THE TERMINATOR scene analysis NIGHT CLUB SHOOT OUT 

I've watched this movie multiple times over the past 20-ish years, and I never noticed that The Terminator actually gets off a shot at Sarah in the club, until I was watching it randomly on television this summer. Unbe-freaking-lievable.

T2 was also supposed to have a similar twist where you don't realize who the Terminator is until they confront each other but the twist was spoiled in the trailers

This is a really underrated channel.

This one scene should be required learning in film school. On this small budget, Cameron made a timelessly tense scene, launching Arnold, Linda and Michael into stardom.

One the best parts of this scene is when when Sarah knocked over the bottle on the table and when she reaches down for it the terminator walks by. Such a great moment

I was browsing through a video streaming site and found a room where people were watching The Thing (1982) and some guy in the room was going on an on talking about the symbolism and the plot structure and the color palette and everything. I said "hey so-and-so, you sound like a Rob Ager fan." and then we spent about five minutes talking about how Rob Ager changed our lives.

I disagree. Reese is trying to move him out of the way to get another shot off. Its why after the guy gets hit, Reese dives behind the bar since he lost the window to fire.

"Can't stop, my body's aching. Hear these words there's no mistaking, I'm the victim of your passion. Now you're burning too" That line meshed so well with the moment where the Terminator walks past Sarah in slow motion while scanning the club. He can't and won't stop until he finds her and kills her, along with any hope humanity has of survival. Machines in the future lose the war because her passion and inner strength are passed down to John, enabling him to become the great leader of humankind. Great video.

9:39 I am in total agreement with you on the crappy audio re-edits of classic films. The one that drove me nuts was the up grade of The Good The Bad And The Ugly; they took all of the power from the gun shots and replaced them with generic gun shots from some sound library.

Great analysis. Never noticed those police sirens used for the lighting in the Tech Noir club scene before, nor the other curious observations from this scene, and I've seen The Terminator countless times. Another curious thing I've noticed with the Terminator (which may or may not be relevant) is the year the film is set and the year the film was made, which of course is 1984. For those who are more of a conspiratorial/NWO mind set will know 1984 is the title of Orwell's famous and prophetic book. Co-incidence or not I don't know. And the Terminator's model number is 101; 101 being the room number of the character Winston Smith in 1984. And also the man who created the Terminator animatronic was Stan Winston.

HAHA your justification of the guy getting used as a human shield for Reese is priceless!

6:15 never knew the terminator actually shot his weapon and had Reese not shot a second later he would have fail his mission

I agree, there are crappy film analyses that get almost a million views, Rob Ager is the real film decoder!

Ive always thought JC was a lot more than just an action film maker, these little touches prove it.

Agree on the rant, they also completely ruined the sound of the futuristic weapons in the scene where Reese fights the future Terminator in the underground bunker. On that point, it just struck me the club is a visual mirror of that future bunker and Reese is depicted fighting and losing her in the future (the burnt photo) and saving her (in real life) in the present. Almost got some yin and yang thing going on there.

This is a fantastic scene. This and the police station shootout.

I always thought Kyle was trying to protect that guy, throw him out of the way for his protection but because he was standing there, grappling with him (trying to maybe disarm Kyle), he got shot. Don’t see Kyle as someone willing to let people get killed or let them be human shields.

I always figured that Kyle was pushing the bystander out of the way to keep getting more shots in....? Also, I just discovered that the dvd version I have from 2001 MGM release has the option(Mono) to hear the original gun sounds.

Terminator's slow speed is mainly to emphasis the fact it's a machine as steady it can be on the long run : it's efficient : like its facial expressions,head movements ,or minimal speech. As a machine,speed is a not a priority,it's working non stop contrary to the human,running,and taking rests all along the movie,wasting energy ,ineficiently. It's to describe it, as implacable,the equivalent of determination for humans. That's why it's not trying to get the uzi once it went through the window : its goal is to get the chick in sight first ,since she is running away, it is PROGRAMMED for that first. It's its goal : get close to the chick first ,and as soon as the movie starts. The same when it gets stabbed by the punk : it doesn't give a shit and uses ONE arm at a time to fight THREE punks with minimal body movements. Same efficiency when the terminator arrives through time : it's in a very clean practical nearly aesthetic body position just above the whole city ,walk slowly again (and already ) having a very practical and global ,wide field of view for scanning fast. On the opposite the human arrives in a narrow dirty back alley ,and is falling to the ground like a piece of shit, running everywhere as soon as arrived. organic opposed to metallic : feelings opposed to programming Wich leads to the tech noir ,where the organic ,the human animality,sensuality is completly mixed with the sexual instinct,the human strongest PROGRAMMED basic need to survive as a specie.

