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- Terminator - The Hunt for Sarah Connor
Terminator - The Hunt for Sarah Connor
Updated
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Genre:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1984
Original Running Time:
107 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
83 minutes
Time Cut:
24 minutes
Subtitles Available:
Available in HD:
Additional Links:
Synopsis:
This edit aims to keep the ambiguity of whether Reese can be trusted and if his story is even true for as long as possible. The audience is learning information along with Sarah instead of being way ahead of her.
Intention:
T2 seems to have been written with ambiguity over who was the protector and who was the killer at first. This culminates in the great scene where both appear from opposite ends of the corridor with John trapped in between them. This got me thinking if a similar concept could be applied to the original with regards to Reese's motivations. Is he the killer? And if he's not, is he a delusional man with crazy visions of a future war against the machines?
This is a version of the film where all the time travel and cyborgs come as a surprise instead of being the main selling point.
This is a version of the film where all the time travel and cyborgs come as a surprise instead of being the main selling point.
Other Sources:
- Terminator Genisys blu-ray for 1984 Los Angeles aerial
- The Great Outdoors blu-ray for cabin exterior shot
- The Terminator Teaser Trailer for logo
- The Terminator Definitive Edition Soundtrack
- Freesound.org
- The Great Outdoors blu-ray for cabin exterior shot
- The Terminator Teaser Trailer for logo
- The Terminator Definitive Edition Soundtrack
- Freesound.org
Special Thanks:
Dwight Fry for his fantastic ideas and feedback that really improved this edit no end. And all his championing of it on the forums to get it approved!
Release Information:
Digital
Cuts and Additions:
Cut 2029 prologue and Onscreen Text.
Replaced Credit Sequence with custom Title Card. Credits moved to the end of the film.
Cut all Terminator arrival scenes.
Aerial from the 1984 section of Terminator Genisys used to open film.
Cut Reese arriving from the past. Start with him already in the alley and getting to his feet in pain.
Cut homeless guy’s line about stealing his pants. We don’t confirm if he is still alive or dead after encountering Reese.
Cut shot focusing on Reese’s stolen Nikes in the photobooth. (Don’t want the audience focusing on the particular shoes he wears to aid a later mis-direct).
Cut Terminator hotwiring car.
Cut Gun shop scene.
Cut Terminator looking up Sarah Connor address in phone book as well as the first murder.
Cut Reese’s future dream in the car. Now he just hotwires the car and immediately drives off in it.
Trimmed end of the scene where Reese watches Sarah leave the garage on her bike so that we don’t see him drive after her.
Added the shot of the sliding door opening to the end of the scene where Ginger & Matt are ignoring the answering machine.
Cut Terminator attacking and killing Ginger & Matt. We find out they are dead when Sarah calls.
Trimmed Sarah’s answering machine message and recut the scene to show someone is still there searching the apartment. But reframed shots to not show the Terminator’s face.
Recut the build up to Tech Noir shootout to only reveal the Terminator properly when he directly approaches Sarah through the crowd.
Cut red Terminator vision shot during alley foot chase.
Cut Terminator voice mimicry of the policeman.
Cut Sarah asking Reese “Can you stop it?”. She hasn’t fully accepted his story yet.
Cut Terminator surgery and repair scenes.
Cut “I’ll be back” scene. Now he just rams through the doors unannounced.
Cut red Terminator vision during police station shootout.
Trimmed the future flashforward scene to end midway through the Terminator attack. This is to be interpreted as Sarah dreaming of the world Reese has been describing to her, rather than a definite confirmation of his story being true. So the business with Reese having the photograph of Sarah was removed as this is a detail Sarah couldn’t know to dream about.
Moved scene of Terminator flipping through Sarah’s address book later. We go straight from Sarah and Reese leaving the tunnel to them arriving at the motel.
Address book scene now used to bridge Reese leaving to get supplies and Sarah talking on the phone with her mother. Cut all shots of his damaged eye, the Terminator vision shot, as well as the “Fuck you, asshole” exchange.
Ended Sarah’s phone call on “Ok here’s the number”. In this version it's her actual mother she’s talking to, not the Terminator.
Cut Terminator driving back from the cabin and used the earlier scene inside the cabin in its place. Moved audio around so the Terminator is just dialling the motel with the number he’s found. Scene ends before he responds to “Tiki Motel...”.
Intercut future shots of Reese and the photo with the scene in the motel where he tells Sarah about it.
