THE TERMINATOR
dir: James Cameron
"John Connor gave me a picture of you once. I didn't know why at the time. It was very old - torn, faded. You were young like you are now. You seemed just a little sad. I used to always wonder what you were thinking at that moment. I memorized every line, every curve. I came across time for you Sarah. I love you; I always have." - Kyle Reese
Brief Synopsis
In the apocalyptic future, machine rulers decide to change their present by altering the past through sending an unstoppable cyborg to kill the mother of the human resistance before she gives birth to him. A human is also sent back to protect her.
Why It's Here
James Cameron's sci-fi opus defined his career, cemented him in the history of Hollywood, and would lead him to earn jobs directing the sequel to "Alien" and "Titanic". The "Terminator" franchise was later taken away from Cameron and beaten until barely recognizable. Cameron's comprimise of sacrificing his original franchise for a career in directing in many ways reflects the film' story about the beauty of new life and a hope for a better future only through first enduring substantial sacrifice.
Now known for his inspired casting, Cameron giving the role of the heartless killing machine to Arnold Schwarzenegger was a pitch-perfect match. Arnold's defining muscular features were best suited for a character who is meant to be a representation of a human at peak physical form, along with his emotionless bold stare that compliments his nearly unbelievable figure giving the viewer the sense that he is not a man at all. His actions are too stiff and his voice too rehearsed to be authentic, which makes Arnold fit the character like a sock, similar to other emotionless actors like Keanu Reeves, Arnold's best roles are those when he's not even human at all. Cameron would later remark how Arnold's character is too obvious to work in a film grounded in realism. Instead, the film walks a thin line between a hyperreality of science fiction babble and intense action sequences and fun action-movie motifs that maintains an enjoyable, exciting, yet cautious adventure. The concept and casting works because Cameron is able to sell it so well through convincing action archetypes that toy with genre conventions but still ground themselves in the serious subject matter that lingers around the film; the film is never wallowing in depression, but it also doesn't act as mockery of humanity's armageddon.
Cameron's original screenplay uses the fairly cliched convention of machines rising up and replacing us. However, what is so thrilling about this story is the very unique use of literary techniques. "The Terminator" is a classic example of the use of the very rare and unique device of "flash-forwards" where a glimpse of events to come are clearly revealed to the audience, rather than implied. Cameron removes any sense of doubt or disbelief that these two beings have actually come from the future. "The Terminator" is not a film of subtlety, there is no foreshadowing but instead it is clear, defined, and a stark warning of events to come. A caution sign that if we do not become more aware of these technologies we will become undone by them, obviously told in an exciting Hollywood fashion. But Cameron plays with the time-travel concept without ever coming out and actually explaining it to us. Our "flash-forwards" are presented as memories, invoking a confusing paradox of the mind. Can Kyle really remember the future? His character is uncomfortable in our comforting world because his mission is to change future, which may mean changing his memory and how he sees the world. Such power is beyond the rights usually associated with mankind. These sequences make Kyle a much more complicated and compelling character than if they had been merely implied.
The flash-forwards to Kyle Reese's war torn world are chilling and sharply contrast the comforting feeling of the 1980's world where the narrative takes place. The films low budget gives the future scenes a more desolate, rugged look than the larger-scale sequel does. The cinematography portrays a world that apparently never sees sunshine, humans hide in shadows and burrow into the ground, away from the surface they once ruled. The surface world shadows the world that once was, filled with rubble and human skeletons litter the ground, even the remaining buildings are nothing but skeletons, this is he definition of wasteland. No one smiles, children entertain themselves by watching a glowing fire sitting inside a hollowed out television. Despite the machine overlords being the enemy, Cameron illustrates that humans now and always will rely on machines to survive including laser rifles and vehicles which humans still use as their means to survive. The only reference to any survival tool that isn't mechanized is the use of dogs to spot Terminators before the humans are aware of them. Once again, it's organic beings that represent the last stand of our survival. While we depend on machines, Cameron illustrates quite explicitely that they are not our ally, only our tool. This concept of machines as tools is later explored when a re-programmed Terminator is sent back in time in "Terminator 2".
The never-seen, but often talked of John Connor represents the future. He represents humanity and hope, the one strength of human will that machines can never have, which is what makes him such a threat to them. The "Terminator" franchise is essentially the life-story of John Connor, beginning with this film, John's first adventure when he is nothing but an embryo. Unaware of the threats around him. He is perhaps one of the few film characters who begins his adventure before he is even born, and yet, his survival is still as vital as ever. Yet, Cameron doesn't go as far as calling John Connor the "hero" of this story, instead making room for Kyle Reese, the man who sacrifices himself to save his leader by returning to the past with no link back to the future.
Apart from the heroics of Kyle, there is the romance of Kyle and Sarah. The compassion between Reese and Sarah Connor make this film relatable, an against-odds romance where two lovers fight an invasive, constant driving force to stop them. As Cameron would later define in "Titanic", he is a far between romance director than many give him credit for. The lack of this human bond in the sequel makes the original more compassionate with characters we feel more connected to. "The Terminator" is Cameron's first love-ballad, a unique and haunting story employing several writing and special-effects techniques separating it from the competition of it's era. Like "Titanic", Cameron's love story is naturally a doomed one. While this film has a connection of characters, it's overall a dark film which ends with Sarah driving towards a storm, or "the" storm, depending on how you look at it. Unlike the sequel, "The Terminator" believes fate prevails in the war against free will. Our future is written for us, Kyle's only true objective is to impregnate Sarah as future John Connor must be aware that Kyle's main signficance is to assure that he is born. The only optimism at the end of it all is the backlash of calculated logic; the machines send back an android to kill John Connor, but their precautionary actions actually result in creating him.
Now known for his inspired casting, Cameron giving the role of the heartless killing machine to Arnold Schwarzenegger was a pitch-perfect match. Arnold's defining muscular features were best suited for a character who is meant to be a representation of a human at peak physical form, along with his emotionless bold stare that compliments his nearly unbelievable figure giving the viewer the sense that he is not a man at all. His actions are too stiff and his voice too rehearsed to be authentic, which makes Arnold fit the character like a sock, similar to other emotionless actors like Keanu Reeves, Arnold's best roles are those when he's not even human at all. Cameron would later remark how Arnold's character is too obvious to work in a film grounded in realism. Instead, the film walks a thin line between a hyperreality of science fiction babble and intense action sequences and fun action-movie motifs that maintains an enjoyable, exciting, yet cautious adventure. The concept and casting works because Cameron is able to sell it so well through convincing action archetypes that toy with genre conventions but still ground themselves in the serious subject matter that lingers around the film; the film is never wallowing in depression, but it also doesn't act as mockery of humanity's armageddon.
Cameron's original screenplay uses the fairly cliched convention of machines rising up and replacing us. However, what is so thrilling about this story is the very unique use of literary techniques. "The Terminator" is a classic example of the use of the very rare and unique device of "flash-forwards" where a glimpse of events to come are clearly revealed to the audience, rather than implied. Cameron removes any sense of doubt or disbelief that these two beings have actually come from the future. "The Terminator" is not a film of subtlety, there is no foreshadowing but instead it is clear, defined, and a stark warning of events to come. A caution sign that if we do not become more aware of these technologies we will become undone by them, obviously told in an exciting Hollywood fashion. But Cameron plays with the time-travel concept without ever coming out and actually explaining it to us. Our "flash-forwards" are presented as memories, invoking a confusing paradox of the mind. Can Kyle really remember the future? His character is uncomfortable in our comforting world because his mission is to change future, which may mean changing his memory and how he sees the world. Such power is beyond the rights usually associated with mankind. These sequences make Kyle a much more complicated and compelling character than if they had been merely implied.
The flash-forwards to Kyle Reese's war torn world are chilling and sharply contrast the comforting feeling of the 1980's world where the narrative takes place. The films low budget gives the future scenes a more desolate, rugged look than the larger-scale sequel does. The cinematography portrays a world that apparently never sees sunshine, humans hide in shadows and burrow into the ground, away from the surface they once ruled. The surface world shadows the world that once was, filled with rubble and human skeletons litter the ground, even the remaining buildings are nothing but skeletons, this is he definition of wasteland. No one smiles, children entertain themselves by watching a glowing fire sitting inside a hollowed out television. Despite the machine overlords being the enemy, Cameron illustrates that humans now and always will rely on machines to survive including laser rifles and vehicles which humans still use as their means to survive. The only reference to any survival tool that isn't mechanized is the use of dogs to spot Terminators before the humans are aware of them. Once again, it's organic beings that represent the last stand of our survival. While we depend on machines, Cameron illustrates quite explicitely that they are not our ally, only our tool. This concept of machines as tools is later explored when a re-programmed Terminator is sent back in time in "Terminator 2".
The never-seen, but often talked of John Connor represents the future. He represents humanity and hope, the one strength of human will that machines can never have, which is what makes him such a threat to them. The "Terminator" franchise is essentially the life-story of John Connor, beginning with this film, John's first adventure when he is nothing but an embryo. Unaware of the threats around him. He is perhaps one of the few film characters who begins his adventure before he is even born, and yet, his survival is still as vital as ever. Yet, Cameron doesn't go as far as calling John Connor the "hero" of this story, instead making room for Kyle Reese, the man who sacrifices himself to save his leader by returning to the past with no link back to the future.
Apart from the heroics of Kyle, there is the romance of Kyle and Sarah. The compassion between Reese and Sarah Connor make this film relatable, an against-odds romance where two lovers fight an invasive, constant driving force to stop them. As Cameron would later define in "Titanic", he is a far between romance director than many give him credit for. The lack of this human bond in the sequel makes the original more compassionate with characters we feel more connected to. "The Terminator" is Cameron's first love-ballad, a unique and haunting story employing several writing and special-effects techniques separating it from the competition of it's era. Like "Titanic", Cameron's love story is naturally a doomed one. While this film has a connection of characters, it's overall a dark film which ends with Sarah driving towards a storm, or "the" storm, depending on how you look at it. Unlike the sequel, "The Terminator" believes fate prevails in the war against free will. Our future is written for us, Kyle's only true objective is to impregnate Sarah as future John Connor must be aware that Kyle's main signficance is to assure that he is born. The only optimism at the end of it all is the backlash of calculated logic; the machines send back an android to kill John Connor, but their precautionary actions actually result in creating him.