The Terminal Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Terminal Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 23, 2025

The number of people working in various Arts and Letters who have experienced the dreaded so-called "sophomore slump" are legion, but at least in the novel writing category, Michael Crichton wasn't among them, relatively speaking, anyway. While Crichton had already written several novels pseudonymously before releasing The Andromeda Strain, the overwhelming success of that novel made his actual birth name instantly recognizable. The novel became what was at the very least a succès d'estime when it was adapted for film in a celebrated (at least in retrospect) version directed by none other than Robert Wise. That film was released in March 1971, generating decent if not outstanding box office, and when a year later Crichton returned to the bestseller lists (eschewing that aforementioned slump situation) with The Terminal Man in April of 1972 (the book had been previously serialized in Playboy, maybe just a little hilariously), it didn't take a rocket scientist (and/or brain surgeon) to figure out a film adaptation was virtually a certainty. Kind of ironically, then, the 1974 film of The Terminal Man did in fact experience a pretty drastic "sophomore slump" when compared to The Andromeda Strain as a film. At the time, The Terminal Man came and went pretty quickly, though it later quite saliently became a favorite of noted cineastes like Terence Malick and Stanley Kubrick (there is most definitely a Kubrickian air about this film, much as there is with The Andromeda Strain). This Arrow edition offers two cuts of the film and a wealth of frankly fantastic supplements that may help to give the film a new audience, which many talking heads on the bonus features aver it heartily deserves.

The Terminal Man had a 1080 release for Region A by Shout! Factory in 2024, and Brian Orndorf's The Terminal Man Blu-ray review of that edition provides a plot overview, list of supplements and Brian's reaction to the technical presentation. My oft repeated mantra of "different reviewers means different opinions" holds true again here, as I evidently appreciate this film more than Brian did. I'll only add to Brian's comments that much as The Andromeda Strain may have gained new relevance in the context of a global pandemic, The Terminal Man may now seem more salient than ever with the "rise" of artificial intelligence.

The Terminal Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Terminal Man is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet only provides some pretty generic information on the transfer:

The Terminal Man is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with original mono audio.

The master was supplied by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Judging solely by the always risky gambit of screenshot comparison, this looks quite similar to the Shout! Factory release for Region A, but to my eyes it looks like the Arrow release is just very slightly darker with arguably better resolved (or at least slightly more apparent) grain. A number of the supplements on this disc get into the deliberate decision to offer a basically monochromatic palette (Hodges evidently wanted to shoot in black and white, which Warner Brothers put the kibosh on from the get go). That means that a lot of the film tends to play out in blacks, whites (and occasional browns), with sudden pops of red courtesy of things like flowers or, well, bloodletting. A lot of the film seems to be intentionally kind of dewy and soft, and so fine detail levels can ebb and flow.

The Terminal Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Terminal Man features LPCM Mono audio. It's kind of interesting to compare the sound design of this film and The Andromeda Strain, and in fact some of the supplementary material addresses some of the differences in passing, but the mono track here preserves a nice accounting of Glenn Gould's inimitable piano playing and the high tech sound effects accompanying some of the medical procedures. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Terminal Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Cut (1:44:24) and Director's Cut (1:40:15) are accessible under the Choose Version Menu.


• Audio Commentary by Howard S. Berger and Steven Mitchell


• A (Misunderstood) Modern Masterpiece (HD; 18:36) is the first of three exceptional visual essays, this one by Josh Nelson addressing how overlooked the film was at the time of its original release.


• Who Am I If Not Myself? (HD; 21:53) is the second of the above mentioned visual essays, but the first of two by Howard S. Berger. Here he looks at questions of identity raised by the film and the impact of director Mike Hodges on the project.


• The Skin We Live In (HD; 25:28) is for my money the best of the three visual essays (which is saying quite a lot), with Berger looking at a fascinating intersection of talents between The Andromeda Strain and this film, notably cinematographer Richard H. Kline, whom Berger memorializes quite movingly. There's also some great technical information on split diopters, for any lens geeks out there.


• Mike Hodges on The Terminal Man (HD; 9:22) is culled from the documentary Mike Hodges: A Filmmaker's Life.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:04)


• Image Gallery (HD)

This Limited Edition also features a reversible sleeve and a doulbe sided foldout poster which offers the same two art choices as the sleeve. An illustrated collector's booklet contains a wealth of writing, including both new and archival articles. Packaging features a slipcover.

The Terminal Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Brian Orndorf felt George Segal was miscast in this role, and that's another area where we probably disagree, but I will say Segal is not particularly helped by some of the kind of unintentionally funny production design choices like the bizarre Dutch boy toupee he wears, which makes him look like a distant cousin to Dumb and Dumber. The Terminal Man is ripe for rediscovery, and it offers a chilling vision of technology out of control, as if we needed a reminder in that regard. This release from Arrow offers two cuts of the film with solid technical merits, and some outstanding supplements. Recommended.