James Cameron‘s landmark feature film The Terminator has been restored in 4K and presented on Ultra HD Blu-ray and as a new digital download that can be redeemed through Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. There has been much anticipation (and trepidation) about this upgrade considering the handling of Cameron’s other recently-remastered films, mainly True Lies, which used automatic image processing to remove imperfections, resulting in a waxy, AI-generated look for much of the imagery.
We talked about Cameron’s other 4k remasters though that did retain some grain structure (whether fake or not) from the original celluloid film. Both Titanic and The Abyss (which never made it even on 2k Blu-ray, nevermind 4k Blu-ray) are quality remasters that deliver excellent detail, contrast ratio, and color depth while not veering too far away from the filmic properties on which they were shot on. Aliens, however, is a worthy upgrade with commendable color treatment but does reveal some overprocessing, unlike the more authentic restoration of Alien.
Video quality in The Terminator improves upon previous Blu-ray releases by adding more detail and color depth. The 4k presentation is likely derived from the 2013 Blu-ray release that came from a 4k restoration approved by Cameron, On 4k Blu-ray, the image is very sharp and color depth is expanded with Dolby Vision/HDR10, allowing up to 10 bits of color vs. 8-bits with HD Blu-ray. The skin tones are rendered nicely for the humans, but of course, not quite right for the Terminator who has a bit of a plastic look, even though his model of cyborg technology utilizes real skin. But, his red blood seems authentic in the scene where he repairs a portion of his forearm.
Contrast ratio is fairly good for a majority of the film. NITs read a maximum light level of 468, with an average of 201 displayed on a projection screen using the HDR10 spectrum. During some of nighttime shots such as the parking lot scene and the police chases the black levels are raised a bit, which reveals more details in the scene but in turn reduces contrast. Bitrates averaged in the 60 to 80Mbps range, peaking just over 100Mbps at times.
In Dolby Atmos, The Terminator takes on new audio qualities that make use of height channels. The surround effects can usually be heard in gunfights where the shots are distributed to different speakers, occasionally overhead but mainly left to right. In the motorcycle and truck chase scene there are some height elements enabled through Atmos. When the Terminator is finally crushed, the surges of electricity are distributed through multiple channels, adding an immersive quality to the climax.
Dialogue is mainly frontal, emanating from the center channel that most home theaters would have directly below a screen. No distortion was heard, and effects and soundtrack generally dip down under spoken words for clarity and emphasis. The new audio mix is huge, night and day improvement over the 1997 DVD that only offered a monotrack.
Bonus features on the 4k editions have all been previously released. There are 7 deleted scenes from the film and you can view those clips with commentary from James Cameron who explains why they didn’t make it to the final cut. Other extras include “Creating the Terminator: Visual Effects & Music,” “The Terminator: Closer to the Real Thing,” and “Unstoppable Force: The Legacy of The Terminator.” There is also a Digital Copy that can be redeemed only through FandangoAtHome.
Our conclusion? The Terminator in 4K is a really good transfer that gives new life to this classic sci-fi that inspired several sequels, video games, novels, comic books, and other storytelling that deals with future technological advances, cyborgs, and time travel. The capabilities of Dolby Atmos are not overly done, but rather enhance the mix in immersive environments with the right speaker setup. The film is available in a standard plastic-case edition with slipcover and Limited Edition SteelBook, both with a Digital Code. The SteelBook features a nicely-designed Terminator skeleton illustration with a matte finish on the front and reverse, wth photographs from the film on the inside spread. Strong Buy.
Movie
4/5
Video
4/5
Audio
4/5
Bonus Features
3/5 (nothing new, but still excellent extras)
4k movie stills provided by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
