I was born, I grew up (perhaps) and I'm not dead yet.
I was born, I grew up (perhaps) and I'm not dead yet.
Member since:04.12.2002
Reviews:7
Members who trust:2
Prices (from BlackStar): 2-disc DVD: £22.99 2-disc DVD (packaged with T2: Ultimate Edition): £16.99
The Film: Made way back in 1984, The Terminator is one of the seminal films of the 1980s, a landmark science-fiction film that launched the careers of Arnold Schwarzenegger (in the title role) and director James Cameron (who went on to direct Aliens, The Abyss and latterly Titanic). What’s more astonishing (especially in light of its blockbuster sequels) is that the film was originally conceived of as a low-budget exploitation flick, made for a mere $6 million. The film’s meteoric success can be attributed to three main factors: Cameron’s script, his direction, and the star-making turn from Schwarzenegger as the titular cyborg killing machine.
The script raises the film above the level of similar sci-fi B-movies from the outset; the plot’s probably familiar to most people, but I’ll recap it briefly. A cyborg from the post-apocalyptic future is sent back in time to hunt down and kill Sarah Connor, a college student and waitress; her son John is destined to become the leader of the human resistance against the armies of the machines. The resistance send one of their own, Kyle Reese, to locate and protect Connor. The script’s strength lies in its well-rounded, clearly delineated characters (principally Sarah Connor, and Reese), and in its well-thought-out depiction of time travel. It features several clever time loops, guaranteed to make your head spin, Austin-Powers-style. For example, it transpires over the course of the film that John Connor’s father is none other than Kyle Reese, the soldier from the future. But that’s the simplest of the paradoxes. Hinted at in the first film (and made more explicit in the second), is the idea that the components from the Terminator cyborg, destroyed at the end of the film, form the building blocks for the Skynet supercomputer that eventually brings about armageddon. How about this one: Reese falls in love with Sarah after seeing a Polaroid shot of her, with a pensive look on her face; he claims he always wondered what she was thinking about when the photo was taken. It turns out she was thinking about his tragic death. Funny how things turn out, isn’t it? It’s a lot cleverer than most sci-fi/action fare, and it makes you wonder why more film-makers haven’t cottoned on to the idea of intelligent action pics. People remember Terminator and The Matrix. They don’t remember Commando, and they do their level best to forget Batman & Robin. There’s a reason for that, folks.
The script is complemented by Cameron’s direction, a masterclass in making the most of a low budget. Kinetic hand-held cameras impart a sense of movement and heightened drama, and a documentary feel, while slow-motion draws out moments
of action. Cameron’s depiction of the post-apocalypse Los Angeles, meanwhile, has hardly dated in twenty years – and, incidentally, was clearly the reference point for the Wachowksi brothers’ The Matrix. Clever shots abound; the opening of the film segues from shots of the machines’ battle tanks in the future, via the titles, to a close-up of massive hydraulic machinery. Having been duped into assuming that they’re watching more of the same, the audience is surprised by the following shot; the heavy machinery is nothing more than a garbage truck. The police station sequence is one of the most memorable, iconic moments in the cinema, as the Terminator wades through a veritable army of cops in search of Sarah Connor (having delivered his signature line, “I’ll be back”). The closing sequence of the film shows expert editing, cutting between live-action footage, stop-motion puppetry and full-scale models to depict the Terminator’s endoskeleton stripped of its skin. It does get a bit repetitive on second viewing, as the Terminator survives being run over by a truck, burned, and blown up in the closing twenty minutes, but first time round, you’ll jump out of your seat. Or you won’t, because I’ve just told you what happens.
Brad Fiedel’s justifiably famous electronic score complements the action; while some of the synths are a bit dated, the core elements of the score still hold up. In particular, the Terminator theme is one of the most recognisable pieces of film music around, up there with Morricone’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and John Williams’ Indiana Jones, Star Wars and Jaws stings. There’s a lovely minimalist piano rendition of the theme before and during Reese and Sarah’s history-making shag, too. Close your eyes, ignore the ’80s hair flicking and gratuitous nipples, and listen. Or just buy the soundtrack, it’s up to you.
The direction and effects are backed up by the performances of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, Michael Biehn as Reese, and, of course, the Austrian man-mountain Schwarzenegger as the Terminator. It’s Schwarzenegger that the film is remembered for, and justifiably so; he turns in a great performance as the relentless killing machine. Less generous reviewers might point out that it doesn’t take great acting chops to play an emotionless robot, but even the doubters have to acknowledge Schwarzenegger’s perfectly suited to the role, all controlled movement, scanning eyes and cold menace. He’s a human bulldozer; though it’s worth noting as an incidental detail that apart from the Terminator’s first appearance, Cameron doesn’t give in to the temptation of showing off Schwarzenegger’s muscles; the fact that he’s a bodybuilder is incidental. As if that weren’t enough, Arnie manages to pull off the trick of not looking ridiculous despite having no eyebrows for the second half of the film. While Schwarzenegger gets much of the credit for the film’s success, the contribution of the other actors can’t be underestimated. Linda Hamilton peers out from behind a lion’s mane of bad ’80s hair and turns in a creditable performance as Sarah Connor, successfully depicting the character’s transition from innocent victim to strong survivor. It’s difficult to say this without coming across as offensive (and really, I don’t mean to be), but it helps that she’s not ridiculously attractive, as the female leads in exploitation pics tend to be. She still gets her knockers out though, but at least it’s in the service of the plot. Yes, even the sex scenes are integral to the film.
