Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released "Terminator 2: Skynet Edition" on Blu-ray featuring three versions of the 1991 action movie that starred Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Edward Furlong.
"Terminator 2: Judgement Day" Blu-ray is loaded with special features including:
Multiple THX-certified versions high-definition versions of the film
Freelance DVD/Blu-ray producer, consultant, visual supervisor and digital artist Van Ling has been involved with the film for over 20 years. He recently discussed this new "Terminator 2" package with M&C.
M&C: VL:
The challenge, of course, is to utilize the specifications of Blu-ray encoding in the hands of an experienced compressionist to bring that across to the home...and to educate the viewers at home about their collaboration in the process: they have a responsibility to make sure that their home systems are correctly calibrated and set for optimal presentation of both sound and picture if they want to get the most out of Blu-ray and the film.
M&C: VL: There were only single-layer discs available, which meant much less disc space, as well as nascent encoding options which didn't have anywhere near the quality and efficiency of current encoders. There was also none of the major interactive special features -picture-in-picture and internet connectivity, for instance-that we have available in the format today.
So we were able to do a lot more in this new version, like seamless branching of multiple versions of the film and lossless audio tracks. And the dual-layer discs we have now allow for better picture and audio quality while still giving us room for interactive features like games and production information. It's more bang for the buck. M&C: VL:
We had a short amount of time to put it together in order to get it out in time for the release of "Terminator Salvation", and 16 years' worth of special features that we needed to cull through and figure out how best to present that material using the capabilities of Blu-ray.
For me, that meant building picture-in-picture segments, audio slideshows, trivia data, graphics, menus, and a ridiculous number of intricate time-code lists to tie it all together to the film. The programming and authoring were a very complex challenge, so hats off to the folks at Blink Digital Studios in California and at Sofatronic in Germany for doing an amazing job.
M&C: VL: One should also understand that ALL of these versions are "director's cuts." Jim Cameron has final say over them. And while we don't actually have a 3D version on this Blu-ray, I certainly wouldn't count that out for down the line. As they say, "the future is not set." M&C: VL:
I don't have any ties to T4 at all, but I look forward to seeing the film and hope that it does justice to Jim Cameron's original vision.M&C: VL:
It's like with "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back"... you can really appreciate the scope and depth of the second film and how it takes the mythology to the next level, but you also never forget the rush of experiencing the first film.
So, obviously, the first two films are my favorites, since Cameron did them. Someone on the internet once noted, "the first two are canon; the rest are just fan fiction."
M&C: VL:
He'll never ask anyone to do something he wouldn't do himself, but the caveat is that he can literally do every single job on a film set himself, often better than you can, so you had better be prepared. That aspect has certainly never changed over the years. M&C: VL:
Which, incidentally, is what I did a decade later for "Men In Black"...we created new vocalizations for various creatures and added them in post, rather than try to do them on the set. M&C: VL:
M&C: VL: As I mentioned earlier, it was after Jim Cameron screened "The Terminator" for one of my film school classes that I said to myself, "I'd love to work with THAT guy..." and I was lucky to have gotten that opportunity a few years later. And then I really got the chance to follow up on all of those areas I was interested in. M&C: VL:
My film production experience can bring something to the home video work I do, and my computer experience can inform how I approach my production work. It's all part of the broader creative process, and when it's done right, all of these elements and media work together to create compelling entertainment.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Skynet Edition) [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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