The Terminator (1984)

In 1984, a human soldier is tasked to stop an indestructible cyborg killing machine, both sent from 2029, from executing a young woman, whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.

Director:

James Cameron

Writers:

James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn

Top Rated Movies #243 | 7 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Sent back from a dystopian 2029--where the cold machines have conquered the entire world--to 1984 Los Angeles, the indestructible cyborg-assassin known as the "Terminator" commences his deadly mission to kill humankind's most important woman: the unsuspecting, Sarah Connor. However, from the same war-torn post-apocalyptic future comes a battle-scarred defender--Kyle Reese, a brave soldier of the human Resistance Army--bent on stopping the cybernetic killer from eliminating the world's last hope. But, the Terminator has no feelings, he doesn't sleep, and above all, he won't stop until he carries out his grim task. Does our future lie in our past?

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Plot Keywords:

robotics | cyborg | time travel | future war | nudity | 

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Taglines:

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'

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 October 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Terminator

Filming Locations:

Tunnel at Lower Grand & West Gen Thad Kosciuszko Way, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,020,663, 28 October 1984

Gross USA:

$38,371,200

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$78,475,971

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema '84, Euro Film Funding, Hemdale

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was rumored to be cast as Sarah Connor but was forced to turn the role down due to her commitment as a regular player on NBC's Saturday Night Live (1975).

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Goofs

(at around 14 mins) The Terminator purchases firearms at a gun store, including a short-barreled, automatic Uzi. There are strict federal laws, and California has had bans on these for decades. No gun store sells them, and no criminal enterprise would have them readily visible on the wall. Converting a long barreled semiautomatic Uzi to full auto takes completely different internal parts, a machine shop and precise tooling.

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Quotes

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

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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.

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Alternate Versions

The new MGM R1 DVD releases has two altered scenes, at the request of Lightstorm Entertainment, supposedly to fix goofs in the original picture: a scene set in the future, when a Terminator enters the rebel compound, has been flipped on its vertical axis; the scene where the Terminator leaves the motel in L.A. has been cropped/reframed so that his feet are no longer visible (this was done to fix a continuity problem: the original scene showed Schwarzenegger wearing shoes instead of boots as previously seen).

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Connections

Spoofed in Ereminator: Dark Future (2019)

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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)

User Reviews

It's about transformation

I just saw a horrifying, touching, very good movie again; it's The Terminator. Now to talk of it as great film, to compare it with American Beauty might seem idiotic--it's an almost unrelentingly dark, violent, frightening action movie, after all--but strip away the relentless action, strip away the technophobia, strip away the blatant dislike of cops and modern youth, strip away the poignant love story and, at its core, it's about an immature, essentially mindless girl becoming a strong, determined woman. That's a theme more movies should have if we want girls to have strong role models.

In the course of a few hours during which Sarah Connor realises that she is running for her life from a soul-less machine in human flesh that is implacably and violently determined to kill her, she transforms from a girl who can't balance her cheque book to a woman who can order a wounded, beaten man to "get on your feet, soldier." She is clear-headed, not panicky, focused in crisis and incredibly courageous. And it's not that she has lost her essential femaleness but that she's grown up.

It's relentless, heartless violence appals and fascinates me. It's gritty depiction of our society as a prelude to an even more horrific one in 2023 darkens my heart. It's quickly developing love story touches me. Its humor makes the dark places in me smile. But most of all I am touched and fascinated by Sarah's precipitous transformation. As a good life exercise, ask yourself this: Would you have the courage to do what she does?

9.5 out of 10.