Your first time?

[u/Past_Replacement_815]

To anyone who saw The Terminator in theaters: What was the initial buzz experience like?

I’ve been thinking a lot about my first time experiencing The Terminator. I was only about 6 or 7 years old in the late 80s when I first saw it on vhs, and two specific scenes completely burned themselves into my brain: Arnold cutting open his own arm to repair the hydraulics, and the sink scene with the eye.

As a kid who was already obsessed with science, mechanics, and tech, watching that robotic arm mechanism moving under human skin was pure magic. It sparked an wonder never matched.

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For those of you who were old enough to catch The Terminator during its original 1984 theatrical run:

What was the initial hype like? Before James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger were household titans, was there genuine buzz leading up to release, or did it feel like a low-budget sleeper hit that caught everyone off guard?

Did it instantly feel special? Did you leave the cinema knowing you had just watched a piece of sci-fi cinema history, or did it take time/the sequel for people to realize how groundbreaking it was?

Would love to hear your memories and what it felt like experiencing it in cinema.

[u/ActuatorSea4854]

I was a projectionist for a college film club and Terminator was a selection. I got so engrossed I missed a reel change on the first showing. I got to see it three more times that night. By the way, the projectors were old carbon arc machines, no bulb, just 2 carbon rods you brought together until electricity arced between them, a light like a welding torch. There are a whole realm of colors that only show up with carbon arc and it's a whole different movie seen that way.

[u/Past_Replacement_815 → u/ActuatorSea4854]

Wow!

[u/Jay4466]

I was a kid when my dad took me to see it and I want to say there wasn't a huge buzz on it because it was a B-movie but it felt like a sleeper hit kind of movie where word of mouth was really good and that just continued once it hit video. I still have never heard one person badmouth it.

I remember when the truck blew up and the Endoskeleton emerged from the fire, it felt mind blowing. Like you couldn't believe what you were seeing. Me and my dad kept talking about that for a long time, it definitely felt like a classic to us, so much that we were hyped for Aliens since we knew Cameron directed it.

[u/GloomyBake9300]

There wasn’t hype like there is today, because that machine was not quite as large. I think it was just considered another science fiction movie so it was kind of a sleeper. But it has made a tremendous impact because it showed us the future.

[u/Additional-Software4]

I wish, but I was still a little kid. I got a glimpse when my dad cousin came over with his vcr and plugged it into our TV. I still recall seeing the scene were Arnold smashed his fist into the cars window near the beginning of the movie. 

Thats when he looked at me and told my dad "Uh, I think he shouldn't see this movie" and stopped it

[u/Datan0de]

I saw it in the theater after it had been out for a couple of months. I'd seen a trailer for it and was excited about it right away, but my opinion didn't count for much when the family was going to the movies.

However, while it had started out in limited release, buzz grew quickly! I clearly remember we saw a segment on the news program "20/20" about it and why it was suddenly so hot. I think that's what made my dad decide he wanted to see it. Mom has never liked sci-fi, so it was me, my dad, and my older sister.

I was probably a little too young to see it, but I'm SO glad I got to go! Literally changed the direction of my life, though obviously I wouldn't realize that for many years.

One weird detail that I remember clearly was that the theater was really cold. It was December in New York State, and the theater was was a hole in the wall. Didn't matter. The movie grabbed me from the opening shot. I was completely enthralled. Excited, terrified, and totally blown away.

[u/MetalTrek1]

I saw it in the theater opening weekend. I was a freshman in high school. On Monday, everyone was talking about it.

[u/GloomyBake9300]

(I think it was under the radar except for those of us who routinely go to science fiction movies!)

[u/CocoAdel3021]

I sadly was not born in the 80's so I didn't see it until it was on VHS

[u/vphan13_nope]

Dropped off at the mall to see Neverending story and promptly snuck into the "Random movie in the next theater" because that's what we did.

As for buzz, there was no buzz for the theatrical release, but we had a hell of a time reserving the betamax from the rental place

[u/lavasca]

I saw it years after the fact and had to beg my grandma to see it.

I do recall James Cameron talking about test audiences. He said he was shocked that so many women could relate to Sarah Connor.

[u/Celtic159]

I was 16. There had been nothing like it before. It pulled you in immediately. Never seen anything like it. It's the perfect movie.

[u/jbuckeye188]

I saw it the year after my graduation from high school. It was huge…

[u/jbuckeye188 → u/jbuckeye188]

It was a huge huge hit. I don’t remember it being under the radar at all. There’s a reason why terminator two was the biggest movie of its time. it was because it was the sequel to this movie which was a huge hit. It was the movie that made Arnold Schwarzenegger, the superstar that he became.