I like to call this James Cameron's "John Carpenter" film, what with the close, dark, urban settings for one thing. Cameron at his most "auteur", and his most substantial film.

The damn song from the night club is stuck in my head now! Burning in the 3rd degree!! Thanks for another awesome video!

All other RU-vid film analyzers wish they had your ability. Love your work Rob!

Note the gun, which has been used in most of the murders to this point, has a red laser eye and cold steel frame. We then find out the T800 has a cold steel frame and red eyes. A psychological trick to show the Terminator is a murder machine, like the gun. "Point the laser where ya want the bullet to go. Ya can't miss."

I only disagree with one thing about this video on the Terminator, and it's about Kyle Reese using the innocent bystander as a human shield. To me, it has always looked like he was trying to move the guy out of the way, and the guy unfortunately gets killed in the crossfire anyway. Beyond that, this analysis, like the kids say today, is on point.

This is just one of the greatest sequences ever put to film, period.

Your film analysis videos make the likes of nerdwriter1, Channel Criswell, wisecrack, and even Every Frame a Painting seem like kindergarten readings of cinema by comparison. Well done, sir.

I saw the first Terminator in the theater when it first came out with my brother and dad. I new what it was about only because the trailer explained the story. Even why back then everytime I hear that "you got me burnin" song I always think of the Terminator chasing Reese and Sarah while he's on fire.

Fantastic video Rob, I honestly never thought much of all the elements inside the nightclub scene, but you once again show how every element has a purpose. Really tempted to give this movie a re-watch now and see what other details there are hidden away.

I completely agree about the sound mix. The original mono sounds great, but a lot of the effects they changed for the 5.1 take me out of the film while watching it. The worst offender I feel is the .45. Enjoyed the analysis.

Everyone in this club is doing the "Molly Ringwald" dance from Breakfast Club - 80s style rules!

A great video. I hoped to find you'd also done one on my favourite scenes from Terminator, the police station shoot out! From a film making perspective, that scene in particular has always stood out for me. The wonderful use of music to build that sense of growing dread in the face of such an attack, and how it shifts when Sarah and Reece are reunited. Plus Arnold nails the cold hard robotic nature of the Terminator itself, as it tears through them.

Could be worse. They might have redone the film with a load of shitty and unnecessary CGI like in Star Wars.

Also note how the people in the club go from dancing under the lights to running for their lives among the gunfire, paralleling how they will be herded up in camps by the machines after surviving the nuclear blast.

Terminator 1 > Terminator 2

Frankly, I don't see how this scene is any more iconic than any other scene in the terminator, even with your iconic analysis attached to it.

This is class. People instinctively know an awesome scene when they see it, but might not be educated or sensitised to exactly why it touches them until it's explained. It's the same with great music/bad music - something might sound passable (in tune, all the right words and notes), but if the timing is slightly out it won't FEEL right and you won't be able to sense precisely why. And vice versa...

Very good analyses, many things I didn't notice after seeing this movie for the last 25 years... Also you're very clever, and your knowledge of firearms is impressive.. for a Brit ;)

_The Terminator_ is James Cameron's masterpiece, and by far the best 'Terminator' movie. By FAR.

James Cameron had a fever dream about a robot's unrelenting pursuit of him--something akin to the ending scene in the factory. He acquired this fever after spending nights re-editing a film from which he was fired (Piranha 2: The Spawning) in Italy.

My favourite fact about this scene is that Michael Biehn and Arnie were filmed on completely separate nights, due to availability and scheduling issues. You’ll notice that Terminator and Reece barely appear in any shots together (those few in which they do were achieved with body doubles) and it’s a testament to Cameron’s filmmaking that I didn’t notice this for decades, until someone explained it to me.

Being a Canadian myself I noticed something funny. The director James Cameron is from Canada. What is the drink that Sarah conveniently knocks over to prevent the Terminator from first spotting her? A Canada Dry ginger ale.

"If you wanna live, then subscribe"

Wow! What a treat. Cheers Rob. This film is still amazing. The love scene between Kyle & Sarah is notable as well; can't recall a sex scene as 'tasteful' or so emotive.

