Arnold Schwarzenegger: A Tribute

Arnold's Filmography

Arnold: An Analysis

Arnold began his career with the "adventure" genre, starring as the title character in Hercules in New York. A good, solid genre, it gave him the boost he needed to star in Conan the Barbarian, where he truly became a star. By the time 1984 rolled around, the public was no doubt tired of seeing him in the same old, shirtless roles. The Terminator introduced him to "sci-fi action," a genre which he would come to dominate for the next twenty years. 1985's Commando introduced us to the military Arnold, an Arnold who shoots lots of people -- but only so he can save his daughter (played by Alyssa Milano). In 1987, something went crazy: Arnold combined his talent for shooting people with his penchant for science fiction, combining the military elements of Commando with the sci-fi and action elements of Terminator to create the first truly science fiction/action/military film, Predator. Arnold and company are stalked by an extraterrestrial hunter (but is that really what they're afraid of?). Ultimately, Arnold ended the year conservatively, returning to the old sci fi/action standby with The Running Man, the first of three future-horror Arnold films (not counting the Terminator series), this one based on a Stephen King story.

In 1988, Arnold went where many people had gone before: the police drama, co-starring with James Belushi as a Russian police officer who teams up with an American police officer. This would prove to be a pivotal year for Arnold, as he looked back on his success of the previous eighteen years and realized that something was missing. He seemed to have done it all, even inventing new genres where none had existed. Ah, but he had forgotten one critical element: comedy. That all changed with the release of Twins, where Arnold played Danny DeVito's long-lost twin brother. As much a success as any of his previous films, Arnold soon found that his range was essentially unlimited.

After a two-year hiatus, Arnold was back in the thick of things in 1990, releasing his second future-horror film, Total Recall. Here he was to utter the first of many lines that would make him a star: "You've got what you want, Cohagen! Now give these people air!" Much like 1988, Arnold finished the year with a comedy: this one Kindergarten Cop, which pushed Arnold into the comedy stratosphere as he insisted, "It's not a tumor!" and added, "I'm Detective John Kimble! I'm a cop, you idiot!" 1990 was the Year of the Quotable Arnold, giving him roles which would endear him into the hearts of movie-goers the world over as he asked, "Who is your daddy and what does he do?"

Arnold only made one film in 1991, but he only needed to make one, since it was Terminator 2: Judgment Day. A big-budget sequel to the low-budget Terminator, it is credited with ushering in the era of computer graphics in film and being the first "summer blockbuster," giving birth to the summer film season to which we look forward each year. Unlike Terminator, Arnold played the good guy, leaving behind the role of "villain" that he would only reprise in 1997's Batman and Robin.

After a two-year break, Arnold insisted that he would no longer make films where he killed lots of people. 1993's Last Action Hero proved that the public demanded an Arnold that used large guns; the film did poorly both critically and financially, and for the first time the public had its doubts about Arnold. Was this the end of him? Would the poor performance of Last Action Hero hurt his confidence? Would we ever see the old Arnold again?

1994's True Lies was a resurgence of Arnold, an Arnold that rose from the ashes of 1993, as he combined -- once again -- two of his favorite genres, this time the action film and the comedy. Starring as Harry Tasker, a regular family man who neglects to tell his family that he is a government spy, Arnold alternatively made us laugh and gave us the catharsis of seeing him blow up terrorists from a Harrier jump-jet. True Lies showed us a more aware Arnold, an Arnold who dealt with hard-hitting contemporary issues like terrorism. As with 1988 and 1990, his year ended with a comedy, Junior, in which he became pregnant. The Schwarzenegger/DeVito comedy team returned, with -- as expected -- hilarious results.

1996 began with Arnold doing something that, curiously, he had never done before: a pure action film. Though he had done sci fi/action, military action, and comedy action films, the world had never seen Arnold in an action-only situation. Eraser, in which Arnold had to erase Vanessa Williams' identity, succeeded at the box office and with the people. Clearly, Arnold didn't need to mix things up: simplicity, too, could provide him with success. True to form, Arnold's second film of the year was a comedy, Jingle All the Way.

Arnold was riding high by 1997, but that was all to change with summer 1997's Batman and Robin. A ridiculous failure by all accounts, Joel Schumacher's fourth entry into the Batman franchise proved to be its undoing. Though he may have been the world's biggest film star, not even Arnold could weather the torrent that was Batman and Robin. He played the part of Mr. Freeze as well as could be expected of anyone in that situation.

A two-year break was necessary to recover from the wounds inflicted by Batman and Robin. Arnold found spirituality, and became concerned with the year 2000. Would the world end? Would God and the Devil battle for control of Earth? Such questions led him to 1999's End of Days, in which he saved the world from Satan as the year 2000 approached.

Newly refreshed and invigorated, Arnold could put Batman and Robin behind him. 2000's The Sixth Day brought Arnold back to a classic genre for him, the sci fi/action film. In The Sixth Day, the third of his future-horror films, Arnold was cloned and he had to get his identity back from the people who replaced him with a clone.

Collateral Damage, in which Arnold revenges himself on the people who killed his family, was slated for release in 2001 (you may have seen trailers for it that summer). The events of September 11, however, delayed its release; it was a pure Arnold action film, and contained a lot of violence. Ultimately, the film was released in 2002 with little fanfare. It remains one of his "sleeper films."

The most recent entry into the Arnold canon is Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, where he reprises his successful role as the T-800. Unfortunately, it would be very difficult -- even for Arnold -- to top the quality of Terminator 2. Nevertheless, I predict that Terminator 3 will be entertaining and will continue to prove that Arnold is the Greatest Film Star Ever, even if he is slightly older than he used to be.

What Does It All Mean?

Analyzing Arnold's filmography, we come to the following sad conclusion: Arnold's heyday is behind him.

Utilizing the following graph of Arnold's films, we find that the runaway popularity of his films from the period 1987 to 1996 is no longer happening. Perhaps some of this can be attributed to his age, the continuous effects of Batman and Robin, or the economy. Arnold is also working on his political career and spending time with his family, of course. Nevertheless, he will continue to make blockbuster films; the current trend is reminiscent of 1985. Who knows? Perhaps the trend will continue and we will see a rebirth of Arnold, a second Golden Age. He always said he would be back.

Be back -- to main