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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Arnold Schwarzenegger was
just a little known bodybuilder from Graz Austria
-- who had gained modest fame with "Pumping
Iron" when director James Cameron decided
to cast him in the role of the cyborg killing
machine in "The Terminator." To be certain, the
buff Arnold was indeed an intimidating sight at
the time, materializing in the nude from an
electro-static bubble and thereafter pretty much
running amuck in his deadly pursuit of Sarah
Connor (Linda Hamilton). She's the mother of an,
as yet, unborn freedom fighter who sends his
father, Kyle (Michael Biehn) back in time to
impregnate Sarah and fight a war against
artificial intelligence.
The wrinkle: the machines have sent back through
time their own harbinger, this one of death, a
killing machine that appears to be human (okay,
super human with Arnie's rippling pecs and
enormous biceps) but deadly nevertheless, and
programmed to stop at nothing until Sarah is fish
food. As with most '80s fare of this sort the film
unfolds with its prerequisite of senseless
violence and car chases -- audiences used to be so
easy to please. However, this staple of sci-fi has
dated considerably since I first saw it in the
theater. Where once it seemed hi-tech and
revolutionary, there's a sort of dated quaintness
about the film today -- so sexist and 1980s that
it now belongs more to the relics of cinema rather
than its treasures.
MGM gives us a much improved rendering on DVD. The
original release had been marred by excessively
grainy images, soft details and some major color
bleeding. In this new incarnation (reportedly
mastered in hi-def) we get a smoother looking
print, but one that is still soft. Shadow
delineation can be well represented at times and
generally weak at others. Ditto on the contrast
levels, particularly in the dimly lit nightclub
scene. But the excessive edge enhancement and
shimmering fine details present on the original
DVD are completely gone on this remastered special
edition. One fine note for the younger generation
tuning into this movie for the first time: the
special effects have also dated considerably.
These were the days before computer-generated
graphics. Although every attempt has been made to
clean up and slightly retouch the original film
effects, they do not hold up to what is being
offered today. I rather like that.
The soundtrack has been remastered to 5.1, but
it's also incredibly dated with an un natural
sounding tinny characteristic. As far as extras,
we get the original documentary on the making of
this movie as well as the superb retrospective
with interviews from all of the principal players.
There's also an audio commentary, some stills and
a theatrical trailer. |
