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The Terminator (1984)

R  -  Action | Sci-Fi  -  26 October 1984 (USA)
8.1
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Ratings: 8.1/10 from 452,717 users   Metascore: 84/100
Reviews: 623 user | 172 critic | 11 from Metacritic.com

A human-looking indestructible cyborg is sent from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate a waitress, whose unborn son will lead humanity in a war against the machines, while a soldier from that war is sent to protect her at all costs.

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Shawn Schepps ...
Bruce M. Kerner ...
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Future Terminator
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Brad Rearden ...
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Storyline

A cyborg is sent from the future on a deadly mission. He has to kill Sarah Connor, a young woman whose life will have a great significance in years to come. Sarah has only one protector - Kyle Reese - also sent from the future. The Terminator uses his exceptional intelligence and strength to find Sarah, but is there any way to stop the seemingly indestructible cyborg ? Written by Colin Tinto <cst@imdb.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Your future is in his hands. See more »

Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

Country:

|

Language:

|

Release Date:

26 October 1984 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Terminateur  »

Box Office

Budget:

$6,400,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$38,400,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(original release)| (DVD Re-Release)| (DTS HD Master Audio)

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Science fiction author Harlan Ellison sued James Cameron, claiming that the film was plagiarized from the two The Outer Limits (1963) episodes that Ellison wrote, namely The Outer Limits: Soldier (1964) and The Outer Limits: Demon with a Glass Hand (1964). The concept of "Skynet" could also have been borrowed from an Ellison short story called "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream." The suit was settled out of court and newer prints of the film acknowledge Ellison. Cameron has claimed that this settlement was forced upon him by the producers, which he has always resented. See more »

Goofs

When the Terminator is done operating on his own eye, he has a robotic eye. As soon as he puts his sunglasses on, Arnolds eyes are back to normal and clearly visible through the glasses from that moment on. See more »

Quotes

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

Crazy Credits

The opening credits run while large outlines of the two halves of THE TERMINATOR cross each other. After the last directorial credit is shown, the title THE TERMINATOR zooms backward, is filled by metallic blue, and reveals itself. See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004) See more »

Soundtracks

Burnin' In The Third Degree
Performed by Tryanglz
Written by Tane McClure (as Tahnee Cain), Mugs Cain, Dave Amato, Brett Tuggle,
Ricky Phillips
Published by Any Garage Music (ASCAP)
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Review of the Special Edition DVD
19 April 2003 | by (Morro Bay, Hammett Valley, Twin Rocks) – See all my reviews

I've reviewed this classic movie before, but now I'm gonna review the DVD. To start, I must say that although they had their rationale for deleting the "terminated" scenes, as they were called, I think they definitely should have left that one scene in where Sarah Connor calls her mom and tells her to hide in the cabin, and where she finds the listing of Cyberdyne Corp. in the phone book. This scene established Sarah as one who is willing to try to take matters into her hands to stop a nuclear war and a horrible future. She talks to Reese about getting rid of Cyberdyne and they get into an arguement about whether or not that is a mission objective and Reese ends up chasing Sarah into a wooded area. I think the beauty of the woods, flowers and waterfalls was important too, because Reese starts crying and saying how all of this is destroyed, and the future is nothing but blackened, charred ruins littered with the skulls of attempted human genocide. What a terrific, powerful scene. I adore Michael Biehn, and I didn't realize what a great actor (and crier) he is!!! Maybe the other "terminated" scenes were okay to delete, although they were all delightful. The one where Sarah practices her "wholesome waitress" routine was cute. The one where she talks about Disneyland and hot dogs might have seemed silly, but it really brought home how foreign our world is to Reese, as did the crying scene. The tickling scene might have seemed silly to the editor, but I thought it really made a point: after all the violence and bleakness Reese lived through, to be with the woman he's always loved and idolized, to lay in a cozy warm bed with her experiencing the simple joys of life for the first time (I still wonder if Sarah devirginized him, since he said he'd "never" had any special someone in his life) seemed to bring everything into perspective. The scene where you discover that the factory was Cyberdyne Systems was important too, but I'll let these scenes slide. I really think they should consider releasing a TERMINATOR with the scene in the wooded area included. Nevertheless, I still consider this film as one of my favorite sci-fi films, and my favorite James Cameron film. I still admire who he infuses humanity with action and adrenaline, and the missing scenes were wonderful.


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Message Boards

Recent Posts
30th Anniversary darkstorm97
The only movie to portray the Terminator correctly ichabodcrane370
The Terminator seems a little... reckless. Reuben702
What if the Terminator succeeded in his mission? jrwcole
Inappropriate Things to Say During Sex (Terminator style) darkstorm97
Love the film, but a question/goof? LuisitoJoaquinGonzalez
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