Terminator (1984) stereo track reconstruction

[Ronster]

Oh yes, that one bugged me from the first time I saw the movie too! I'm guessing money ran out for this POV shot.
But here's the thing: That POV should be malfunctioning because the T-800 is in very bad shape at this point.
It could be flashing between real and red.

Oh yes I agree I imagined it would be like intermittent video though or bad signal but staying red and snowy perhaps no text.

The DVD menu (MGM) has a bit of this so perhaps could use it?

There could be another couple in the warehouse also where Sarah starts the machine by accident and the terminator looks and also the pov approaching Resse before he whacks him with the scaffold bar. So out of budget what a shame man and perhaps it's more about 7 or 8 terminator vision POV shots.

Would be a fantastic edit to do!

I felt bad about deleting the eye surgery dummy Arnold went to put it back in and then deleted it again!!! So always trust your first instincts but I wish they had been more clever with editing on the eye surgery the dummy is not needed at all. I wish they had put the budget for that in the terminator vision shots. Mind you without the Dummy Arnold we never would have got any young CGI Arnolds either which I sippose is cool in a way....

Audio mix about 48 minutes in now but that is without dealing with the weird mixes on the intro and future remembered part (Very hollow)..... The Infiltrator future flashback is not really much if an issue. Although the music remains a mystery.

At the Garage chase the first few bars of music are missing but this part is badly clipping.... "It's clipping all over the place!"



Some nice stuff happening anyway so I am at least enjoying it so far the extras in the mix are

Some alternate sound Right Channel Terminator Arrival
Extra Music sounds Reese runs from cops and sound effect for elbowing policeman
Extra Music (Extended) News Report Sarah in the Bar
Extra Sound effect restored from trailer Terminator get's up Technoir Club
altered explosion of car in Alley but keeps most of original sound the missing flames burning sound has been added whilst Terminator Jumps on to Car and on to bonnet.
Changed Weird (add in again) sound as Reese Hit's the kurb before going into the Alley added in sound for when he reverses in to cop car
Changed sound of Reese closing the Car Door in parking lot and Reloading shot gun sounds as I thought both of these sounded odd.

A lot of volume changes and EQ

Even though I don't like the Arnold puppet I just mixed in the freakish sounds from the old soundtrack but in a subtle way. And it's very horror! The Arm Surgery scene sounds better whilst the eye surgery is like your worst nightmare... Scary stuff!

[Tylerdurden389]

The Arnold puppet may be the most dated effect in the movie (though the dummy heads in the truck at the end are pretty good thanks to lighting, even if they don't look like Arnie as much), but I gotta be honest, those effects sacred me as a kid. This movie came out the year I was born, and since my Dad was an Arnold fan since "Pumping Iron" (he used to see Lou Ferrigno jogging around the neighborhood back then since we're from Brooklyn as well) he had it on tape and watched it all the time, and let me watch it too (my parents were cool with me and my little brother watching R-rated action movies as long as I covered my eyes during any nudity/sex. Watching people get shot to death in OTT gory fashion was fine though, lol). The movie gave me nightmares back then, but I kept watching it. It's preeeetty much my favorite movie of all time (Rocky IV will always be #1 though). I still think the puppet heads are unnerving to look at. Brad's eerie score only adds to it of course.

Considering Cameron's recent "Lucas-ism" for T2, I'd honestly almost worry that he's gonna give T1 yet another makeover (the first being the ::Ahem:: "remastered" 5.1 audio mix), but thankfully it seems like Cameron cares so little for his filmography except for Titanic, Avatar, and T2, that I think T1 will be just fine. On the blu-ray message board where they talk about hoping The Abyss and True Lies will finally be released on blu, I mentioned how Cameron cares so little for T1 now, and someone replied with an interview he did and how half of the show was about Titanic and Avatar only.

Here's the link for those curious, but fair warning, it breaks my inner child self's heart to hear him say this, and hopefully none of you are older than me, or are too young (or not as crazy about T1 as I am) to care:

[Ronster]

Well after looking at the sound mix on the DVD I can see why it was decided a remix was needed and I really do mean needed....

But they did not have to approach it the way they did is my opinion it sounds like a totally different film, so I hope you don't object to any changes I made but the keyword is subtle changes and also with good reason and also in terms of the soundtrack fixing that up.

Regarding the Garage chase I might have to use the 5.1 mix just to get some clarity to the initial shootout / chase in the parking lot. It's all totally distorted with little clarity to it. I mean that some parts can not be fixed like that unless I find an alternative. But It will of course have the original gun sounds should I decide to do it.

It's as if the mix is really quiet and flat at the start and then all of a sudden it's a totally different and very loud so loud it's distorting. You can see in the waveform that the sound effects are either way to loud compared with other parts. This could be the DVD mix only though. Anyway there was a fair call for a remix just not with all totally very different sounds and so on for the film.

