The Terminator [4K Ultra HD] [1984]

Okay so I bought the Steelbook Terminator 4K.I have played this only through an XBOX ONE X, image quality will be better through a standalone 4K player.However playing this film on my XBOX has shown me how good 4K can be, and encouraged me to write this review.The Terminator is my favourite film, I own every version of this film and have been watching it since my youth. I think the script, characters and direction are superior to the sequel.I was initially sceptical in buying this version as have recently bought TRUE LIES and ALIENS in 4k and have been disappointed by the AI rendering.This 4K version is NOT a disappointment, it has as far as I have researched not been remastered with AI, the quality of the image is outstanding.You can see the hairs on THE TERMINATORS face when it arrives, REECE's scars, the gunshot towards Sarah in TECH NOIR, REECE using a person as a human shield in TECH NOIR, the TERMINATOR not having a wound to his eye before he crashes, his eye being intact under his sunglasses at the police station.The colours are all true to every version I have seen before, the 4K rendering makes the characters appear real and alive in ypur living room, details you havent seen before can clearly be seen, this is as close to a cinematic experience as you will get, like watching the film for the first time.Any Terminator fan will want this in their collection. It is vastly superior to the blu ray which was already very good.I am a big fan of prime video, I cannot see a digital release in the UK as of 30/11/24, however can see the title available in the UK, I am happy to pay extra for this however not happy that in 2024 we still have region locked content. By 2029 I hope this is rectified by the machines.

I held off on ALL the other J.Cameron 4Ks after hearing the ...less than great reviews.[Not to mention rip-off about ABYSS rat scene banning here!!!] But, this was a MUST BUY for me, ...No matter what.And it's easily best I've ever seen this movie... in 40 YEARS !!!.Teeth wounds on Reese's right hand in parking lot,after Sarah's bitey scene!!!!. Never noticed that F/X detail there before in that much detail !!!!. And did they manage to darken T-800s shades front desk at police station, [so we couldn't see Arnold's clearly undamaged eye!!?] Seemed like it.Sadly those car headlights are still OFF even though front desk was all lit up....BUT,IT'S STILL GREAT.Theatrical Audio is a Cool bonus also.Is light on Bonus Material, but, since I have this movie on every other possible format,I got all the Bonus'. This was WELL WORTH the price and anyone umm-ing and ahh-ing about buying, do yourself a favour before it goes UP in price....'cos I think this will sell out and then suddenly not be available again... -_0More than pleased with this 4K.

Schwarzenegger; love him or hate him you have to give him credit for knowing what he is and what he isn't. He knows his acting presence is never going to be mentioned with the same breathless awe of Meryl Streep. Arnie does a great job of choosing roles that suit him perfectly. One of those roles is the near monk-like silence of the cult classic killing machine known as the Terminator.We can overlook the fact that Skynet chose to send back a Terminator with a heavy Austrian accent to 1980's America because over the twenty or so times I have seen this film I really could not care less. This is probably Schwarzenegger's greatest film. The role doesn't ask too much of him and he plays it perfectly. As soon as Arnie is teleported, crouching fully naked beside a dump truck he is the Terminator. Many people would demean him, claiming it only works because he cannot act. I disagree. Acting is making the viewer believe and whilst watching this film you don't see former Mr Universe, you see an unstoppable cyborg killer would will not stop and not rest until he has completed his task.What works for The Terminator is the simple premise and James Cameron's ability to put a new spin on something we've seen before. He did it with Alien and like it or not he did it with Avatar. The rules of time travel are well worked out and simply explained. Nothing dead can travel back in time (Hence why we get treated to Arnie and Michael Biehn's buttocks at the start of the film). The Terminator itself cheats this rule by being living organism over metal skeleton.Perhaps most striking about this film, given that it was made in the action hero 1980s where machine gun wielding bodybuilders was the norm, is that the hero character is female. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is now an icon. She's not the atypical screaming woman who's running up the stairs instead of out the door. She's a normal woman, working part time at a diner, living with a roommate and struggling to find a boyfriend that isn't more concerned about his car. When the time comes, she steps up to the demands of the film. She never thought she could be a hero or brave or fight a cyborg from the future but she does all of these things and the film is really about her and her journey.Much of the colour and explanation comes from the haunted but utterly devoted Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) who successfully balances the forlornness of the future with his love for Sarah and determined resolve to protect her. He is the underdog in this fight and it's hard not to root for someone so passionate.A supporting cast of Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen and Earl Boen as the psychiatrist add a light-heartedness to a very bleak and depressing environment. It works. Cameron's direction and pacing transition well between visions of a possible future and the unravelling present.There is a reason this film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry a requisite being `culturally, historically or aesthetically significant'. The Terminator is all these things. It is a film that has referenced and inspired so many others and if it's not on your list of films to watch before you die, then you are a fool.

One of the most Important movies ever made - and unlike the horrendous mess that is the Terminator 2 4K transfer, this one is fantastic.

Picture quality is really good for a film that's now 41 years old. No grain or dullness to the picture. No Dolby Atmos Soundtrack just the original 5.1 surround but its punchy and sounded great coming through my sound bar.

The terminator 4K a classic terminator film which I watched back in the 180s on video tape back in the day makes me think thank god video tapes are gone since tracking could be a problem but the 4K film is brilliant quality buy it