Cut Terminator vision outside the motel.
Trimmed shot of Terminator turning to camera just before being hit by the truck as it spoiled the red eye reveal. The first time we see the red eye is when he turns to face the guy in the truck. Added a short music sting that had been removed from earlier in the film to underscore the moment.
Cut “Get out” line. Just a look from the Terminator is enough.
Cut Sarah’s melodramatic screams of “No! Noooo!” at seeing the endoskeleton rise from the fire.
Reframed shot of endoskeleton opening door to remove visible operator behind.
The cut opening credits added to the end of the film.
Main cast billing order changed to Hamilton/Biehn/Schwarzenegger.
Replaced Credit Sequence with custom Title Card. Credits moved to the end of the film.
Cut all Terminator arrival scenes.
Aerial from the 1984 section of Terminator Genisys used to open film.
Cut Reese arriving from the past. Start with him already in the alley and getting to his feet in pain.
Cut homeless guy’s line about stealing his pants. We don’t confirm if he is still alive or dead after encountering Reese.
Cut shot focusing on Reese’s stolen Nikes in the photobooth. (Don’t want the audience focusing on the particular shoes he wears to aid a later mis-direct).
Cut Terminator hotwiring car.
Cut Gun shop scene.
Cut Terminator looking up Sarah Connor address in phone book as well as the first murder.
Cut Reese’s future dream in the car. Now he just hotwires the car and immediately drives off in it.
Trimmed end of the scene where Reese watches Sarah leave the garage on her bike so that we don’t see him drive after her.
Added the shot of the sliding door opening to the end of the scene where Ginger & Matt are ignoring the answering machine.
Cut Terminator attacking and killing Ginger & Matt. We find out they are dead when Sarah calls.
Trimmed Sarah’s answering machine message and recut the scene to show someone is still there searching the apartment. But reframed shots to not show the Terminator’s face.
Recut the build up to Tech Noir shootout to only reveal the Terminator properly when he directly approaches Sarah through the crowd.
Cut red Terminator vision shot during alley foot chase.
Cut Terminator voice mimicry of the policeman.
Cut Sarah asking Reese “Can you stop it?”. She hasn’t fully accepted his story yet.
Cut Terminator surgery and repair scenes.
Cut “I’ll be back” scene. Now he just rams through the doors unannounced.
Cut red Terminator vision during police station shootout.
Trimmed the future flashforward scene to end midway through the Terminator attack. This is to be interpreted as Sarah dreaming of the world Reese has been describing to her, rather than a definite confirmation of his story being true. So the business with Reese having the photograph of Sarah was removed as this is a detail Sarah couldn’t know to dream about.
Moved scene of Terminator flipping through Sarah’s address book later. We go straight from Sarah and Reese leaving the tunnel to them arriving at the motel.
Address book scene now used to bridge Reese leaving to get supplies and Sarah talking on the phone with her mother. Cut all shots of his damaged eye, the Terminator vision shot, as well as the “Fuck you, asshole” exchange.
Ended Sarah’s phone call on “Ok here’s the number”. In this version it's her actual mother she’s talking to, not the Terminator.
Cut Terminator driving back from the cabin and used the earlier scene inside the cabin in its place. Moved audio around so the Terminator is just dialling the motel with the number he’s found. Scene ends before he responds to “Tiki Motel...”.
Intercut future shots of Reese and the photo with the scene in the motel where he tells Sarah about it.
Cut Terminator vision outside the motel.
Trimmed shot of Terminator turning to camera just before being hit by the truck as it spoiled the red eye reveal. The first time we see the red eye is when he turns to face the guy in the truck. Added a short music sting that had been removed from earlier in the film to underscore the moment.
Cut “Get out” line. Just a look from the Terminator is enough.
Cut Sarah’s melodramatic screams of “No! Noooo!” at seeing the endoskeleton rise from the fire.
Reframed shot of endoskeleton opening door to remove visible operator behind.
The cut opening credits added to the end of the film.
Main cast billing order changed to Hamilton/Biehn/Schwarzenegger.
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Genre:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1984
Original Running Time:
107 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
83 minutes
Time Cut:
24 minutes
Subtitles Available:
Available in HD:
Additional Links:
Synopsis:
This edit aims to keep the ambiguity of whether Reese can be trusted and if his story is even true for as long as possible. The audience is learning information along with Sarah instead of being way ahead of her.
