Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11301 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-03-19
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Terminator was the film that cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger's place in the action-brawn firmament, and both his and the movie's subsequent iconic status are well deserved. He's chilling as the futuristic cyborg that kills without fear, without love, without mercy. James Cameron's story and direction are pared to the bone and are all the more chillingly effective for it. But don't overlook the contribution of Linda Hamilton, who more than holds her own as the Terminator's would-be victim, Sarah Connor, thus creating--along with Sigourney Weaver in Alien--a new generation of rugged, clear-thinking female action stars. The film's minimalist, malevolent violence is actually scarier than that of its far more expensive, more effects-laden sequel. --Anne Hurley, Amazon.com

On the DVD: Rejoice, The Terminator is back, better looking and louder than ever. After years of inferior VHS versions, the cleaned-up print of this DVD is a revelation, as is the digitally remastered Dolby 5.1 soundtrack: from the opening MGM lion's roar to the crunch of Arnie's boots and the pounding of Brad Fiedel's techno-industrial score, both picture and sound are of a quality that belie the movie's age. The first disc has the movie plus a DVD-ROM feature containing three different versions of the screenplay, which can be read scene-by-scene along with the film. On the second disc there are seven deleted scenes, including a fascinating foreshadowing of Sarah Connor's mission in T2, as well as trailers and TV spots. There are also two "making of" featurettes, one being an 18-minute piece from 1992 based around a friendly at-home chat with Cameron and Schwarzenegger ("We did the first Terminator for the cost of your motor home on the second film", jokes director to actor). The hour-long "Other Voices" featurette is an in-depth montage of cast and crew reminiscences covering all aspects of the production from its initial genesis as a fevered nightmare to the "guerrilla" filmmaking of getting the final shots. Script collaborator Bill Wisher neatly sums up the movie as "It's a Wonderful Life, with guns". The second disc also contains a stills archive of production photographs, James Cameron's amazing original conceptual artwork, plus his first story treatment. If you own a player, how can you resist? After all, the Terminator movies are what DVD was invented for. --Mark Walker

Video Description
DVD Special Features:

Remastered with 5.1 Audio
Terminator - A Retrospective
'Other Voices' Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Foreign Trailer
Alternative Trailer
Teaser Trailer
TV Spots
James Cameron's Artwork Stills
Production Photos
Stan Winston's Photos
Visual Effects Photos
Publicity Materials
Original Treatment Script Stills
DVD-Rom Special Features :
Original Treatment Script
1983 4th Draft Script
Final Shooting Script

Synopsis
James Cameron's THE TERMINATOR is one of the tightest, tensest sci-fi films ever made and a landmark in the genre. In the year 2029, battles rage between the superintelligent machines that rule the world and the last vestiges of humanity. In late-20th-century Los Angeles, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) suddenly finds herself stalked by an unstoppable killing machine--a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent from the future to kill her and her unconceived son, John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance. Sarah can rely only on Reese (Michael Biehn), a soldier sent from the future to protect her from the seemingly indestructible Terminator and save humanity. This low-budget masterpiece was the breakthrough film for director Cameron, who weds special effects, thrills, and understated romance to create one of the finest action films of the 1980s, which spawned many imitations but few equals. Science fiction author Harlan Ellison sued over the film's similarities to his own works, especially the OUTER LIMITS episode "Demon with a Glass Hand," and won acknowledgement in the film's credits. Schwarzenegger will forever be known as the relentless Terminator, a heartless killing machine who returns (in a kinder, gentler form) in 1991's TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY.

Customer Reviews

Great film, very good DVD and not censored at all!
To start with, Terminator is much better than Terminator 2. I enjoyed T2 a lot, and own it on DVD too, but it just can't compare as a film. I think the 1st film plugged into the Eighties' zeitgeist of fear at developing technology, growing hedonism, and the potentially dangerous atmosphere of Regan and Thatcherism. Cameron had no studio pressure to produce a blockbuster, and it shows. T2 is commercial-yes, it's funny, has great stunts and revolutionary special effects, but the darkness of Terminator is replaced by audience-pulling sentimentality and too much didacticism. Terminator is dark, edgy, and genuinely chilling.
Arnie is perfectly cast as the Terminator, creating a malevolent, completely relentless and really frightening villain. T2 never left you in any doubt that the T1000 would be defeated, but in Terminator, it really does seem as if Sarah may not make it. Watch the infamous 'I'll be back' scene when Arnie searches the police station for Sarah. He really pulls off a remarkable performance-as he strides down the corridors, scanning left to right, you can believe he is a machine. Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn pull off their roles with aplomb, too, avoiding fluffy, romantic stereotypes. Hamilton makes Sarah a heroine you can truly feel for, and the love story is moving.

