And you thought only Star Wars Trilogy had versions which are long gone from production and were only available on DVDs which aren't produced anymore, while the Special Edition took their place on newer DVDs and now Bluray. Well, 1984's The Terminator has a somewhat similar story.
I think everyone knows changes had been made to T2 in its 2017 Remastered version for 3D, 4K and Blurays (See HERE), but perhaps not as many may know about permanent alterations done to The Terminator in 2001, in an edition appropriately called 'Special Edition'.
There aren't as many changes as in Star Wars of course, and not even as many as were done to T2, but alterations were made and the altered, Special Edition version is what is available in all the formats and on streaming today. But before we get to DVD, for the curious one's, here's how the film has been formatted to the 4:3 ratio version back in the days. As oppose to T2, which actually gave more image on 4:3 ratio format, The Terminator only looses the image, as most films do in this size. Comparison below with 1986 Japanese Laserdisc
Some laserdiscs, as you can tell, and VHS releases, had a very different color grading, but that's another topic for perhaps another time
So back to DVD releases. In 2001 The Terminator was released on DVD for the first time by MGM company in a special set. This version was a definitive and most known release for quite a while, and many fans, myself included, didn't know that the film was actually released in US on DVD prior to that as far back as in 1997 by the then-still existing Hemdale and Image Entertainment, and this is the only DVD version which contains the nearly completely unaltered film, at least sonically.
The 1997 DVD was basically the 1995 Laserdisc. The Terminator has been originally released as a cheap quickie in 1985 with bad quality and technical issues (it was sped up), and was reissued in 1991. The 1985 one had terrible image quality and no color grading. Colors were bright and washed up and the film looked like a tv movie. The 1991 release was slightly better with better contrast and quality, but still seemingly with no color grading. It wasn't until as late as 1995 that a THX certified laserdisc came out, for the first time in color grading, which leaned heavy towards cold blues, as the sequel. And this THX certified color graded laserdisc version is what's on the first DVD from 1997
All the audio alterations made for the special edition disc had remained in the film since 2001, and obviously additionally for the Bluray, a new color grading and the sharper image quality has been added on top of all those in 2013 ( the first 2006 bluray had the same purple coloring as the 2001 SE).
Let's start with the image. The Special Edition 2001 DVD also had a upgrade from the first DVD, with darker image, bigger contrast, different coloring (very purplish with strong reds) and different cropping. An example:
And here's an example of the contrast and shadow depths. The Hemdale DVD is by far the brightness. You can't see the door handle on the other ones. Also note the blue light on the 1997 DVD, the purple/red vibe on the Special Edition and the teal look on modern Bluray
The movie had been regraded again and received sort of a modern look makeover along with the 2013 Bluray release. On the 2001 DVD and the subsequent DVDs (and first Bluray release from 2006), the colors were heavily leaning towards purple as presented above. In the current Bluray release, the movie gets a modern strong teal look. On the first Hemdale DVD however, the look is very cold blue, very much inline with its monumental sequel. The 2001-2006 special edition is much darker and purple with intense reds as oppose to blue. And for clarity, I still call the current version the special edition since it has the same audio changes. Here are a few more screenshots showcasing the original DVD, the 2000s releases and the newest 2013/current version
In most scenes, the blue was first replaced with purple hint, and is now completely removed
Interestingly enough, while the teal look takes over most of the film today, the cold blue had been turned up in some scenes, like in Reese's arrival scene
The daytime scenes in the laserdisc and the 1997 DVD are also much brighter and has strong browns, while the 2001 dvd/2006 bluray version, which I think is still the most known, has lots of reds just like the night scenes giving it a slightly washed up purple look. 2013 - modern Blu Ray gets a green tint, just like most of the night scenes.
Now let's move on to the audio, as most well known and obvious changes were done to it. Actually, it's the audio changes that make up nearly the entire percentage of the alterations. And I'm not talking just about the mix, but completely new sound effects were created and replaced the original ones in many spots with subtle audio additions on top of that. The MGM 2001 DVD has an option for the mono track, but from the video comparisons I've seen on vimeo and various forum Home Theater conversations, this mono track that's optional on the Special Edition DVD is not truly the original mono track and had been slightly altered in many places and its overly compressed, not even coming close to the original mono track as some videophiles say.