Intention:
T2 seems to have been written with ambiguity over who was the protector and who was the killer at first. This culminates in the great scene where both appear from opposite ends of the corridor with John trapped in between them. This got me thinking if a similar concept could be applied to the original with regards to Reese's motivations. Is he the killer? And if he's not, is he a delusional man with crazy visions of a future war against the machines?
This is a version of the film where all the time travel and cyborgs come as a surprise instead of being the main selling point.
This is a version of the film where all the time travel and cyborgs come as a surprise instead of being the main selling point.
Other Sources:
- Terminator Genisys blu-ray for 1984 Los Angeles aerial
- The Great Outdoors blu-ray for cabin exterior shot
- The Terminator Teaser Trailer for logo
- The Terminator Definitive Edition Soundtrack
- Freesound.org
- The Great Outdoors blu-ray for cabin exterior shot
- The Terminator Teaser Trailer for logo
- The Terminator Definitive Edition Soundtrack
- Freesound.org
Special Thanks:
Dwight Fry for his fantastic ideas and feedback that really improved this edit no end. And all his championing of it on the forums to get it approved!
Release Information:
Digital
Cuts and Additions:
Cut 2029 prologue and Onscreen Text.
Replaced Credit Sequence with custom Title Card. Credits moved to the end of the film.
Cut all Terminator arrival scenes.
Aerial from the 1984 section of Terminator Genisys used to open film.
Cut Reese arriving from the past. Start with him already in the alley and getting to his feet in pain.
Cut homeless guy’s line about stealing his pants. We don’t confirm if he is still alive or dead after encountering Reese.
Cut shot focusing on Reese’s stolen Nikes in the photobooth. (Don’t want the audience focusing on the particular shoes he wears to aid a later mis-direct).
Cut Terminator hotwiring car.
Cut Gun shop scene.
Cut Terminator looking up Sarah Connor address in phone book as well as the first murder.
Cut Reese’s future dream in the car. Now he just hotwires the car and immediately drives off in it.
Trimmed end of the scene where Reese watches Sarah leave the garage on her bike so that we don’t see him drive after her.
Added the shot of the sliding door opening to the end of the scene where Ginger & Matt are ignoring the answering machine.
Cut Terminator attacking and killing Ginger & Matt. We find out they are dead when Sarah calls.
Trimmed Sarah’s answering machine message and recut the scene to show someone is still there searching the apartment. But reframed shots to not show the Terminator’s face.
Recut the build up to Tech Noir shootout to only reveal the Terminator properly when he directly approaches Sarah through the crowd.
Cut red Terminator vision shot during alley foot chase.
Cut Terminator voice mimicry of the policeman.
Cut Sarah asking Reese “Can you stop it?”. She hasn’t fully accepted his story yet.
Cut Terminator surgery and repair scenes.
Cut “I’ll be back” scene. Now he just rams through the doors unannounced.
Cut red Terminator vision during police station shootout.
Trimmed the future flashforward scene to end midway through the Terminator attack. This is to be interpreted as Sarah dreaming of the world Reese has been describing to her, rather than a definite confirmation of his story being true. So the business with Reese having the photograph of Sarah was removed as this is a detail Sarah couldn’t know to dream about.
Moved scene of Terminator flipping through Sarah’s address book later. We go straight from Sarah and Reese leaving the tunnel to them arriving at the motel.
Address book scene now used to bridge Reese leaving to get supplies and Sarah talking on the phone with her mother. Cut all shots of his damaged eye, the Terminator vision shot, as well as the “Fuck you, asshole” exchange.
Ended Sarah’s phone call on “Ok here’s the number”. In this version it's her actual mother she’s talking to, not the Terminator.
Cut Terminator driving back from the cabin and used the earlier scene inside the cabin in its place. Moved audio around so the Terminator is just dialling the motel with the number he’s found. Scene ends before he responds to “Tiki Motel...”.
Intercut future shots of Reese and the photo with the scene in the motel where he tells Sarah about it.
Cut Terminator vision outside the motel.
Trimmed shot of Terminator turning to camera just before being hit by the truck as it spoiled the red eye reveal. The first time we see the red eye is when he turns to face the guy in the truck. Added a short music sting that had been removed from earlier in the film to underscore the moment.
Cut “Get out” line. Just a look from the Terminator is enough.
Cut Sarah’s melodramatic screams of “No! Noooo!” at seeing the endoskeleton rise from the fire.
Reframed shot of endoskeleton opening door to remove visible operator behind.
The cut opening credits added to the end of the film.
