Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (The Ultimate Edition DVD)
List Price:
Our Price: $18.05
You Save: $8.93 (33%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Earl Boen, Edward Furlong, Linda Hamilton, Robert PatrickDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Letterboxed, Limited Edition, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 137 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-08-29
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Live / Artisan
DVD Reviews of Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (The Ultimate Edition DVD)
DVD Review: My favorite film EVER.
Summary: 5 Stars
In reviewer Ronald Thomson's DVDTown critique of the previous release of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," he called it "a landmark film in special effects development." True, and Artisan's "Ultimate Edition DVD" establishes yet another benchmark, the first DVD to utilize the medium's full potential--over six hours of material on a single dual-layered, dual-sided disc. It's what director James Cameron was said to have wanted with "Titanic." Now, he gets his way. The disc contains two versions of the movie, the primary theatrical release and a special, extended version, plus over forty special features. I'm not entirely sure I agree with Ronald's assessment of the film's having an entertainment value of 10, but I'm willing to concede the point in its "Ultimate Edition" trappings. I certainly concur with everything else Ronald said, especially that "Terminator 2" belongs in any sci-fi collection. Now, before I comment on the special bonus items, here's more of what Ronald said about the movie itself...the first DVD to utilize the medium's full potential--over six hours of material on a single dual-layered, dual-sided disc.
"The first terminator failed to change history. It's up to a second terminator to terminate John Conner in his youth years after the attempt to kill his mother. Granted, just another cyborg won't do. The terminator sent back to change history has the ability to emulate any non-mechanical object it comes in contact with, but Arnold Schwarzenegger is up to the task of saving the world, even against an indestructible, morphing adversary in this terminator-on-terminator battle.
Thanks to the marvels of time travel, John Conner was raised believing that the world would be devastated and he would lead the rebellion against the machines. His mother, however, was committed for being delusional. After all, how could machines take over the world? Now, two terminators show up, and he realizes that his mother was right."
Video & Audio:
The audio and video for the movie are fine. Definitely high quality. The sound and anamorphic picture are THX certified, but more important, the detail in sound staging is excellent. For instance, in one of the opening scenes, a motorcycle drives by on the road, and the audio definitely tracks with the location of the bike, even though it's a simple background noise. Amazing battles, fights, explosions, gun shots, and chase scenes leave the viewer enjoying the movie, not just admiring its technical perfection. The picture is slightly light, overall, and perhaps a tad soft. I would have liked a greater color depth.
More from Thomson: "'T2' is not perfect, the acting leaving much to be desired. But then, so is the acting in "Star Wars" imperfect. In both cases, however, the acting does not detract from the movies' overall effectiveness, presentation, or entertainment value."
Extras:
Thanks, Ronald, now let's hit those new bonus features, starting with side one, which is labeled "Side A" in print so small you have to hold it to the light and squint to read it. This is the main side, and the first thing you'll notice when it starts up is the snazzy new interface. The animated menu design looks like the inside of a robotics factory for terminator cyborgs. However, while it's beautiful to look at, it presents some problems getting around. A warning comes with the package (which is housed, by the way, in a handsome brushed-aluminum casing) stating that "due to the advanced features utilized in the creation of this DVD, some players may experience minor navigational difficulties." My Sony 7700 player had no technical difficulty navigating the menus, but I had trouble finding everything I needed to. Some of the directional arrows are so dark and so tiny, they can be hard to spot, and they are often not located with the rest of the items on a screen. It also took me a moment to locate the THX tests advertised on the box. They're in the audio section and indicated by a little "THX" sign on the skeletal metal head to the left of the main audio choices. Once you find these tests, though, which are about the same as those found on the "Fight Club" DVD and basically duplicate the tests on most standard DVD setup discs like "Video Essentials," you'll find them handy to use. They include checks for color calibration, brightness, convergence, channel balance, channel-phase polarity, subwoofer integration, and other such criteria for optimizing a home theater.
Now, you're almost ready to choose which version of the movie you want to watch. The first is the regular theatrical release at 136 minutes; the other is the special edition with sixteen minutes of additional material. Some of this extra stuff is in bits and pieces scattered about; and some of it is contained in completely new scenes, raising the chapter index to an astounding eighty selections, maybe a record of its kind, an index point for about every two minutes of screen time! If you have already seen the film, and who hasn't, I advise watching the special edition; it's one of the few instances where the added material makes sense and isn't just included as a gimmick. But the chapter selections menu is no longer animated as it was in the previous disc. I suppose some things had to go, and it's a miracle the engineers were able to cram as much as they did on both sides of one disc. Anyway, the side also contains four different audio tracks: one in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX, another in DTS 5.1 ES, a third in Dolby Surround 2.0, and a final one featuring commentary by members of the cast and crew. English is the only spoken language option, but subtitles are provided in English for the hearing impaired. There are also extensive cast and crew biographies and filmographies, plus some DVD-ROM items. The keep case claims that the film was newly remastered in THX, but as far as I could tell in comparing it to its prior DVD incarnation, the picture and sound quality appear the same, with the anamorphic screen ratio an identical 2.17:1. Perhaps Artisan meant that the film was newly remastered for DVD previously. In any case, the picture and sound are still as good as could be hoped for and deserving of the highest rating that could be assigned them.
