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Summary: "The Terminator" is one of my
favorite movies of all time. What is there not to like? The movie has
a unbeatable combination of action and romance that will sure to please any
movie-goer. And MGM did a superb job of re-mastering this film onto
DVD, with an all-new high-definition video transfer for excellent picture
quality and a state-of-the-art re-mix from mono sound to a Dolby Digital 5.1
soundtrack for an immersive sonic experience. DVD collectors should be
very happy with this DVD's picture quality and the surround sound
experience. The generous bonus features are just that, icing on what
is already a delicious cake. I highly recommend this Special Edition DVD re-release
of "The Terminator" by MGM.
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The Story
Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is a simple California girl working as
a waitress and now finds a herself the target of the Terminator (Arnold
Schwarzenegger), who travels back to her time from the year 2029 and
is programmed to assassinate her at all costs to prevent her unborn son from
becoming mankind's only hope during a future war between man and the
supercomputers. Sarah is on the run and doesn't know who to trust.
Meanwhile, her son from the future sends Reese (Michael Biehn) back in time to protect
her from this relentless Terminator. Even with Reese, can Sarah outrun the unstoppable,
indestructible, and relentless cyborg to live out her life and give birth to her unborn son
who will eventually help save mankind in the war against the machines?
The action is non-stop with heart-pounding
suspense as the Terminator catches up to Sarah and Reese. This movie combines
an unbeatable combination action, visual special effects, and romance that will sure to please any
movie-goer.
The Extras
As a Special Edition DVD, "The Terminator"
comes with the following bonus features:
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Brand new "Other Voices" documentary with
new James Cameron interviews along with the cast and crew recollecting
back in time about the process of making "The
Terminator". It is a good 59 minutes documentary from
Cameron's vision, casting, production, filming, and polishing the film.
-
"The Terminator: A Retrospective"
documentary features Schwarzenegger and Cameron about their experiences
with this film.
-
"Terminated" deleted scenes with James
Cameron audio commentary underlay:
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Hidden menu features (i.e., DVD Easter Eggs)
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Photo gallery of James Cameron artwork, production
photos, Stan Winston effects, "Fantasy II" visual effects, and
publicity materials
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Original storyboards
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Teaser trailer, theatrical trailers, and 3 TV spots
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DVD-ROM script to screen for the screenplay drafts of
"The Terminator" and "Terminator II: Judgment Day"
Video & Audio
The image quality of this new high-definition anamorphic
widescreen DVD transfer is excellent, especially considering the vintage
of this film (1984 release). The colors are accurate and
saturated, while shadow detail is very good. I am very pleased with the
results of this all-new high-definition video transfer.
The state-of-the-art re-mix to a Dolby
Digital 5.1 soundtrack from what was originally released theatrically in
mono sound is complete amazing! MGM must have gone back to the
original sound stems to do this 5.1-channel surround sound re-mix. The
surround channels are aggressively used as sounds come from all directions
to match the on-screen and off-screen action. The dialog remains consistently
clear at all times. It is clearly one of the best Dolby Digital 5.1
soundtracks I have yet heard, period. Oh yeah, the mono soundtrack
from the theatrical release is included for the devoted cinemaphile. (One thing to note though, the
box says that the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack are EX for extended
surround, as in THX Surround EX,
but my A/V receiver did not detect the EX encoding.)
Conclusion
This movie combines an unbeatable combination action and
romance that will sure to please any movie-goer. This Special Edition
DVD will certainly please DVD collectors. The picture
quality is first rate, especially considering the age of this film, and the
Dolby Digital 5.1 remix is simply awesome and rivals that of the best
current year release action films. I highly recommend this Special
Edition DVD re-release from MGM.
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Visit the MGM web site.
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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony
DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony
KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four
B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers
and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable
Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable
Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug
connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio
rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
Be sure to check out our Top 10 DVDs of the year
2001 and our list of this year's Oscar winners on DVD.
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