Main cast billing order changed to Hamilton/Biehn/Schwarzenegger.
Replaced Credit Sequence with custom Title Card. Credits moved to the end of the film.
Cut all Terminator arrival scenes.
Aerial from the 1984 section of Terminator Genisys used to open film.
Cut Reese arriving from the past. Start with him already in the alley and getting to his feet in pain.
Cut homeless guy’s line about stealing his pants. We don’t confirm if he is still alive or dead after encountering Reese.
Cut shot focusing on Reese’s stolen Nikes in the photobooth. (Don’t want the audience focusing on the particular shoes he wears to aid a later mis-direct).
Cut Terminator hotwiring car.
Cut Gun shop scene.
Cut Terminator looking up Sarah Connor address in phone book as well as the first murder.
Cut Reese’s future dream in the car. Now he just hotwires the car and immediately drives off in it.
Trimmed end of the scene where Reese watches Sarah leave the garage on her bike so that we don’t see him drive after her.
Added the shot of the sliding door opening to the end of the scene where Ginger & Matt are ignoring the answering machine.
Cut Terminator attacking and killing Ginger & Matt. We find out they are dead when Sarah calls.
Trimmed Sarah’s answering machine message and recut the scene to show someone is still there searching the apartment. But reframed shots to not show the Terminator’s face.
Recut the build up to Tech Noir shootout to only reveal the Terminator properly when he directly approaches Sarah through the crowd.
Cut red Terminator vision shot during alley foot chase.
Cut Terminator voice mimicry of the policeman.
Cut Sarah asking Reese “Can you stop it?”. She hasn’t fully accepted his story yet.
Cut Terminator surgery and repair scenes.
Cut “I’ll be back” scene. Now he just rams through the doors unannounced.
Cut red Terminator vision during police station shootout.
Trimmed the future flashforward scene to end midway through the Terminator attack. This is to be interpreted as Sarah dreaming of the world Reese has been describing to her, rather than a definite confirmation of his story being true. So the business with Reese having the photograph of Sarah was removed as this is a detail Sarah couldn’t know to dream about.
Moved scene of Terminator flipping through Sarah’s address book later. We go straight from Sarah and Reese leaving the tunnel to them arriving at the motel.
Address book scene now used to bridge Reese leaving to get supplies and Sarah talking on the phone with her mother. Cut all shots of his damaged eye, the Terminator vision shot, as well as the “Fuck you, asshole” exchange.
Ended Sarah’s phone call on “Ok here’s the number”. In this version it's her actual mother she’s talking to, not the Terminator.
Cut Terminator driving back from the cabin and used the earlier scene inside the cabin in its place. Moved audio around so the Terminator is just dialling the motel with the number he’s found. Scene ends before he responds to “Tiki Motel...”.
Intercut future shots of Reese and the photo with the scene in the motel where he tells Sarah about it.
Cut Terminator vision outside the motel.
Trimmed shot of Terminator turning to camera just before being hit by the truck as it spoiled the red eye reveal. The first time we see the red eye is when he turns to face the guy in the truck. Added a short music sting that had been removed from earlier in the film to underscore the moment.
Cut “Get out” line. Just a look from the Terminator is enough.
Cut Sarah’s melodramatic screams of “No! Noooo!” at seeing the endoskeleton rise from the fire.
Reframed shot of endoskeleton opening door to remove visible operator behind.
The cut opening credits added to the end of the film.
Main cast billing order changed to Hamilton/Biehn/Schwarzenegger.
Trusted Reviewer reviews
3 reviews
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
9.7(3)
Audio Editing
9.7(3)
Visual Editing
9.3(3)
Narrative
9.7(3)
Enjoyment
8.3(3)
Overall rating
9.9
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
7.0
A very inspired edit. This brings you right into the story - no slow buildup required - and introduces mystery in regards to the hunter, whilst the original had none, and it also puts the viewer in Sarah's shoes.
The second half's chase sequences could've done with some trimming as well, but that's just my personal preference.
Editing was superb and A/V quality was great.
This is a great alternate way of viewing The Terminator and I preferred it to the original.
The second half's chase sequences could've done with some trimming as well, but that's just my personal preference.
Editing was superb and A/V quality was great.
This is a great alternate way of viewing The Terminator and I preferred it to the original.
