Watching ‘The Terminator’ in the Cinema…

On Saturday 9th July, with my oldest friend (nicknamed “The Niko”), I watched The Terminator – the 1984 classic on the big screen.

The day started off with a small venture around Manchester’s “Northern Quarter” in pursuit of a bike seat, unfortunately for Niko, the seat couldn’t be obtained – a heavy-ish rain doubled the misery. After the saddle scenario, we approached HOME – the art complex I often refer to as “Cornerhouse 2.0” – my only previous encounter with HOME was to collect the tickets for The Terminator, and ironically, The Niko’s last cinema trip was to see Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).

Moving on, we entered the screening, and the anticipation began. Immediately, I noticed that nobody looked under the age of 20 – to me, no real surprise as I doubted that many U20s would pay £7 to see a film from 1984 – or maybe the original movie isn’t that applicable to a younger audience, unlike its sequel(s). After the trailers for upcoming films (new and old) were shown, the “Orion” imagery appeared before us – wow – we knew the magic had started. Within seconds, the gritty picture quality of crushed skulls and general dystopia appeared on screen – wow, what hauntingly great scenery. Later in the film when Arnold approaches Bill Paxton and his mates, and we hear Arnold’s first words…wow, fuck me, his voice sounded so powerful and perfect, even powerfully perfect – when he spoke, the whole audience was drawn to him and in awe – that’s how powerful the voice can be when used correctly and to its strengths. FYI: I often champion The Terminator as Arnold’s best performance largely to how perfect he sounds, looks, moves etc. – he’s perfect and SCARY in this. Legitimately scary.

A few claps and an opening of my second Pepsi MAX can concluded the showing of The Terminator, but I felt incredible after watching it. I felt like I had achieved a personal goal or something – probably because I thought I’d never be able to see it in the cinema.

Ultimately, this viewing of The Terminator signified a great common interest between long-standing friends, and the magic of seeing one of your favourite films on the big screen. Hopefully, The Terminator is the first of many classics to be viewed by Niko & I in the cinema.

Thanks for reading,

Dom.

For John.

This article’s featured image is sourced from The Terminator (1984) Orion Pictures / Dir: James Cameron / Prod: Hurd.