The tension build-up until the T800 is pointing the laser scope at Sarah's face in the club is just perfect. When Reese starts shooting you feel a physical release. The film also conveys the idea that being oblivious is dangerous, for yourself and everyone else. The club is called "Tech-Noir" which, I'd say, could be a perfect definition of the film's genre.

Only three scenes made me truly T1, though the whole movie was indeed a masterpiece: 1. Sarah walks out bar after discovering she’s a target and she pauses to see Kyle Reese for the first time on the sidewalk (the background theme played perfectly); 2. Sarah, Kyle and T101 all converging together in Tech Noir (love that name) just before the battle begins; 3. Kyle Reese telling Sarah his story in the second stolen car in the parking garage just before T101 zeroes in on them.

damn that's a cool film. despite its limitations, it's one of those pictures that just feel like a real film. the later ones are more like you're on a ride. and then things like avatar, that's like being force read a bad comic book with someone voicing all the sound effects. nice analysis, I hadn't noticed many of those little details.

Great analysis, as always

This is a very professional take on the nightclub scene. Honestly, while viewing this breakdown I felt like I was back in college taking a film studies course or American TV and families 3000 (junior level course). I almost expected you to assign us a 10 to 12 page paper on the subtleties of the Terminator film. Addendum- The guy Kyle Reese uses as a human meat shield will not be making it to the nuclear apocalypse. He was completely raked by the Terminator's Uzi. I'm guessing he likely ate anywhere from 3 to 5 rounds from (at the time) one of the fastest shooting sub machineguns in the world. You also have to remember that the Terminator has detailed files on firearms of the 20th century and would know the best kit for his "job." I would bet any amount of money that his magazines were all fille with hollow points. I don't know California's laws on guns and ammunition back then (or now) but said rounds are perfectly legal to possess in Florida today (as they should be). If the Terminator's goal is to efficiently kill his target and he has no reasonable assumptions that his victim (s) will be wearing Kevlar the hollow point is the way to go.

I've always felt the Tech Noir scene from T1 was glorious, a real product of its time, but it also showed what more you could do with a scene. The slow motion and the music were spot on and the fading in and out as Reese and Sarah look at each other was amazing.

You forgot to mention that instant frame, barely visible at 9:21 and on 0,25x speed when Arnie is landed, shows Kyle Reese's shadow behind lights, like as he was a new messiah

Well done - intelligent, meticulous and imaginative analysis of a great film scene. I'll be back!

I never realised how much attention to detail went into one scene.

The worst change in the gun sounds is when the Terminator kills the first Sarah Conner. In the original cut that gun is loud as shit but they changed it to a silenced pistol. As if the Terminator was ever concerned with concealing it's gunfire.

Wonderful analysis. I've always loved the song Burnin in the Third Degree but never made any connection with the lyrics to the movie. I really don't think James Cameron gets enough credit for the subconscious elements he places in his older films.

I really enjoy your work! Thanks!

I always thought Reese was just trying to push the panicked people out of the way

Legit. The updated gun fire audio killed me on this. I've seen this movie dozens of times. My favorite love story.

I watched this on Pay Per View when PPV first started. I was like 9 years old. Great job mentioning the artists and music.

As great as the club scene was, the police station scene blew my mind. Great movie.

Very intricate and interesting, this also used to be one of my favorite scenes when watching T1 for the first few times.

The police station scene is the most iconic

I was thought the guy was trying to wrestle kyle for his shotgun and kyle was pushing him away.the distraction costed kyle a few seconds so to save himself he dodges behind the guy and over the bar.the guy was trying to be a "hero".awesome and very thought out scene.My favorite film of all time!

Reese doesn't use the guy as a human shield, he's trying to get him out of there by grabbing him ie move your ass.

Well done to the costume department for not giving Sarah a bra. ;)

Great analysis of this iconic Terminator scene

for me it was the music and the idea that people were dancing and having fun. every kid who watched it thought, "man i wish there was a tech noir club down the street for where i live"

Rob, you really were in a humorous mood when recording this one.

You're right about the gun fire changes. The original was perfect. I just subscribed. Your analysis is on point. Keep up the great work.

Damn you do a great job Rob......always interesting and I really like that you are bouncing around in subjects/movies..

