Product Details

• Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Earl Boen
• Directors: James Cameron
• Writers: James Cameron, William Wisher Jr.
• Producers: James Cameron, B.J. Rack, Gale Anne Hurd, Mario Kassar, Stephanie Austin
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Limited Edition, Special Edition, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Live / Artisan
• VHS Release Date: November 10, 1998
• Run Time: 137 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,006 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0784011931
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,908 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

After he pushed the envelope of computer-generated special effects in The Abyss, director James Cameron turned this hotly anticipated sequel to Terminator into a well-written, action-packed showcase for advanced special effects and for one of the most invincible villains ever imagined. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a legitimate sequel: there's more story to tell about a hulking, leather-clad android (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who arrives from the future to protect a rebellious teenager and future leader (Edward Furlong) from being killed by the tenacious T-1000 robot (Robert Patrick), whose liquid-metal construction makes him seemingly unstoppable. The fate of the future lies in the balance, with Linda Hamilton (who would later marry her director) reprising her role as the rugged woman whose son will change the course of history. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

The killer cyborg who was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original "Terminator" (1984) has returned-only this time he's the hero. The first film, which was written and directed by James Cameron, is one of the genre-movie classics of the eighties: a lean, witty science-fiction movie without great pretensions to significance. The sequel, also written (with William Wisher) and directed by Cameron, is far less satisfying. The picture is full of spectacular action sequences and dazzling special effects, but the narrative doesn't have the snap of the original's: it's lumbering and monotonous, and it carries a heavy-handed anti-nuke message. The old, Schwarzenegger-model Terminator (the T-800) had been superseded by a more advanced model, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), who is sleeker and more versatile. T-800, who represented the ultimate in destructive technology in the first film, seems almost human here: compared to T-1000, he's a vulnerable guy (or guyoid). The whole movie is based on the insane conceit that Arnold Schwarzenegger is the underdog. That a stretch. Also with Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, and Joe Morton. Effects by Stan Winston and many, many others. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

987 of 1,050 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Awesome DVD Ever Created. Trash The Old Disk!, October 17, 2001

By 

Brett Michael Roberts (Renton, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (The Ultimate Edition DVD) (DVD)

This new "Ultimate Edition DVD" of Terminator 2 Judgement Day, one of the biggest box office smashes of all time, is truly The Ultimate Edition. Unless you get this outside of the US (which I did) you have two disks. One disk is the movie (THREE versions of the movie, in fact), and the next disk is all the special features. And it takes DAYS getting through every feature. I mean, three documentary, 8 trailers and TV spots, an entire script, interviews that you can access separately, and 52 chapters of behind the scenes footage, from makeup to visual effects, from editing to restoring deleted scenes. There are so many special features, this is what DVD was made for! You can also look at the original drawings of certain scenes, awesome!!!!

However, I find the real highlight of this disk (or disks) to be the movie itself, I mean WOW!!! You get three, I repeat, three, versions of the movie. One is the original theatrical version, featuring no cut out scenes (the worst), the special edition, featuring 16 minutes of additional footage (second best) and the Extended Special Edition that you need a code for (the best) which features 18 minutes of additional footage, as well as an alternate ending. Here, now, I will give you a step-by-step description of how to get this extended special edition. I'm sure most of you people reading this know how to already, but this is for those who didn't know this version existed, or don't know how to get it. What you do is, you go to the features menu. It'll say "Theatrical Version" and "Special Edition". Click on "Special Edition". Then, you highlight "Play Special Edition" and type in (you may have to type ENTER in-between each number) EIGHT TWO NINE NINE SEVEN (8 2 9 9 7) and then, the "Go To Theatrical Version" option changes to "Play Extended Special Edition". This is the definitive version of the movie. I believe that every single little, tiny scene that they cut out is in this version. Well, thats the code, now back to my review.

The picture and audio on this disk are SO awesome, you won't believe it. Crystal clear picture, and sound so loud that it's like you're in a movie theatre. The additional, restored scenes are remastered as well, and slip perfectly into the movie. If you haven't even seen the film, you won't even notice these scenes put into it. Usually, on additional scenes, the picture is dirty and shakes. Not in these added scenes. And, to make it even better, the scenes are presented in 2:35:1 widescreen anamorphic format. Yes!! Just the first disk makes this DVD the ultimate edition!! Also, there's an audio commentary by 26 members of the cast and crew, however, this commentary is just interviews put together to sound like a commentary. However, there's a noticable glitch in the theatrical version, due to the commentary. Well, if you watch this commentary on one of the special editions, you'll notice it's the same commentary as the theatrical version, but they talk about deleted scenes as well. You may, also, notice that they continue talking about the deleted "Dream Sequence" at the hospital, when it goes into the next scene. So, now, when you watch the theatrical version, you'll notice that the beggining scene with Sarrah Connor watching the tape from six months ago, the beggining of the scene is cut off!!! Oops! Well, that's forgivible. Now, the second disk (or the second side of the disk) has lots of special features. The three documentarys include "The Making Of Terminator 2 Judgement Day", "T2 More Than Meets The Eye", where they talk about deleted sequences and the reason they were cut. The last is "The Making Of Terminator 2 3-D Breaking The Screen Barrier", about the making of that 3-D terminator ride. I loved that ride (yes, I went on it) and this documentary is really interesting. The rest of the features, well, I'm not sure I kinow all of them. Maybe YOU should discover all the features on this disk. If you own the previous DVD release of T2 (which had no extras), then trash it and get this "Ultimate Edition". You WON'T be dissipointed.