The new sound effects and stereo mix isn't bad by any stretch, and at some point years ago I wondered why anyone would complain about the upgrade, but nowadays I understand and recognize the significance of the preserving the pure, historical representation of the film. And the new sound effects and mix weren't just done by anybody - Van Ling, Cameron's long time collaborator has been a producer of the Special Edition set, and both Brad Fiedel and Gary Rydstrom, the great sound designer who is behind T2 and Jurassic Park, did the new effects for this set. Van Ling: "A new sound mix a nice, true 5.1 We even had composer Brad Fiedel come back in and remix his music masters, and MGM hired Gary Rydstrom at Skywalker to do the overall remix on my recommendation. So MGM really put their money where their mouth was on this title."
The Hemdale/Image DVD states clearly that the audio has been untouched and is the only release with an absolute original audio
The most notable sound effect changes between the original mono track and the Special Edition/Current 5.1 track:
1. During the Future War sequences, there are different explosion and plasma gunfire sounds. In the '01/Modern version, the plasma sound effects are replaced with something very close to the T2 ones
2. During the title sequence there is a metal-scraping sound as the letters pass each other, absent in the SE/Bluray versions. Producer Van Ling: "We found out later that there was a glaring omission in the remix, which was the metallic sounds—almost like that of a sword being drawn from a scabbard—of the letters in the title sliding past each other in the main titles. It turned out that the reason they were missing in the remix was that they were not on either the sound effects or the music masters for the film… they were on the dialogue stems for some reason. And those stems had been muted during the remix since there was no dialogue during the main titles! Lame explanation, but true."
3. There is a humming sound accompanying the lightning storm, that sounded a lot like buzzing transformer along with wind sound effects. These sounds are also absent from SE/Bluray versions
4. A sound of a passing helicopter has been added in 2001 to Reese's arrival scene
5. Probably the most well known sound effect change is the sound of the Terminator's pistol. In the original audio track, it's a stock sound of a revolver, often associated with westerns. In 2001 it has been replaced with a very clean 'silencer' sound.
6. When the Terminator utters the famous 'I'll Be Back' line and leaves, a door-closing sound has been added in the 2001 track to fix the continuity goof, as we see the Terminator open the door but not close it. Now a sound of the doors swinging back and closing themselves can be heard in all modern releases
7. A plethora of different gun sounds throughout the Police Massacre sequences
8. The music at the end has been rerecorded
There's much, much more of course, like background dialogue or sounds removed etc. Also, I mentioned before how the optional mono track on the 2001 SE isn't really the same as the original one. Here are some differences between the optional mono track included in the 2001 Special Edition DVD and the true original mono, noted on originaltrilogy forum
- ‘Clinking’ noise when the store clerk pulls the Uzi 9mm off the shelf. This is missing on the original mono and the 5.1 mix.
- After the power is cut at the Police Station and it cuts to the officer in the interrogation room peaking through the blinds of the window and then runs to the door. Machine gun fire in the background when he runs to the door is missing on the 2001 mono.
- In the scene where Kyle and Sarah pull into the parking garage, the sound of the tires screeching lasts longer on the 2001 mono. It actually doesn't stop until after Kyle starts talking (‘Alright listen. The Terminator’s …’). On the original mono, the screeching stops before he starts talking.
- When the Terminator cuts the power in the Police station, the sound of the emergency lights coming on is much louder on the 2001 mono.
- Some noise is missing when Reese rams the officer into the door of the interrogation room before knocking him out. The standard mono and 5.1 sound mostly identical in this instance.
- Clicking sounds when it cuts to Sarah crawling underneath Traxler’s desk to hide is present on 2001 mono.
- On the original mono, the sound of the Terminator's motorcycle cuts in about a second before the fadeout to Reese and Sarah’s love scene cuts to the Terminator on the bike. On both the 2001 mono and the 5.1 mix, this doesn't happen and the fadeout to the love scene just cuts to the Terminator on the bike.
- After Sarah goes ‘No! Kyle!’ but before she says ‘Come on!’ when he momentarily collapses after powering up the machinery at Cyberdyne, on the 2001 mono we can clearly hear a bang at the door (Terminator trying to get in). This is only faintly heard on the original mono.
