Review Detail

I commend the editor for tackling the under-appreciated challenge of replacing the dated sound effects we grew up with (and are challenged to tolerate with more modern ears). For the most part, I think they were successful in their goal of enhancing the SFX. Other areas are somewhat problematic (for me).

Visual Editing

For me, the strategy of upscaling, sharpening, and downscaling doesn't result in a pleasing image. A lot of detail has been lost in this process, including all film grain, which might have been the editor's intent, but it's also resulted in extreme aliasing on almost all edges ("jaggies"). The process (to my eyes) has left the image looking very waxy, and also oddly video-game like, and has created artifacts in some key areas, including the characters faces. Unfortunately, the re-inserted footage looks even worse, having started from a point of lower resolution. The visual artifacts are noticed throughout, though most prominent in static shots. The closing shot with the matte painting of the mountains (at least I think it's a painting) looks especially unusual, and lingers as the closing shot, so I need to grade this category quite low.

Audio Editing

I think a lot of the SFX replacement has worked well. The sheer volume listed in the change log is a testament to that, as there were only a small number that really jumped out as being more obviously added. Unfortunately, there are some significant challenges with the music.

The AC/DC songs are perfect fit for the movie, and fit into the concept of enhancing a low budget film that wouldn't have had the money for lots of music licensing. However, the opening song is much too loud to my ears, and stretches across four scenes without much relief (there's a slight dip when we move to the garbage truck, but then it comes back to full volume when we cut back to the Terminator). One suggestion here would be to have the music begin with the main "THE TERMINATOR" title (after the future opening), and then on the cut to the garbage truck, switch to having it playing on the radio in the cab. Then have it cut out when the electrical stuff happens. That gives us the rocking tune as we watch the slow (by today's standards) opening title, while setting us up for something fresh.

The closing AC/DC song is also an excellent fit for the film, but unfortunately it comes in over top of the existing score, and it seems like the existing music may be playing underneath. There is also a sharp volume raise on the closing shot as the Jeep drives away.

Compounding matters, the core audio in the movie seems to be unusually quiet. I had to raise the volume on my PC to hear it at a level that matches the blu-ray.

Narrative

The inclusion of the extra scenes was really interesting, and I did my best to ignore the low quality, but not all of them improved the narrative, in my opinion, so I've marked this a bit lower.

Enjoyment

It's The Terminator, one of my favourite movies, so enjoyment was all but guaranteed. I've dropped it a bit due to the other issues, however.

Audio/Visual

The large file size doesn't match the low quality image, so I've rated this down a bit.