The Terminator (1984)

Director:

James Cameron

Writers:

James Cameron (written by) &
Gale Anne Hurd (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 October 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

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'

Plot:

A human-looking, apparently unstoppable cyborg is sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor; Kyle Reese is sent to stop it.

Plot Keywords:

1980s | Merciless | Fugitive Sex | Homemade Explosive | Altering History

Awards:

4 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Terminator (USA) (trailer title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM14 (original rating) (1984) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2001) | UK:18 (1985-2000) | Italy:T (re-rating) (1991) | Finland:K-15 (uncut DVD version) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-16 (1991) (cut) | New Zealand:M | Finland:K-18 (1991) (cut) | Ireland:18 (1985-2006) | South Korea:18 | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1984) | Ireland:15 (re-rating) (2007) | Finland:K-16 (1998) (uncut) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta) (re-rating) (1999) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Japan:R-15 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Poland:15 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (cut) | West Germany:18 (uncut version) (JK/SPIO) | Netherlands:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

2nd Street Tunnel between Hill and Figueroa, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

The sunglasses worn by the Terminator were Gargoyles.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious stunt double for Kyle when he and Sarah are switching sides in the pick-up truck.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Dead End (1985)

Soundtrack:

Burnin' In The Third Degree

An excellent film, highly original

Terminator is an extremely low budget movie. In fact, just about everything used in it didn't cost much at all, but it is a very effective movie. Back in the '70's and 80's, movies could be very low budget, but still be great(think of John Carpenter's Halloween).

The Terminator is a story about how nuclear war causes the end to mankind and the end result could be the start of an even greater tragedy than the war its self. The entire message of The Terminator is an anti nuclear war message.

Many people think that a few parts in the beginning of the movie are just some random things thrown in. Those people don't know the movie, because all of the things at the beginning were supposed to happen anyway.

Arnold does a great job as the cyborg who is programmed to kill without mercy or remorse. For those of you who don't know, this is the movie where the line "I'll be back" was spoken. The other actors do a good job in this. Linda Hamilton made a great choice doing this movie and she really improved her career through it(the movie she made before this was the horrible Children Of The Corn).

This is better than Terminator 2(which is still great by the way), because this movie has more of a story and is more involved. I would recommend watching this movie at any time, it is very well paced and never gets boring, and if you have the time, watch T2 right after this.