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.
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?Written by
Nick Riganas
In the film, the name of the night club where the Terminator first targets Sarah was named Tech Noir after a film genre which James Cameron coined himself in describing what category this film falls under after dismissing the notions that it was a mere horror or slasher film. Tech Noir films like Blade Runner (1982) and this film combine the old style grittiness of noir films with the futuristic elements of a sci-fi thriller. Cameron himself had the club built specifically for the film and had to turn away local club goers who thought Tech Noir was a real night club. The building still exists but is now a jewelry store. See more »
Goofs
When Sarah is at the gas station the shadows under the cars are all short showing the sun is directly above them. When she pulls out onto the road and drives toward the mountains, her car is casting a much longer shadow than before, showing a few hours have past rather than a few seconds. 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 »
Alternate Versions
When aired on USA and SCI-FI, the following alterations were made: when both Terminator and Reese arrive from the future, the supposed dirty mumblings of the witnesses (a garbage truck driver and a bum) have been edited. When the Terminator visits the first wrong Sarah, his original scene of him shooting her six times is changed to one shot with the BANG cut out. The scenes where Kyle hotwires the cars is edited, as is the scene of Sarah waitressing in the restaurant and a kid drops a spoonful of ice cream in her apron. See more »
Good movie, interesting premise, action, dumb pigs, Kim Wilde (her songs stand the test of time to). What else is there?