Overall rating
9.7
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
9.0
An all-time great edit! I've always been a bit lukewarm on the original Terminator; I appreciated its unflinchingly gritty tone (even the excellent T2 gets a little too jokey for its own good at times), but always felt like the storytelling was a little too straightforward. This edit fixes that, by obscuring the T-800 and making Reese seem much more threatening in his initial scenes. It adds an entire new dimension to the first act, and it's a much better film for it. (One almost gets the sense that this might have been Cameron's preference, given how the ambiguous first act of T2 plays out, but with Schwarzenegger's star power, hiding him from view was never going to be an option.)
I do have a couple of nitpicks, both to do with the editing of Arnie. When we see him appear for the first time in the club, the cut to a medium shot already taking a bead on Sarah Connor doesn't seem like the best way to introduce an entirely new element/character. Either a long shot in the crowded club or a partial close-up (hand, boot, etc) would seem like a better way to gradually hint that a new player has entered the scene. Also, the iconic first visit to the police station "I'll be back" has been removed, seemingly for no reason other than to completely strip out Schwarzenegger's dialogue, which seems a tad excessive given what powerful foreshadowing that scene is.
Aside from those quibbles, this is an enormously effective edit with a terrific concept that "I'll be back" to watch over and over.
I do have a couple of nitpicks, both to do with the editing of Arnie. When we see him appear for the first time in the club, the cut to a medium shot already taking a bead on Sarah Connor doesn't seem like the best way to introduce an entirely new element/character. Either a long shot in the crowded club or a partial close-up (hand, boot, etc) would seem like a better way to gradually hint that a new player has entered the scene. Also, the iconic first visit to the police station "I'll be back" has been removed, seemingly for no reason other than to completely strip out Schwarzenegger's dialogue, which seems a tad excessive given what powerful foreshadowing that scene is.
Aside from those quibbles, this is an enormously effective edit with a terrific concept that "I'll be back" to watch over and over.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
DVD
Overall rating
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
Quality:
No obvious signs of compression. Looks as crisp as it should for an HD source of an old b movie.
Visual editing:
Another reviewer wasn't keen on the title card, but I thought it worked nicely. It could maybe do with being a little softer, and being less squashed against the main title, but I'm nitpicking. The font seems perfectly apt for an old, 80s sci-fi thriller.
I do agree that the entire opening sequence is a touch rushed. I don't really have an issue with the sequence of shots as such. I think the title card should linger for longer, the cityscape shot should linger for longer and/or have an extra establishing shot; and when we cut to Kyle Reece at 1:04, the shot should be trimmed so that we don't see the residual smoke from his journey through time. It fades quickly and is gone from 1:08, and I think the shot is long enough for it to start from when the smoke is absent.
The current shot of the city is taken from a newer film and you can kinda tell, but I think it works well enough. The added grain definitely helps.
Outside of this, the only other thing I noticed was a very slight jitter when the Terminator is searching Connor's apartment at 17:38/39, which I assumed to be something to do with the pan and crop going on to aid the cuts there. It's very subtle, but the camera kinda darts to the side quite suddenly and unnaturally. Otherwise, that sequence is really nicely executed.
Audio editing:
I feel like something odd is happening with the audio between 40:46 and 40:55. The score sort of finishes, starts again, fades out and then fades back in again all in quick succession. It's relatively subtle, but it sounded a bit unnatural to me.
Narrative:
Practically flawless. 24 minutes cut and the result is a more ambiguous story that still delivers all the essential information to the viewer, just in a different way. One small thing: when Kyle and Sarah are in the motel, some of the cutting back and forth between them and Arnie felt a little choppy.
Judging from what the editor has written in the IFDB info, they see the mother's call as exactly as it seems and nothing to do with the terminator in this version. Well, if that was the case I would just cut it, as it is superfluous. However, from my perspective, it still worked in the same way. Even if it isn't clear HOW he finds her, we know that information has been put out there and that he could well pick up on it by some means.
Was really surprised to see the iconic "I'll be back" line cut - kind of a crime, no? :P I get the reasoning though in terms of making his entrance more of a surprise, and I didn't really think about it till the end but it's cool that we actually don't hear Arnie speak once for the entire film. Makes him seem all the more ominous.
Personally, I would have liked to have had less of the sex scene as it's so damn cheesy and hilarious, but I imagine it's not an easy thing to trim down while still ensuring the audience know they've been busy making the saviour of the planet.
Thank you for cutting Sarah's melodramatic screams! A mercy.
