GREAT CINEMAMASTER LIST
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great film.

Search 713 spoiler-free recommendations from 1916 to 2026. Filter by the night you want—not the list you’re supposed to finish.

Direct film viewShowing master rank #593 on its own—not above the ranking.
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Artwork
DirectorAll directors

Most represented · 6+ films

More recurring directors · 3–5 films54
All directors · surname A–Z438
ActorAll actors

Most represented actors

Big Three membership
Major award winners

1 selected film

Master Rank balances Greatness, Engagement, and Ease. Sort by Greatness for the artistic-canon view.

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View The Terminator film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

A cyborg assassin travels from the future to kill Sarah Connor, while soldier Kyle Reese arrives to protect her.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

In 1984 Los Angeles, a machine called the Terminator hunts women named Sarah Connor. Resistance fighter Kyle Reese follows from a future ruled by Skynet and explains that Sarah's survival matters to humanity's coming war.

Why it belongs

The Terminator gives a low-budget pursuit relentless legibility through nocturnal Los Angeles, practical effects, Brad Fiedel's pulse, and Schwarzenegger's mechanical economy.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Cameron stretches limited resources through blue-lit Los Angeles streets, Stan Winston's exposed-machine effects, disciplined pursuit geography, and Brad Fiedel's mechanical pulse, giving the killer's forward motion the inevitability of an industrial process.

Major award wins

No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.

Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250230AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness7.8
Engagement8.1
Ease8.0

English · R
Narrative Feature
Mood: Tense & Absorbing