Help keep the web safe!

Fast, free and secure donation!
Click here for more info!



Total Film The Terminator Special Edition review

From: Total Film #51
Date: April 2001
By: Ceri Thomas

The Terminator article

The film: Back in the days when he didn't have a budget the size of Peru's national debt to play with, James Cameron made his mark by being ferociously clever and innovative with the little he had. The result is a nerve-plungeaning, relentlessly exciting action movie masterpiece. The rest is history.

The extras: Retrospective documentary Other Voices, cast and crew documentary, deleted scenes, script treatment, James Cameron's original artwork, photo-gallery, publicity material, theatrical trailers, TV spots, DVD-ROM features.

The Verdict: The thumpning beat of THAT music, the beautifully designed menu screens, the combat knife-sharp rotating image of a glowing-eyed terminator head... Fomr the second you boot this up, the Terminator special edition oozes class and effort. And the form isn't massively let down by the content. All right, so there'ss no commentary and the DVD-ROM features are pointless, but there's plenty of other stuff here. The deleted scenes (all obviously cut at the very last minute for pacing reasons) and early sketches offer insights into JC's working methods, but the standout extras are anecdot-packed documentaries (especially the talking-heads styl Other Voices). Between them, they nail down just about every story over voiced about the making of this '80s classic.

Film: 5/5 stars
Disc: 4/5 stars


Truckin' Hell, Other Voices documentary

Visual-effects pyrotechnician Joe Viskocul reveals how that climatic lorry explosion was conceived, executed and then cocked-up...

"Jim Cameron origanally wanted to blow a full-sizes tanker truck up, but he couldn't because where he was shooting in downtown Los Angeles was in front of the police armoury, meaning that they had all the ammunition there and the police helicopters up on the roof of the building. So what Gene (Warren Jr, VFX Supervisor) had to do was create the entire atmosphere in miniature 1/6th scale, on the front parking lot of Fantasy II in Burbank, California and then blow up a miniature of the truck."

"There were a total of 42 seperate explosions on the tanker truck. It created a terrific look. The first time we tried this the gas was loaded, the bombs were loaded, the wiring was all done, the cameras were ready - we had three cameras on it and we're shooting 12 frames per second - the lights were ready, everything was ready."

"But what actually happened was that the cable attached to the front axle was pulled so hard that is just ripped the axle out from underneath the cab. And I'd already started setting off the explosions. So I had to set off the rest of the charges."

"We put it out and there as a collective groan from everybody on the set... We right away started working on another model and two days later we got the shot."


««« | Home | Sitemap | Donate | Disclaimer | Contact Expertly hosted by DreamHost.com

Bookmark Home F.A.Q. Sitemap Disclaimer Contact Information
Help T-800 T-X T-800 BD Choose your style
HOT STUFF
» T4 rumours and gossip
» T:SCC Podcasts
» Shopping page
» Updates to our site
» FanProjects


SEARCH THE WEB / OUR SITE

Powered by Google
LATEST COLLECTIBLE OFFERS
Newly launched
» Plasma Rifle 1:2 $139.95
» HK Tank Maquette $399.95
» HK Tank 7" $19.95

On high demand
» T-800 1:1 Bust $549.99
» Endo Bust Damaged $499.00
» Hot Toys Endo $129.99
» Hot Toys Endo BD $129.99

A few mini-busts left!
» J. Connor Mini-bust $54.99
» T-800 BD Mini-bust $49.99
» T-800 Mini-bust $49.99

Also still available
» T-800 16" Statue $199.99
» T2 Bobble Heads $12.99

New deals coming!
We are in talks with several new dealers for some cool exclusive items! More info coming asap!
INTERACT WITH OTHER FANS
To comment on this, or just to sound off in lots of Terminator topics, visit our forums!

Lurk around or register and
meet fans from around the
world discussing their, your
(and our) favorite subject!
TERMINATOR SHOPPING
Check our shopping page for cool offers and special deals!

Or do a targeted search at...

TerminatorFiles aStore

Find those Terminator books, dvds, gaming, progams, music, toys and vhs related products!
DISCLAIMER
TerminatorFiles contains items of interest from lots of different sources. Though reproduced here, there is no copyright infringement intended. This is purely for the interest of fellow Terminator fans.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The opinions expressed in this website aren't necessarily those of the editors. This site is in no way connected to any official film studio.

Read our full disclaimer here.
STATISTICS
Last modified: Feb 04 2008