Enjoyment:
This is an excellent edit and a highly enjoyable alternative spin on an already great classic. Great idea to keep the science fiction elements ambiguous - Reece absolutely comes across as a nutball when the context is initially stripped away, and it's fun to journey with Sarah in questioning what's going on. Would love to see a polished version 2.
No obvious signs of compression. Looks as crisp as it should for an HD source of an old b movie.
Visual editing:
Another reviewer wasn't keen on the title card, but I thought it worked nicely. It could maybe do with being a little softer, and being less squashed against the main title, but I'm nitpicking. The font seems perfectly apt for an old, 80s sci-fi thriller.
I do agree that the entire opening sequence is a touch rushed. I don't really have an issue with the sequence of shots as such. I think the title card should linger for longer, the cityscape shot should linger for longer and/or have an extra establishing shot; and when we cut to Kyle Reece at 1:04, the shot should be trimmed so that we don't see the residual smoke from his journey through time. It fades quickly and is gone from 1:08, and I think the shot is long enough for it to start from when the smoke is absent.
The current shot of the city is taken from a newer film and you can kinda tell, but I think it works well enough. The added grain definitely helps.
Outside of this, the only other thing I noticed was a very slight jitter when the Terminator is searching Connor's apartment at 17:38/39, which I assumed to be something to do with the pan and crop going on to aid the cuts there. It's very subtle, but the camera kinda darts to the side quite suddenly and unnaturally. Otherwise, that sequence is really nicely executed.
Audio editing:
I feel like something odd is happening with the audio between 40:46 and 40:55. The score sort of finishes, starts again, fades out and then fades back in again all in quick succession. It's relatively subtle, but it sounded a bit unnatural to me.
Narrative:
Practically flawless. 24 minutes cut and the result is a more ambiguous story that still delivers all the essential information to the viewer, just in a different way. One small thing: when Kyle and Sarah are in the motel, some of the cutting back and forth between them and Arnie felt a little choppy.
Judging from what the editor has written in the IFDB info, they see the mother's call as exactly as it seems and nothing to do with the terminator in this version. Well, if that was the case I would just cut it, as it is superfluous. However, from my perspective, it still worked in the same way. Even if it isn't clear HOW he finds her, we know that information has been put out there and that he could well pick up on it by some means.
Was really surprised to see the iconic "I'll be back" line cut - kind of a crime, no? :P I get the reasoning though in terms of making his entrance more of a surprise, and I didn't really think about it till the end but it's cool that we actually don't hear Arnie speak once for the entire film. Makes him seem all the more ominous.
Personally, I would have liked to have had less of the sex scene as it's so damn cheesy and hilarious, but I imagine it's not an easy thing to trim down while still ensuring the audience know they've been busy making the saviour of the planet.
Thank you for cutting Sarah's melodramatic screams! A mercy.
Enjoyment:
This is an excellent edit and a highly enjoyable alternative spin on an already great classic. Great idea to keep the science fiction elements ambiguous - Reece absolutely comes across as a nutball when the context is initially stripped away, and it's fun to journey with Sarah in questioning what's going on. Would love to see a polished version 2.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
User reviews
6 reviews
Overall rating
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
9.8(6)
Audio Editing
9.5(6)
Visual Editing
9.0(6)
Narrative
9.3(6)
Enjoyment
9.8(6)
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
This is a fantastically made edit that creates a cool build-up of the T-800's full reveal.
This feels even more like a horror film compared to the original. The original is a horror film to me, anyways. In this edit the viewer learns as the character Sarah Connor learns what is going on. Someone is going around the city killing other women named Sarah Connor and she is concerned about it. Then, Sarah has to trust a strange man that saves her life, and seems to tell her the truth about a dystopian robot future.
I love the slower-burn build up of the plot. It's a seemingly standard Thriller for awhile, with no cyborg stuff going on, talked about, or shown. If it wasn't called The Terminator you wouldn't know where the plot is going, until the reveals. The setup for this is very clever, and edited together to a T. Sarah doesn't really suspect something is going on until the Tech Noir scene when Arnold stands back up, after being shot multiple times by Kyle.
The stock footage of the city is a little distracting right up front at the beginning. I'd add a soft filter/mask layer to it to make it look like it's from the 80s a little more, and add a little grain over it to get it to blend even better. Or get rid of it. Or maybe yet, use footage from another film from the 80s that has a city-wide shot.
