In the year 2029, computers have taken over the planet, but a man named John Connor leads the resistance that may stop them. So the computers send an indestructible cyborg, called a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), back in time to kill Connor’s mother, Sarah (Linda Hamilton), to prevent him from being born. But the resistance sends back their own soldier, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) to find and protect Sarah Connor. But will Kyle get to Sarah before this seemingly unstoppable killing machine finds her?!
The original Terminator, from accomplished writer/director James Cameron and writer Gale Anne Hurd, is back in a newly remastered blu-ray release, and it is truly remarkable at how well this film still holds up after almost 30 years! Given the pioneering special effects of its sequel, T2, I was really impressed at how good this film looked and how well its special effects, for the most par, have stood the test of time.
It was interesting to go back and re-watch this film after seeing all of the sequels and the follow-up TV series. Even knowing what is going to happen, the film was still an exciting, tense action/thriller. Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as the Terminator. He gives this excellent emotionless, yet sometimes terrifying/sometimes funny performance as the unstoppable killing machine.
Knowing what happens to these characters in the follow-up movies adds a whole new experience to watching the original film. It was great to see Linda Hamilton play this timid, weak version of Sarah Connor, knowing the tough, take-no-prisoners woman she becomes in the following films. It’s truly amazing how that character has changed over the course of the franchise.
This Blu-ray release marks the fifth version of The Terminator to be released on this format, although most of the other re-releases have just been repackagings of the original 2006 release. In 2009 it was re-released with a new lenticular cover, in 2010 re-released as a DVD/BD combo, and in 2011 it was released in Digibook format with a companion book. However, this latest re-release by Fox Home Entertainment includes an all-new Dolby Digital 5.1 Master Audio soundtrack and a remastered picture. I have included some screenshot comparisons between the original 2006 Blu-ray release (left) and the remastered release (right). While I never thought the original release looked bad, as you can see below, the new picture is sharper and clearer. The remastered version has more of a blue tone to the picture while the original has more of a red tone to it. You can see more details and overall it is a lot nicer looking.
The audio in the new release sounds great—especially during the futuristic robot battle scenes, where the surround sound is heavily utilized to bring the viewer into the battle. The original release contained an uncompressed PCM 5.1 audio track, and I can’t say that I noticed a huge difference between the two.
The bonus features on the disc are a bit disappointing—all of them are identical to the original 2006 blu-ray release. And those features had already been ported from the DVD release 5 years prior! The Terminator franchise has been expanded tremendously since these features were created—there has been additional film sequels and a TV series—and with the original Terminator hitting its 30th anniversary next year, it’s a shame that they didn’t include anything new on this re-release.
That said, the film still stands up after almost 30 years, and it is definitely worth adding to any Blu-ray collection. Since this release contains the best available picture and sound, it comes highly recommended for die-hard fans and those who don’t already own this title in high-def. It is one film in your collection that will keep you saying “I’ll be back”.
What’s Included:
Film (1:47:18)
- 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish DD+ 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Portuguese DD 2.0, Thai DD 2.0
- English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Indonesian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish, Thai subtitles
Extras:
(all ported from existing DVD/Blu-ray releases)
- Creating The Terminator: Visual Effects & Music (12:58)
Presented in full frame, this behind the scenes featurette from 2001 gives a look at the special effects used to bring the futuristic robot battle to life as well as the tanker truck explosion scene. Also, the composer talks about creating the unique sound of the film. - Terminator: A Retrospective (20:30)
Presented in full frame, in this 1992 featurette, James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger reminisce about the film. They talk about casting, how the Terminator evolved, creating the special effects, and what it was like making the film. Also includes footage of interviews with James Cameron from 1986. - Terminated Scenes (9:55)
Seven deleted scenes presented in letterboxed full frame format. The clips are titled “Wholesome Sarah” (:17), “Wrong Sarah” (:38), “Lt. Traxler’s Arc” (1:28), “Sarah Fights Back” (4:20), “Making Bombs” (1:44), “Tickling Reese” (:34) and “The Factory” (:54). Some of these were interesting, especially the final scene as it really sets up Terminator 2. However, it would have been great to have a Play All option.
Final Thoughts:
If you already own one of the previous blu-ray releases of The Terminator is it worth upgrading? Probably not—unless you are a die-hard fan. While the upgraded picture and sound are nice, this release contains no new bonus features.
If you don’t already own The Terminator on Blu-ray, you definitely should, and this is the version to buy! The film is still great after 30 years, and looks and sounds better than ever in this remastered release.
