I’ll be back In the asset of each performer, firmly settled in the Hollywood sky, there is at least one role, which at the time is considered his calling card. Harrison Ford is strongly associated with the image of the galactic smuggler Han Solo from Star Wars, John Travolta will forever remain in history as Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction, and Mel Gibson will probably never give up the title of Mad Max even in the face of such a powerful competitor as Tom Hardy. As for the most famous bodybuilder in the world and at the same time the most impressive actor who ever set foot on the territory of the Dream Factory, Arnold Schwarzenegger, his name is inextricably linked with the role of the Terminator, a formidable killer machine sent from the future. During her long and successful career, Schwarzenegger made a considerable number of films, killed more than one army of invaders and occupiers, tried on the appearance of Danny De Vito’s brother and even became the first man to give birth to a child, but all his works pale in comparison with what he created on a pair with James Cameron. In fantastic literature and classic genre paintings of the first half of the 20th century, man-made danger appeared before us in all its deadly glory repeatedly, but only the creators of the Terminator managed to bring it to the apogee of entertainment, causing genuine fear, approaching despite everything.
The relatively inexpensive picture, which appeared at the box office on October 26, 1984, opened the audience to entertainment of a completely different kind than they were used to. Finally, the fantastic action movie ceased to be something akin to a children's fairy tale, and James Cameron proved that the creative troubles of the sequel "Piranium" have nothing to do with it. The director managed to masterfully take advantage of the opportunities that appeared in his hands, invested every dollar in the production, without being exchanged for completely unnecessary side expenses and agreed to give Arnold Schwarzenegger the role of the Terminator, which largely determined the success of the film. Before the start of the shooting process, a huge number of edits were made to the story, the images changed their outlines, the script made constant semantic reversals, changing almost beyond recognition. And interestingly, Cameron did not see Schwarzenegger as a mechanical killer, considering it too remarkable that it went against the gloomy-realistic attitude of the task prescribed to the Terminator. A former bodybuilder with an outstanding physique, a priori could not get lost in the mass of people, in connection with which the Terminator should be played by an actor of much smaller sizes. One of the most faithful candidates for such an honorable place was Lance Hanrixen, and nevertheless Schwarzenegger managed to defend his preferences, appearing on the screen in a limited number of scenes that immortalized his appearance for all time.
Lacking the comprehensive advertising support that Star Wars and Indiana Jones had, James Cameron’s Terminator counted primarily on positive responses from ordinary viewers, and did not lose out. Once watched the film, people hurried to recommend it to relatives and comrades, thanks to which “Terminator” was able to easily pay off at the box office and bring its creators, albeit not crazy, but tangible profit. The image of the Terminator instantly penetrated the pages of popular history, Arnold Schwarzenegger received even greater fame, allowing him to dictate terms to producers, and James Cameron became one of the most popular directors of Hollywood, who continued to create films in those colors that he considered the most vivid and rich. However, despite the enthusiasm of the leading actors of the “Terminator” other projects, the history of the war with callous robots continued in a spectacular sequel, subtitled “Judgment Day”. James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to work, presenting to the public one of the most significant films in the history of the genre, which was several times more impressive than the original, and the box office of the sequel exceeded even the wildest expectations. And after such a significant triumph, it became clear that it was simply unrealistic to remove something similar in terms of the quality of semantic content and technical moments. Negotiations on the creation of the third film of the series stalled, Cameron turned his eyes to other stories, and let “Terminator” still returned to the screens with the constant participation of Arnold Schwarzenegger, neither “Rise of the Machines”, nor other parts of the franchise could not even come close to matching the dilogy of James Cameron.
When it comes to the first two parts of “Terminator”, usually remember only “Judgment Day”, as he actually managed to break the patterns and show that some sequels are many times superior to the originals. The true legend was born in 1984, becoming one of the most intriguing and powerful paintings of a decade. Unlike the spectacular blockbuster, which was the sequel, the very first “Terminator” was built on enthusiasm, was the fruit of long consultations and compromises, demonstrated that literally from nothing you can recreate something incredible, amazing, making the audience heart beat more often. Of course, from the height of the past years, the visual and practical special effects of “Terminator” do not look as impressive as they once did, but for their time they looked simply unmatched, and even now, if you evaluate Cameron’s creation with proper respect, you can see all their charm, suffering from the titanic efforts of the exhausted film crew. Materials telling about the creation of “Terminator”, repeatedly published in specialized technical literature, were presented on television, but only in 2001 came a comprehensive collection of information that allows you to learn the true essence of the work on Cameron’s film, and it must be assessed by everyone who respects this franchise or wants to learn more about the foundation of modern entertainment cinema.
The documentary “How the Terminator was created” tells about the most important stages of the formation of one of the most famous fantasy stories we have ever seen. The direct participants of the filming process again united in a team to tell the audience previously unknown facts, share memories and at the same time make fun of each other, as in the old days. From the earliest stages of writing the script to the final editing of the picture, the creators try not to miss the slightest detail, if in their opinion it contains a fundamental meaning. Cameron and his technicians have gone back with a fair amount of irony to remember exactly how they had to put on their feet the Terminator, devoid of flesh Arnold Schwarzenegger. The scene of the chase on the evening highway, which demonstrated a number of beautiful effects, shot, as it turned out, with the help of small layouts and children’s toys, did not stay away from attention. Also, the creators told about multiple references to classical fiction, demonstrated cultural allusions, traced logical connections, tried to substantiate some inaccuracies. And the good news here is that the memories turned into a lively, emotional conversation, and were not set out in the words of mentors who look down on their listeners.
In the end, I want to say that “How the Terminator was created” is a pleasant excursion during the formation of the legendary story, when it has not yet managed to transform into a long-running franchise.
10 out of 10