Enough about the film...what is the actual DVD like? Several reviewers commented on their versions being cut but as far as I can tell, the special edition is the full, uncut version. My old copy that I taped off TV actually had a few cuts, but this DVD version includes the full scenes. One reviewer mentioned that his DVD lacked the scenes where the Terminator repairs his damaged arm and face but the special edition DVD has both these. The eye-removing scene is included in every second of its glory (I still can't watch it without squirming!) This reviewer also mentioned that part of the early scene with the punks was cut, but the special edition DVD has the full version of that, too. However, I do agree with another common complaint-the titles of the future sequence are appallingly naff, and they really should have left the original, which suited the film.
The extras don't compare with the ultimate edition T2 disc, but I suppose with such a low-budget movie from the 80s, they didn't have much content to include. The deleted scenes are interesting, the trailers and storyboards are just trailers and storyboards, the production photos and publicity are quite interesting, but the documentaries are extremely good. I think it's the 'Other Voices' one which I especially enjoyed, as it describes the guerrilla film shooting needed to complete the movie, and the effects used. Obviously it has dated-the stop motion metal skeleton is laughable, but the full size model and robotic parts are fine. I also like the future scenes-they are suitably surreal, and fit the noir-ish feel of the movie. Sometimes miniatures and models are more convincing than CGI . Sadly, no commentary--I would have enjoyed an Arnie/Jim one!

Overall, anyone who has a special interest in sci-fi, noir, or 80s movies should rush out and buy this, but I reckon that anyone who likes film at all should also own it! I love old black and white movies, foreign subtitled movies and 'arthouse' movies, but Terminator is also up there on my list!

Come with me if you want to live.
One of my favourite films. Two warriors travel from the future to the year 1984. The first, a Terminator machine wrapped in human tissue to avoid detection. The other a human soldier ordered to defend the Terminators' target, a young woman who has huge future significance.
Like many I have seen this film more than a few times on video. It is a wonderfully exciting face paced action packed movie. The Terminator is a much more fun character than Freddy Kruger or its other contemporary Micheal Myers. Why wait to use the phone when you can throw some one off? The Terminator is like the ultimate rude person and you're never sure what he's going to do next. This homicidal Terminator is much more appealing than the soppy "I know now why you cry." father figure of the second film.
The first movie also has an advantage in that the protector is a human soldier played wonderfully by Michael Biehn. The first shoot out between Reese and the Terminator one of my favourite scenes of all time. Many critics (pacifically in the BFI Terminator Modern Classics book) refer to how Reese makes unsupportable hero and I must disagree. His all too human fears are much more convincing that the Humanising of the Terminator in the second film. And besides it isn't Arnie in the love scene.
As the film progresses the story movies away from its comic book beginning and introduces a brilliant romantic element that sees the film through to the end.
The DVD version of the film has a different sound and image quality. Different but not necessarily better. The film on VHS has a wonderfully cheap nightmarish quality that the clean print diminishes. The shotguns and rifles do not sound the same, big deal I hear you say. But, for me, this ruins one of my favourite moments when Sarah squeezes her eyes shut after hearing the roaring gunfire. It just isn't the same.
I'm just thankful that any of the deleted scenes weren't cut into the movie as they are just laughably bad. The DVD also features interview with everyone even if it is to give themselves a pat on the back for making such a wonderful film.

"I'll be back..."
Before Titanic…
Before True Lies….
Before Aliens….there was The Terminator.

James Cameron’s first bona fide hit, this 1984 science fiction/action thriller revived the action movie genre and provided Arnold Schwarzenegger with not only an iconic movie role but a chance to prove that he had an actor’s mind as well as a bodybuilder’s physique. It not only showed that Ahhnold could handle a more challenging role than Conan the Barbarian, but that he was quite capable of taking career risks.

Now that he is running for the governorship of California (and starred in many other films, including two sequels to The Terminator), it seems odd to think that Schwarzenegger was gambling his credibility (and his box office appeal) to take the role of the villain. After all, who better than this physically imposing fellow to portray the relentless cyborg sent from the future to rid the world of the woman who is destined to be the mother of humanity’s future deliverer?

1984’s The Terminator paints a dark vision of a machine-dominated world where hunter-killer robots and Terminators are waging a war of extinction against humanity. By 2029 A.D., however, the machines are on the verge of defeat at the hands of John Connor and his valiant troops. In a last ditch attempt to win, the Skynet computers send a single Cyberdine T-101 unit (Schwarzenegger) back to 1984 Los Angeles to dispose of John Connor’s mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton).

Before the time portal breaks down forever (or at least until T2), Connor manages to send Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) back to 1984 to protect his mother-to-be. Although he is weakened by the time jump and definitely more vulnerable than his cyborg nemesis, he has an advantage that the Terminator and its masters don’t; he knows what Sarah Connor looks like. This proves to be fatal for at least two other Sarah Connors in the L.A. phone book, as well as for Sarah’s roommate and her boyfriend. The Terminator, only knowing the name Sarah Connors, dispatches these unlucky victims while Reese manages to reach the true target in the nick of time.

The Terminator is well-written and, although its plot is not as mind bending as Schwarzenegger’s later hit Total Recall, never insults the audience’s intelligence. The pace of the movie is, like the villain, full of purpose and relentless. Critics and Ahhnold bashers might scoff at Schwarzenegger’s android-like mannerisms, but his very expressionless glare and the way his head swivels to follow his eyes bring the cold efficiency of a shark to mind. (And if you were wondering, this was the first movie where Ahhnold utters his now famous phrase “I’ll be back.”)

Brad Fiedel’s effective musical score, Stan Winston’s amazing make-up effects, and Cameron’s directing helped make The Terminator a classic of the action/science fiction genre.