My thanks to everyone who's been patient with me since 17th January this year.
I'm finally reaching the end of my Top 100 films list. I never intended to do
it straight through. I always intended to interrupt it with other films, but
I've still been slower than I expected. Initially I planned to be finished by
the end of June. Then I pushed it back to the end of August. My current plan
is to watch my top film on 14th September. That's the (eleventh) anniversary
of the day I started writing my blog.
I have some plans of what I want to watch after that. I was thinking of
watching a month of true films in September, but now I've decided to delay
this marathon until December, or maybe next year. At the moment I'm intending
to concentrate on German erotic films from the 1970's in September and
October. I might even start before 15th September, alternating the erotic
films with the top places in my Top Films list. In past years I've watched
horror films in October, but I shan't do it this year. Maybe one or two. I
don't know.
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But that's enough rambling on. Let's say a few words about "Terminator"
itself. It was directed in 1984 by James Cameron. That's almost 40 years ago,
but it's not at all dated. The story was revolutionary at the time, and it's
influenced many science fiction films made since then. It's one of the rare
films that's equally popular with cinema audiences and critics. It has a 100%
rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Is there anyone who doesn't know the story yet? In the near future (1997)
machines will take over the world. They come close to annihilating all of
mankind, but a man called John Connor forms a resistance movement that is
close to defeating the machines. The machines send a robot, a Terminator, back
in time to kill John Connor's mother before he's born. John Connor sends a
soldier back in time to protect his mother.
I forget how many times I've watched "Terminator". Today is the sixth time
since I started writing my blog. I probably watched it another six times before
then. I have a skill when I watch a film repeatedly. I put myself in the state of
mind of not having seen the film before. As the film began, I persuaded myself
that I didn't know the two men who appeared out of nowhere. I recommend that my
readers attempt to do this as well.
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Believe it or not, Arnold Schwarzenegger auditioned to play the part of the
soldier, Kyle Reese. That would have been awful. He was born to play the
Terminator, and nobody would deny that it's his signature role.
Michael Biehn has appeared in many films over the last 40 years, mostly in
small roles. Despite his critically acclaimed role in
"Aliens", he'll always be remembered as Kyle Reese.
Linda Hamilton will always be remembered for playing Sarah Connor in three of
the Terminator films. Three films so far. Despite being declared dead in
the third film, she still returned in
the fifth film. James Cameron had everything under control, but the later writers and
directors didn't bother about continuity. I suppose their excuse is that in a
series of time travel films anything is allowed. That's a weak argument.
Compared with the later flms, "Terminator" has a minimalist feeling to it.
It's not a complex plot. It's all about a merciless killing machine chasing
Sarah Connor, not letting anything distract it from its goal. The later films
all have more complex plots. "Terminator" is more of a horror film than a
science fiction film.
The action in "Terminator" is breath-taking. There are two mass slaughter
scenes in which the Terminator kills everyone in sight to get to Sarah Connor,
first in a nightclub, then in a police station. There's a thrilling car chase,
although I admit that the car chases are bigger and better as the film series
continues.
Do you think that "Terminator" deserves to be so high in my list? Please leave
a comment.
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