Regarding the Surgery dummy what I found was the initial shots the lighting and his hair are totally different think it's even a different mirror than the one with the real Arnold but the last one is ok where he put's the glasses on it can match. So perhaps there were different edits / re-shoots certainly the 2 consecutive shots of the eye tell us that or perhaps there was a more scary version. I kind of feel that perhaps Cameron did have to tone some of the Horror down, I found evidence in the way some of it is cut in so much as you can see trimmed to cut some small stuff. The Arnold Punch on the Punks was trimmed to exclude the entry of his fist into the dummy.

I think doing the terminator vision shots would be like finishing the film... Or completing it. I could not do it, I don't think I have the skill for it but I would love to see someone have a go! even as a recreation clip not a full movie edit.

Cameron in the interview makes some fair points but also like you say not disowned but saying he has moved on from those days even though it may very well be his best film he ever made? Perhaps Aliens was the peak for Cameron but this precursor was way ahead of it's time. He cherishes the story but dislikes the effects... But he is not in those same shoes as he was back then or in the same mind set... I would hate a CGI terminator makeover too but I think there is possibly a bit more than we know about what was cut and changed in this one. But It's not all that much I would say slightly trimmed.

[Ronster]

I think that is a fair comment and It is what it is... But I do think there is an alternate edit for that eye surgery scene pretty sure about it actually.

Like you said it's the horror part but like with some horror the less you see you leave to the imagination so what I was trying to say I guess was seeing the surgery dummy in a way lessens the horror because it leaves little to the imagination....

[Ronster]

Alley chase missing Shot Sarah POV

https://vimeo.com/267449421

Thought I would share this one.... Interestingly it keeps up the frantic editing pace the shot it is laid over holds for the longest period of time. Plus Sarah is Panting out of Breath adds a bit of putting yourself in Sarah's shoes I guess.

Although not incredibly exciting It's a nice find. Adds a bit of continuity when we switch to Terminator vision and the respective positions and surroundings line up.

[Ronster]

Right sorry for posting multiple times but I need to get this off my chest and I am very curious on your general thoughts and opinions....

Ok so let's look at this end part where Sarah is on the stretcher she get's wheeled on to the ambulance the Door Slams has an echo effect added to it.... Cut to Black Screen.

A deleted scene continues on The ambulance drives away pan up to reveal the factory where the Terminator was Destroyed was at Cyberdyne Systems Cue the Twilight zone music just kidding but that is the thing. Ok so it's a big reveal at the end that was cut but was it really meant to end with just seeing the logo of Cyberdyne?

Here is some thoughts I had on this part.

So As we Know Sarah on Stretcher the Door slams echo effect added... pan up to Cyberdyne systems logo Dissolve to Cyberdyne Pyramid the future.





Wind Effect and the earie music that is missing. Cut to T2 Teaser Trailer the terminator is Built Arnold is Back we finish with seeing him go into the time displacement chamber flash of light. Dissolve to Sarah on the road in her Jeep.

So was we meant to see the relentless terminator again even after he was destroyed? Something you can't stop an Paradoxical Loop in time?

Forgetting about Terminator 2 was we meant to see The inescapable future one more time before the end?

Was the basis of the T2 teaser an idea that was not filmed at the time but it was another Spam of the unstoppable Cameron really wanted to add at the end?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf36X5NdRTg

Please Give me you thoughts and opinions on this and if you like it?

The main thing I am questioning is the missing monologue music and it sounds like it should be for something else....

[spoRv]

Well, an extended edition - adding also the Terminator construction found in the T2 trailer that, probably, will not find a right place in the sequel - could be a nice idea IMHO

[Ronster]

Well I think the main thing is is that it's a film that was never really meant to have a sequel because the story is about an inescapable paradox loop that will continue to repeat it's self forever and ever and there was no breaking it it was perpetual.

But the notion that it could be broken was explored with the Reese Deleted scene where he suggested the cycle could be broken "No future but what we make for ourselves...." but Terminator as It stands is all about the inescapable unstoppable paradox loop that could not be broken. And the line Reese adds in the deleted scene was the basis for Terminator 2.

I have a quite perfect Idea of how to transition to the Pyramid also.... With the Strange music of course.

Seeing the Terminator being built just as we have seen it destroyed turns everything on it's Head in such a good way that I imagine that is why Cameron shot it because he was sad he could not do it originally.

I'll get the sound mix done.... I need some video collaboraters!

I suppose the other thing that was removed from this loop in time was that the Terminator was going to mutilate the 2 other Sarah Connors from the phone book Left leg looking for a piece of Metal which he knew about from a medical record. It happened to be the part of the Terminator that got stuck in her leg when Reese blew it in half and the record was from the ambulance trip. So he never would have found it as a way of confirming he got the right Sarah Conner because it would never have been there until he got blown up. But it was a plot point at one stage the whole metal in the leg paradox.

[spoRv]

Sadly I'm away from my restoration pc now, or I'd be happy to help you... let's Tom chime in!

[Ronster]

Cool I think there is a lot of potential on this.... Plenty of Ideas