The Terminator (1984)
Genre: Scifi / Action
Duration: 107 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom / United States
Directed by: James Cameron
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton
IMDb score:
8,1 (1.023.283)
Releasedate: 26 October 1984
The Terminator plot
"Your future is in its hands."
In the future there will be a world war between the humans and the machines. The machines send a Terminator back in time. This cyborg has only one mission: to kill Sarah Connor, as her unborn son will become the leader of the human resistance. The people send guerrilla fighter Kyle Reese back in time. He must find Sarah Connor to protect her from the Terminator. The question is, who will find her first?
Social Media
Actors and actresses
Terminator
Kyle Reese
Sarah Connor
Traxler
Vukovich
Matt
Ginger
Silberman
Pawnshop Clerk
Nancy
Reviews & comments
PCTERN
-
- 259 messages
- 204 votes
The first Terminator film was especially good because despite a budget of 6 million it was very successful ('sleeper') and marked the breakthrough for Schwarzenegger. The beautiful and authentic thing about the Terminator is that it is actually a kind of high-tech mythology that predicts that people will become more and more dependent on machines until we can no longer live without them and can even survive only with the help of machines.
Compare daily life in 1984 with today, 33 years later. Then we had to get money from a counter at the bank. Back then we had no computers (only the nerds), no mobile phone, no tomtom in the car, no whatsapp, no facebook, no internet because then you had to go to the library if you wanted to know something. And so on. Now when all these things fall away, people are a lot more helpless than they were 33 years ago when they didn't have these things. Machines and automation are gaining more and more power over us.
I keep finding this sublime film that was only surpassed by the 2nd Terminator. The latter was mainly due to the groundbreaking visual experience. Schwarzenegger was great, especially because he didn't have to talk much.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Chainsaw
-
- 8845 messages
- 3711 votes
Despite time travel and all the indestructible robots; the hardest thing to imagine about The Terminator is that Arnold Schwarzenegger can play a genuinely menacing bad guy. And not in the kid-friendly and disgusting way of Batman & Robin, but a purebred slasher villain. Because that's basically The Terminator, a slasher. Dark, atmospheric, violent and sometimes even scary. Schwarzenegger is a ruthless machine without any emotion and it suits him very well. And even though the Terminator series has gradually become more of an action/sci-fi - and even one suitable for PG13 - this first Terminator is even more of a horror film. The tone - as well as the music - are also strongly reminiscent of the work of John Carpenter. Cameron makes no secret of the fact that he was inspired by Carpenter's work. Not a bad choice.
The Terminator has a simple, but effective premise and the pacing is especially remarkably good, the film does not let grass grow and takes off straight away. From start to finish, The Terminator is a spectacular rollercoaster ride, with just enough moments to get to grips with the main characters. Regularly hear people complain that the special effects are a bit dated. The film is dated anyway, since both time travelers use a telephone book to look up someone. But nevertheless, I think it does have some effects. Stop motion is usually very charming, if you ask me. But not only Stan Winston shows good work, everyone is doing their best, from the composer who has put down a strong theme to the sympathetic cast. Cameron shows in his second film - after Piranha Two: The Spawning - that he knows how to make a film with a relatively modest budget feel huge.
4 stars.
Translated from Dutch · View original
FlorisV
-
- 1890 messages
- 814 votes
My favorite from the series. Wrongly labeled as an action film, this is a sci-fi thriller with horror elements. Certain effects are certainly dated (Schwarz's fake head, the stop motion robot) but overall Cameron's visual genius (and obsession with machines and trucks) is already apparent, especially in the scenes showing the grim future. Actually, there are 2 elements that set this film way above the others in the series for me: Michael Biehn and the Brad Fiedel soundtrack. Now there is also a lesser synth bit (too many random keystrokes with certain pursuits) but this remains by far the most atmospheric Terminator and that can be attributed to Fiedel for a large part. Of course, Schwarz is also haircut. Furthermore, the very limited budget with which Cameron worked is still admirable. What I do find odd is that Terminator 2 got some updates (the stuntman on the bike who clearly didn't look like Schwarz has been tweaked) but the lesser effects have been maintained here and there's never been a Special Edition. Maybe out of respect for the hard work of the crew because they certainly had talent. It also doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, the whole thing is just way too effective at transporting the viewer for that.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Corporate & Media
Realtimes Network
Innovatieweg 20C
7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31(315)-764002
