# The Terminator
**The Terminator** is a 1984 American science fiction action film written and directed by [James Cameron](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-cameron), in which a cyborg assassin ([Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://www.edgepedia.org/arnold-schwarzenegger)) travels from the year 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor ([Linda Hamilton](https://www.edgepedia.org/linda-hamilton)), whose unborn son will lead the human resistance against Skynet, an artificial intelligence that will spark a nuclear holocaust; the resistance sends soldier Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) back to protect her.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terminator) Made on a budget of $6.4 million, it earned $78 million worldwide, launched Cameron's directing career, made Schwarzenegger a star, and grew into a franchise of six feature films, a live-action television series, and an anime series.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Terminator-The-%281984%29) • [3](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/the-best-sci-fi-movie-of-the-80s-is-leaving-hbo-max-and-unlike-its-star-we-dont-know-when-it-will-be-back/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | October 26, 1984 (United States), distributed by Orion Pictures; 107 minutes, rated R[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57224) |
| Budget and gross | $6.4 million production budget; $38,019,031 domestic and $78,019,031 worldwide box office[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Terminator-The-%281984%29) |
| Cast | Arnold Schwarzenegger (the Terminator), Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor), Michael Biehn (Kyle Reese)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terminator) |
| Critical standing | 90% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 134 reviews; Metascore of 84 on Metacritic, labeled "universal acclaim"[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terminator) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-terminator/critic-reviews/) |
| Honors | Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film (1985); added to the National Film Registry in 2008[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57224-THE-TERMINATOR?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=5&sid=48d5439e-b356-485b-91aa-7de66ada7e10&sr=0.3165364) • [7](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/Registry-Titles-by-release-date.pdf) |
| Signature elements | The line "I'll be back"; a driving synthesizer score by Brad Fiedel; Stan Winston's endoskeleton effects[8](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf) • [9](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/i-went-and-got-this-big-cast-iron-frying-pan-and-a-hammer-and-i-held-it-up-facing-this-funky-old-mic-and-just-went-bam-terminator-composer-brad-fiedel-on-the-making-of-his-iconic-synth-fuelled-sci-fi-soundtrack) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story opens in a post-apocalyptic 2029, where the war between Skynet's machines and the human resistance has been lost by the machines. Skynet sends a [Terminator](https://www.edgepedia.org/terminator), a cyborg assassin played by Schwarzenegger, back through time to 1984 Los Angeles to kill Sarah Connor, the woman whose unborn son, [John Connor](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-connor), will lead the resistance as an adult. The resistance answers by sending [Kyle Reese](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyle-reese), a soldier who protects Sarah and explains the future conflict to her.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terminator) The Terminator, popularly called the T-800 to distinguish it from later models, hunts Sarah across Los Angeles, rebooting after injuries that would destroy an inferior machine, before being crushed in a hydraulic press in the finale; Kyle dies in the final showdown, and Sarah, pregnant with John, drives into the desert a changed woman.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/10/26/terminator-movie-forty-anniversary-schwarzenegger/)
The plot carries a circular time-travel structure: Reese, sent back by the adult John Connor, becomes John's father. Critics have read the story as a secular [Annunciation](https://www.edgepedia.org/annunciation), with Reese cast as a messenger warning Sarah, the waitress-mother, of the destiny of her son, a messiah figure destined to lead humanity to salvation.[8](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf)
## Origin and production
Cameron conceived the story during a fever dream in a cheap pensione in Rome in 1981, while sick with food poisoning. He woke and sketched the image on hotel stationery: a chrome skeleton emerging from fire, cut in half at the waist, crawling forward with a kitchen knife. Minus the knife, these drawings became the film's finale almost exactly.[11](https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/terminator-james-cameron?s=03) He had just come off *Piranha II: The Spawning* (1981), his first directing job, from which he was fired partway through.[12](https://www.terminatorfiles.com/media/articles/cameron_005.htm)
