The Terminator (1984)

Tagline: Your future is in his hands.

The Terminator movie storyline. A stylish, action-packed, low budget, beautifully-paced science-fiction film. Kyle Reece (Michael Biehn), a hunted, fugitive, freedom-fighting soldier-hero from the post-apocalyptic, wasteland future of 2029 Los Angeles, where a race of machine-like cyborgs rule the Earth and exterminate human beings, volunteers to return to present-day 1984 Los Angeles.

In pursuit through time travel is an invulnerable, ruthless, assassin-terminator cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger), sent to kill the innocent young woman Sarah Connor (Hamilton) destined to bear a son – John Connor – who will eventually become a liberator and lead the revolt against the evil machines to prevent the world from being annihilated. Rebel soldier Kyle’s mission is to protect her, explain her destiny and the reason for the Terminator’s stalking – as he falls in love with her.

The Terminator is a 1984 American science-fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose son will one day become a savior against machines in a post-apocalyptic future. Michael Biehn plays Kyle Reese, a soldier from the future sent back in time to protect Connor. The screenplay is credited to Cameron, along with producer Gale Anne Hurd. Executive producers John Daly and Derek Gibson of Hemdale Film Corporation were instrumental in the film’s financing and production.

The Terminator topped the US box office for two weeks and helped launch Cameron’s film career and solidify Schwarzenegger’s. It received critical acclaim, with many praising its pacing, action scenes and Schwarzenegger’s performance. Its success led to a franchise consisting of four sequels (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation and Terminator Genisys), a television series, comic books, novels and video games. In 2008, The Terminator was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry, being deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen, Bess Motta, Rick Rossovich, Shawn Schepps, Franco Columbu, Brian Thompson, Brad Rearden
Screenplay by: James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd
Cinematography by: Adam Greenberg
Film Editing by: Mark Goldblatt
Costume Design by: Hilary Wright
Set Decoration by: Maria Caso
Art Direction by: George Costello
Music by: Brad Fiedel
Distributed by: Orion Pictures
Release Date: October 26, 1984