Side two (B) is where you'll find most of the bonus materials. Again, navigation may be an initial problem, but once you think you get the hang of it, it becomes no easier. Here, in various categories, you will discover more than you could ever want to know about the film, its history, and its production. One of the subdivisions is called "Information Programs," and it includes the disc's three main documentaries. The first is a thirty-minute promo titled "The Making of T2," produced at the time of the film's shooting in 1991. You'll see interviews with the stars and crew and various behind-the-scenes looks at the techniques used in the filmmaking. The second, twenty-two-minute, featurette, made in 1993 for the Showtime cable channel and titled "T2: More Than Meets the Eye," is even more interesting. It deals with the longer version of the movie and explains why certain scenes had to be cut for the original theatrical release and why they were filmed in the first place. The third documentary, the twenty-three-minute "Making of Terminator 2 3D: Breaking the Screen Barrier," is all about the creation of the MCA/Universal Studios theme park attraction and hints that the attraction may be a stepping stone to a possible third theatrical feature. We'll see.
Another subdivision on side two is called "Visual Campaigns." It includes four trailers, three in partial widescreen and one in pan-and-scan, and five Japanese teasers. Then there's a third subdivision, called "Data Hub," which has even more information. To begin with, it contains the complete shooting script of the film in 574 text frames. Placing the written text over a flaming red-and-orange backdrop, though, was a questionable decision. I didn't read the entire script, only the first few pages, but had I tried, I probably would have needed new glasses by now. (The DVD-ROM portion of the disc allows one to read the script while looking at many of the storyboards.) Next, there are what appear to be hundreds of regular storyboard sequences and archives. Tons and tons of archival stuff. In fact, there are sixty separate video selections, each individually indexed, probing the filmmaking process with cast and crew. Of these, I was particularly taken with the segments using multi-angle shots, the Terminator saying "I'll be back" in a variety of languages, and the sequence demonstrating the video transfer of "T2" for separate letterbox and pan-and-scan versions taken from the same Super-35 negative. And in yet another section, "Data Core," you'll find fifty more chapters worth of supplemental items. Somewhere buried in all of these hours of bonus goods, there is supposed to be an article titled "Battle Across Three Dimensions" by Estelle Shay, but try as I might, I honestly couldn't find it. Next, if you have the patience, wait twenty seconds or so for a static menu screen to come to life and then click on it; you will be rewarded by a link to a not-so-hidden Web site. Finally, a thirty-two-page informational booklet insert may also set a record of sorts. You'll be exploring for weeks.
Parting Thoughts:
Without question, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," the Ultimate Edition DVD, is well named. It is a milestone in the evolution of the DVD medium for its ability to carry huge quantities of information into the home. The movie itself looks and sounds as good as ever, and in its extended version it may even be a better story. This disc is an obvious must-buy, whether you own the earlier DVD or not.
Description of Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (The Ultimate Edition DVD)
Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as The Terminator in this explosive action-adventure spectacle. Now he's one of the good guys, sent back in time to protect John Connor, the boy destined to lead the freedom fighters of the future. Linda Hamilton reprises her role as Sarah Connor, John's mother, a quintessential survivor who has been institutionalized for her warning of the nuclear holocaust she knows is inevitable. Together, the threesome must find a way to stop the ultimate enemy - the T-1000, the most lethal Terminator ever created. Co- written, produced and directed by James Cameron (The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic), this visual tour de force is also a touching human story of survival.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Predator (Widescreen Collector's Edition)Fox; Release date: 2004-08-10; DVD
Best price: $9.97
Price in other shops:
![American History X / A History of Violence [Blu-ray] Image](/images/American-History-X-A-History-of-Violence-Blu-ray-B004NTDEXY-X.jpg)
American History X / A History of Violence [Blu-ray]Warner Brothers; Release date: 2011-06-07; Blu-ray
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
![The Matrix Reloaded / The Matrix Revolutions (Two-Pack) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/The-Matrix-Reloaded-The-Matrix-Revolutions-Two-Pack-Blu-ray-B0054509I4-X.jpg)
The Matrix Reloaded / The Matrix Revolutions (Two-Pack) [Blu-ray]Warner Brothers; Release date: 2011-09-27; Blu-ray
Best price: $9.49
Price in other shops:
Total RecallLions Gate; Release date: 2005-05-31; Published: 1990; DVD
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Terminator Salvation (Single-Disc Widescreen Edition)WHV; Release date: 2009-12-01; Published: 2009-12-01; DVD
Best price: $3.43
Price in other shops:
The TerminatorSony; Release date: 2007-06-05; DVD
Best price: $7.23
Price in other shops:
Forrest Gump (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)Paramount; Release date: 2001-08-28; DVD
Best price: $5.87
Price in other shops:
Pulp Fiction (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2002-08-20; DVD
Best price: $7.88
Price in other shops:
Batman Begins (Single-Disc Widescreen Edition)DC Comics; Release date: 2005-10-18; DVD
Best price: $2.83
Price in other shops:
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Widescreen Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-05-12; DVD
Best price: $3.79
Price in other shops: