The Terminator (Remastered) (1984)

Video:

The new transfer looks great. It's sharp and grain is intact. However, it should be noted that the color-timing is not what you'd be used to for this film. It takes a tealish look, especially in certain scenes. The look works for the film, but it's certainly not what we have seen over the years on TV, VHS, DVD, screenshots, etc. It's a whole-new look for the film. Whether or not it was the intended look from the start, or whether James Cameron had a hand in making it look this way has yet to be seen. But over-all it is a superior transfer, and it makes owning this disc worth it.

Sound:

Fairly active and robust surround sound here, but sadly it is the remix sound. The original mono with the original sound effects is missing once again, so expect a few moments of "Wow, the sound effects there were horrid."

Extras:

A couple of featurettes, nothing terribly formidable. Also, the deleted scenes in SD. All of the extras here can be found on the Special Edition DVD, and missing is the hour-long 'Other Voices' documentary and extensive Easter eggs also found on that release. This would have been the perfect time to deliver a feature-packed Blu-ray with all-new features, but alas...MGM/Fox has decided to cheap out this time. Maybe we'll get a 30th Anniversary Edition in 2014.

I'm quite content with the newly remastered The Terminator (Remastered) [Blu-ray]. Right away I noticed the superior quality in regards to the picture & audio. Fine detail in closeups is very apparent, yet, the film grain is intact. I definitely recommend this new edition compared to the sub-par original T1 blu-ray release from a few years ago.

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I knew that "The Terminator" would be re-issued, and with a better remastering effort. I knew this because the last known re-issue of "The Terminator" on DVD had many extras. Like additional documentaries and the making of the film, etc.. The first issued Blu-Ray of the film actually looked no better than the DVD (it appears to be the same unimproved source copy) but however, it also excluded all that extra material that the last known DVD version had so you will be more anxious to buy the film again, later, that will include all those already existing extras.

I believe this was their plan to double dip the consumer to resell this movie again, on Blu-Ray.

You gotta ask yourself. "How many times have I bought this same movie over the years, with the promise of it being somewhat more improved?" (your purchases of the past included VHS in several re-issues, Beta, Laserdisc, DVD again in several re-issues, BD, etc.) The Blu-Ray has been issued twice already, and now, here comes the third re-issue on Blu-Ray.

It's ridiculous how they do this to us. They give as little as they can on the first release, and then they improve on it just a little more, with a hope to re-sell it again. And then again.

You watch, three to five years from now, you will probably be buying "The Terminator" yet again, because they will again do something more for it to make your current copy inferior to it. They will always add a little something more to a re-issue to make you want to buy it again. Even things that they already have on film, that they will just wait to add to a future re-issue.

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First of all, casual viewers are going to just have to ignore the negs here. That is about all you can do. This is the highest video quality you are going to see on bluray. A 36Mbps transfer of an older grainy film and damn does it look wonderful. The AWFUL red push of the old releases is gone and THANK THE HEAVENS. This film looks unbelievable and I am NOT easy to please when it comes to details and bitrates. Most blurays these days cannot seem to get past 25Mbps, many are much less, and it shows with fluctuating quality throughout the film. Not this one.

They slightly changed the color timing to reflect a modern and SLIGHTLY cooler tone. Some people cannot seem to deal with the fact we are no longer in the 80s and no director worth their salt wants that pinkish/reddish look, that was quite common in that time, to their films now that they have a choice. Blade Runner did the same and The Final Cut looks better than it ever did, though, that release has less than HALF the bitrate of this release. Anyway, the timing does wonders for this film IMO. I have never seen this so detailed in all my life. I really think the new timing gives it a more timeless look and will be appreciated by most people. In no way will it hardly even be noticed for the vast majority. Skintones remain natural and whites are still nice and bright.

As for the sound, it is also the most balanced and proper it has sounded in a long time. There are these few diehard weirdos who cannot seem to deal with the fact that most people don't like mono and don't want to listen to mono in film when there are effects taking place all over the soundstage that take advantage of more than one speaker. Cameron never meant for there to be a Mono track it is just that the producers would not let him have his 4 track stereo because they were cheap bastards. He even came in under budget ffs. Mono also has many other deficiencies compared to stereo with depth of the various instruments and sounds and the overall balance of the mix. You can read about that somewhere else.

I do agree they should have at least included it but quite honestly I would not be using it anyway. They seem to have improved the stereo and multi-channel tracks. To my ears the gun sounds are fine and sound pretty damn good for an 80s film. They redid some of the effects with T2 ones to my knowledge a while back. This presentation seems more balanced than any other releases to my ears.

For the people that are boycotting this release let them. This isn't some travesty like the original Patton release or the Predator: Ultimate Edition release which were DNR'd to within an inch of their life and looked like wax on screen. To the contrary, this is one of the best looking blurays on the market. The old Terminator release is a joke compared to this.

Nothing to be afraid of with this one. They did just about everything right except include the old mono track. And no one but a few really care because it ain't that great to begin with. 5 stars for a great remaster and at 10 bucks at Walmart, and around that on Amazon, you really cannot go wrong. Extras are the same as the past versions to my knowledge. Peace.

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I own the movie in 3 formats, vhs, dvd and now the remaster. Best i have seen. I really felt like it was the first time i saw it.

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