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The Terminator (1984)

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V

ery occasionally, a 'B' movie comes along which massively exceeds expectations and ends up eclipsing all the 'A' movies of the genre of that time.

Even less often, a 'B' movie is released that shakes up the whole genre. Forever changing people's expectations of that genre.

Only a few movies ever released have done all this and gone on to have a seizmic effect on the culture and movies of the day and still be very anticipated re-release fifteen or twenty years later.

One of those movies is Star Wars. Another surely is The Terminator.

Both these movies shared a 'B' movie budget. Both were made by novice directors who were making only their second studio picture. Neither movies were expected to last more than a few weeks at the box office before quietly slipping into oblivion.

In the case of The Terminator, the budget truly was miniscule. Many more accomplished directors may have been forgiven for resigning themselves to 'B' movie results on the basis of the budgetary constraints alone... But The Terminator wasn't made by just any director. It was made by James Cameron, a man who would become almost infamous for his relentless persuit of the perfect end result --a persuit no less relentless than his cyborg assassin from the future in the film that made his reputation. Cameron would gain this repuation through the production of films like Aliens, The Abyss and Titanic.

In my opinion, the common element that binds all 'cult' movies together is the absolute care and dedication shown by the filmmakers and cast during production -- regardless of the budget.

The proportion of low budget movies achieving such cult status seems to have fallen markedly since the 80's. Some movies made since have seemed to be becoming cult classics. Movies like "The Blair Witch Project" have appeared to be carrying on the tradition, only to disappear almost entirely six months or a year later in a "puff of hype".

Not so with The Terminator, for this time he really is "Back". Back with a vengance -in limited release at the theaters and on a 2 disc DVD with a stunning new film transfer, remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and a whole DVD full of extras.

In a curious twist of fate, it is the Europeans who get the DVD version first, with rumors of anything up to a years delay before it is seen in the USA. Coversely, the "Ultimate Edition" DVD of the sequel has been available in the USA for about six months whilst Europeans have recently had their hopes dashed of an April 2001 release with the news that it won't be coming until October.

This is not necessarily a bad things for Europeans, as in the absence of the high budget sequel, more people will probably get to enjoy the original. And enjoy they will, for despite what your memory may tell you about the 1984 classic, it more than holds its own compared with it's hugely expensive sequel.

It's also a much darker, more brooding film. The absense of 'knowing' in the one-liners seems to give the film a 'sincerity' that is absent from the sequel.

Cameron works wonders in creating the tension in this dark world too (he insisted that much of the film was shot at night).

The effects, which in recollection may have seemed hugely inferior to the sequel, in reality are still very, very impressive. Rarely does the film reveal it's budgetary disadvantage. With it's new, crystal clear picture and stomping 5.1 sound it could have been made yesterday.

The truth is, of course, that The Terminator only really achieved it's huge success when released on video, so most of us will only remember seeing the film through the 'fog' of a grainy VHS or Beta copy. When seen in the proper way, the reason for it's hugely deserved cult status becomes all too clear...

Don't forget that The Terminator is now available to order on Widescreen DVD using our special 80s Retro Assistant...

Written By: Nick [Contact]
 

One of the true greats in the all time sci-fi hall of fame. The original, far from being outclassed by its $100 million+ sequel, shows itself to be a darker, more sinister stablemate, easily holding it's own without ILM's liquid metal effects.

If you haven't seen it in a while.. SEE IT!. If you don't own it BUY IT!. Whatever you do, DON'T MISS this lovingly restored and enhanced classic.

Rewind Factor: 9.6
  
Did you know?

Cameron allegedly came up with the idea "all in one wallop" whilst lying sick in a hotel room in Rome during the completion of his first movie, Pirahna II. Unfortunately he probably unwittingly came up with a story that used elements of other people's work. Many sci-fi writers claimed that their work had been used, but Harlan Ellison successfully settled with the studio over similarities to two or more of his works, notably a short story entitled "Demon with a glass hand" and an episiode of "The Outer Limits" called "Soldier".


