James Cameron's THE TERMINATOR is one of the tightest, tensest sci-fi films ever made and a landmark in the genre. In the year 2029, battles rage between the superintelligent machines that rule the world and the last vestiges of humanity. In late-20th-century Los Angeles, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) suddenly finds herself stalked by an unstoppable killing machine--a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent from the future to kill her and her unconceived son, John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance. Sarah can rely only on Reese (Michael Biehn), a soldier sent from the future to protect her from the seemingly indestructible Terminator and save humanity. This low-budget masterpiece was the breakthrough film for director Cameron, who weds special effects, thrills, and understated romance to create one of the finest action films of the 1980s, which spawned many imitations but few equals. Science fiction author Harlan Ellison sued over the film's similarities to his own works, especially the OUTER LIMITS episode "Demon with a Glass Hand," and won acknowledgement in the film's credits. Schwarzenegger will forever be known as the relentless Terminator, a heartless killing machine who returns (in a kinder, gentler form) in 1991's TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY.
Excerpt: "I'll be back."--the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Blu-ray Disc Features:
Blue BD Case
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
PCM 5.1 English
Dolby Digital Surround Sound 5.1 - English, French
Subtitles - English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, Thai - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Featurettes - 1. Deleted Scenes
2. "Creating THE TERMINATOR: Visual Effects & Music"
3. "TERMINATOR: A Retrospective"
Art Director
George Costello: Art Director/ THE TERMINATOR (1984)
Costume Designer
Hilary Wright: Costume Designer, THE TERMINATOR (1984)
Director of Photography
Adam Greenberg: Director of Photography, GHOST (1990)
Executive Producer
Derek Gibson: Producer/ TERMINATOR/ MIRACLE MILE
Executive Producer
John Daly: Producer/ TERMINATOR, MIRACLE MILE
Production Designer
Donna Smith: ACTRESS/PLAYBOY PLAYMATE
Source Writer
Harlan Ellison: Science-Fiction author
Special Visual Effects
Stan Winston: Four time Oscar winning special effects, director
Set Decorator
Maria Rebman Caso:
Review 1:
"...A B-movie with flair....Set forth engrossingly by [Hamilton and Biehn]..."
Source: New York Times
p.C19 10/26/1984
Review 2:
"...A blazing, cinematic comic book, full of virtuous moviemaking, terrific momentum, solid performances from the three leads, and a compelling story..."
Source: Variety
10/31/1984
Review 3:
"...Kineticism and suspense, combined with strongly conceived characters....Made [Cameron] a talent to watch..." -- Rating: A-
Source: Entertainment Weekly
pp.66-8 01/13/1995
Review 4:
"...A nerve-bludgeoning, relentlessly exciting action movie masterpiece..."
Source: Total Film
p.104 04/01/2001
Review 5:
"A model of economic storytelling....[It] raised the bar for movie action to a bionic level."
Source: Premiere
p.13 12/01/2003
Review 6:
"[It] has a seriousness and depth of feeling that belie initial expectations."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.91 12/01/2005