“Stupidity breaks down”: 39 years ago, this famous French actor criticized the Terminator

In early 1985, Robert De Niro was president of the Avoriaz International Fantasy Film Festival, with Nicole Garcia, Guy Beart, Claude Pinotto, Masaki Kobayashi, Christopher Walken and Claude Zid on its jury. Together, they decide to award a film by an aspiring director… a certain James Cameron.

He recently signed his second feature film after Piranha 2 – The Flying Killers: Terminator, where Arnold Schwarzenegger travels through time to kill Sarah Connor, who will give birth to the leader of the future rebellion against the robot order led by Skynet.

When the verdict is announced (Seen in this video and from the Avoriaz festival documentary “Du Sang sur la neige”)We hear clapping and booing, and the French actor at the screening is very strict about it, a certain Michel Blanc, who just stepped behind the camera a year ago for the comedy Walk in the Shadow:

I saw a movie here last night called The Terminator, which is amazingly stupid, made like Starsky and Hutch. So if that’s the case, it’s a bit disappointing. Since he also has a chance to win the prize, I’d say that’s bullshit.

A clear opinion accompanied by Claude Brasseur, the hero of several violent French thrillers of the 70s and 80s, attacking Arnold Schwarzenegger:

“I see that the strong man today is being represented by certain filmmakers with a man who was Mr. Universe at 4 or 5 years old with big muscles… Well. Laughter than believable.”

Finally, The Terminator won the Grand Prix at the Avoriaz Fantasy Film Festival and was released on April 24, 1985 in French screens to a total of three million attendees. In the US, around 40 million was collected for a film that cost less than 7 lakhs. A success that obviously leads to a sequel – more or less recommended – that we now know. As for James Cameron, his “Starsky and Hutch” will open the cinema doors wide for him, just like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But let’s not blame Michel Blanc: one day everyone hated the movie when it came out, was reviewed or became a true classic over time. It’s these kinds of shocking remarks that fuel heated debate among moviegoers around the world, and are part of the beauty and life of The 7th Art.