James Cameron reflected on being “just a punk” when he directed The Terminator and how, looking back now, he knows it wasn’t perfect. The Oscar-winning director spoke to Empire magazine ahead of the classic sci-fi film’s 40th anniversary next month and noted he considers the project his first,

The filmmaker stands by his dialogue, though: "Let me see your three-out-of-the-four-highest-grossing films — then we’ll talk about dialogue effectiveness."

It’s been 40 years since The Terminator, and by extension, Arnold Schwarzenegger, were introduced to the world. It was James Cameron ’s first movie (he apparently doesn't count Piranha II) and it's arguably still Cameron's best movie.