen of the Jungle), Dar returns to the castle to exact revenge against the wonderfully over-the-top Rip Torn (as gleeful, child-sacrificing high priest Maax), as well as the vicious Jun hordes that destroyed his adoptive family and razed his village. Aside from Singer's innocent wide-eyed wonder, Torn's scenery-chewing, and Roberts' notably bad thespian talents, The Beastmaster offers few other rewards, and at an interminable 118 minutes wears out its welcome long before the credits roll. Followed nearly a decade later by the ludicrous 1991 Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, this Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS sound enhanced disc includes an audio commentary, some silent behind-the-scenes footage, and photo galleries. Optional. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review--March 22, 2005--Anchor Bay, 118 min., PG, $19.98--Making its second appearance on DVD, 1982's The Beastmaster: Special Divimax Edition boasts a cleaner widescreen transfer (though the night shots still look very grainy) and a choice between DTS 6.1, Dolby Digital Surround EX and stereo soundtracks. DVD extras include the same commentary track as the earlier release and a brand-new 55-minute documentary that is wonderfully done (if unintentionally funny because of the interviewees' inflated sense of the film's worth--"everything is epic," "heroic," "we all believed in it and we believed in each other," etc.), stills galleries, a DVD-ROM accessible screenplay, and an Easter egg showing more of Roberts naked. Bottom line: unfortunately, this is still much ado about very little; optional, at best.]