Other than that, the video quality and audio quality is fantastic. This does not replace the original for me. I love the original too dearly. This is a new experience, since the reveal is a build-up, rather than letting it be known straight away that we are in a sci-fi universe with robots and laser guns. It's fantastic for those who have never seen the original and just bought it, but it's still fantastic for fanedit aficionados.
This feels even more like a horror film compared to the original. The original is a horror film to me, anyways. In this edit the viewer learns as the character Sarah Connor learns what is going on. Someone is going around the city killing other women named Sarah Connor and she is concerned about it. Then, Sarah has to trust a strange man that saves her life, and seems to tell her the truth about a dystopian robot future.
I love the slower-burn build up of the plot. It's a seemingly standard Thriller for awhile, with no cyborg stuff going on, talked about, or shown. If it wasn't called The Terminator you wouldn't know where the plot is going, until the reveals. The setup for this is very clever, and edited together to a T. Sarah doesn't really suspect something is going on until the Tech Noir scene when Arnold stands back up, after being shot multiple times by Kyle.
The stock footage of the city is a little distracting right up front at the beginning. I'd add a soft filter/mask layer to it to make it look like it's from the 80s a little more, and add a little grain over it to get it to blend even better. Or get rid of it. Or maybe yet, use footage from another film from the 80s that has a city-wide shot.
Other than that, the video quality and audio quality is fantastic. This does not replace the original for me. I love the original too dearly. This is a new experience, since the reveal is a build-up, rather than letting it be known straight away that we are in a sci-fi universe with robots and laser guns. It's fantastic for those who have never seen the original and just bought it, but it's still fantastic for fanedit aficionados.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
(Updated: January 14, 2023)
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Fresh alternative to the original. Needless to say. It works!!!
Could this be the groundwork for some Grindhousing? Liscence to paste in some sexy scenery and better CGI is just what the doctor ordered. Not to mention better 80's music. But who dares??
Its difficult to critique this as soundtrack and scenes are already set up perfectly. It may be a good idea to alter some arrangements to amplify the (aforesaid) mystery romance appeal. Only marginal additons of Terminator footage are sought after in my mind. In the end this is entirely satisfactory as is. Good intro to the movie too. I can't say I was suspecting our soldier of fortune at any point but the blinkering of the man on the hunt and the phone-book killer themes does succeed at a focused intrigue. I'm sure first time viewers will be suspicious though. And then the entrance of our cyborg of fate will be massively impactful, I'm sure. Still its good for a muse. Its really interesting to the highlighting of Sarah Connor's vulnerability and confusion with a gradual move towards her acceptance of an imminent Judgment Day. Its one to watch with the girlfriend!!!
Could this be the groundwork for some Grindhousing? Liscence to paste in some sexy scenery and better CGI is just what the doctor ordered. Not to mention better 80's music. But who dares??
Its difficult to critique this as soundtrack and scenes are already set up perfectly. It may be a good idea to alter some arrangements to amplify the (aforesaid) mystery romance appeal. Only marginal additons of Terminator footage are sought after in my mind. In the end this is entirely satisfactory as is. Good intro to the movie too. I can't say I was suspecting our soldier of fortune at any point but the blinkering of the man on the hunt and the phone-book killer themes does succeed at a focused intrigue. I'm sure first time viewers will be suspicious though. And then the entrance of our cyborg of fate will be massively impactful, I'm sure. Still its good for a muse. Its really interesting to the highlighting of Sarah Connor's vulnerability and confusion with a gradual move towards her acceptance of an imminent Judgment Day. Its one to watch with the girlfriend!!!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
(Updated: March 02, 2022)
Overall rating
9.3
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
tl;dr. Turns the beloved campy thriller into a fun, exciting, mystery romance thriller, in the best possible way.
Stunning edit! The other reviews do a great job summarizing - great, fast pace, super interesting to view from Sarah's perspective and makes her the main character. As someone who became a Terminator fan in the early 2000s, I watched the first movie under the expectation that Arnold was a villain protagonist. This movie really reset me, framing Sarah as the hero protagonist. Definitely a good watch.
Not mentioned in the other reviews - this edit also really plays more into the Sarah-Kyle romance, which I liked. The original has their romance as a jokey, forced Virgin Mary, who will birth the messiah, romance. Whereas this edit really does a slow burn on their relationship. As ridiculous as it sounds, this edit makes it make sense that Sarah Connor would trust this Kyle a man who says he's from the future and fell in love with a picture of her that her unborn messiah son gave her. Another review said more of the romance could've been cut, but I really enjoyed it.
