A cyborg assassin from the future attempts to find and kill a young woman who is destined to give birth to a warrior who will lead a resistance to save humankind from extinction.A cyborg assassin from the future attempts to find and kill a young woman who is destined to give birth to a warrior who will lead a resistance to save humankind from extinction.A cyborg assassin from the future attempts to find and kill a young woman who is destined to give birth to a warrior who will lead a resistance to save humankind from extinction.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 7 nominations
- Punk
- (scenes deleted)
- Policeman
- (as William Wisher Jr.)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Linda Hamilton Returns to Her Iconic 'Terminator' Role
Linda Hamilton Returns to Her Iconic 'Terminator' Role
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhile shooting this film, James Cameron often resorted to what he called "guerilla filmmaking" as a way of getting around acquiring permits needed to film certain scenes. This involved the production crew and actors quickly arriving at a specified location, shooting the scene and leaving before the police arrived. As a result, some of the people seen in a few shots are actual everyday citizens completely unaware they're in a movie. This was also used for re shoots with Cameron even calling and waking Arnold Schwarzenegger once at 3am to meet him at a location already in full costume to quickly re-shoot a scene. Cameron also used this tactic to film the very last scene where Sarah drives off into the desert. Waiting for the heat to rise to the point that ripples could be filmed a highway patrolman appeared. Producer Gale Ann Hurd convinced him they were working on a UCLA film project and he allowed them to finish.
- GoofsWhen Sarah is in the night club she has to put change into the pay phone to call 911.
While 911 calls are free, many pay phones in the 1980s required you to insert a coin in order to obtain a dial tone.
- Quotes
The Terminator: [59:15] I'm a friend of Sarah Connor. I was told she was here. Could I see her please?
Desk Sergeant: No, you can't see her she's making a statement.
The Terminator: Where is she?
Desk Sergeant: [uses his pencil to point to the bench] Look, it may take a while. Want to wait? There's a bench over there.
[points to bench]
The Terminator: [looks around, examining the structural integrity of the room, then looks back at him] I'll be back!
- Crazy creditsThe 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.
- Alternate versionsNBC edited 7 minutes and time-compressed 4 minutes of this film for its 1987 network television premiere.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Terminator: 'Terminated' Deleted Scenes (2001)
- SoundtracksYou Can't Do That
Performed by Tryanglz
Written by Ricky Phillips
Published by Ricky Lynn Phillips Music (BMI)
`The Terminator' is a classic good versus evil struggle, with little in the way of greys clouding the issue. The terminator is an unstoppable brutal remorseless killer, and it perfectly suits Arnold Schwarzenegger's limited acting abilities. His few lines, including the infamous `I'll be back' are all well judged and timed, and give a great feeling of precision and inhumanity to his character. Coupled with his chiselled features, he's the best choice for the role. Michael Biehn is playing a character type that he'd reprise two years later in Cameron's `Aliens' - the human tough guy: he's got the fight, but still the ability to love and care for people. His features are well chosen for this and although his delivery of lines is hardly exceptional - they tend to come out in the same tone of voice - he's able to carry his part. Linda Hamilton is the woman-thrown-into-chaos, somewhat reminiscent of Sigourney Weaver's Ripley character in `Alien', although Hamilton doesn't have Weaver's strength of presence. All the actors are, for an action science fiction, above average and so never distract.
It's the script, with Cameron's force behind it that lifts the movie from mediocrity. Yes, there's a certain amount of corniness - the `we loved a life time' element for example - but the movie has a real sense of conviction present. The movie believes in itself and, through its passion, will make you believe too. There's a general sense of darkness in the movie - rarely do we see daylight, and, when we do, it's often the soft light of dawn. There's a nice sense of tension in the action scenes, helped not only by Cameron's camera work but also by an excellent electronic score (including a fantastic brooding credit sequence). Sure some of the SFX look clunky in these days of `Attack of the Clones' and `The Fellowship of the Ring', but they still work. There's a certain sense of inevitability, intertwined with hope, permeating the picture that creates a mood I particularly enjoyed and that's harder to find in the current crop of science fiction movies.
`The Terminator' is not a perfect picture. The movie lags in some parts, and the romance element is fairly contrived. Despite all that the movie brims with energy and promise, a script that mostly delivers, characters you can enjoy, and the ultimate Arnie role. Well worth catching. 8/10.
- Aidan McGuinness
- Jun 23, 2002
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Terminator
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,400,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $38,371,200
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,020,663
- Oct 28, 1984
- Gross worldwide
- $78,371,200