DROG/BLOG: Ten Things I Noticed Rewatching The Terminator (1984)

Thursday, November 02, 2017

Ten Things I Noticed Rewatching The Terminator (1984)

I went to Wallyworld tonight and saw The Terminator Blu-Ray for 5 bucks which is my kind of cheap. The first one is my favorite. It is scrappy and doesn't waste a second. The movie is perfection when it comes to pace and editing, and it spawned one million rip offs and sequels, none of which are this good. It's 80's animated lighting in a bottle, and everything that can be said, has been said, but here are a few things I noticed for the first time on this rewatch.

1. Brian Thompson is one of the street punks in the beginning that is killed by Arnold. Never noticed that. I knew Bill Paxton was the ""couple cans short of a six pack" guy, but Brian Thompson? Looking pretty normal before roiding out in Cobra two years later.

Known for his "less is more" performance style.

2. Never noticed that there are kids playing in the yard when Arnold kills the wrong Sarah Conner. Makes the scene that much more brutal.

Pretty sick, bro.

3. Michael Biehn is hysterical in this movie. He's terrible, but awesome. His interrogation by the shrink is his best moment, but his confession of love to Sarah Conner is creepy stalker cinema. I get it, John Conner was working over time in the future to get Kyle to fall in love with his mom, which is also creepy. "You think my mom is hot in this picture? I bet my mom would totally dig you." Using time travel to hook your mom up with your dad was its own sub-genre in the 80s.

4. Was Kyle shoving the pipe bombs into the duffel bag supposed to be subtle foreshadowing for the love scene coming up? That Cameron really knows how to set the mood.

Hinty McHint Hint

5. Was the Terminator's skin rotting and stinking up the already filthy hotel he was hiding in? Was Cameron justifying that the rubber Terminator head was looking pretty rubbery by turning it into a plot point? In the shot below, flies are crawling on his skin, and then the greasy janitor asks if he has a dead cat in there. If they are implying that the damaged flesh was diseased and putrid, what a cool little detail that was never developed in the sequels! Another reason I love the original the most.

6. When Sarah tells Paul Winfield that she is at the bar Tech Noir, the frumpy Lieutenant totally knows where she's talking about. Images of him decked out on a Saturday night, dancing roboticly to new wave hits will forever be in my head now.

7. The back and forth between Paul Winfield and Lance Henrickson is great. Lance keeps trying to tell a disturbing cop story and Paul keeps interrupting him. It's really funny. Never noticed it.

8. Who could have predicted that this guy would become such a linchpin of the series. He's in three of the five movies!?!?

9. The Terminator totally flinches when firing his weapon early in the movie. "Eek, that's so loud and flashy!"

10. When Kyle hot wires a car, he picks the absolute worst time to crank it up and tear out. After giving Sarah Conner his whole backstory and keeping cover for 20 minutes, he doesn't make his move until the Terminator is 10 feet away! Unlucky bastard!