This edit also breathes new life into the franchise. The mystery element was really well done. While I love the series, 1, 2, 3, and 6 all have the same plot. This edit has inspired me to think of how future iterations (or fan edits) could breathe new life into the series. It makes want Terminator 7 to be a mystery - two terminators come back from the future, and they fight to 'protect' the future great leader, but you don't know which one is the good guy, which one is the bad guy. Imagine, Terminator 6, but Sarah (who we know is a hero) meets Dani first. We don't know if Grace or Gabriel are good or evil. They're both chasing after Sarah and Dani, and fight each other along the way. But neither get close enough for us to know which is the good one or bad one until the end. Both use vague dialog like "i'm saving humanity from its future" and say each other is here to "destroy earth as we know it" which could mean Grace is protecting humanity's future hero, or Gabriel is terminating Dani to protect humanity from itself. Not sure how it would end, but this edit shows how something like that could work. Thanks for revitalizing the franchise! lol
My first review, so 10/10 for enjoyment and narrative. 9s for the others since it was well done, but I don't have enough basis of comparison, so I gave it a 9.
Stunning edit! The other reviews do a great job summarizing - great, fast pace, super interesting to view from Sarah's perspective and makes her the main character. As someone who became a Terminator fan in the early 2000s, I watched the first movie under the expectation that Arnold was a villain protagonist. This movie really reset me, framing Sarah as the hero protagonist. Definitely a good watch.
Not mentioned in the other reviews - this edit also really plays more into the Sarah-Kyle romance, which I liked. The original has their romance as a jokey, forced Virgin Mary, who will birth the messiah, romance. Whereas this edit really does a slow burn on their relationship. As ridiculous as it sounds, this edit makes it make sense that Sarah Connor would trust this Kyle a man who says he's from the future and fell in love with a picture of her that her unborn messiah son gave her. Another review said more of the romance could've been cut, but I really enjoyed it.
This edit also breathes new life into the franchise. The mystery element was really well done. While I love the series, 1, 2, 3, and 6 all have the same plot. This edit has inspired me to think of how future iterations (or fan edits) could breathe new life into the series. It makes want Terminator 7 to be a mystery - two terminators come back from the future, and they fight to 'protect' the future great leader, but you don't know which one is the good guy, which one is the bad guy. Imagine, Terminator 6, but Sarah (who we know is a hero) meets Dani first. We don't know if Grace or Gabriel are good or evil. They're both chasing after Sarah and Dani, and fight each other along the way. But neither get close enough for us to know which is the good one or bad one until the end. Both use vague dialog like "i'm saving humanity from its future" and say each other is here to "destroy earth as we know it" which could mean Grace is protecting humanity's future hero, or Gabriel is terminating Dani to protect humanity from itself. Not sure how it would end, but this edit shows how something like that could work. Thanks for revitalizing the franchise! lol
My first review, so 10/10 for enjoyment and narrative. 9s for the others since it was well done, but I don't have enough basis of comparison, so I gave it a 9.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
10.0
A great cut of this classic. Those first fifteen minutes really build nicely with a lot of ambiguity as to Reese's intentions, My only nitpicks would be that opening credits/titles would really lend a lot to a film like this. I understand wanting to cut right to the chase, but the pace and typography and music of an opening credits all let the viewer know what kind of film they're in for and start to sink into the mood. Other than that, a great edit overall.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Firstly: I love this edit. It was like seeing this classic movie from a new angle.
MINOR SPOILERS BENEATH
Small things I think could be improved is within the first minutes. I did not fancy the title card, it does not fit the rest of the movie in my opinion. Also the first scenes with Reese are a little to sudden, and could probably be edited differently. But don't let that keep you from this edit. The rest is pure movie magic. How the Terminator is subtly introduced to the plot. The new use of the photo of Sarah. Wow, I did not know that the movie could be told from this perspective. Well done!
The picture and sound quality is really good. Editing is seamless. I will watch this again. I totally recommend it.
MINOR SPOILERS BENEATH
Small things I think could be improved is within the first minutes. I did not fancy the title card, it does not fit the rest of the movie in my opinion. Also the first scenes with Reese are a little to sudden, and could probably be edited differently. But don't let that keep you from this edit. The rest is pure movie magic. How the Terminator is subtly introduced to the plot. The new use of the photo of Sarah. Wow, I did not know that the movie could be told from this perspective. Well done!
The picture and sound quality is really good. Editing is seamless. I will watch this again. I totally recommend it.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