3:22 look in the background towards the left, Reese taking the advantage to sneak in (I think)

Once again great analysis over the 20 years ive been watching this movie i never noticed Reese used the club patron as a human shield

Brilliant as always.

There was also a huge blooper. The girl in the orange dress who was dancing is suddenly sitting at the table as the Terminator closes in on Sarah.

Finally a movie made after I was actually born.

A very definite sub from me mate. A superb analysis to one of my favourite scenes in cinema.

Great video mate. I gotta totally agree with you about the sound engineering on the later releases, not only the Blu-Ray but I think any of the releases outside of VHS. I used to watch this movie to hell and back as a kid on an original VHS, so I've noticed something else. Not only did they mess up the gun sounds, but they completely re-did the soundtrack as well. For the most part they did a good job, I'll admit that. But there were definitely some tracks they screwed up, namely the tracks towards the end in the factory. Some of the most haunting electronic music in the movie was during those scenes and they just don't sound right at all, the whole movie had an amazingly haunting soundtrack actually. Needless to say they also for some reason changed the sound of the hydraulic press that crushes the Terminator. That sound is iconic to the scene and they changed it!

This was an excellent analysis. I've seen this film over a hundred times and still missed some of the symbolism. Such a great film.

FINALLY!!! Someone else who's pissed off about the gun sounds being fucked with. Between the films mentioned and especially JAWS, I despise this "cleaning up" of great old school sound effects. They are old movies, let them be old.

really enjoyed that! thank you

Excellent scene analysis

Brilliant review, I'm a huge tech noir fan but loved the commentary- very on point mate 👍🏻

Great video/breakdown!!!!!!!!! Mind blown!!!!

Well done. Extremely accurate.

Great analysis! I never noticed the Terminator did not pick up the Uzi before. Learn something everyday.

Wow! after all my viewings i never noticed he actually shoots Sara in this scene but misses. Amazing.

nice job noticing all these details. I'm so bad at picking up on these things.

Interesting analysys. Very good.

I may not agree with all of your analysis but I really enjoyed your vid. Keep them coming!

This is an amazing analysis! definitely got a subscription from me.

How this video is really amazing!!!

Very nice details, thank you sir.

Brilliant Video

Its the subtle sneaky entrance of Kyle Reese, running into the club on the left as you watch the Terminator crushing the bouncers hands, that makes its all that more you know , amazing haha. Epic film.

Yeah, it sucks that they removed the mono soundtrack. These should ALWAYS be included, it's not like they can't easily fit on a 50GB blu ray disc. It's unacceptable that you have to go to a LaserDisc release of The Terminator to get the original mono mix. I'm pretty sure that my Scarface blu ray has an option for the original audio mix though, I remember selecting an alternative track on it and being more satisfied with the gun sounds. And speaking of audio mixes, there is a brand new USA blu ray release of The Thing (that I know you're a huge fan of) coming out soon which will have the original 70mm 4.1 audio mix. The early reviews say that it blows away the audio mix found on the previous DVD and blu ray releases. It has a brand new transfer too and looks way better than ever plus A LOT of new bonus material spread over two blu rays. It sucks that it's region locked so you have to have an American or region free blu ray player though.

I was 12 too. Had friends spending the night. They told me to watch it, telling me its great. I fell asleep for half the movie, woke up when the action started and it became my favorite movie for many yrs.

Nothing is wasted .. great vid

Dude, I goddamn LOVE this channel and Collative Learning. And I FULLY agree with you about the horrible gun sounds in some many films these days, not even re-do edits either. The "BLAM - KLANK" heard in practically every damn movie now exhibits fully how the sound editor has never in their entire life fired a handgun of any caliber. #RantNOTover

that would have been a cool "what if". Reese fails his mission, forcing him to take on the mantle of John Connor. So he has to send his younger self back in time (when that time comes) just to preserve time itself. sounds like a certain time paradox, maybe the grandfather paradox. I hope someone out there made a comic about that.

This scene as the most iconic is debatable. A lot articles and fans seem to reference the police station massacre as the most iconic. It's even referenced to Sarah Conor in Terminator 2, in the wake of Terminator's return. Anyways, when I of iconic scenes in the film, I often think of the police station shootout. However, the "come with me if you want to live" line is one of the, if not, most iconic lines.

Thank you so much! I thought I was the only one who noticed the terrible sound effects that replaced the originals. They don't even have the original gun sound on the TV versions any longer.