The Terminator is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction by Skynet, a hostile artificial intelligence, in a post-apocalyptic future. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) is a soldier sent back in time to protect Sarah. The screenplay is credited to Cameron and Hurd, while co-writer William Wisher Jr. received an "additional dialogue" credit.

Plot

A cyborg assassin called a "Terminator" is sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 Los Angeles. It resembles a human male and is programmed to hunt and assassinate a woman named Sarah Connor. Separately, a human soldier named Kyle Reese simultaneously arrives, intent on stopping the Terminator. After searching for addresses in a telephone directory, the Terminator systematically dispatches similarly-named women, as well as several other people it comes in close contact with, including Sarah's roommate, Ginger, and her boyfriend, Matt. The Terminator eventually locates the actual Sarah at a local nightclub, where she is rescued by Reese during a mass shooting. The pair then steal a car to escape, with the Terminator pursuing them in a stolen police car.

Awards