Terminator SE DVD

ILL BE BACK

Man, he sure was! And now back on DVD, Terminator kicks more ass than ever.

If you don't know the story (and I cant see how you wont) here it is:

The film centres around the fact that in the future, Skynet, a huge military computer will begin to see all human life as a threat, and will start a nuclear war in order to wipe them out. However, those who do survive the nuclear war lived to face a far more terrifying one; the war against the machines. Skynet builds terrifying machines, and goes about fighting off the human resistance that has survived. One man teaches the human resistance how to fight back, and Skynet is on the verge of defeat; when it decides that the best option is to send back a cybernetic assassin to kill the mother of that man before he is born, and therefore deciding the fate of the humans. The target is Sarah Connor, mother of John Connor, future leader of the resistance. However; the humans also send back a lone hero in order to prevent the death of Sarah Connor, and in turn saving the human race.

What follows is one of the classics of sci-fi cinema. Made on a tiny budget, as it was only Camerons second film, it is still great fun to watch today. The only things that date it are some dodgey effects in the later parts of the movie, and some even dodgey-er 80s style dancing in the TechNoir club. However, by the time you see the dodgey effects, you are really too engrossed by the story to care. That is a sure sign of a good movie. I mean, you shouldn't walk away thinking, 'the effects were good';. You really should think 'the movie was good'. Effects wont matter if you have a good storyline.

The direction is superb; true Cameron perfectionism. The camera moves with energy, and the scenes are set up just perfectly; the TechNoir scene is incredible for example. Relentless action through and through. The acting is top notch from Arnie, Linda Hamilton and a Cameron regular, Michael Biehn. Some of Camerons other regulars are there in minor roles too; Lance Henrikkson from Pirhana II and Aliens, and Bill Paxton from Aliens, Titanic, True Lies and some others I think. Did you know that O.J. Simpson was originally considered for the role of the terminator, but was turned down because Cameron thought that people wouldent believe a nice man like OJ would be a cold, ruthless killer. Ironic, eh? Then Lance Henrikkson was chosen, but was eventually dropped in favour of Arnie, who had originally auditioned as Kyle Reese. Henrikkson then got another part as a cop.

The typically Cameron-esque transformation of Sarah Connor from normal, quiet, waitress type to military "on your feet soldier" girl is presented wonderfully, as is Biehns portrayal of a man who ';travelled across time for love'.

Great one-liners abound throughout, mostly from Arnie. This film has some of the most memorable lines including “lll be back”, “Come with me if you want to live” and “f*ck you asshole” :-p

Re-released on DVD, there was a nice remastering job; but because the film was shot on such poor quality film and with not so great lighting, they can’t do that much. But it looks a thousand times better than my old VHS copy. No more grainy picture; no more mono soundtrack. That has acctually annoyed a few critics. They felt that the mono soundtrack added to the claustrophobia of the film. Personally, the stereo is fine for me; and they have re-tweaked some bits of the original soundtrack, like the gunshots, which IMHO sound great. The film is now presented in anamorphic widescreen too, so it looks far, far better on a large TV.

As for extra stuff, this special edition has loads. A featturette on the making of The Terminator, some great still galleries, original scripts interviews, trailers and TV spots, and best of all, several deleted scenes. And the menus are great, fitting in well with the movie.

Overall, I'd say that this is a MUST OWN dvd to add to your collection.

10/10

Arktic:HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005N5S5/ref=ase_randomdrivel-20/104-6769052-2448733"Buy It Here!!

Added:  Saturday, April 20, 2002
Reviewer:  Arktic
Score:
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