Terminator - The Hunt for Sarah Connor

Quality:

No obvious signs of compression. Looks as crisp as it should for an HD source of an old b movie.


Visual editing:

Another reviewer wasn't keen on the title card, but I thought it worked nicely. It could maybe do with being a little softer, and being less squashed against the main title, but I'm nitpicking. The font seems perfectly apt for an old, 80s sci-fi thriller.

I do agree that the entire opening sequence is a touch rushed. I don't really have an issue with the sequence of shots as such. I think the title card should linger for longer, the cityscape shot should linger for longer and/or have an extra establishing shot; and when we cut to Kyle Reece at 1:04, the shot should be trimmed so that we don't see the residual smoke from his journey through time. It fades quickly and is gone from 1:08, and I think the shot is long enough for it to start from when the smoke is absent.

The current shot of the city is taken from a newer film and you can kinda tell, but I think it works well enough. The added grain definitely helps.

Outside of this, the only other thing I noticed was a very slight jitter when the Terminator is searching Connor's apartment at 17:38/39, which I assumed to be something to do with the pan and crop going on to aid the cuts there. It's very subtle, but the camera kinda darts to the side quite suddenly and unnaturally. Otherwise, that sequence is really nicely executed.


Audio editing:

I feel like something odd is happening with the audio between 40:46 and 40:55. The score sort of finishes, starts again, fades out and then fades back in again all in quick succession. It's relatively subtle, but it sounded a bit unnatural to me.


Narrative:

Practically flawless. 24 minutes cut and the result is a more ambiguous story that still delivers all the essential information to the viewer, just in a different way. One small thing: when Kyle and Sarah are in the motel, some of the cutting back and forth between them and Arnie felt a little choppy.

Judging from what the editor has written in the IFDB info, they see the mother's call as exactly as it seems and nothing to do with the terminator in this version. Well, if that was the case I would just cut it, as it is superfluous. However, from my perspective, it still worked in the same way. Even if it isn't clear HOW he finds her, we know that information has been put out there and that he could well pick up on it by some means.

Was really surprised to see the iconic "I'll be back" line cut - kind of a crime, no? :P I get the reasoning though in terms of making his entrance more of a surprise, and I didn't really think about it till the end but it's cool that we actually don't hear Arnie speak once for the entire film. Makes him seem all the more ominous.

Personally, I would have liked to have had less of the sex scene as it's so damn cheesy and hilarious, but I imagine it's not an easy thing to trim down while still ensuring the audience know they've been busy making the saviour of the planet.

Thank you for cutting Sarah's melodramatic screams! A mercy.


Enjoyment:

This is an excellent edit and a highly enjoyable alternative spin on an already great classic. Great idea to keep the science fiction elements ambiguous - Reece absolutely comes across as a nutball when the context is initially stripped away, and it's fun to journey with Sarah in questioning what's going on. Would love to see a polished version 2.

Firstly: I love this edit. It was like seeing this classic movie from a new angle.

MINOR SPOILERS BENEATH
Small things I think could be improved is within the first minutes. I did not fancy the title card, it does not fit the rest of the movie in my opinion. Also the first scenes with Reese are a little to sudden, and could probably be edited differently. But don't let that keep you from this edit. The rest is pure movie magic. How the Terminator is subtly introduced to the plot. The new use of the photo of Sarah. Wow, I did not know that the movie could be told from this perspective. Well done!

The picture and sound quality is really good. Editing is seamless. I will watch this again. I totally recommend it.

Now this was definitely an ingenious idea not only did it keep me on the edge of my seat but it also quickened the pacing too, the level of buildup and ambiguity you inputed into this edit was phenomenal and by far surpasses the original movie not that I had anything against the original movie as quite frankly it was a classic, I say it was because my problem is I don’t think I can watch the original anymore as this edit improves upon it in so many ways and whenever I am in the mood to binge watch the Terminator films this edit will now have the honour of being the first on my binge list. All in all a masterful edit of flawless execution.