January 20, 2021
'The Terminator'
The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Shea Serrano are sent from the future to stop an indestructible cyborg and save humanity so we can revisit James Cameron's 1984 hit 'The Terminator,' starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton.
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator
Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor
Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese
Lance Henriksen as Detective Vukovich
Paul Winfield as Detective Traxler
Rick Rossovich as Matt
Bill Paxton as Punk Leader
Directed by: James Cameron
Written by: James Cameron
Notes
- Made for $6.4 million and grossed $78 million worldwide.
- James Cameron wrote the script while sleeping on a friend's couch. He sold it for $1 with the condition he got to direct.
- O.J. Simpson was considered for the Terminator role but the studio thought he was 'too nice' to play a killer robot.
- Lance Henriksen originally read for the Terminator – he showed up to the audition in character, with a ripped shirt and gold foil on his teeth.
- Arnold was originally supposed to play Kyle Reese. After meeting with Cameron, they both realized he should be the Terminator instead.
- The movie was supposed to open in the spring but got pushed to October 1984 because Schwarzenegger was finishing Conan the Destroyer.
- Gale Anne Hurd produced the film – she and Cameron were married at the time.
- Michael Biehn was cast just days before shooting began after the original Kyle Reese didn't work out.
Categories
Most re-watchable scene
- Winner: The Tech Noir nightclub scene – the Terminator finding Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese saving her, and the chase that follows.
- Bill: The Tech Noir nightclub scene – the buildup, the shotgun, 'Come with me if you want to live'.
- Chris: The police station massacre – 'I'll be back' and then he drives a car through the front of the building.
- Shea: The opening – the Terminator arriving naked and taking out the punks (Bill Paxton!)
What aged the best?
- Winner: The practical effects and Stan Winston's work – the Terminator's damaged face reveal and the endoskeleton still look great.
- The low-budget ingenuity – Cameron made every dollar count.
- Arnold's performance – he barely speaks and it completely works.
- The love story between Sarah and Kyle, which grounds the whole movie emotionally.
- Linda Hamilton's transformation from waitress to warrior (seeds planted here, fully realized in T2).
What aged the worst?
- Some of the stop-motion animation of the endoskeleton in the final chase.
- The future war scenes look very low-budget.
- The 1984 hair – especially Sarah Connor's roommate.
Casting what-ifs
- O.J. Simpson as the Terminator – studio's original idea, rejected because he seemed 'too nice'.
- Mel Gibson was considered for Kyle Reese.
- Sylvester Stallone as the Terminator.
- Arnold as Kyle Reese – the original plan before Cameron flipped it.
Best "that guy"
- Winner: Bill Paxton as the punk leader who gets his heart ripped out in the opening scene.
- Bill Paxton – one of the few actors killed by the Terminator, a 'Predator', AND an Alien across three different franchises.
- Lance Henriksen as Detective Vukovich.
- Paul Winfield as Detective Traxler.
Over-acting award
- Winner: Arnold's delivery of every single line – 'I'll be back,' 'Give me your clothes,' 'Nice night for a walk'.
- Arnold turning non-acting into the most iconic performance – he says almost nothing and it's perfect.
- The punk who says 'Wash day, nothing clean, right?' before getting killed.
Best "heat check" performance
- James Cameron – goes from Piranha II to one of the best sci-fi action movies ever made.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger – turns a villain role with minimal dialogue into the most iconic character of his career.
Re-casting couch
- Modern Terminator: The Rock, John Cena, or Dave Bautista.
- Modern Sarah Connor: Florence Pugh or Daisy Edgar-Jones.
- Modern Kyle Reese: Austin Butler or Timothée Chalamet.
Half-assed (internet) research
- Cameron was inspired by a fever dream of a metallic torso dragging itself across the floor with kitchen knives.
- The 'I'll be back' line was almost 'I'll come back' – Arnold struggled with the contraction.
- Schwarzenegger trained for weeks with weapons without blinking to appear robotic.
Apex Mountain
- James Cameron – maybe not apex (that's 'Titanic') but this is where it all starts.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger – this is his apex as far as creating an iconic character.
- The 'I'll be back' line – apex mountain for a one-liner in movie history.
- Stan Winston – his Terminator effects work launched a legendary career.
Picking nits
- Why does Skynet only send one Terminator?
- The time travel logic – if you can only send living tissue, how do they send the endoskeleton?
- Why does the Terminator kill the other Sarah Connors? It's a robot – wouldn't it have some way to identify the right one?
Sequel, prequel, prestige TV or untouchable?
- Season 1: The original Terminator story but with more time to develop Kyle and Sarah's relationship.
- Season 2: The T2 story – protecting John Connor.
- Later seasons: The future war – something no movie has done justice to yet.
(Probably) unanswerable questions
- Is 'The Terminator' better than T2? (The hosts go back and forth – T2 is a bigger movie but 'The Terminator' is tighter and scarier).
- Would the franchise have been better if they stopped at T2?
- Could this movie be made today for $6.4 million?
What memorabilia would you want (or not want!) from the movie?
- Arnold's leather jacket from the film.
- 'The Terminator' endoskeleton.
- The original 'I'll be back' script page.
Who won the movie?
- Winner: Arnold Schwarzenegger – he's barely in it as a 'character' but the movie is entirely his. 'The Terminator' made him an icon.
- Arnold – created the most iconic villain/character of the '80s with almost no dialogue.
- James Cameron – launched one of the greatest directing careers ever.
- Linda Hamilton – the beginning of one of the great female action hero arcs.