The Terminator
What?
Written and Directed by a younger James Cameron, The Terminator was made for $6.4m but grossed $78m worldwide, receiving awards for make-up, writing and genre along the way. This overnight success also thrust a determined Cameron in the driving seat and turned Arnold Schwarzenegger into a household name, proving their partnership a profitable one. The storyline was compelling and fresh, the effects were pioneering and film set a dramatic pace until the final minutes, making it an unmissable sci-fi thriller catering to every demographic. It’s at this point I would write about the movie in detail, but with 26 years of global success in its wake, you probably just want the facts about the Blu-ray version so I’ll gladly oblige.
Optics:
Unlike its counterparts The Terminator was a relatively low budget affair, so when assessing the quality of the image it was important to recognise that limitation from the outset, and having compared this experience to previous mediums, I believe that despite its inherent flaws the HD version raises the bar far enough to warrant its release. Colour saturation delivers bold colours, illuminating 1984 downtown L.A and noise levels are well controlled with heavy grain visible only on occasion. It’s during the effects shots that things can get a little rough and although black levels aren’t the strongest out there either and detail does fluctuate, a treatment is only as strong as its weakest link, and the source material here demonstrates this. That aside, there are a few shots that really stand out, giving you some idea of how great it could look, but I doubt if a massive improvement would ever surface without considerable cost or time, so for now, I feel it makes the grade.
Sonics:
The disc oddly defaults to DD5.1 but LPCM selection instantly opens the soundstage up creating an improvement in the opening seconds. The Japanese DTS Ultimate Edition was impressive enough but this lossless audio packs a much heftier punch, with deep LFE during the Kyle Reese flashbacks and well placed effects bringing up the rear. Many of the gunshots boom nicely with bass accompaniment while others can sound tinny in comparison, and with dialogue levels quite low, you could be forced to notch the volume up and down again when the action picks up (depending where you live), but such is the way with older action films, and considering the film was originally recorded in monophonic, it’s a strong enough improvement that I doubt could improve despite another extensive and costly remix. As with the visuals, this is an audio upgrade that earns its stripes and is a pleasure to hear.
Extras:
Both featurettes provide glimpses of the technical contributions made, while Schwarzenegger and Cameron reflect on how this sci-fi thriller impacted the cinema and their individual careers. In addition to this there are seven deleted scenes removed for obvious reasons.
Well?
It took me some time to warrant buying this single-disc Blu-ray, and when asked if my purchase was justified, my answer is a simple ‘yes’. Due to its budgetary limitations it was never destined to rocket to the top of the HD charts, but as an overall experience it shows a distinct improvement over DVD on both fronts, which is enough for my collection. There’s also an opportunity to own it with a lenticular slipcover, which is rare with standard Blu-ray’s and gives it collectible appeal too. If you’ve debated the idea yourself and want to complete your set in HD, then my advice is grab the slipcase version for a few pennies more in the knowledge it’s a keeper regardless.
Neil Egan-Ronayne
Written and Directed by a younger James Cameron, The Terminator was made for $6.4m but grossed $78m worldwide, receiving awards for make-up, writing and genre along the way. This overnight success also thrust a determined Cameron in the driving seat and turned Arnold Schwarzenegger into a household name, proving their partnership a profitable one. The storyline was compelling and fresh, the effects were pioneering and film set a dramatic pace until the final minutes, making it an unmissable sci-fi thriller catering to every demographic. It’s at this point I would write about the movie in detail, but with 26 years of global success in its wake, you probably just want the facts about the Blu-ray version so I’ll gladly oblige.
Optics:
Unlike its counterparts The Terminator was a relatively low budget affair, so when assessing the quality of the image it was important to recognise that limitation from the outset, and having compared this experience to previous mediums, I believe that despite its inherent flaws the HD version raises the bar far enough to warrant its release. Colour saturation delivers bold colours, illuminating 1984 downtown L.A and noise levels are well controlled with heavy grain visible only on occasion. It’s during the effects shots that things can get a little rough and although black levels aren’t the strongest out there either and detail does fluctuate, a treatment is only as strong as its weakest link, and the source material here demonstrates this. That aside, there are a few shots that really stand out, giving you some idea of how great it could look, but I doubt if a massive improvement would ever surface without considerable cost or time, so for now, I feel it makes the grade.
Sonics:
The disc oddly defaults to DD5.1 but LPCM selection instantly opens the soundstage up creating an improvement in the opening seconds. The Japanese DTS Ultimate Edition was impressive enough but this lossless audio packs a much heftier punch, with deep LFE during the Kyle Reese flashbacks and well placed effects bringing up the rear. Many of the gunshots boom nicely with bass accompaniment while others can sound tinny in comparison, and with dialogue levels quite low, you could be forced to notch the volume up and down again when the action picks up (depending where you live), but such is the way with older action films, and considering the film was originally recorded in monophonic, it’s a strong enough improvement that I doubt could improve despite another extensive and costly remix. As with the visuals, this is an audio upgrade that earns its stripes and is a pleasure to hear.
Extras:
Both featurettes provide glimpses of the technical contributions made, while Schwarzenegger and Cameron reflect on how this sci-fi thriller impacted the cinema and their individual careers. In addition to this there are seven deleted scenes removed for obvious reasons.
Well?
It took me some time to warrant buying this single-disc Blu-ray, and when asked if my purchase was justified, my answer is a simple ‘yes’. Due to its budgetary limitations it was never destined to rocket to the top of the HD charts, but as an overall experience it shows a distinct improvement over DVD on both fronts, which is enough for my collection. There’s also an opportunity to own it with a lenticular slipcover, which is rare with standard Blu-ray’s and gives it collectible appeal too. If you’ve debated the idea yourself and want to complete your set in HD, then my advice is grab the slipcase version for a few pennies more in the knowledge it’s a keeper regardless.
Neil Egan-Ronayne
Director:
James Cameron
Starring:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Linda Hamilton
Michael Biehn
Lance Henriksen
Bill Paxton
Best line:
"Cyborg's don’t feel pain - I do."
Tagline:
"Your future is in his hands."
Description:
MGM
Region free
Rated R
1hr 47mins
1.85:1
MPEG2
LPCM 5.1
7 deleted scenes
'Creating The Terminator: Visual Effects & Music'
'Terminator: A Retrospective'
Ratings: (Out of 10)
Film 8.0
Optics 7.0
Sonics 8.0
Extras 5.0
Overall 8.0
