- NBC edited 7 minutes and time-compressed 4 minutes of this film for its 1987 network television premiere.
- There are significant differences between the first video releases (Thorn/EMI and HBO Video) and the 1991 Hemdale release in relation to picture, sound and end credits. The Thorn/EMI release has:
- A blurry picture throughout
- The entire film soundtrack played at the wrong pitch, which sounds like it was recorded on a cassette tape.
- The Post Production and credit to Harlan Ellison is inserted right above the copyright date and timed to roll along at the speed of the credits. The HBO Video release has the same blurry picture and high pitch soundtrack with the following changes:
- The post production credit rolls as soon as the movie fades to black. After disappearing, a black, cheaply done title card done with "1980s HBO Font" shows the Harlan Ellison credit. The previous timed credit that appeared in the Thorn/EMI release has been blacked out and timed to run with the credits. The 1991 Hemdale release has the following:
- Soundtrack restored to play at the correct pitch
- Picture is sharp and clear. The 1991 Hemdale and the Artisan Entertainment release are identical.
- The Finnish theatrical and first VHS release were rated 18 and cut by 35 seconds. The notable cuts were:
- Terminator performing surgery on eye and arm
- Bloody shoot-outs
- Some other violent scenes Later on 16-rated VHS and DVD version were released, however first VHS was cut, but the other was uncut.
- On the TV versions shown in the USA, the sex scene between Sarah and Kyle shows just their hands moving to the theme song that plays.
- On the Region 6 Chinese DVD from Excel Media, the sex scene between Sarah and Kyle is completely cut.
- Originally rated 'VM14' (forbidden to audiences of under 14) for cinemas, the film was cut by the Italian censors for a 'T' (film for everyone) certificate to reduce all violence sequences. The censors removed blood, reduced gunshots, removed the eye-cutting sequence, the arm fixing sequence, the love-making sequence, the exploding and the death of Kyle Reese, and the machine squashing the T-800 to death.
- Some TV versions include had a scene now missing from the release available on VHS, set inside the police station. Sarah Connor emerges from under Lt. Traxler's desk, revealing herself to Reese. In the next room they encounter Lt. Traxler, who is shot and bleeding on the floor. He hands Reese his Police Special revolver and tells him that he has to keep Sarah safe, (showing that he believes Reese).
- In Germany, the film was put on the BPJM index for youth endangering media in the mid-80s. The result was that TV versions and many VHS releases were cut down for a "Not under 16" rating. The uncut version was practically only available in video rental stores. In 1998 the film was released on DVD in both its cut and uncut form. In 2010 the film was removed from the index and the film was re-rated, this time with a "Not under 16" rating for the uncut version.
- In the Swedish theatrical version, the shot of The T800's eye actually falling out and into the sink has been cut.
- The new MGM R1 DVD releases has two altered scenes, at the request of Lightstorm Entertainment, supposedly to fix goofs in the original picture: a scene set in the future, when a Terminator enters the rebel compound, has been flipped on its vertical axis; the scene where the Terminator leaves the motel in L.A. has been cropped/reframed so that his feet are no longer visible (this was done to fix a continuity problem: the original scene showed Schwarzenegger wearing shoes instead of boots as previously seen).
- A television version shown in Canada uses a brief alternate take in the scene at the police station where Traxler is about to go talk with the news reporters. In the theatrical version when Traxler asks "how do I look?", Vukovich replies "like shit, boss". But in the television version, he replies "like you've been dead for a week".
- When aired on USA and SCI-FI, the following alterations were made: when both Terminator and Reese arrive from the future, the supposed dirty mumblings of the witnesses (a garbage truck driver and a bum) have been edited. When the Terminator visits the first wrong Sarah, his original scene of him shooting her six times is changed to one shot with the BANG cut out. The scenes where Kyle hotwires the cars is edited, as is the scene of Sarah waitressing in the restaurant and a kid drops a spoonful of ice cream in her apron.
- The Special Edition DVDs features the following deleted scenes:
- A brief introduction to Sarah at work where she practices being a cheerful waitress.
- A longer version of the killing of the first Sarah Connor, showing the T-800 walking away from the house in broad daylight, completely ignoring the horrified neighbors and witnesses.
- A bunch of brief scenes showing Vukovich and Traxler in their police cruiser, as well as a scene where Reese and Sarah find Traxler shot. He gives Reese his gun and tells him that Sarah has to survive and he needs to do whatever he has to do to insure her safety.
- A long scene where Sarah sneaks off and calls her mother and tells her to go and hide at the cabin. Afterwards, she looks through the phone book and finds Cyberdyne's address. Sarah asks Reese if they can attack the Cyberdyne building and make sure that the possible future never occurs. Reese declines and tells her it's not his mission. Sarah becomes angry and runs away and Reese chases her down. When she hits him to get away he pulls a gun on her, which she chastises him. Sarah breaks down, horrified of spending the rest of her life running from the Terminator. Reese breaks down crying over the beauty of nature, and the pain of knowing it's going to be later destroyed by the machines. Reese then agrees to destroying Cyberdyne.
- A post-coitus scene showing Sarah tickling Reese and his confusion by the sensation, having never been tickled before.
- Two removed scenes at the end, showing a technician finding a few parts of the remains of the T-800, and a longer version of the scene in which Sarah is placed in the ambulance, showing us that the computer factory is, in fact, Cyberdyne.
- The film was originally mixed in mono due to budgetary limitations, so a new 5.1 digital stereo surround mix was created by Skywalker Sound for the 2001 special edition DVD. A large number of effects (like gunshots) were completely re-recorded and a possible continuity error was fixed: The sound of a door closing is added after the T-800 walks out of the police station, thus explaining why the door is no longer open when he returns in the car. This same 5.1 mix has been used for subsequent TV-airings and re-releases, including the 2008 Blu-ray.
- When aired on TV, many alterations are made.
- When The Terminator confronts the punks and orders them to turn over their clothes, Bill Paxton's response of "Fuck you, Asshole" is changed to "Eat this, scum!" (some versions remove the line altogether).
- The scene of The Terminator ripping out the heart of one of the punks is removed and just shows him picking him up the cuts to Terminator glaring at another punk who willfully turns over his clothes
- When The Terminator first arrives and he walks towards the edge of the building to see the city, the camera is moved upwards to crop his buttocks, Reese's is also edited.
- The execution of Ginger is removed, instead just shows the one shot Terminator fired at her then she goes flying.
- Vukovich's remark of 'Like shit, boss' is changed to 'Like you've been dead for a week'.
- When The Terminator knocks out a cop and takes his car, the part of The Terminator banging the cop's head against the car is removed and just shows him throwing the cop into the street.
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