Los Angeles

Lore & Background

In the film's timeline, Los Angeles in 1984 is the city where Sarah Connor works as a waitress and lives with her roommate Ginger. It is the hunting ground for the Terminator, who arrives naked in an alley and attacks three punks for clothes before robbing a gun shop and systematically murdering women named Sarah Connor. The city's Tech Noir nightclub is where the Terminator finally tracks Sarah, leading to a chaotic gunfight with Kyle Reese. Later, the Terminator locates Sarah by intercepting a call intended for her mother and using its voice-mimicking ability to trick her into revealing her location. The chase culminates at a Cyberdyne-owned factory, where Reese sacrifices himself and Sarah crushes the Terminator in a hydraulic press. Months later, Sarah, now pregnant, travels through Mexico, leaving Los Angeles behind as she records audio tapes for her unborn son John.

In Their Own Story

He scanned the crowd, red optical sensors narrowing on the woman in the corner booth. She didn't know he was here; she only knew the phone had rung once and then went dead. In the distance, sirens wailed, lost in the city's roar. The metropolis breathed around them, unaware its history was about to be overwritten by steel.

Reader's Guide

Los Angeles is the geographic heart of *The Terminator* narrative, acting as the crucible where the conflict between man and machine ignites across the 1984 timeline. The city's specific locations are active participants in the plot: the alley where the Terminator first appears, the gun shop it robs, the nightclub where it finds Sarah, the police station where it slaughters officers, the motel where Sarah and Reese assemble pipe bombs, and the Cyberdyne factory where the final confrontation occurs. The film's production took place mostly at night on location in Los Angeles, grounding the science fiction story in a gritty, recognizable urban environment. The city's geography provides cover for chases and confrontations, from the car chase that ends with the Terminator crashing after being shot in the eye to the pursuit on motorcycle and tank truck that leads to the factory.

Did You Know?

• Filming for *The Terminator* took place mostly at night on location in Los Angeles.
• The Terminator first appears in an alley in Los Angeles amid electric flashes and attacks three punks for clothes.
• Sarah Connor works as a waitress in Los Angeles and lives there with her roommate Ginger.
• The final confrontation between Sarah, Reese, and the Terminator occurs at a Cyberdyne-owned factory in Los Angeles.
• Months after the events, Sarah travels through Mexico, leaving Los Angeles behind.