Well, here we are again. Another 4K offering from the back catalogue of James Cameron. This time heading back to the film that put him on the map: The Terminator. As with all these remastered Cameron offerings in the latest generation of physical media, the end result brings with it controversy and polarising opinions. I’ll get to where I sit in the technical breakdowns but first let’s talk about the movie!

Back in 1984, old Jimbo was a nobody. An art director from Roger Corman’s pantheon who had one cheap, schlocky Jaws rip-off under his belt as director. But this was the 80s! A wonderful fertile time of risk taking and hail Mary’s that produced some of the greatest films and franchises still being plundered to this day. Cameron’s triple threat talents as a writer, director and artist convinced those with the right check books to give his self-described ‘fever dream’ a shot. On a minuscule budget and sheer determination, he delivered The Terminator.

This was a genius melding of two genres. A science fiction dystopia steeped in a horror movie. It tells the tale of a young LA girl by the name of Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton), an unremarkable face in a 1980’s crowd. Except, she’s the future mother of a man, who will save humanity from the rise of killer machines in the 21ST Century. These machines send back an assassin, a terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to prevent his birth by taking out his mother. Humanity is able to send one lone protector, Reese (Michael Biehn), to save her. He tells her the terminator can’t be killed and this proves to be soberingly true. Sarah is forced to grow and evolve quickly as the deadly machine keeps coming for her relentlessly. Can she evolve in time?

Well we all know she evolves into a complete badass! As stated before, this film is primarily a horror movie. Following the techniques of your quintessential 80s horror movie plot, this is a slasher movie. You have seemingly carefree young characters at the start, juxtaposing what will befall them. You have disbelieving authority figures, ripe for the killing and maiming. You have misdirects and contrived complications affecting the paths of the heroes and the villain. What sets it into the stratosphere is the implied stakes and the character arc of Sarah… and of course, the pitch perfect casting of Arnie as the terminator.  The confluence of all these elements equals a blood pumping, edge of your seat, ride with wonderful characters to root for. This was a wonderful script, tight and propelling. It has of the period cliches throughout (gratuitous sex scene being one of them), but its never been executed better.

A special mention for the synth score from Brad Feidel. His percussive unrelenting terminator theme deserves the far too often used adjective ICONIC. It truly is an effective, terrifying and rousing accompaniment to the rest of the film’s top-drawer efforts.

This film started the legend that became James Cameron, one of the most successful creators in Hollywood history. He is truly a Midas, with almost everything he’s indulged making anyone who bets on him very happy. He has delivered memorable, paradigm shifting films for over four decades now, and it seems will do so until he dies. And the Terminator is where it all began. When he is left to create his vision, whether a romance, a comedy or science fiction epic, you’re in for a quality ride. The Terminator proved this from the outset.

40th Anniversary / 4K Ultra HD + Digital 4K

Home Video Distributor: Warner Bros.
Available on Blu-ray - November 19, 2024
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH; French; German; Italian; Spanish; Czech; Danish; Dutch; Finnish; Mandarin, Norwegian; Swedish
Video: Upscaled 4K; HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono; English: Dolby Digital 2.0; French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Czech: Dolby Digital 2.0; Audio descriptive
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; single-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free

VIDEO

Here we go… Unless you’ve been under a rock, in the world of 4K physical media, Cameron’s output in the last couple of years has been met with some criticism. Complaints of heavy DNR, colour shifts and AI guided ‘improvements’ have followed the releases of some of his biggest titles. I’ll say the same here as I’ve said on other titles: if you are a purest, wanting cleaned but unfiltered theatrical versions of the film, you aren’t gonna be happy. Noise reduction is present. Not T2 heavy-handed present, but present, nonetheless. This is a much cleaner looking scan.

There are unconfirmed theories that this is an upscale of the 2013 remaster for blu-ray. It appears similar to me, with colour timing leaning into greens and blues over reds. There is a distinct uptick in finer detail, however, with some moments truly standing out. There are some inconsistencies with skin and night shots, depending on the scenes, but you really have to be looking hard for it to stick out. HDR works greatest on the cherries and berries lights of cop cars and the hellish flames of the final scenes with the endoskeleton. You are not getting what we saw back in the day, not even close. That vintage patina, the imperfections and 80s-ness of the picture, are gone.

Modern screens display, in all their high definition, unforgiving clarity every wart and limitation of the era. I instantly noticed the bad, out of scale, motion of the machines’ flying craft in the opening scene. But what this isn’t is a scrubbed mess like its sequel. On a modern screen, large as all get out, this was a fun watch for this reviewer.

AUDIO

Everybody should be happy in this department. The original MONO theatrical track is included for the purists, cleaned up and delivered in DTS! And if you want more modernised heft, you can choose Dolby ATMOS 7.1. I’m an ATMOS tragic, so loved every second of this powerful new take on the mix. Base is off the charts, directionality is immersive in future battle scenes and car chases, dialogue is crisp and clear, even in the Tech Noir scenes. Amazing new mix or vintage 80s purity, if that’s your jam. Very Happy.

Supplements:

I was sent the single disc 4K. I know there are other versions on offer around the world, but doubt they would have anything different, save for packaging. And what’s on off sadly is meh. You get several short DVD special features from the turn of the century… wow. I’ll try and contain my excitement and stop typing here.

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

• Deleted Scenes
• Creating The Terminator: Visual Effects & Music (12:58)
• RESURRECTED! The Terminator: Closer to the Real Thing (11:56)
• RESURRECTED! Unstoppable Force: The Legacy of The Terminator (09:38)

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 107 mins
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron; Gale Anne Hurd
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger; Linda Hamilton; Michael Biehn
Genre: Horror | Sci-fi
Tagline: Your future is in its hands.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Come with me if you want to live."
Theatrical Distributor: MGM
Official Site:
Release Date: October 26, 1984
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: November 19, 2024.
Synopsis: A cyborg assassin from the future attempts to find and kill a young woman who is destined to give birth to a warrior that will lead a resistance to save humankind from extinction.