If you found my review helpful, please be sure and vote for me! Thank You Very Much!

69 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SHINE THEM ON, August 30, 2000

By 

Thomas E. O'Sullivan - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (The Ultimate Edition DVD) (DVD)

After nearly ten years T2 is still snappy. And with this new DVD ULTIMATE EDITION, you can't really go wrong. If you already have bought T2 on DVD before this release, you will not feel cheated if you buy it again... because this one is the complete package. As for bells and whistles and added value, T2 is a ten all around. Excellent menu interfaces (level by level inside SKYNET HQ), a host of extras that will keep both DVD and PC/DVD ROM owners busy for hours on end... and I mean hours (from script, to movie(s) - three in all, to 700 storyboards, inside MAKING OF's - the film and the T2 3D ride, audio commentary - and on and on and on...). Also, it comes complete with a metal slip case... real metal, real nice, and very cool... and I mean cold (when I bought this the other day the stores air conditioning had chilled the slip case to ice cold... my hand fogged it up when I was holding onto it). T2 ULTIMATE promises and delivers just that. The tranfer is sharp (the images in the film are very clear... very percise and dead on). The sound, very visual when you have the right system (and even if you don't - it's still very nice). One of the best packages out there... highly recommended. PLUS! - we have an EASTER EGG, for those of you who don't know what that means... we do have a hidden MODE to play with. It's an extra run of the film (making it three in total for the disk). It's the SPECIAL ADDITION, but with the FUTURE CODA scene replaced at the end. For those who don't know the FUTURE CODA scene and why it was cut... you'll have to review the DVD and movie. To get to the E.E. follow these instructions:

Directions:

The hidden alternate version is 156 minutes. It contains the Future Coda ending and the cut of the movie is the special edition. To get to this third cut of the movie, click on Special Edition from the main menu. Highlight Play Special Edition and press 82997 on your remote. The words The Future Is Not Set will appear in the right hand portion of the setup screen and the left eye of the Terminator will light up. Now you can click on Play Extended Special Edition. If this does not work try 8 enter 2 enter 9 enter, 9 enter, 7 enter to achieve the same effect. Or, press title 3 and it plays the hidden alternate version.

There you go... you've got it all. Enjoy.

173 of 192 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Features galore!, September 8, 2000

By 

Michael Fletcher (Murrieta, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (The Ultimate Edition DVD) (DVD)

This is the most feature packed DVD I own!

Terminator 2 THE ULTIMATE EDITION DVD actually has 3 different versions of the movie; the original theatrical release lasting 136 minutes, the special edition version lasting 153 minutes and an extended special edition clocking in at 155 minutes and 43 seconds which is accessed by an "Easter Egg" discussed below.

You can access the extended special edition version by selecting special edition from the menu and then entering 82297 on your remote's numeric keypad. You may have to press "enter" after each number on certain DVD players. An easier method is to just select title number 3 from your remote.

The picture quality and sound quality are top-notch on this DVD and it is my top choice for showing off my system to friends and family! It includes Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, DTS 5.1 ES and Dolby Digital 2.0 mixes. The EX and ES designations refer to a new standard that includes a sixth channel of sound that is designed to emanate from a rear center speaker. I have a 5.1 setup, so I couldn't test this feature, but it's nice to know it's there.

This release comes in two formats; either a DVD-18 disc or two DVD-9 Discs. The DVD-18 is a double-sided, double layer disc and contains the entire 6 hours of material on one disc that needs to be flipped and the DVD-9 is a single-sided, double-layer disc which has the material on two discs. Don't worry, the content on both versions is the same. The two disc version might be preferable for DVD changer users. Due to manufacturing limitations with the newer DVD-18 format, the DVD-9's were created to better meet demand.

One really cool thing about this title is that the trailers for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS play according to which audio setting is selected. These are nice to demo your system with! Also, the THX trailer at the beginning was customized for T2 as a bonus.

If you love this movie, get this version now! It has enough bonus materials to warrant a purchase even if you already own the previous release on DVD. This is an awesome special edition that betters the Laser Disc special edition at a quarter of the list price! There are English and Japanese trailers, 700 storyboards, a 26 person audio commentary, making of T2 and T2 3D featurettes and DVD-ROM material as well.

Last, but not least, you get "THX Optimode," a tool to properly adjust your home theater audio and video settings for optimum enjoyment. I recommend Video Essentials or Avia Guide to Home Theater DVDs for critical system adjustment, but this is a great tool for free! To access "THX Optimode," select "Sensory Control," click your remote's left button and click on the highlighted THX on the endoskeleton's skull.

This is a great DVD with my highest recommendation!