As for the movie itself, well what's to say that hasn't already been said? A surprise hit on release, it's not difficult to see why now. The story is simple in execution, yet complex in theory. In the future machines take over a post-apocolyptical world, but are finally beaten by the humans. In a last ditch attempt to defeat the humans, the machines send a killer cyborg, the Terminator (Arnie), back through time to kill the human leader John Connor's mother, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), before he is even born. The humans get hold of the time travelling device, and send a commando, Reese (Michael Biehn), to protect Sarah. The movie is set in the 80s (the present as it were) and follows Sarah and Reese's attempts to keep themselves alive and flee from the relentless Terminator.

Unusually for James Cameron the movie is very tight and economical. Everything which was not crucial to the main narrative of the Terminator chasing Sarah and Reese was stripped away, and that really is the making of this movie. The atmosphere of the movie is like the mindset of the Terminator - relentless, inexorable. Unlike most sci-fi movies this doesn't bog you down in tiny details of imaginary future technology, it just gets on with the story. The pace is extremely quick, and the tension rarely lets up, and added to that is the ending which tricks you into thinking that the movie is over 3 or 4 times before it actually is. It's a great movie, and one that every sci-fi or thriller or action fan should own.


James Cameron's Best Movie!!!   March 9, 2002
 20 out of 29 found this review helpful

"I HATE Terminator 2!" I have uttered this phrase many times in the last ten years since I first saw T2 and have taken a verbal beating every time! Everyone I know seems to like T2 better than the original, but I still stand firm. With the obvious exception of special effects, The Terminator is far superior to the sequel in every way, and remains James Cameron's masterpiece. Way back in 1984 he turned an action-science fiction flick into a violent, depressing, totally compelling work of art! The writing, direction, and acting are all outstanding, with a sense of style being maintained throughout the entire experience. And, unlike in the sequel, Arnold is believeable as a murderous cyborg, that will do anything to complete its objective. The action sequences are truly brilliant with slow motion, foreboding music, and razor sharp editing all combining to create an original and brutal benchmark for both action and science fiction films! Well, in my opinion, anyway. Seriously, though, what happened Mr. Cameron!? From raising the bar with awesome films like The Terminator and Aliens in the mid 80s, to turning out meaningless garbage like True Lies and Titanic a decade later!! I thought you could only get better with time! I guess I was wrong...

In conclusion, I think it's fantastic that the studio released a Special Edition DVD of The Terminator. It was long overdue, and deserves to be in the collection of anyone who even remotely enjoys science fiction films.


HE'S BACK IN A REMASTERED DVD OF THIS SCI-FI CLASSIC!   April 21, 2003
 20 out of 25 found this review helpful

Arnold Schwartnegger was a little known bodybuilder from Graz Austria when director, James Cameron decided to cast him in the role of the cyborg killing machine, "The Terminator". Yes, Arnie had already won multiple Mr. Olympias and starred in "Pumping Iron" and the original "Conan" movies. But nothing put him over the top like this sci-fi thriller.
MGM gives us a much improved rendering of this movie on DVD. The original release had been marred by excessively grainy images, soft details and some major color bleeding. In this new incarnation (reportedly master in hi-def)we get a smoother looking print that is still soft. Shadow delineation can be well represented at times and generally weak at others. Ditto on the contrast levels, particularly in the dimly lit night club scene. But the excessive edge enhancement and shimmering fine details present on the original DVD are completely gone on this remastered special edition. One fine note for the younger generation tuning into this movie for the first time. The special effects have dated considerably. These were the days before computer generated graphics. Although every attempt has been made to clean up and slightly retouch the original film effects, they do not hold up to what is being offered up today. I rather like that.
The soundtrack of this DVD has been remastered to 5.1. It's incredibly dated but well represented nonetheless.
EXTRA FEATURES: We get the original documentary on the making of this movie as well as the superbly realized retrospective with interviews from all of the principle players. There's also an audio commentary and some stills and a theatrical trailer.
BOTTOM LINE: A marked improvement over the original DVD release but this version still leaves something to be desired.


Terminate the original and get this special editon   October 10, 2001
 19 out of 22 found this review helpful

James Carmeron's Terminator has been given a state-of-the-art 5.1 stereo remix and also a fantastic hi-definition video transfer following the release of Terminator 2 (Ultimate Edition). This DVD contains over 2.5 hours of bonus material, i.e. documentaries, "terminated" scenes complete with commentary, photo galleries, the script and much more. The first thing you will notice when playing the movie is the superb video and sound quality...All of the sounds have been remixed, some deleted even. Gun shots and explosions now have more atmosphere and depth, and no longer sound like those cheap sound effects from the 1980's. Everything, including the music sounds state-of-the-art. You will not be disappointed unless you like movies to stay true to their original mixing. But I just have to say that this was a job well done....and maybe even one of the best quality DVD movies in my whole collection. If you pick this movie up make sure to pick up its sequel Terminator 2 (Ultimate Edition).