Cameron wrote a 45-page treatment, then finished a draft script with input from friend Bill Wisher in May 1982.[8](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf) He sold the rights to producer [Gale Anne Hurd](https://www.edgepedia.org/gale-anne-hurd), who had worked with him at [Roger Corman](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-corman)'s New World Pictures, for $1 and the promise that she would never let anyone else direct it.[13](https://www.terminatorfiles.com/media/articles/cameron_006.htm) Orion agreed to distribute, and Hemdale Pictures financed the film; putting the financing together took a year and a half, so production did not begin until early 1984.[8](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf) • [14](https://www.terminatorfiles.com/media/articles/t1_010.htm)
[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began in mid-March 1984 and ran about ten weeks, mostly at night, in Los Angeles.[8](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf) • [15](https://www.terminatorfiles.com/media/articles/t1_009.htm) Schwarzenegger's commitments to *Conan the Destroyer* (1984) had delayed the start.[8](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf) [Stan Winston](https://www.edgepedia.org/stan-winston) created the special makeup and mechanical effects, building several endoskeletons: an explodable one, a crushable rubber one for the hydraulic-press scene, a hero full figure, a quarter-scale miniature for stop-motion shots, and a torso puppet worn on a backpack by puppeteer Shane Mahan.[11](https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/terminator-james-cameron?s=03) The $6.4 million budget even covered custom clothing for the Terminator; as Hurd put it, "You can't buy off the rack for Arnold."[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Terminator-The-%281984%29) • [8](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf)
Composer Brad Fiedel, then a young television and film composer experimenting with electronics, scored the film with Oberheim synthesizers, an Emulator sampler, and a Sequential Circuits Prophet 10. The famous metallic "clank" in the theme was not an anvil: Fiedel struck a cast iron frying pan with a hammer in front of a microphone and added reverb.[9](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/i-went-and-got-this-big-cast-iron-frying-pan-and-a-hammer-and-i-held-it-up-facing-this-funky-old-mic-and-just-went-bam-terminator-composer-brad-fiedel-on-the-making-of-his-iconic-synth-fuelled-sci-fi-soundtrack)
## Reception and box office
Orion expected little from the film, with rumors it would disappear within weeks. Instead, it earned $9,776,562 in its first ten days and charted at number one for two weeks; it finished with $38,019,031 domestically, the 21st highest-grossing film of 1984, on a $6.4 million budget.[6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57224-THE-TERMINATOR?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=5&sid=48d5439e-b356-485b-91aa-7de66ada7e10&sr=0.3165364) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Terminator-The-%281984%29) • [16](https://www.filmsite.org/term.html)
Contemporary critical reception was mixed. Variety called it "a blazing, cinematic comic book, full of virtuoso moviemaking, terrific momentum, solid performances and a compelling story." Janet Maslin of *The New York Times* labeled it a "B-movie with much flair" while criticizing its reliance on brutal physicality, and Richard Freedman's syndicated review dismissed it as a "lurid, violent, pretentious piece of claptrap."[8](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf) • [10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/10/26/terminator-movie-forty-anniversary-schwarzenegger/) Retrospective standing has risen sharply: the film holds a 90% Tomatometer score and a Metacritic Metascore of 84, and the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films gave it its Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terminator) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-terminator/critic-reviews/) • [6](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57224-THE-TERMINATOR?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=5&sid=48d5439e-b356-485b-91aa-7de66ada7e10&sr=0.3165364) The Library of Congress added it to the [National Film Registry](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-registry) in 2008 as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.[7](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/Registry-Titles-by-release-date.pdf)
## Schwarzenegger's Terminator
Schwarzenegger, an Austrian-American bodybuilder who gained US citizenship in 1983, had auditioned for the role of Kyle Reese before taking the part of the Terminator. The role is famously terse: he speaks only 18 lines in the film, yet dominates the screen, and "I'll be back" became a popular catchphrase.[8](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf) Cameron later recalled that Orion executive Mike Medavoy told Hurd and him that he had "cast the movie" with O.J. Simpson in mind, a suggestion Cameron rejected; he also admitted he planned to tell the crew that casting Schwarzenegger would "never work," until seeing him train for the role changed his mind.[11](https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/terminator-james-cameron?s=03) The performance launched Schwarzenegger into the A-list of Hollywood action heroes.[17](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/imax/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=terminator-imax-2025)