There are also indeed some visual alterations as well, but it's only two of them. Unfortunately, as far as I know none of the DVD releases has the unaltered shots
1. According to imdb, some shots from the future sequence in which a Terminator infiltrates the bunker are flipped to match the action, however, myself and many other Terminator fans checked every VHS, every laserdisc version from every country and there aren't any differences in editing. The only time this scene was edited differently with alternative shots was in a mini trailer that was part of Linn Van Hek music video promoting the movie. The song was preceded by a shorter version of the teaser trailer, with the beginning of the Bunker Ambush. And as I mentioned, it had some alternative shots of the Franco Columbu Terminator. Below, comparison of both scenes from the release version and from the prologue to the music video
This isn't the only scene that has a different cut with alternative footage. Some of the edits on US television in 1980's had a different Eye Surgery scene with not only different editing, but an alternative footage. TC version screencaps from kchrules channel
2. A scene of the Terminator leaving his motel room has been cropped to hide his legs. In the original, he was wearing sneakers as oppose to tall boots. In all the modern versions his legs aren't visible in this scene
in 2024, The Terminator was released on 4K. The color grade is reportedly the exact same as on the current BluRay version, with only sharpness turned up with the help of AI in places. From what I've read the reviews are very positive, mostly praising the fact that the grain was not completely removed
As far as visual alterations/enhancements, there is only one, and it's The Terminator's first and only digitally altered scene. Recently in his Online Masterclass, James Cameron pointed out that in one quick shot when the Terminator gets his blade close to his eye for the first time, the x acto knife does not actually have a blade. That was done for obvious reasons. Quick move toward the eye with an actual scalpel was not safe at all to perform, but in this quick move somehow it slipped the audience that the knife has no blade in that particular shot. The 4K release digitally added the blade to that particular shot (screenshots from Oliver Harper's channel)
So if you're a movie historian, completist or purist, should you get yourself the 1997 Hemdale DVD as it's the only one with the original unaltered version of The Terminator? What is the unaltered version of The Terminator? Opinions are divided on how did the film look in theaters originally. The 2 flipped/cropped shots are supposedly goofs made by HBO and weren't in theatrical release. But that's not confirmed, and I believe that is the way they appeared in theaters, if so, right then and there it disqualifies the '97 DVD from being the completely unaltered version.
Did the film look more like the 1991 laserdisc? Did the 1995 laserdisc/1997 DVDs, in which Cameron had an input, were recolored to match T2 more? Or was it actually the way the film was designed and looked like in theaters originally? Its transfer originates from film Interpositive, and it was definitely Cameron’s preferred look, but it's the 1991 LD that has a transfer that comes from the 35mm theatrical print which would make it THE original unaltered version, while the 1995 LD/'97 DVD is what Cameron intended the film to look like. So depending on your definition of "original" vision , it's either of them. Again, up for debate. I suppose the 1991 laserdisc IS the only true unaltered version, since it comes from the theatrical print (the earlier versions don't count since they had technical issues altering the film's image and audio, and their source was different). The 1997 DVD is the look Cameron either intended for it from the beginning and it didn't translate well on home video, or it was the look he preferred in the 90's. Either way, since most people can't watch laserdiscs, as this is the earliest DVD release of the film, it is, from all of its successors, the closest to the original version and it does have the completely unaltered, original audio. This DVD is also the source for the images for the 2000 The Terminator CCG (Card Game). However, the truly original theatrical version that the audiences saw onscreen in 1984 is only the 1991 Hemdale/Image Entertainment Laserdisc, so, unless you have equipment to view it, that version is lost and unavailable to view anymore. Only the truly original audio, and first Cameron supervised coloring, is what can be viewed today with 1997 DVD.
And let's be honest here, the 85-1991 laserdiscs have no color theme and look washed up like a movie recorded from an 80's television broadcast. I mean it's great to have it because that's the 80s' The Terminator in its original theatrical glory.
And while it's up to each individual which color theme they prefer from the latter versions, that first THX certified, Cameron approved Laserdisc/1997 DVD has a color theme matching T2, so that is by far my preferred look.
Here are a few examples of all the versions of The Terminator thus far
Interestingly enough, my choice for the viewing of T2 is the 3D version, so the newest release/version, while my choice for viewing The Terminator would definitely be this 1997 DVD. It's just something about the vintage laserdisc look and the vintage 80's sound effects that fit the mood of the film more. I don't mind the modern Bluray, but I can't really watch the purple 2001-2006 version
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