It's a well known part of 'The Legend' that Arnie was originally approached to play the part of Kyle Reese (The good guy) while O.J. Simpson was to play The Terminator. Fewer people know that in the very beginning Cameron's friend Lance Henriksen was pencilled in for the lead, only to be sadly 'relegated' to the role of police detective "Vukovich". We can only imagine the different kind of darkness that Henriksen ("Aliens", "Near Dark") would have brought to the role.

Cameron's vision of the cyborg was initially "someone who can blend in a crowd", which explains the fact that Lance Henriksen and OJ Simpson auditioned (How they got from there to Arnie eludes me). Some time after, Bill Wisher, the director of photography, said that "It's hard for a 6'2", ripped Austrian bulldozer of a man to blend in a crowd, but, y'know, it's Los Angeles". -Thanks to Axel H.

Cameron said at the time of the movies release that he had not used O.J. Simpson because "People would not have believed a nice guy like O.J. playing the part of a ruthless killer"...

To help a desperate Cameron get funding for his project, Henriksen reportedly 'bust in' to a Hemdale studio executive's office in full Terminator garb, complete with gold foil covering his teeth!

Micheal Biehn gets bitten on the hand in this movie. In fact he gets bitten in every James Cameron Movie he's ever appeared in! -Thanks to Ray Daley

His agent told him the idea wouldn't work. Any other director might have listened. Cameron fired his agent!

The Toy truck that was run over by Arnold was a replica of an International Semi made by toy company Ertl. I owned one of these as a kid and they were large for a kid's toy. The reason I'm mentioning this is because the same International semi/rig the toy truck replicated was used near the end of the film hauling the tanker that exploded after Reese had put one of his home made pipebombs on the trailer. -Thanks to Hbo3

Despite many interviews to the contrary, Arnold may not always have had so much faith in Cameron and his picture. He allegedly told a bodybuilding friend who enquired about Arnold's latest role that it was "just some sh*t movie I'm doing." Another story states that on his first offer Arnie rejected the role claiming "a movie with stupid dirty robots will never work".

Actually, I just watched this and I have a correction regarding the trivia below about the order of the murders. The Sarah Connors, Louise and Ann, ARE killed in phonebook order. I originally thought this was an error also, but it's just that in the newscast shown in the bar, the second, more recent, murder of Ann is announced before the anchor says, "earlier today, Sarah Louise Connor...." The listings in the phone book are Sarah Connor, Sarah Ann Connor, and Sarah J Connor, so the order is correct. -Thanks to Bill

Arnold's best bud and body building pal, Franco Columbo, is the Terminator in Reese's dream/memory that gets into the resistance's hideout and starts gunning people down. -Thanks to Gill

Originally Cameron's idea for the cyborg was an infiltrator which could change its form to hide in its surroundings. The budget would not allow for Cameron to create the stealthy killing machine he had envisioned. Yet the one time in the film where we see evidence of this is when the cyborg morphs into the cop whose wheels the terminator had commandeered. -Thanks to Robert Baum

The cop who Schwarzenegger takes the car from was portrayed by William Wisher. Wisher, a friend of Cameron's was credited with "additional dialogue" for the film and later co-wrote the sequel with Cameron. -Thanks to Robert Baum

Cameron had sold the rights to the film to producer Gale Ann Hurd for $1. It was to guarantee that he would be able to direct the film if financing ever became a reality. Hurd and Cameron, both alumni of Roger Corman's New World, would work together on "Aliens" (1986), "The Abyss" (1989), and "Terminator 2." -Thanks to Robert Baum

The Mexican kid at the servo at the end is also in "The Three Amigos". -Thanks to pirate864

Legendary actor Dick Miller appears briefly as the man in the gun shop selling to Arnie, off gauge auto loader! "Hey buddy, only what you see on the shelf" -Thanks to Nick Springsteen

One afternoon, during a break from filming, Arnold was to scare the patrons of a downtown cafe half to death by appearing in full Terminator costume and makeup --complete with metal endoskeleton appearing beneath his torn flesh...

While the Alamo Gunshop's street address number is 14329, the first "Sarah Connor" victim's street number is 14239.

