Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Good movie and with closed captioning as well!!!

Look, it's terminator 2, one of the best films ever. The DVD case arrived a little beat up, but that was fine. At first, I thought I'd been duped. There seemed like no option to watch the theatre cut of the film. Having the extended version isn't bad by any means, but I want it in conjunction with the original. I learned today that the original is hidden on disk one. What you have to do is click down on the DVD menu once to highlight (don't select) the options button, press right on the DVD remote Dpad five times and the words "the future isn't set" will appear next to the menu. Just press enter, no arrows, and it'll load the theatre cut instead of the extended.

I ordered this 2-disc DVD, for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, because I was replacing our old VHS. According to this amazon page, this 2-disc set has the Theatrical release and the Special Edition Version of T2, both in widescreen. The 2-DVD set I received had only the Special Edition Version on DVD. The 2nd disc has the Theatrical Release, but it is NOT a DVD. It is to watch on your computer using some fancy application that I don't have. So it didn't work on my computer. I returned the DVD because I thought they sent me the wrong one.[Please note the version of Terminator 2 that I linked above. Amazon has a bad habit of putting a review for one edition/version of a movie on every page of every version/edition. It can be difficult to figure out which version someone is reviewing!]After I sent back the wrong version of the movie, I ordered it a second time, again from this page (as linked above). The second time I received the SAME thing. So WARNING! You cannot watch the Theatrical release on DVD. And the EXTRAS shown on this amazon page are different from the extras actually contained on the 2-disc set they'll send you.That said, I decided to keep the second set, even though I tried to contact the seller, through amazon's contact seller feature, twice to ask what's going on, and they never bothered to reply. Beware of Mighty Silver! There is no customer service there, and they don't care if you got the wrong item. Incidentally, amazon doesn't care, either. They'll give you your money back, but they're not changing the page.Now that my rant is over, I'll review the 2-disc set I received - twice.The first DVD disc has the Special Edition Version of the movie. Your viewing choices are to watch in Dolby 5.1 SurroundSound, Dolby Headphones. You can also watch it with a fantastic Commentary Track, and with either English or Spanish Subtitles.The differences between the Special Edition and the Theatrical Release are that several deleted scenes are added back in. To tell the truth, I like the Theatrical Version better, but maybe that's just because it's a beloved movie in our house.Added scenes that I noticed:1. The T-1000 leaves the scene of the wreckage of the giant tow-truck he used to chase after T (Arnold's Terminator) and John on the motorcycle. New: Firemen are cleaning up the wreckage.2. In the psychiatric hospital, Sarah is sitting on her bed in her cell. New: Sarah has a dream sequence with Reece seemingly visiting her. (According to the Commentary Track, the idea was to tell some past story from the 1st movie. I think it's open to interpretation whether she had a vision or a dream.)3. In the psychiatric hospital, the doctor has just stopped at Sarah's cell, where she's doing pullups, and he's talking about her with his guests. New: Two guards enter Sarah's room and use truncheons and tazers on her to get her to take her pills. It's a brutal scene.4. T and John have called the foster parents' house, and realize they must be dead. Cut to the T-1000, changing back to a policeman from the shape of the foster-mother (skewering the foster father). New: T-1000 goes into the back yard and kills the dog. He takes it's collar, and sees the name "Max". He realizes T and John tricked him.5. They have pulled the police car into a closed service station, where T and Sarah sew each other up. New: John asks T if he can learn. T says that he can if they pull a switch in his microprocessor. Sarah opens his head and takes out the chip and is going to destroy it. John stops her. (According to the Commentary, this was deleted for timing reasons, but both Cameron and Wisher really miss it. They love how it shows Sarah's mistrust and confliction with T.)6. T busts the window of an old station wagon to steal it, then they are on the side of a road and Sarah is eating a sandwich in the station wagon. New: In between these two scenes, John takes T to get food at a food trailer and tries to teach him how to smile.7. Traveling South in the station wagon, Sarah asks T about Dyson, and T replies that he has extensive files on him. New: Scene changes to Dyson working at his computers at his gorgeous seaside home. His wife wants him to stop for some family time, but he is too excited, working on a revolutionary microprocessor.8. They