SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 1 Hr., 47 Min.
Released in 1984 by Orion Pictures, James Cameron directed this Hemdale/Pacific Western production off a script he had co-written with his then-wife (and the film’s producer), Gale Anne Hurd.
In Los Angeles of 2029, a nuclear holocaust decades before has devastated humanity. Eradicating the remaining pockets of human resistance is the monstrous artificial intelligence, Skynet. Its high-tech, robotic army of ‘Machines’ include ruthless androids packing laser blasters are designed to infiltrate and destroy humanity from within by posing as one of them. These superhuman and virtually indestructible cyborgs are dubbed ‘Terminators,’ as their kill-only programming can neither be bargained nor reasoned with.
To eliminate its greatest threat: the pivotal resistance leader, John Connor, Skynet’s experimental technology sends a Terminator (Schwarzenegger) back to the Los Angeles of 1984. Its mission is to exterminate Connor’s unsuspecting, future mother: Sarah (Hamilton). For a seemingly one-way suicide mission, Connor’s best and most trusted friend, commando Kyle Reese (Biehn), volunteers to follow and protect Sarah, as best he can. Once marooned in 1984, both the Terminator and Reese must then rely upon present-day weaponry in battling one another.
It’s up to Reese to desperately improvise a fleeing defense in saving an incredulous Sarah from her worst possible nightmare. Caught up in this mass-homicide showdown are civilians and Los Angeles cops, unaware that the first sign of the nuclear apocalypse has arrived in the form of the Terminator.
Primary Cast
Sarah J. Connor: Linda Hamilton
The Terminator: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Kyle Reese: Michael Biehn
Lt. Ed Traxler (LAPD): Paul Winfield
Vukovich (LAPD): Lance Henriksen
Dr. Peter Silberman: Earl Boen
Ginger: Bess Motta
Matt: Rick Rossovich
Nancy: Shawn Schepps
Gun Shop Clerk: Dick Miller
2nd Terminator (2029): Franco Columbu
Sarah Connor # 1: Marianne Muellerleile
LAPD Desk Sergeant: Bruce M. Kerner
LAPD Patrol Officer: William Wisher (who contributed dialogue and later co-scripted 1991’s T2: Judgment Day)
LAPD Cops: Ken Fritz, Tom Oberhaus, & Ed Dogans
LAPD Station Cops: Uncredited
Derelict: Stan Yale
Gas Station Attendant (Mexico): Tony Mirelez
Mexican Children: Anthony J. Trujillo & Philip Gordon
Sarah’s Mother (voice only): Uncredited
Resistance Members (2029): Uncredited
Punks: Bill Paxton, Brad Rearden, and Brian Thompson.
REVIEW:
For the Terminator’s 40th Anniversary, there probably isn’t anything new to be said applauding this game-changing 1984 film for standing the test of time – pardon the expression.
In comparison to the franchise’s innumerable and mostly unnecessary sequels (not to mention, a sub-genre of inferior imitators), the phrase, ‘simple yet sophisticated,’ comes to mind. Working off a modest budget (an estimated $6.4 million), virtually every vital component of The Terminator’s production ranges from above-average to superb for its era: special effects; Brad Fiedel’s pulsating, metallic-like score; acting; and, above all, the story’s cohesive structure.
While the film’s VFX limitations are occasionally exposed (i.e. distorted close-ups depicting the Terminator’s damaged face; and the hokey puppetry passing for Stan Winston’s Terminator metallic endoskeleton), the ensemble cast’s efforts selling the plot easily makes up any difference. Beyond the immense credit that writer/director James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger deserve, Linda Hamilton herself puts forth an MVP-caliber performance.
Along with a game Hamilton, an underrated Michael Biehn certainly merits recognition for a job well done. Biehn effectively imbues his sole franchise appearance (aside from Reese’s discarded T2 scene) with an aura of plausible desperation the film needs and takes full advantage of. Additional kudos go to Earl Boen’s ultra-cynical psychiatrist and, ever subtly, Paul Winfield’s low-key cop for further pushing The Terminator’s outlandish premise into believable sci-fi.
Understandably, the film’s surplus of grisly and glamorized violence will be a turn-off to some viewers. Yet, the messiah-inspired storyline that Cameron and his then-wife (and producer), Gale Anne Hurd, devised is still brilliantly implemented. In his most menacing and iconic on-screen persona, Schwarzenegger (buoyed by Hamilton and Biehn’s terrific support) visualizes the Cameron/Hurd story into one of the best sci-fi/horror thrillers ever made. It’s simple as that.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
This High-Definition Blu-Ray’s technical specifications are: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; alternatively, the options are Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 and French DTS 5.1. Subtitles are available in English SDH, Spanish, and French. The viewing perspective is Widescreen 1.85:1.
Among the seven deleted scenes provided, two are particularly intriguing. One entitled “Lt. Traxler’s Arc” is a montage of quick Paul Winfield scenes excluded from the theatrical cut, including a final exchange between Sarah, Reese, and a wounded Traxler. More so, the “Sarah Fights Back” explores material that foreshadows Sarah’s preemptive attack against Cyberdyne Systems (Skynet’s precursor) prior to 1991’s T2: Judgment Day.
There is also a vignette: Creating The Terminator, which discusses the creation of its visual effects and Brad Fiedel’s instrumental score. Evidently produced prior to the 1991 sequel, the Terminator: A Retrospective vignette intercuts footage from the original film with clips of Cameron and Schwarzenegger casually reminiscing in a sit-down discussion and a separate Cameron interview.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 9 Stars
