Corrected entry: The Terminator has state of the art visual tracking. This is obvious for many reasons including when we get glimpses of how it sees things by heat analysis or infrared. Most notably it even has a little cross-hairs targeting system. Why then does he need to get a gun with a laser sight?
Ssiscool
15th May 2002
The Terminator (1984)
Correction: Two other possibilities: 1. The Terminator wanted the .45 longslide for its concealability and stopping power. The laser sight was just an unnecessary bonus that it didn't bother (or wasn't able) to remove. 2. Laser sights are often used for intimidation as well as accuracy. If the Terminator didn't need it to know where to shoot, it could definitely exploit the human tendency to freeze for a split second upon seeing the red dot on their person, providing the window it needed to make the kill.
But why would a Terminator need the target to freeze for a split-second to make the kill when he could make the kill when he lines the gun up?
4th Jan 2019
The Terminator (1984)
Question: How exactly do both the Terminator and Kyle find addresses? We are led to believe that is the reason for the phone books, but none of the addresses in the phone books match up to the addresses where either the first Sarah is killed, nor the apartment of our Sarah.
Answer: My two cents: The T-800 Terminator does indeed, rip out the page of a phonebook for the address, but remember, he was looking for any and all Sarah Connors, not a specific address. He did not know which Sarah would give birth to John Connor, so by process of elimination he began terminating any woman with the name Sarah Connor. He did plug the first Sarah Connor (a housewife), then went to kill the other Sarah Connors in the phone book.
I already gave that answer, but apparently that's not what the question is asking.
Answer: Gonna be totally honest... that might just be nothing more than a simple continuity error. They accidentally made a phonebook prop that didn't match up with the locations where they shot, and assumed most people wouldn't notice or care. (And to be even more honest, I never noticed it until I saw this question today.)
Answer: Both the T-800 and Kyle look up Sarah's address in the phonebook and it's Kyle who rips out a page. Neither uses a police computer; that's the T-1000 in Terminator 2.
But that doesn't answer the question (and it's already been mentioned) since the information in the phonebook appears wrong.
Answer: Kyle, as we are shown, uses a police computer to find the addresses. The T800 just uses the phonebook as you mentioned. He rips the page out and takes it with him.
Except 2 of the addresses in the phone book don't match. So how does the Terminator find them using the phonebook?
The Terminator is just blindly killing everyone in the phone book whose name is Sarah Connor (apparently a common name). Process of elimination. So, the day he arrives, unrelated women named Sarah Connor start dropping like flies, and the police believe it's the work of a serial killer. Our heroine Sarah Connor barely escapes this sweeping extermination by sheer luck and Kyle's intervention.
You just described the plot. Were you trying to answer the question? Because the question still stands. (As it is, it's either a mistake or plot hole in the film).
Perhaps I'm not getting the question. What is meant by "none of the addresses in the phone books match up"? Match up to what, the murder scene addresses? I wasn't aware that the murder scene addresses were prominently displayed.
Exactly. The addresses seen don't match. Specifically the first Sarah Connor's house number is "14239", but in the phonebook it is listed as "1823." And the real Sarah Connor lives in an apartment but the phonebook doesn't list an apartment number.
Perhaps though this all doesn't matter because phone books can quickly become outdated, the phone book he found could be over a year old. Someone moves but can still be listed in the phone book with their old address. He could have gone to the addresses but found someone else living there and then asked where the previous owner might be, and he was told (or he forced them). This might be how he found all the Sarah Connors.
Are any of the Sarah's listed as living at 1823? I've not got access to the film right now to check.
The first is listed as "1823." The second is "2816." The 3rd is "309." Although after reviewing the scene and thinking about it, for "309" (which is supposedly our Sarah J Connor), the full address isn't actually seen and the apartment number could have been listed.
Reese never uses a police computer; that's the T-1000 in Terminator 2. He rips out the page from the phonebook. The T800 also uses the phonebook but is never shown ripping out a page.
26th Oct 2019
The Terminator (1984)
Question: Why would a gun store have ammo on display? Would it make more sense to have it behind the counter or a hidden place so customers can't take some when the clerk's not looking?
Answer: Things that are sold are on dispay or people wouldn't know you got it for sale now would they? The clerk is alert for shoplifters, its his risk. No difference from a gas station.
I think the question is referring to why would they have the ammo on the counter and not on a shelf behind the counter or in a display counter? Having live ammunition on the counter is, as you say the clerks risk. But it does seem rather foolish.
I think inexpensive things are common to be put on counters to sell. Like cigarette lighters, candy and lottery tickets. Bullets seem a bit dubious as this scene shows someone can load their gun on the spot, but I don't think in reality anyone would do that.
4th Jan 2020
The Terminator (1984)
Corrected entry: In the motel when they're making those bombs, he tells Sarah to handle them very carefully, but when he's packing them up in the bag, he angrily throws each one individually into the bag.
Correction: Kyle knows they are stable enough to be manhandled, and knows what he is doing. Sarah has never handled explosives before, so tells her to be careful.
Not at all. When he tells her "gently" it's when she's assembling them and the explosive is exposed. A simple spark could set one off. When he's shoving them into the bag they're fully assembled and can only be ignited by lighting the fuse. He was likely as careful during assembly as he asked her to be.
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Correction: The Terminator doesn't fire through his eyes. The cross-hairs must be there for the purpose of adjusting his eyesight (maybe measuring the distance). Not aiming weapons.