stop at Enrique's in the desert to weapon up. New: Sarah tells Enrique they should leave tonight, too, and he responds angrily. In the underground weapons locker that John and T opened, there's a longer conversation between the two.9. In the final scene at the iron works, the T-1000 has just reconstituted himself after the liquid nitrogen freezing. New: As he passes a striped steel barrier to enter the building, he puts his hand on the barrier and his hand and arm turn striped and stick to the bar. (Per the Commentary, this had been the first thing to show that he had been "injured" and wasn't working quite right.)COMMENTARY TRACK: I thought this was one of the best commentary tracks I've ever listened to, and I've listened to a lot! It was recorded on 2/10/2003 with commenters James Cameron, director and co-writer, and William Wisher, co-writer. This was the first time Cameron had recorded a commentary track for one of his films. They cover everything, from special effects to acting to subtext. Two of my favorite comments:At the very beginning, when the T-1000 comes through from the future and is kneeling naked, Cameron comments: "We did digital winky removal here. Apparently it was not complete ... I remember seeing a bill for digital willy removal. I want that money back!"When someone asks, who is your favorite kick-a$^% female character, my answer is always Linda Hamilton in T2. She is not comic-book and special effects, she is the real thing. In the commentary, Cameron says that Linda didn't just work out, she did weapons training. And, "Linda could really run. Like a panther."Also, at the beginning, Cameron mentions how when he first approached Arnold Schwarzenegger about T2, Arnold wasn't enthusiatic. He "wasn't at all sure" that it was going to work for him to play the good guy.DISC 2:1. "No Feat But What We Make". This is a 24 minute short on Terminator 2's "role in the rise of digital special effects". Comments by James Cameron (T2 writer-director and director of "The Abyss"), Dennis Muren (ILM visual effects supervisor), John Knoll (ILM CG supervisor for "The Abyss" and Co-Creator of Adobe Photoshop), Steve Spaz Williams (ILM animation), Mark A.Z. Dippe' (ILM CG Supervisor), Stan Winston (Special Makeup and Terminator effects), Peter Jackson (director "The Lord of the Rings"). Cameron and Knoll talk about how the water alien psuedopod, in "Abyss", was a leap of trust in CGI, because nothing like that had ever been done in film. Then, in T2, what Cameron had was a $100 million dollar film dependent on CG, when it had been done only once before in a film and then for only one 9-minute sequence.2. "T2: On the Set", an 8 minute production shot montage. Interesting stuff, like the model shots of the tank truck, carrying liquid nitrogen, sliding down the street.3. "High Definition - Theatrical Version ROM". "This disc contains the complete theatrical version of the film in Microsoft Windows Media 9 series, payable in high definition and 5.1 sound exclusively on your PC. The resolution is higher than standard DVD format." Didn't work on my computer.4. DVD ROM. "Play this DVD in your computer to access the T2FX Studio and other ROM features powered by Interactual Software." Didn't work on my computer.ZERO stars for an amazon page that gives false information.ZERO stars for Mighty Silver, incapable of fulfilling your order from the amazon page.FIVE stars for the theatrical release, now if I could just get a DVD of it.FOUR POINT FOUR stars, rounded down to FOUR, for the Special Edition Version of T2 - it's not as tightly constructed as the theatrical release.ADDED LATER:I did get a single-disc DVD of the theatrical release. I don't think I can give you a link to the amazon page, because it is not fulfilled by amazon. Rather you order from individual sellers and pay shipping. However, I got it for $2.99 plus shipping!Unfortunately, I can't review that DVD and it's extras, because amazon put my review of the 2-disc extended version on the page of the single disc theatrical release. I wish they would stop doing that.Happy Reader

This DVD arrived in excellent condition.

The best classic of Arnold movies, which will be reminded for ever.

I see that this has been around for more than twenty years. Not much to add to the previous reviews. Acting skill is not required to star or be featured, just the ability to seem to be doing all these stunts and to give voice to the occasional few words or sentences without falling on your face. This these performers do. The rest is action and more action. I found the whole enjoyable though not materially better than many films of the same genre. Coming in at just under 150 minutes, it is a lot to bear with all at once. The time goes fast, however.Much too late to make a serious recommendation: but, here goes, any action fan who wants no conceptual or emotional problems with a movie, will find this one entertaining.

I love this movie

Personally my favorite terminator. The dvd plays with no issue. So happy with adding this to my collection.