The Terminator (1984)

Director:

James Cameron

Writers:

James Cameron (written by) &
Gale Anne Hurd (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 October 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

In the Year of Darkness, 2029, the rulers of this planet devised the ultimate plan. They would reshape the Future by changing the Past. The plan required something that felt no pity. No pain. No fear. Something unstoppable. They created 'THE TERMINATOR'

Plot:

A human-looking, apparently unstoppable cyborg is sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor; Kyle Reese is sent to stop it.

Plot Keywords:

The Terminator | Future | Skynet | Cyborg | Soldier

Awards:

5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	The Terminator
Michael Biehn	...	Kyle Reese
Linda Hamilton	...	Sarah Connor
Paul Winfield	...	Lieutenant Ed Traxler
Lance Henriksen	...	Detective Hal Vukovich
Bess Motta	...	Ginger Ventura
Earl Boen	...	Dr. Peter Silberman
Rick Rossovich	...	Matt Buchanan
Dick Miller	...	Pawnshop Clerk
Shawn Schepps	...	Nancy
Bruce M. Kerner	...	Desk Sergeant
Franco Columbu	...	Future Terminator
Bill Paxton	...	Punk Leader
Brad Rearden	...	Punk
Brian Thompson	...	Punk

Also Known As:

Terminator (USA) (trailer title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (cut) (1984) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Italy:T (re-rating) (1991) | Italy:VM14 (original rating) (1984) | Finland:K-15 (uncut DVD version) | Finland:K-16 (1991) (cut) | Finland:K-16 (1996) (uncut) | Finland:K-18 (1991) (cut) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Ireland:15 (re-rating) (2007) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2001) | UK:18 (1985-2000) | Ireland:18 (1985-2006) | Brazil:14 | New Zealand:M | Malaysia:U | Chile:14 (DVD re-rating) | Australia:MA (Definitive Edition DVD) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta) (re-rating) (1999) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2001) | France:U | Japan:R-15 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Poland:15 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (cut) | West Germany:18 (uncut version) (JK/SPIO) | Netherlands:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

2nd Street Tunnel between Hill and Figueroa, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

The Los Angeles police cars have different mottoes: "To Protect and Serve" and "To Care and Protect."

Goofs:

Continuity: At the beginning of the chase with the Cadillac, bullet holes can be seen appearing in the front windshield several times, but during most of the chase, it only has one hole.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[the garbage truck's engine stops]
Truck Driver: What the hell? Goddamn son of a bitch...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' (2001) (V)

Soundtrack:

Burnin' In The Third Degree

This is the movie that made a big break through for sci-fi movies!!!!

The Terminator is one of those films that no matter if you've seen it or not, you've heard of it, heck you know at least one or two lines without seeing it! This is the movie that blasted then new comer's Arnold Schwartzeneggerr's career, made James Cameron a name in Hollywood, and gave new meaning to a possible dark future that gave us nightmares. I remember the first time I saw this movie, I was just 8 years old and my dad of course walks in saying to cover my eyes at every "bad" scene with violence or nudity, needless to say about 70% of the movie he covered my eyes. Finally I got to see it with my mom and I was in love, this wasn't just an action movie, though it is one of the best, it had a story. To think this was all based upon just a quick nightmare that James Cameron had, he didn't have much money, but he had a good script, a great crew on his side to make one of cinema's greatest movies of all time.

Two men appear in Los Angeles in separate locations, manifesting in sudden, blinding flash-storms of electricity. One is heavily muscular; the other man, slim and wiry. The mysterious muscular man obtains weapons and begins hunting down all women named "Sarah Connor", using a phone book to track his targets. He successfully kills the first two of the three listed women. When he attempts to kill the last Sarah Connor, he is stopped by the other man, Kyle Reese who has been sent back in time to protect her. While hiding in a parking garage, Reese explains that the man hunting Sarah is actually a cyborg assassin called a "Terminator", built by Skynet, an artificial intelligence network created by Cyberdyne Systems. In the near future, Reese explains, Skynet gained self-awareness, initiated a global takeover of military hardware, and launched a nuclear war against humanity. Skynet ordered that a scant number of humans were to be kept alive in order to be used as slave labor. John Connor, Sarah's son, rallied the few remaining humans and led a resistance movement against the machines. After a grinding campaign, the human resistance was on the verge of victory; in a last-ditch effort, Skynet sent the Terminator back in time to kill Sarah before John was born, preventing the resistance from ever being founded and allowing the machines to win by default. Reese volunteered to follow the Terminator back in time to protect Sarah; after his use of the time transportation equipment, it was to be destroyed by the resistance in order to prevent further Terminators from going back in time. The Terminator feels no pain, has no emotions, and will stop at nothing to accomplish its mission.

The Terminator is personally one of my favorite movies of all time, I think because this movie really is something special. Yeah, the effects are very 80's, but for the time and even to this day, I think the special effects are much better than the CGI crud we get in today's cinema. This has everything: action, romance, horror, sci-fi, and even some dark humor. The reason why Arnold's "I'll be back" is so famous is not just because of his accent, but because you knew that something bad was coming. Kyle Reese's "Come with me if you want to live" is classic as well. If you haven't seen The Terminator, I highly recommend this movie, it's an incredible one that is sure to deliver entertainment to the fullest. This is one of the greatest movies of all time and I'm sure that you will not be disappointed, if you are, get a CAT scan.

10/10