It was the film that launched director James Cameron and star Arnold Schwarzenegger into the Hollywood stratosphere, but The Terminator was also "a landmark" in science fiction cinema. Linda Hamilton is the world-weary waitress stalked by a futuristic android in a riveting story that taps into primal fears and anxieties about our growing dependence on technology. It's perhaps more relevant now two decades later, than on its initial release.

I'll Be Back

Although this two-disc release is touted as The Ultimate Edition, there's very little we haven't already seen. Still, by bringing together all the best behind-the-scenes material it does provide an all-encompassing look at the making of the film, which has been digitally re-mastered and comes with a thumping new DTS track.

Other Voices is an engrossing feature-length look at The Terminator from inception to release. For Cameron it began life as "a fevered dream" during a bout of unspecified sickness. Dialogue man William Wisher meanwhile envisioned it as, "It's a Wonderful Life with guns." Co-writer and producer Gale Ann Hurd explains her history with Cameron under the tutelage of exploitation maestro Roger Corman but insists that The Terminator was always intended as something more than a thrill ride - namely a "techno noir". It was a bold proposal and therefore turned down by every major studio...

There's also a behind-the-scenes look at the music and visual effects (by industry veteran Stan Winston) and cast and crew finish by paying homage to Cameron and his unwavering vision. "He's a task master," admits Linda Hamilton, "But it's all for something." Other filmmakers echo this sentiment in The Legacy Of The Terminator with the film's range of influence going far beyond the world of pop culture. "It took an Austrian muscleman and made him the Governor of California!" says director John Landis.

Back To The Future

Cameron and The Governator reflect on the long and arduous process of getting the film made in A Retrospective - made longer and more arduous because Schwarzenegger was under contract to make a sequel to Conan The Barbarian before shooting could commence. And in case you thought The Terminator was safely in the realm of science fiction, the tech heads from MIT assure us that automated warfare is the first step in the creation of a robotic army in Closer To The Real Thing. You'll never look at your PC in the same way again...

Cameron provides commentary for seven deleted segments, which also come with detailed introductions to place the action into context. More than bland cutaways, one sequence unravels a full character arc for Lt Traxler (Paul Winfield) and a motel scene plants the seeds of the sequel as Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) declares war on the machines. In most cases, the footage was excised because it detracted from the cat and mouse game at the heart of the story. An unusually humble Cameron admits, "There are a lot of poetic aspirations in the film - some I didn't have the experience as a writer or a director to do well." Even so, it's a great shame that Cameron doesn't give a commentary for the main feature because his observations about the themes and structure of the story afford a better appreciation of its mythic quality.

Along with a photo gallery and trailers, budding screenwriters can dissect the original treatment and two drafts of the script. To cap things off, 15 Easter eggs with more insights from cast and crew are hidden on the languages menu (inside The Terminator's cranium). Despite the lack of new material, Terminator Ultimate Edition is guaranteed to get the cogs turning.

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