The Terminator (1984)

Director:	James Cameron
Cast:	Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen
Released:	Friday, October 26, 1984
Length:	107 minutes
Studio:	Orion Pictures
Genre:	Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Rating:	Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

The Terminator Synopsis

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The Terminator News

Terminator Franchise Expanding with Another Installment  1/18/2013 10:02 AM EDT
Laeta Kalogrids (Avatar, Shutters Island) and Patrick Lussier (Scream 3, My Bloody Valentine) have been hired to write the script for the next yet untitled installment of "Terminator" franchise. The last movie in the franchise "Terminator Salvation" was released back in 2009 and made $370 million worldwide.A new movie was always in the cards after Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures bought the righ...  More>>

James Cameron Thinks Terminator 5 Should Be All About Ahhhnold  4/17/2012 2:38 PM EDT
James Cameron gave an interview with MTV recently and the subject turned to "Terminator 5". The director gave his thoughts about the film."I was talking to him back in fall about a new 'Terminator' film and quietly advising on that," he explained. "I was trying to be as encouraging as possible. Frankly, at that time, I thought it needed to be more about him. I told him he should not do it until it...  More>>

Paul Walker Possible Attached to "Termintor 5"  6/7/2011 3:20 PM EDT
Paul Walker, star of "Fast and Furious", is said to be a candidate for the upcoming fifth "Terminator" film, playing Kyle Reese.With obvious personal issues to deal with in his life, Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting career has been put on hold for the moment. While many thought this would shelf the new film, it is said that they plan on taking it in a new direction instead.They could anchor th...  More>>

Schwarzenegger Looking to Make Another "Terminator" Film  4/27/2011 3:51 PM EDT
Arnold Schwarzenegger is said to be shopping, along with his reps at CAA, are said to be shopping around to get another "Terminator" sequel made.According to 24 Frames, the film will be directed by "Fast Five" director Justin Lin, and produced by Robert Cort.The film, if it comes to fruition, will be put on Schwarzenegger's schedule after the upcoming action films, "The Last Stand"...  More>>

Sequel Updates for "G.I. Joe" and "Terminator"  4/15/2011 1:49 PM EDT
Jon M. Chu, director of "G.I. Joe 2", spoke with The Deadbolt recently and told them that some changes will be noticed from the original film.Chu said,"I think it's not just another action movie. Maybe the first one was that, but we're really trying to break it down and take the shine off and show that my Joes were the ones in the mud, the sand and the trees and in the epic worldwide adventures. E...  More>>

Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series Explores Online as Th...  5/19/2009 9:51 PM EDT
Burbank, Calif., May 19, 2009 - Halcyon Games, a division of The Halcyon Company along with Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution today announced the first full length Machinima series titled "Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series."  Produced in association with McG, director of "Terminator Salvation," and Machinima Inc., this six part series utilizes real time computer animat...  More>>

Common Is A-Team's B.A. Baracus?  5/14/2009 4:06 PM EDT
IESB recently interviewed Common, who is in the upcoming "Terminator Salvation" film, and discussed some rumors about possibly starring in the big screen adaptation of A-Team as well as the Justice League movie.Common did, in fact, confirm that he is currently in talks for the role of B.A. Baracus. In the interview Common states that h...  More>>

Arnold Schwarzenegger Talks Terminator Salvation  3/19/2009 9:48 AM EDT
Website "The Arnold Fans" recently had the chance to speak with none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, about the upcoming films, "Terminator Salvation" (being released on May 22) and "The Expendables" (being released in 2010).  About "<a h...  More>>

Terminator 2 Skynet Blu-ray Teaser is Now Online  3/3/2009 9:07 AM EDT
In anticipation of the new Terminator Salvation film that is debuting in theaters this May. Lionsgate is re-releasing Terminator 2 on a brand new Blu-ray this May entitiled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RIY4WE?ie=UTF8&tag=flick06-20&linkCode=as2&ca...  More>>

Terminator 5 Already In The Works?  12/19/2008 12:34 AM EDT
A fifth installment to the "Terminator" series is on the way, according to Variety.  The film is currently set for release in 2011. McG, who will be directing the film, made the announcement this week at the Dubai film festival.  The move to release a fifth film was pushed into full gear when the studio and fan reaction to the upcoming <a href="http://www.flickdirect.com/movies/movie-showcase...  More>>

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Fall 2008 Review  12/18/2008 11:53 PM EDT
Terminator:  The Sarah Connor Chronicles gives us an interesting piece of potential that we do not have with a lot of other shows -- it begs us to compare it to not just its competition, but to what may be, or what could be. This may not seem fair (and, indeed, if anyone believes they can state authoritatively what it 'should be,' they are wrong) -- but it is what is almost guaranteed to happen if...  More>>

Terminator -- Choose Your Side  8/15/2008 3:15 PM EDT
Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season Comes Out August 19 But You Can Recruit and Destroy Now!!Choose to fight for the MACHINES or the HUMANS, then recruit friends, fight the enemy and rise through the ranks with the official TSCC Facebook widget at www.terminatorondvd.com.Pre-order your copy today at <a href="http://www.am...  More>>

The Terminator Staff Review

Even though I have seen The Terminator many times in the past, watching it again on my HD Television in enhanced Blu-ray makes the home experience even better.  Although this is the second time the movie has been released in the format, if you originally purchased the DVD copy, then this Blu-ray upgrade will give you a better experience.
 
For those who haven't seen the movie for a long time or back in the early 80's when it was released on the big screen, here's a quick refresher.  The film starts with a war going on in the future where computers have manipulated robots to take over the world.  Fighting them with a band of human rebels is John Connor.  In order for the computers to kill John they must send a cyborg called a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back to the past to kill his mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton) before she has her baby. 
 
The film flashes back to the past where John has sent Reese (Michael Biehn) to find Sarah and protect her from harm.  The Terminator arrives in the past and takes on the guise of a human.  Reese finds that he has an enemy trying to kill Sarah and needs to act quickly to destroy the robotic monster.  When the Terminator hones in on the two humans all hell breaks loose.
 
This may have been Arnold's best film as his lines are no more than few and mostly one or two sentences.  It's his brawn that makes him the star he becomes in the follow-up Terminator 2 where he switches sides, The Running Man playing a pawn in a game show, Total Recall taking a forbidden vacation and Predator where he fights off an alien from another planet.  Most of the other films, with a couple of exceptions, his voice talent tended to lower his star power.  The comedies however, where his voice is part of the fun, carry him through the decades with films like Kindergarten Cop, True Lies and Jingle All the Way.
 
Bonus Features on the disc include:
"7 Deleted Scenes"- some of which should have been left in the film.
"Creating the Terminator: Visual Effects and Music"- While there was no CGI back then, it is interesting to see how the effects were made.
"Terminator: A Retrospective"
 
The video quality of this upgraded Blu-ray gives a sharp and clean presentation of the original theatrical presentation.  I found that even the darkest scenes were nicely projected with very little grain or distortion.  The color does have a finish that I found to be a little distracting as if it were changed to make it sharper, however the film has so much action it should be hardly noticed.
 
The sound quality with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 comes across loud and clear with very little distortion.  If your sound system accommodates the format than you should have no trouble with background noise or other extraneous sounds.  The special effects sound does allow my surround speakers to kick in at times.
 
FINAL ANALYSIS: This Blu-ray is definitely a better product than the DVD, but only purchase it if you want the Blu-ray upgrade or need it for your collection. (C )

--John Delia

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The Terminator Photos

The Terminator images © Orion Pictures. All Rights Reserved.