Terminator: Enhanced Edition, The

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Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1984
Original Running Time:
107
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
107
Time Cut:
0.5
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
"Uh-huh-huh, hey Beavis, these effects aren't so special..."

The purpose of this edit is to improve the low budget, outdated VFX so it still feels like a 1984 Terminator movie, but the laughable moments like painfully obvious Schwarzenegger mannequins and choppy stop motion animation are fixed.

This edit does not change the film's narrative or add deleted scenes.
Intention:
This film editing project aims to level up Terminator to a higher budget 1980's production.
Release Information:
Digital
Cuts and Additions:
Change List:
1. Regraded throughout to reduce the extreme teal from the official remastered Blu-ray.
2. Re-foleyed many of the gunshots from the remastered Blu-ray 5.1 mix using new, beefier sounds. Where’s the beef? Right here.
3. Cleaned up and processed various 3rd party VFX to remove the color banding and other artifacts and to blend the footage into a 1980’s movie.
4. Replaced an opening production company credit with a credit for those who did the new VFX work.
5. Replaced the beginning of the opening scene from the future with footage from VFX artist, Jamie Martin. It looks more realistic now as an establishing shot for a ruined, apocalyptic Los Angeles with a better rendering of the Hunter Killer craft, rather than a low budget styrophome set with miniature stop motion animation.
6. Matched the font and recreated the Los Angeles 2029 A.D. title.
7. VFX so the Terminator doesn't flinch-blink when he guns down the first Sarah Connor.
8. In Reese's dream about the future, replaced a few VFX shots with much better ones by Jamie Martin.
9. In the same dream, foleyed in the arrival of the getaway car.
10. Added post production VFX during some of Reese's dream footage so it's less apparent the background with the HK Tank is a screen.
11. Removed the sound of the phone crashing when the Terminator guns down Sarah's roommate. Also made it so he doesn’t flinch-blink so much during the gunshots.
12. Darkened, reframed, and added one deepfake VFX shot by StoRyx to the eye surgery scene. Now the footage looks more realistic rather than featuring a brightly lit, ridiculuous mannequin.
13. Added blood VFX and gore SFX to the eye surgery scene.
14. On the closeup of the Terminator's cyborg eye, slightly rotated it to match the tilted angle of the Terminator's head.
15. Cut the Terminator fixing his hair in the mirror after he removes his eye. So there is no sudden jarring difference in the look of his face.
16. VFX to darken the Terminator's sunglasses when he arrives in the police station lobby so we can't see that his eye is still there. Concealed his eye and eyelashes at a side angle as well.
17. Darkened the glasses in one of the shots of the police station shootout where we could kind of see the Terminator’s eyes again.
18. Added some blood spray to various cops being shot including when the Terminator shotguns the fleeing rookie.
19. Cut a few frames of one of the cop's reactions to getting shot.
20. Changed a weird shot of the Terminator backing up after shooting a cop, so now he advances forward and shoots some more.
21. Foleyed in Reese kneeing the cop.
22. Added some camera shake to closeup up of car's fuel guage showing empty since the car is moving.
23. When Sarah dreams as Reese recounts what the future is like, replaced some of the Hunter Killer footage with better looking VFX by Jamie Martin.
24. Same future sequence, post production to help reduce the effect of using screens for backgrounds.
25. In the dead cat motel, darkened and reframed the scene with the Terminator looking through the address book so it no longer showcases a joke mannequin.
26. Same motel scene, added some VFX and SFX to create a lovely surprise.
27. Re-foleyed The Terminator’s footsteps departing the motel.
28. Re-foleyed Reese’s sneakers hitting the pavement after hitchhiking.
29. Darkened, reframed, and widened the footage with the Terminator dummy driving the big rig at the end so it looks more realistic and more like Schwarzenegger.
30. Post processing to reduce the background screen effect in multiple shots when the rig explodes behind Sarah.
31. The endoskeleton robot at the end (the full sized puppet version) moves faster as it follows Reese and Sarah into the building (cut a few seconds of it moving slow and Sarah picking up the board. Also sped up some of the sluggish endoskelton footage).
32. Inside the warehouse as the Terminator gets close to Sarah and Reese, removed the studio sound effects which indicated a Terminator POV shot that wasn't actually there. Seems that with the actors not looking straight toward the camera the intended POV did not work. Foleyed in Reese stepping back.
33. The endoskeleton has its movements smoothed to eliminate the stop motion animated effect. VFX work by Uncle Machete using flowframes.
34. Re-foleyed the endoskeleton smacking Reese around.
35. The final shot of the stop motion version of the endoskelton walking toward Reese is replaced with a Blender version by StoRyx.
36. Post production processing of epic shot of Sarah driving away toward the stormy sky, to make it look more real and less like a composite.