The victims aren't actually murdered in "order of the phonebook." Look closely and you'll see that while Sarah Ann Connor was murdered first (the newscast in the pizza parlor announces her first), Sarah (Louise) Connor was actually listed first. (By the way, glancing at the phone book listing shows that neither one lived at 14239.)

Rather than stating, "To protect and serve," the police cars state the department's motto as "to care and to protect."

The answerphone message is, "Hi there. Ha ha. Fooled you! You're talking to a machine, but don't feel bad...machines need love too!" Pretty ironic that "machines" take over the world.

Did anyone else notice the foreshadowing (and again the irony) of Arnie running over the toy semi? -Thanks to Graham Duvall

Sarah Connor's roomate who has the misfortune of being "terminated" in her stead is Bess Motta, who was a regular on the popular 80's exercise show "20 Minute Workout". -Thanks to Charles

Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn and Lance Henrikson all go on to appear together in another James Cameron movie, 'Aliens'. Bill Paxton and Lance Henrikson followed this by appearing together as Vampires in 'Near Dark'.

Bill Paxton also appeared in James Cameron's 'Twister'. Michael Beihn also appeared in James Cameron's 'The Abyss'. Bill Paxton and Michael Biehn also appear together in 'Navy Seals'.

The Shotgun Kyle Reese uses is also the exact same shotgun used by Cpl. Dwayne Hicks in 'Aliens', played by Michael Biehn. -Thanks to Ray Daley

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Rediscover your favorites! If you like The Terminator or 80's Action classics, then be sure to check out this list: ..... Angel ..... Raiders of the Lost Ark ..... Beverly Hills Cop ..... Die Hard ..... Predator ..... Black Rain ..... 48 HRS ..... Untouchables ..... Lethal Weapon ..... Rocky IV ..... Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior ..... Top Gun ..... Highlander ..... Streets Of Fire ..... Commando .....[More]



 


When the final shot, where Sarah Connor drives off to the horizon in Mexico, was filmed, everything was perfect: the weather, no cars, and then, they saw a dot of a car coming by. It was a police car. And they were of course shooting this scene without a permit. Allegedly, the cop was talked into blocking the road up front, and the permit thing was dulled away when one of the crew members told that his son, who happened to be on the set, had a "film school project", and they had just that shot left before they were finished. They fooled the policeman, and then the last shot was in the bag. -Thanks to Axel H.

Hand-held cameras were used for much of the action. This helped to give "an energy to the scene that you can't get any other way" according to cinematographer Adam Greenberg.

Arnie allegedly delayed the start of filming by 2 days because he claimed the custom made leather jacket wasn't manly enough! -Thanks to Jason Fret

The part where the terminator smashes through the windshield was done in one take with a real windshield. A hydraulic ram was utilized to make it appear that it was Schwarzenegger's fist shattering the glass. -Thanks to Robert Baum

The car door window smashing scene was filmed with just Arnold and one other (possibly Cameron) with the camera, in a residential area, with no filming permission. After smashing the window, locals became concerned and phoned the police meaning the scene had to be filmed quickly, so they could get away before the law turned up. -Thanks to Jon Deal

When Michael Biehn had auditioned for the role he did so with a Southern accent. Initially the filmmakers were interested in the actor but the accent was something which they felt was unnecessary. Biehn's agent told the filmmakers that he wasn't Southern and that he had recently been hard at work auditioning for a role in a production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Biehn had co-starred with fellow "Terminator" co-stars Rick Rossovich and Bill Paxton in the previuos year's "The Lords of Discipline" and later in "Navy S.E.A.L.'s" (1990). -Thanks to Robert Baum

Stan Winston's effects efforts were so impressive that some in the cast and crew could not tell which shots of Arnold were the real thing or animatronic! -Thanks to Robert Baum

Apparently the nightclub 'Tech Noir' was an empty unit that the production team made look like a club, including the neon sign out front. It was so successful that people walking down the street actually tried to pay to get into the place -thinking it was real. The production was so hard up for cash that they almost considered taking the money! -Thanks to pirate864

Linda Hamilton broke her ankle before shooting began. James Cameron came close to recasting the role of Sarah Connor before someone brought forth a sports doctor to wrap her foot in a sort of running cast and apparently told the Terminator director, "if she were playing for the Rams, she'd be in the game tomorrow." Lucky Linda. -Thanks to Don Hoffman

When the gas truck is about to be blown up with the pipe bomb, you can see a cable towing the truck in the last few frames.

