<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

The Terminator
Release Date	October 26, 1984
Genre	Scifi
Director	James Cameron
Screenwriter	James Cameron Gale Anne Hurd
Stars	Arnold Schwarzenegger Michael Biehn Linda Hamilton Paul Winfield Lance Henriksen
Studio	Cinema 84 MGM Orion Pictures Corporation

Directed by James Cameron, The Terminator (1984) gave actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, fresh off back-to-back stints as Conan the Barbarian, something to do with his menacing pile of muscles. You don't have to talk much when you're playing a cyborg from the year 2029. You don't have to show any emotions, because cybernetic organisms take a professional pride in their stiff-upper-lip demeanor. You do have to create an unforgettable villain, at which Schwarzenegger exceeded expectations, becoming a nightmarishly unstoppable force with an almost-human touch of humor. His signature line: "I'll be back."

The story involves time travel, a rescue mission, assassination attempts, and a love story. In the near-future, a self-aware global intelligence network called Skynet carries out a program to eradicate humanity. Its efforts are stymied by John Connor, who leads the human resistance. Skynet attempts to nip humanity's victory in the bud by sending a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 800 Series Terminator (Schwarzenegger), back through time from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate Connor's mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton) before John Connor can be born. But the resistance sends a savior, a man named Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), to protect Sarah from the Terminator. Sarah and Reese run for their lives but the Terminator can't be shaken off the trail, with mayhem piled upon mayhem until the climactic showdown in an automated factory.

Linda Hamilton almost steals the show as sweet and vulnerable Sarah Connor. It won't be until Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991 that we see her invulnerable, steely core. James Cameron proved his mettle as an action director and went on to an illustrious career that includes an armload of hit movies: Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), True Lies (1994), and Titanic (1997).