User reviews

13 reviews
 
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5-7 stars
 
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1-3 stars
 
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Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0(13)
Audio Editing
 
9.9(13)
Visual Editing
 
10.0(13)
Narrative
 
10.0(13)
Enjoyment
 
9.9(13)
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(Updated: December 21, 2023)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
The Terminator: Enhanced Edition is fantastic. Right off the bat, all of the future war sequences have been “enhanced,” starting with the opening shot.

I feel the same way about this film as I do about the various special editions of the original Star Wars trilogy. That is, I do miss the cheesiness of the original effects, but I recognize that the new effects look better and are more consistent with the rest of the series, so I welcome them.

I do feel that this edit is darker than the theatrical cut, both visually and tonally. It feels more real, and more like a horror film. More so than the theatrical cut, this version is actually scary.

My only major complaint is that the colors seem to be a little too washed out. It’s especially noticeable in the scene in the parking garage when Reese tells Sarah about her son. In other versions of the film that I own, the colors are very warm. In this version, Sarah looks like she’s dying of hypothermia.

I can’t remember what the Blu-ray looks like, so maybe this is the result of the “extreme teal” being reduced. Not a huge problem, but it does result in a less than ideal viewing experience.

The sprays of blood added to the police station shootout contribute to the more graphically violent “horror movie” tone.

The addition of more flies in the motel scene is an interesting detail, but I don’t know if it helps the film. It’s creepy and bizarre, which kind of works with the new darker tone, but it’s so extreme, it’s almost humorous, and it puts undue emphasis on a series continuity error, since the T-800’s flesh doesn’t rot and attract flies in the sequels the way it does in the original.

The stop-motion animation at the end has been smoothed out, making the T-800 endoskeleton look more real and more terrifying.

Overall, this is a whole new way to experience one of my favorite films of all time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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(Updated: October 13, 2023)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I have to admit I'm a huge fan of krausfadr's edits. I've yet to run into a bad one he's made so far and this is no exception. Here he's left the movie at the theatrical running time with no cutting of scenes nor inserting of any of the deleted scenes available. What he has done is to rework the sound effects as well as the visual effects and it's an outstanding effort by an outstanding fan editor. I'm extremely impressed with the updating of all the futuristic war footage. The SFX future scenes by Jamie Martin are absolutely incredible and blend in perfectly with this movie and add to the believability of the flash-forward scenes. Out of the majority of Terminator fan edits out there, this is now my go to for repeated viewing. If I could give a higher score than 10 on all categories I would but since I can't, I'll just say awesome!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I will not deny that Schwarzenegger's mannequin moments in the mirror have some improvement using zoom and VFX, but I would have left the moment where the T800 sees himself in the mirror with his glasses on, touching his hair.

The stop motion animation is very successful, respecting the 80's style, improving the original.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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(Updated: August 26, 2023)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Simply awesome fan edit, this is my definitive version now. And wow, the VFX work in the new intro is excellent and throughout; just professionally done. Highly recommended.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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(Updated: June 26, 2023)
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Update: Added one star back after realizing I was incorrect (and sounding somewhat like a prick).
Ok, please take this review with a grain of salt. I ABSOLUTELY loved this edit, but with a few critiques concerning the new foley audio.
I agree that replacing the gun shots was a great idea (and much needed), but simply put, they are way too loud in the overall mix. They would also have benefited from ambient effects added to the them to keep the sound in the context of where the action is taking place (reverb in car parks, compression in apartments, etc.)
Now the positives. The video clarity was stunning and the new FX work is jaw dropping! It totally added a new depth to the film! This is a BRILLIANT edit to one of my all time favorite films. I know you put a TON of time and labor into this. For that, I thank you sincerely.

User Review

Format Watched?
Digital
B
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