Released in 1982 at the beginning of a renaissance of fantasy films that include HAWK THE SLAYER, DRAGONSLAYER, EXCALIBUR and CONAN THE BARBARIAN, THE BEASTMASTER was loosely based on a 1959 Andre Norton science fiction novel, THE BEAST MASTER, with a visual nod borrowed more from classic 1960s peplum and the heroic fantasies of Ray Harryhausen films.
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