At the end of the movie when "The Terminator" pulls himself from the rubble after beng hit by a lorry you can clearly see a silhouette in the background pulling a lever which operates the robotic version of Arnie. -Thanks to Clayton

In the famous scene where Arnold says "I'll be back", his sunglasses, purposefully worn by the Terminator to hide the fact that he had surgically removed his prosthetic eyeball, are not tinted sufficiently to hide the fact that it's just a movie and that this Terminator does indeed have both of his eyeballs still. -Thanks to Edward Fong

Towards the end of the movie, when the terminator breaks through the door leading into the factory, you can see a man kneeling down, controlling the exoskeleton. -Thanks to Dave

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S. California Locations
The Terminator Movie Locations
 The Terminator Locations
 
Featured Movie Location: Big Jeff's Restaurant
Wanna see the real life filming location used for Big Jeff's Restaurant in the movie? These scenes were actually shot at Carrow's Restaurant, located in South Pasadena, S. California. [New! Show Google Map]

The Terminator arrives: Griffith Park, Los Angeles CA
This is where Arnold looks out over the LA cityscape and confronts some punks for their clothing.

Reese Arrives: Downtown LA, @ 7th & Broadway. Reese materializes in an alleyway and is chased by the cops. This is also the same block as the "Tech Noir" nightclub.

Big Buns: Carrow's Restaurant, 815 Fremont Ave, South Pasadena, CA. The restaurant Sarah Connor works in. Not surprisingly, the inside has been remodeled since the film.

The Alamo Gun Shop: 14329 Victory Blvd, Van Nuys, CA. Arnold stocks up on weapons here. Currently it is a used car lot whose occupants were unaware of it's history. The inside still has the wood paneling up and everything. If you turn and look into the street from this location you will see that this is where they also filmed the scene where Arnie throws the biker from the phone booth to find Sarah Connor's number.

Reese steals a car: Downtown LA @ 6th st. Reese hotwires a car next to a construction site and has a dream about the future war.

The Tiki Motel: 7301 Santa Fe Ave, Huntington Park, CA. Reese and Sarah hide out here and make plastique bombs, then Reese puts a bun in Sarah's oven. It is pretty dingy. I didn't try to rent out the actual room, although I might one day if I feel brave. Staying there overnight is not a good idea!

[Major credit to Pat Evans for scouting these locations]

The gas station that Linda Hamilton enters at the very end of the movie is a very tiny town called Sun Valley, located on the outskirts of Palmdale, California in the high desert. [Thanks to Terri]

Antelope Valley was used for the end of the movie where the young boy took the photo of Sarah in the jeep, and told her "A storm is coming".

The Department of Water and Power at 111 N. Hope St; downtown LA was used for the parking garage.

The Second St. Tunnel between Hill and Figueroa Streets was used for the pipebomb sequence. The car chase included 6th, 7th streets and Broadway in downtown LA.

Kern’s of California at 13010 East Temple Ave; City of industry, was used for where the Terminator was crushed in the factory.

Can you help? Do you know any of the S. California (or any other) filming locations used for The Terminator? [Please send them in]

The Terminator DVD
 
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The Terminator DVD -USA
[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced][5.1 CH SURROUND]Trailer, Featurette, OutTakes
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[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced]
[5.1 CH SURROUND]
Trailer, Featurette, OutTakes
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Brad Fiedel's brooding synthesized score is very much an important ingredient in the movie. It can still be found on CD.

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Soundtrack Available: On CD


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The Terminator Movie Details
Year:
1984
Studio:
Hemdale
Director:
James Cameron
Starring:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen, Earl Boen
--
Genre:
Action
  
+
Unstoppable endlessly quoteable movie that smashed the 'robot movie' genre forever...
-
The Terminator has no weaknesses... or if it does, do you wanna tell it? ;)

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All original content is ©1999, 2008 Fast Rewind WebSites. Page Written By: Nick