Arnold Schwarzenegger · 1980s

7 Arnold Schwarzenegger movies from the 1980s on 4K Blu-ray, ranked S to D by transfer quality. 3 S-Tier picks including Predator, Conan the Destroyer, Conan the Barbarian.

Decade

All 21 1980s 7 1990s 8 2010s 6

Year

All 7 1980 0 1981 0 1982 1 1983 0 1984 2 1985 1 1986 1 1987 1 1988 1 1989 0

Predator(1987)

7.5/10

dir. John McTiernan

S-Tier

S-Tier 20th Century Studios 4K. McTiernan's sci-fi action classic. The 4-movie pack from Amazon came in a DVD case for some reason, which confused everyone. The Prey steelbook from Best Buy was a big deal since Disney rarely puts streaming-only films on disc. Collectors are building Predator steelbook shelves across all five films.

20th Century Studios · 4K + Blu-ray

Conan the Barbarian(1982)

6.8/10

dir. John Milius

S-Tier

S-Tier Arrow Video 4K. Schwarzenegger swinging a sword. Arrow's release with multiple editions is what collectors are buying.

Arrow Video · Limited Edition

Conan the Destroyer(1984)

6.1/10

dir. Richard Fleischer

S-Tier

S-Tier Arrow Video 4K. Schwarzenegger sequel. Same Arrow treatment as the first Conan.

Arrow Video · Limited Edition

Raw Deal(1986)

5.8/10

dir. John Irvin

A-Tier

A-Tier StudioCanal 4K. Arnold's underrated 1986 action film. The StudioCanal steelbook is nice-looking, and people keep asking for Commando, a T2 remaster, and more Arnold on 4K. The previous StudioCanal Blu-ray looked bad, so the 4K is a real step up.

StudioCanal · 4K + Blu-ray (United Kingdom)

Red Heat(1988)

6.2/10

dir. Walter Hill

A-Tier

The StudioCanal steelbook has great embossing and showed up in European sales for around 15 EUR. Region B locked on the Blu-ray side, which annoyed a few Region A collectors who wanted the full package. Purely a fun 80s action night pick.

StudioCanal · 4K + Blu-ray (United Kingdom)

The Terminator(1984)

8.1/10

dir. James Cameron

A-Tier

Warner 40th Anniversary 4K with Dolby Vision and Atmos, scanned from the original negative. Collectors are split on the AI enhancement tools Cameron used in the transfer, with some calling it a revelation and others wanting the grain back. The mono track is worth trying after the Atmos mix.

Warner Bros. · 4K + Blu-ray

Red Sonja(1985)

5.4/10

dir. Richard Fleischer

C-Tier

Arrow's 4K fixes the teal push that plagued the StudioCanal version. Color comparisons from collectors show a clear difference, though opinions split roughly 50/50 on whether Arrow's slightly darker grade is better or just different. C-Tier is fair for the film itself, but the Arrow disc is at least the right version to own.

StudioCanal · 4K + Blu-ray (United Kingdom)