Terminator 1 [UMD]

1984’s The Terminator is still the best of the franchise after almost 35 years and easily the best film from James Cameron, well this and Aliens. While T2 had astounding effects, seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger being a good guy protecting a whining teenage boy left me cold. One almost hoped that the T1000 would of won!In this the original, Arnie is the prototype bad ass killing machine that lets nothing or no one get in his way of achieving his mission of killing the mother of the son, that in a post apocalyptic future becomes the leader that defeats the self aware dominating machines.It may of been a low budget film, but it uses all that it has to it’s advantage and is a singularly uncompromising sci fi action flick of the highest order.Michael Biehn is raw and dependable whilst being vulnerable, and Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor goes from being a naive young woman to showing the character that will inform her future son’s upbringing as a wartime leader of strength remarkably. Stan Winston’s iconic make up effects still hold up well, as do all the work contributed to the production design and visual effects. Brad Fiedel’s soundtrack still pulsates with urgency and gusto when required, as well as demonstrating delicacy during the more intimate and humane moments (what there are, that is).Picture quality is an improvement over the dvd as one should expect, but as for extras, one laments the absence of the extras that made the 2 disc dvd edition so worth while. What is included is minimal, so I guess we’ll have to wait for a more improved edition in future, hence why only 4 stars has been awarded. The film itself is easily 5 stars.Iconic and brutal entertainment. One of the best sci fi films of the 80’s.

Careful when buying the Italian version. I was sent a cheaply produced French version, especially the third rate badly printed cover. After a bit of searching, I did find the English version on the menu. The picture and sound were OK but the duration of the feature was only 103 mins ( advertised in Amazon as 107 mins long ) Altogether a disappointment as I had to part with £10.10 for this DVD.

What a classic! Brings back 80’s nostalgia and despite the dated hair/clothes/music/effects it still holds up as a worthy all time great movie. The plot and cast make it and Arnie is so good in this. Mostly though, films with a strong female lead were few and far between at that point (Sigourney is the only other one I can think of right now). Linda Hamilton takes that strength in the role on more in T2 but this is still very good as the first in the Terminator movies.

Picture quality = 8/10Whilst overall the look of the film is infinately better than the dvd version. There are certain scenes (some of the future ones) that for some reason have not been altered. Surely it would make sense to overhaul the special effects scenes more than the one with Kyle & Sarah sitting in a dark tunnel.Sound quality = 10/10For me the sound quality of the blu-ray makes it a must have. Some people on here have moaned but I saw (heard) no issues whatsoever. The technoir club scene has once again become one of my favorites from any movie ever made.Extraa = 7/10In all honesty I haven't really watched them all so can't really go into detail. However there are plenty of deleted scenes and "making ofs" to keep anyone happy.

This is one of my all-time favourite movies and still an absolute thrill to watch (if you can overlook the slightly dodgy puppetry in the eye-cutting scene and the myriad of 80s hair). Giving this five stars because the Blu-ray transfer is fantastic, no upscaling here and there are no annoying trailers or menus to wade through. There are some bonus features too; a making-of and deleted scenes if that's your thing.I waited for seven years for a Blu-ray version; my DVD copy became unplayable after the disc melted[...] and I had to throw it away. Worth the wait though, it looks stunning in HD.

I had seen the original film on release and also had it on DVD but wanted a better quality copy plus to learn more about the movie and its origins. This purchase certainly meets all such needs plus also gives a great backdrop to a better understanding of the subsequent versions. The DVD of the film is as good as it can get - people's objections to the updating changes made ignore I feel how dated the film looks overall especially the closing robotic model sequences, so enhancing for digital re-release is understandable and not that noticeable from the original release I believe.The real perks are the extras which give a lot of the history and more open interviews than one is used to seeing in more recent DVD releases. The rise of James Cameron from down and out director with his skills as an art director for earlier Corman movies and their contribution to the feel of the film are all well covered. The Arnie contributions are pretty well known but nice to hear him restating in conversation with Cameron. To top it with the roles of others (producer and special effects) with their observations all help explain why the movie built up such a devout following versus its contemporaries at the time and went on to become such a strong franchise over many later and bigger budget follow ons.

I don't think anyone needs me to tell them how good a movie The Terminator is so I wont. The point of this review is to state that this version of Terminator is definitely uncut, you can get absolute clarification of this from the BBFC website.The picture detail is excellent considering the movie itself is 30+ years old and the remastered sound and sound effects are very good as well.It is a great buy at £8.00 at the time of writing this as opposed to the steelbook version which is a great deal more expensive but at the end of the day it is down to your own personal choice.A highly recommended Blu Ray purchase!!