The Terminator: 40 Years On

James Cameron’s 1984 sci-fi action classic is still his finest hour, despite plagiarism accusations from Harlan Ellison

Credit: Orion Pictures/StudioCanal

Warning: Contains spoilers

When legendary science fiction writer Harlan Ellison went to see The Terminator, he decided to sue writer/director James Cameron, and co-writer Gale Ann Hurd. Ellison claimed they plagiarised ideas from one of his episodes of The Outer Limits, entitled Soldier. He won, and Cameron was forced to insert an acknowledgement just before the end credits to all subsequent prints. How similar is Soldier to The Terminator? Take a peek at the first part of the episode here, if you’re curious. Certainly, that opening shot looks familiar.

All that said, I think Cameron deserves credit for creating something brilliant in its own right. The plot of The Terminator, with a cyborg that looks human coming back in time to kill a woman destined to give birth to the man who will overthrow an AI oppressor, may have some similarities with Soldier, but many of Cameron’s innovations are exclusively his. What’s also undeniable is, however much Ellison may have been an inspiration, Cameron’s action-never-lets-up approach is so pronounced, so singular, that the relentless thrill ride factor alone makes his film stand apart as a classic.

It is difficult now, all these years later, to imagine the impact The Terminator had on contemporary audiences. I was too young to see this at the cinema in 1984 (it had an 18 certificate here in the UK), but when I caught it on video I was absolutely blown away. The best way to come to this film is to know nothing about the plot, so if you’ve somehow not seen this, I recommend clicking away now, as I’m going to discuss the story in detail.