It is a modern classic, a cult film, a film that has been transplanted from cinema to grow and develop in popular culture: Phrases like “Sayonara, baby” no longer belong in James Cameron’s film, they now belong in the streetThe film was released on October 26, 1984, the year of the Gremlinslos Ghostbusters, Footloose y Karate Kid: in October 2024, Terminator He will be a somewhat outdated forty-something, but just as badass and attractive.
The plot of the film focuses on the character of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a cyborg who comes from the future with the mission of killing Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton. But Terminator isn’t the only one who has traveled through time, as soldier Kyle Reese has done the same in order to protect Sarah.
Mel Gibson said no
Mel Gibson is said to have turned down the role of Terminator because he had three films in hand and Arnold Schwarzenegger was not the other option, as Cameron wanted him to play Kyle Reese. But the actor convinced him and he stayed with the main character, despite the opposition of his agent who did not want the cinema to marginalize him to villain roles. The character of Kyle Reese went to Michael Biehn. This is the actor who has worked most times for James Cameron: together they have made highly successful and highly successful films: Aliens, Abyss y Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Bill Paxton, who has a minor role in the film, They have also maintained a close relationship with the director and have filmed Aliens, True Lies y Titanic.
James Cameron directs Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘Terminator’
A dream turned into a script
The film, of course, has its own legend and begins with a dream the director had. Apparently he was in Rome and one night with a high fever he had a kind of nightmare: a kind of metal skeleton emerged from an explosion and dragged huge blades. When he returned home he told his agent about it and he was told that it was a terrible idea and that he should work on something else. The agent was left without a job and Cameron, who had only directed one film, took the first step towards forging a successful and long career, with Iconic titles like Avatar y Titanic, with which he won the three Oscars that he has on display. That first step was to sell the script of Terminator to producer Gale Anne Hurd, who paid one dollar: this allowed Cameron to direct the film. More curiosities.
The most famous cyborg in American cinema: Terminator
Arny, an expert with weapons
The actor only had experience with swords, the weapon that Conan uses.the character in the two films he had just shot. That’s why he had to prepare himself thoroughly in the handling of firearms. He was practicing at a shooting range and for several weeks he disassembled and assembled pistols, rifles and shotguns while blindfolded.in order to speed up the process and do it with machine-like precision. The most difficult thing was doing it with both hands, being ambidextrous, but he managed it in such a credible way that Soldier of Fortune magazine praised his work.
Terminator is a ‘little role’
The character of Conan the Barbarian only had 24 lines. Very few for a role, but in Terminator The actor only had to learn 14 lines, a total of 58 words. This was an advantage for the actor, because he studied the script during the filming of Conan the Destroyer. And he did so with Yul Brynner as a reference in WestwordCameron had to wait for Arny to finish this shoot to start his own, but he used the time to outline the script for Aliens (sequel to Alien).
Linda Hamilton is Sarah Connor in ‘Terminator’
An ‘unexpected’ shoot
In many interviews, James Cameron tells how they made ‘guerilla films’ to avoid being arrested by the police for filming outdoors without permits. “I would meet the crew at a place when they least expected it, we would shoot the scene and then we would run out to avoid problems with the authorities. More than once I called at three in the morning and no one was ever missing.” She did something similar with the scene where Sarah heads out into the desert: while she was waiting for the sun to get stronger, to film the heat waves, the police arrived and the production team told her they were working on a project for the University of California. Several members of the technical team made T-shirts with the phrase: You can’t scare me, I work for James Cameron.
The 8 most memorable quotes from Terminator
-I want your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle!
-I’ll be back!
-Sayonara, baby
-The Terminator is out there, you can’t reason with him. He feels no pity, no remorse, no fear…
-I’ll be back.
-That bastard stole my pants. I don’t understand…
-Cyborgs don’t feel pain, I do.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is Terminator, the most famous cyborg in cinema
From science fiction to wedding
When filming Terminator, James Cameron was married to Kathryn Bigelow, but he couldn’t deny the feelings that arose when he met Linda Hamilton.The director and actress ended up getting married and starting a family. And as a curious fact, it should be noted that in the film there is a scene in which Sarah Connor receives a message on her answering machine and it is James Cameron’s voice. It was the first, they say, of many messages that he later left on her answering machine at home.
Terminatordespite the producers’ fears, did very well at the box office and gave rise to a successful saga that, to date, consists of six films, the most successful and highest grossing being the second: Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Arnold Schwarzenegger went so far as to say that his favorite film of all the ones he had made was the first in the series, because it gave his career a boost and made him a big star. Terminator enters the RTVE Play catalogue, which includes titles such as The beasts, Up in the air, This is how it goes for us, D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers, Hours of light, The consequences…