## Legacy
The film made Cameron's career and led directly to *Aliens* (1986), *Titanic* (1997), and *Avatar* (2009).[8](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf) Its blend of slasher horror, time travel, and action established a template that critics have described as defining the post-Cold War action hero, and its dark, brooding tone gave rise to the label "tech noir," after the nightclub in the film.[18](https://alphavillejournal.com/Issue21/ReviewJones.pdf) • [12](https://www.terminatorfiles.com/media/articles/cameron_005.htm)
The franchise it launched includes *Terminator 2: Judgment Day* (1991), directed by Cameron, followed by *Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines* (2003), *Terminator Salvation* (2009), *Terminator Genisys* (2015), and *Terminator: Dark Fate* (2019), plus the television series *The Sarah Connor Chronicles* (2008–9) and the anime *Terminator Zero* (2024).[16](https://www.filmsite.org/term.html) • [3](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/the-best-sci-fi-movie-of-the-80s-is-leaving-hbo-max-and-unlike-its-star-we-dont-know-when-it-will-be-back/) • [19](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/james-cameron-still-working-new-terminator-project-one-reason-difficult) The film's Skynet premise has entered real-world vocabulary as shorthand for the dangers of autonomous weapons; Cameron said in a 2023 interview that "the weaponization of AI is the biggest danger."[20](https://apnews.com/article/eb85da03a0161beaa5f3babc4331e93b) Cameron himself remains involved with the property, developing a new Terminator project, though he has said that technological change since 1984 makes the premise harder to write: "I'll never be as prescient as I was back in 1984."[19](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/james-cameron-still-working-new-terminator-project-one-reason-difficult)
## References
1. [The Terminator, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terminator)
2. [The Terminator (1984) Box Office, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Terminator-The-%281984%29)
3. [The Best Sci-Fi Movie of the '80s Is Leaving HBO Max, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/the-best-sci-fi-movie-of-the-80s-is-leaving-hbo-max-and-unlike-its-star-we-dont-know-when-it-will-be-back/)
4. [The Terminator (1984), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57224)
5. [The Terminator Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-terminator/critic-reviews/)
6. [The Terminator (1984), AFI Catalog filmography entry](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57224-THE-TERMINATOR?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=5&sid=48d5439e-b356-485b-91aa-7de66ada7e10&sr=0.3165364)
7. [National Film Registry Titles Listed by Release Date, Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/Registry-Titles-by-release-date.pdf)
8. [Film Essay for "The Terminator," National Film Preservation Board, Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/terminator.pdf)
9. [Terminator composer Brad Fiedel on the making of his iconic synth soundtrack, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/i-went-and-got-this-big-cast-iron-frying-pan-and-a-hammer-and-i-held-it-up-facing-this-funky-old-mic-and-just-went-bam-terminator-composer-brad-fiedel-on-the-making-of-his-iconic-synth-fuelled-sci-fi-soundtrack)
10. [Why 'The Terminator' remains unkillable, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/10/26/terminator-movie-forty-anniversary-schwarzenegger/)
11. [The Terminator came to me in a dream: a new interview with James Cameron, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/terminator-james-cameron?s=03)
12. [US: James Cameron Interview, The Terminator Files](https://www.terminatorfiles.com/media/articles/cameron_005.htm)
13. [Lights! Cameron! Action!, The Terminator Files](https://www.terminatorfiles.com/media/articles/cameron_006.htm)
14. [Ending The Terminator, The Terminator Files](https://www.terminatorfiles.com/media/articles/t1_010.htm)
15. [The low-budget hit that made name for Cameron, The Terminator Files](https://www.terminatorfiles.com/media/articles/t1_009.htm)
16. [The Terminator (1984), Filmsite](https://www.filmsite.org/term.html)
17. [Buy cinema tickets for The Terminator, BFI IMAX](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/imax/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=terminator-imax-2025)
18. [Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, Issue 21](https://alphavillejournal.com/Issue21/ReviewJones.pdf)
19. [James Cameron Says He's Still Working On A New Terminator Project, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/james-cameron-still-working-new-terminator-project-one-reason-difficult)
20. [For some, so-called 'Skynet Day' came too close to sci-fi, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/eb85da03a0161beaa5f3babc4331e93b)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1980s › Released 1980 to 1985*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license