The Terminator is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd, and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose not-yet-conceived son will one day save mankind from extinction by Skynet, a hostile artificial intelligence, in a post-apocalyptic future. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) is a soldier sent back in time to protect Sarah.
Cameron devised the premise of the film from a fever dream he experienced during the release of his first film, Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), and developed the concept in collaboration with Wisher. He sold the rights to the project to fellow New World Pictures alumna Hurd on the condition that she would produce the film only if he were to direct it; Hurd eventually secured a distribution deal with Orion Pictures, while executive producers John Daly and Derek Gibson of Hemdale Film Corporation were instrumental in setting up the film's financing and production.
Originally approached by Orion for the role of Reese, Schwarzenegger agreed to play the title character after befriending Cameron. Filming, which took place mostly at night on location in Los Angeles, was delayed because of Schwarzenegger's commitments to Conan the Destroyer (1984), during which Cameron found time to work on the scripts for Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Aliens (1986). The film's special effects, which included miniatures and stop-motion animation, were created by a team of artists led by Stan Winston and Gene Warren Jr.
Defying low pre-release expectations, The Terminator topped the United States box office for two weeks, eventually grossing $78.3 million against a modest $6.4 million budget. It is credited with launching Cameron's film career and solidifying Schwarzenegger's status as a leading man. The film's success led to a franchise consisting of several sequels, a television series, comic books, novels and video games. In 2008, The Terminator was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Plot
In 1984 Los Angeles, an imposing man appears naked in an alley amid electric flashes and attacks three punks for clothes. Later, a man with scars appears in an alley the same way and evades police. The first man robs a gun shop, looks up addresses of women named Sarah Connor, and begins murdering them. A waitress named Sarah Connor sees news reports about the murders and notices the second man following her. As she shelters in a nightclub, the first man kills her roommate Ginger and Ginger's boyfriend. He tracks her to the nightclub, where the second man preemptively fires on him. After a chaotic gunfight, the second man escapes with Sarah in a stolen car, while the first man gets up and pursues them on foot and in a police car.
The second man identifies himself as Sgt. Kyle Reese. He tells Sarah that the other man is a Terminator, a cyborg assassin from the future, and he has also come from the future to protect her. As they hide in a parking garage, Reese explains that Skynet, a pervasive computer network built by Cyberdyne Systems, will gain intelligence and launch a nuclear war against humans. He grew up in the aftermath as machines rounded survivors into extermination camps. John Connor, Sarah's unborn son, started a resistance in the camps. On the verge of the resistance's victory in 2029, the machines sent the Terminator back in time to assassinate Sarah and prevent John's birth.
The Terminator tracks Reese and Sarah, but it disappears after being shot in the eye and crashing during a car chase with the duo. The police apprehend Reese and Sarah. Sarah is notified of Ginger's murder, while Reese is interrogated by Dr. Silberman, a skeptical criminal psychologist. The Terminator returns to a hotel hideout and repairs itself.
Just as Silberman leaves, the Terminator arrives at the police station searching for Sarah, slaughtering many officers in the process. Reese and Sarah escape, steal another car and sleep under an overpass, where Sarah learns Reese's first name, Kyle. The next morning, they take refuge in a motel, where they assemble several pipe bombs and plan their next move. Reese admits that he has adored Sarah since he saw her in a photograph that John gave him, and that he traveled through time out of love for he
Directed by James Cameron
Written by
James Cameron
Gale Anne Hurd
Produced by Gale Anne Hurd
Starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Michael Biehn
Linda Hamilton
Paul Winfield
Cinematography Adam Greenberg
Edited by Mark Goldblatt
Music by Brad Fiedel
Production
companies
Hemdale Film Corporation
Pacific Western Productions
Euro Film Funding
Cinema '84
Distributed by Orion Pictures
Release date
October 26, 1984
Running time 107 minutes[1]
Country
United States[2][3][4]
Language English
Budget $6.4 million[5]
Box office $78 million
