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IMDbPro

The Terminator

  • 19841984
  • RR
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
853K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
341
45
Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984)
On this IMDbrief, we break down our favorite movies from the IMDb Top 250 that boldly look to what might lie ahead.
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'The Platform' & Future Films From the IMDb Top 250
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ActionSci-Fi
A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn so... Read allA human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
853K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
341
45
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • James Cameron
    • Writers
      • James Cameron
      • Gale Anne Hurd
      • William Wisher(additional dialogue)
    • Stars
      • Arnold Schwarzenegger
      • Linda Hamilton
      • Michael Biehn
    Top credits
    • Director
      • James Cameron
    • Writers
      • James Cameron
      • Gale Anne Hurd
      • William Wisher(additional dialogue)
    • Stars
      • Arnold Schwarzenegger
      • Linda Hamilton
      • Michael Biehn
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1KUser reviews
    • 248Critic reviews
    • 84Metascore
    Top rated movie #216
    • Awards
      • 8 wins & 6 nominations

    Videos15

    The Terminator
    Trailer 1:04
    The Terminator
    'The Platform' & Future Films From the IMDb Top 250
    Clip 4:04
    'The Platform' & Future Films From the IMDb Top 250
    How Mackenzie Davis Expands the 'Terminator' Universe
    Clip 2:09
    How Mackenzie Davis Expands the 'Terminator' Universe
    The Evolution of Sarah Connor & The Terminator
    Clip 2:21
    The Evolution of Sarah Connor & The Terminator
    'The Terminator' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:13
    'The Terminator' | Anniversary Mashup
    Top Gun! Terminator! The '80s Live at SDCC
    Clip 2:29
    Top Gun! Terminator! The '80s Live at SDCC
    Questions We Have About "Stranger Things" Season 4
    Clip 3:35
    Questions We Have About "Stranger Things" Season 4
    Upside Down the Rabbit Holes of "Stranger Things"
    Clip 3:45
    Upside Down the Rabbit Holes of "Stranger Things"
    Dark Fate for Terminator Franchise or a Requel That Works?
    Clip 4:20
    Dark Fate for Terminator Franchise or a Requel That Works?
    What We Know About 'Terminator: Dark Fate' ... So Far
    Clip 3:27
    What We Know About 'Terminator: Dark Fate' ... So Far
    Who Nearly Starred in The Terminator Franchise?
    Video 4:38
    Who Nearly Starred in The Terminator Franchise?
    Cheat Sheet: 'Terminator: Dark Fate'
    Video 4:49
    Cheat Sheet: 'Terminator: Dark Fate'

    Photos359

    Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn in The Terminator (1984)
    Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dick Miller in The Terminator (1984)
    Michael Biehn in The Terminator (1984)
    Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984)
    Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984)
    Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984)
    Lance Henriksen and Paul Winfield in The Terminator (1984)
    Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984)
    Linda Hamilton in The Terminator (1984)
    Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984)
    Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, and Marian Green in The Terminator (1984)
    Arnold Schwarzenegger, Darrell Mapson, Patrick Pinney, Bill W. Richmond, and Bob Ritchie in The Terminator (1984)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Arnold Schwarzenegger
    Arnold Schwarzenegger
    • Terminator
    Linda Hamilton
    Linda Hamilton
    • Sarah Connor
    Michael Biehn
    Michael Biehn
    • Kyle Reese
    Paul Winfield
    Paul Winfield
    • Traxler
    Lance Henriksen
    Lance Henriksen
    • Vukovich
    Rick Rossovich
    Rick Rossovich
    • Matt
    Bess Motta
    Bess Motta
    • Ginger
    Earl Boen
    Earl Boen
    • Silberman
    Dick Miller
    Dick Miller
    • Pawn Shop Clerk
    Shawn Schepps
    Shawn Schepps
    • Nancy
    Bruce M. Kerner
    • Desk Sergeant
    Franco Columbu
    Franco Columbu
    • Future Terminator
    Bill Paxton
    Bill Paxton
    • Punk Leader
    Brad Rearden
    Brad Rearden
    • Punk
    Brian Thompson
    Brian Thompson
    • Punk
    William Wisher
    William Wisher
    • Policeman
    • (as William Wisher Jr.)
    Ken Fritz
    • Policeman
    Tom Oberhaus
    • Policeman
    • Director
      • James Cameron
    • Writers
      • James Cameron
      • Gale Anne Hurd
      • William Wisher(additional dialogue)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Linda Hamilton Returns to Her Iconic 'Terminator' Role

    Linda Hamilton Returns to Her Iconic 'Terminator' Role

    Has it really been 27 years? The Terminator: Dark Fate actress lets us in on why she's back in the franchise.
    Watch now
    [object Object]

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      While shooting this film, James Cameron often resorted to what he called "guerilla filmmaking" as a way of getting around acquiring permits needed to film certain scenes. This involved the production crew and actors quickly arriving at a specified location, shooting the scene and leaving before the police arrived. As a result, some of the people seen in a few shots are actual everyday citizens completely unaware they're in a movie. This was also used for re shoots with Cameron even calling and waking Arnold Schwarzenegger once at 3am to meet him at a location already in full costume to quickly re-shoot a scene. Cameron also used this tactic to film the very last scene where Sarah drives off into the desert. This almost backfired, however, when the police came sniffing around.
    • Goofs
      (at around 33 mins) When Sarah is in the night club she has to put change into the pay phone to call 911. While 911 calls are free, many pay phones in the 1980s required you to insert a coin in order to obtain a dial tone.
    • Quotes

      Cleaning Man at Flophouse: [1:14:18] Hey, buddy. You got a dead cat in there, or what?

      [the Terminator visualizes: 'POSSIBLE RESPONSE: YES/NO; OR WHAT?; GO AWAY; PLEASE COME BACK LATER; FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE; FUCK YOU']

      The Terminator: Fuck you, asshole.

    • 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.
    • Alternate versions
      NBC edited 7 minutes and time-compressed 4 minutes of this film for its 1987 network television premiere.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Terminator: 'Terminated' Deleted Scenes (2001)
    • Soundtracks
      You Can't Do That
      Performed by Tryanglz

      Written by Ricky Phillips

      Published by Ricky Lynn Phillips Music (BMI)

    User reviews1K

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    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
    helpful•314
    76
    • Smells_Like_Cheese
    • Aug 4, 2002

    FAQ47

    • When the janitor bothers the Terminator, why does he select "Fuck You, Asshole" as his response?
    • In one of the future scenes when the resistance base is under attack, is the model of Terminator a T-800 but with a different skin job?
    • How did the Terminator know how to drive a car, Kyle would know how as they were still using cars to fight Skynet, but the Terminators used more advanced machines so wouldn't have ever needed to drive a car.

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 26, 1984 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Facebook
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Terminator
    • Filming locations
      • 720 S Hill Street, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Cinema '84
      • Euro Film Funding
      • Hemdale
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $6,400,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $38,371,200
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,020,663
      • Oct 28, 1984
    • Gross worldwide
      • $78,371,200
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 47 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono(original release)
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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