Product Description
The Terminator (1984)(#ad)
Rating: R
Running Time: 107 minutes
Cast:
Michael Biehn
Linda Hamilton
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Paul Winfield
Stars:5/5 stars
Overview
If you’re looking for amazon movies this is one you should definitely consider. It’s a 1984 science fiction and action movie whose director is James Cameron. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the film’s star and plays a robot assassin known as a “Terminator” that’s sent from the year 2009 to 1984 in order to kill someone named Sarah Connor.
That’s because her son will in the future save humans from machines in a world that’s post-apocalyptic. Kyle Reese is a soldier who’s sent back from the future to protect Sarah.
The Terminator was No. 1 on the office list of the US for 2 weeks and also helped to strengthen the careers of Cameroon and Schwarzenegger. The movie received high marks from film critics for things like acting scenes and pacing. It also resulted in four sequels including Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It also resulted in a TV series, video games, comic books, and novels. The movie has also been preserved by the US Library of Congress.
Director/Cast
This amazon prime video features the director James Cameron and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It helped to launch Cameron’s directing career and strengthened Schwarzenegger’s acting career.
Schwarzenegger had already starred in Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Conan the Destroyer (1984). Meanwhile, Cameron went on to direct Aliens (1986), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Titanic (1997), and Avatar (2009).
Plot Summary
This amazon prime video is originally set in 1984 in the city of Los Angeles. A “Terminator” cyborg assassin shows up from the year 2029 and robs both clothes and guns. A human solider from 2029 named Kyle Reece also arrives. The Terminator finds the name Sarah Connor from a phone directory. He finds her at visiting a nightclub. However Kyle then saves her and escapes while the Terminator chases them while driving a car.
Kyle explains that an AI defense network called Skynet will start a nuclear disaster during the future. The survivors will be led by Sarah’s son John who will battle Skynet as well as its machine army. The Resistance had almost won so Skynet sent back the Terminator to murder Sarahand prevent the Resistance being formed by John. The Terminator function as a killing machine that has a strong metal endo-skeleton as well as living tissue outside that makes it look human.
The police arrest Kyle as well as Sarah after another event that involves the Terminator. Kyle is diagnosed as being paranoid/delusional. Then the Terminator invades the local police station after repairing his body. His goal is to find Sarah. She and Kyle then escape and plan their next step in a hotel where they build pipe bombs. Kyle tells Sarah that because John handed him a photo of her he’s been in love with her.
The Terminator pretends to be Sarah’s mother and she’s unaware that he can mimic victims. Kyle and Sarah then escape use a pick-up truck to escape. Kyle is wounded when trying to throw a bomb at the Terminator. Sarah knocks the Terminator off his motorcycle but also loses control while driving the truck. The Terminator is injured when Kyle puts a pipe bomb in the tanker.
Kyle and Sarah escape to a factory. He uses the last pipe bomb to destroy the Terminator. However, Kyle dies and Sarah is injured. Sarah then crushes the Terminator using a machine. Months later Sarah records tapes to give her unborn son John. She’s not sure if she should tell him that his father is Kyle. A boy takes a snapshot of her that she buys. It's the photo that John later gives to Kyle.
Background
If you want to watch movies online it’s helpful to know about the development/production. Cameron became ill while in Rome and dreamed about a type of metallic body that was holding onto some kitchen knives while dragging its body away from a big explosion. Cameron then used his dream as the starting point to pen the script for a slasher movie. His agent didn’t like the idea and recommended that he labor on a different idea. Cameron fired his agent.
Cameron then returned to California and wrote the draft for The Terminator while staying where a friend and sci-fi writer lived. He had been influenced by 1950s sci-fi movies, a 1960s fantasy TV series, and 70s/80s movies. Cameron had the idea of a liquid Terminator but thought the current technology couldn’t create it. So it saved for the T-1000 character in the future film Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The movie later received a green light for production. It would include financial backing from HBO as well as Orion. The original budget for the movie was $4 million and was increased to $6.5 million. Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone were both offered the role of the Terminator but they both rejected the offer.
The movie’s filming was scheduled in early 1983 but was delayed. Production started in 1984. Most of the action scenes were filmed during night. This resulted in tough filming schedules that had to be completed before sunrise. Schwarzenegger wanted the famous line “I’ll be back” changed to “I will be back” but Cameron refused to change it.
Post-production shots were required after the production finished. They included various scenes including the Terminator outside the apartment of Sarah Connor, and a scene at the end of the movie.
Release/Reception
When picking amazon prime videos The Terminator is one of the best options from the sci-fi category. Orion Pictures didn’t think the movie would do well at the box office. The movie premiered in October 1984. During the opening week the movie grossed $4 million, which made it No. 1 at the box office. It stayed there for another week but dropped during week 3. Cameron explained that the movie was a relative hit since it was between the summer/Christmas blockbusters.
The movie was released on Betamax and VHS in 1985. The reached N. 4 on the top rentals for video cassettes and No. 12 for top sales of video cassettes. The movie was released on DVD in September 1997. Another DVD version was released in 2001 with more extras. It was also released for Blu-ray in 2006 and 2012.
The movie has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