I’ll be honest with you, and say the best thing in this film is Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese. When I was a kid, I didn’t give a toss about Arnie; Reese is the best thing in this film, and it’s criminal that Biehn has been relegated to supporting parts for the past 20 years. He’s a combination of hardened soldier and innocent abroad, and pulls off the role with aplomb. As some commentators have pointed out, Reese has a peculiarly Oedipal relationship with Sarah Connor; he functions as both father-figure to Sarah, teaching her how to adjust to her role as protector of humanity, and as a surrogate son, bearing messages from Connor’s future son (who Reese himself fathers). As if that weren’t enough, Sarah then acts as a Mrs. Robinson figure to Reese; watch closely and it turns out that Reese actually loses his virginity to Sarah. Helluva relationship those two have; it almost covers up the implausible notion that Reese is the love of Sarah’s life, despite the fact that they only spend about a day and a half together, and that for much of that time, she thinks he’s a nutter. There is one other tiny problem with the script that’s niggled at me for years – if the time machine can only transport living tissue, and the Terminator can pass through because it’s metal surrounded by living tissue, why didn’t anyone think to bring back one of those “phased plasma rifles” wrapped inside a cocoon of living flesh with them? I’ve got this time-travel lark sussed, me…
The DVD: I can't really judge the quality of the transfer and the sound, as I've got a pretty crap DVD player and no fancy-pants satellite/subwoofer setup. However, to my layman's eyes and ears, it seems pretty good. A lot better than VHS, at any rate.
The 2-disc special edition comes with a nice selection of special features; the by-now standard trailers (interesting examples of ’80s exploitation film marketing), and deleted scenes. The deleted scenes are handled particularly well; each is preceded by a text piece explaining its role in the film and why it was dropped. Of particular note are a couple of scenes which were later expanded into key plot threads in the sequel, in which Sarah decides to pre-empt the construction of the Skynet AI that brings about nuclear war by attacking its manufacturer, Cyberdyne Systems. The one scene that – in my opinion – should have been retained is the closing scene, showing two Cyberdyne employees finding the components of the destroyed Terminator and deciding to retro-engineer it (something which eventually leads to the construction of Skynet). In fairness, Terminator 2 picks up on this idea and further explores it, but it would be nice to see it reinstated in the original film. Maybe the real reason it’s been omitted is that the two guys playing the Cyberdyne workers can’t act to save their lives. Another fairly standard feature is a collection of posters (check out the hilariously crap foreign poster for the film), photos, stills and concept paintings by James Cameron (as well as being a director, science buff and illustrator, he’s one of only a few people to explore the wreck of the Titanic; something of a Renaissance Man, isn’t he?). What’s especially interesting is seeing the extent to which Cameron’s initial vision of the film (seen in the concept paintings) was retained in the final product, despite the budgetary pressures. Squint at the paintings, and they could be stills from the film itself. If there’s one criticism of these images, it’s that they could be bigger; the menu screens tend to dominate the images. Also included are three versions of the script (two of which require a DVD-Rom drive to access) – enabling the viewer to chart the development of the film from script to screen.
The disc also features two retrospective documentaries; “Terminator – A Retrospective,” and “Other Voices.” The first of these features Cameron and Schwarzenegger reminiscing about the making of the film, throwing up some interesting points. For instance, it was originally intended that the Terminator be a very average-looking man, someone who could blend into a crowd; Schwarzenegger’s casting consequently changed the whole tone of the film. Clear echoes of this idea can be seen in Terminator 2’s T-1000 character. And the man originally tipped for the role of the Terminator? Lance Henriksen – Detective Vukotich in the film. No wonder he looks so grumpy throughout.
“Other Voices” focuses for the most part on the actual making of the film, particularly the work of the special effects crew; it’s a fascinating look at guerrilla film-making on the cheap. It’s also incredible how, with a tiny budget, the effects crews managed to create a future war sequence that’s easily as good as the ones from the bigger-budget sequels. Of particular note is the Terminator’s self-repair scene, and the work on the Terminator endoskeleton for the film’s finale; a combination of models, stop-motion puppets, and clever editing, it still holds up today. In fact, a few dodgy shots notwithstanding, it looks better than the CGI endoskeletons that appear in Terminator 3. Poncy computers. Who needs ’em?
The only really glaring omission is the lack of a commentary from the principals; however, this might be rectified next year, since it’s a fairly safe bet that with the forthcoming Ultimate Edition of Terminator 3 due on DVD in 2004, there’ll be a complimentary 20th anniversary release of The Terminator. Might be worth holding out for that, but if you can’t wait, the current special edition DVD is fine on its own. It’s a bargain when packaged with the T2 Ultimate Edition DVD in the “Terminator Collection,” and well worth a look.
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Willow Smith, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Alice Braga
Advantages: Uncommonly good storyline for an action film, super special effects, imaginative design, excellent value DVD Disadvantages: Many won't enjoy it for its occasionally-graphic violence
tom1clare 07.03.2004 (10.03.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Terminator
Advantages: Some visually entertaining if unengaging special effects Disadvantages: Terrible dialogue, direction, plot and acting, Unoriginal, dull and unengaging.
Burning_Darkness 28.07.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Terminator Salvation
Sep 2nd, 2003
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