Total Recall SE - Hi DVD (1990)

Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 10/24/2006 Product Description

Well paced Sci-Fi

This is one of Arnold's best. Take a great lineup of actors. Throw in a good story by Philip K. Dick (screen play by Ronald Shussett, Dan O'Bannon, and Gary Goldman). Add a well designed set that make you feel you are there. And you have the makings for a pretty good movie. With a few exceptions it is hard to tell the good guys format the bad and with several plot twists it is hard to know if you should root for the good guy or the bad. A hint stick with Arnold and you can not go wrong (Maybe).

Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) a mild mannered construction worker, who is happily married to Lori (Sharon Stone), and seems extraordinarily attracted to life on Mars. Now Mars is settled and basically ran by a mining consortium. And the least Douglas can do is take a vacation there. Discouraged by his wife he decided to take a virtual trip there.

Oh no, something has gone wrong. It turns out that unknown to him he is not Douglas Quaid. He finds out that his whole history is a lie. Now people are out to kill him and he must find out who he is and why. If he escapes, the journey will take him to Mars to fulfill his or someone's destiny. Good or bad we are along for the ride.
May 16, 2008

Utterly flawed and absolutely brilliant

TOTAL RECALL is a flawed masterpiece, marred by multiple errors of aesthetic judgment and flat out absurd moments. Nonetheless, it raises a host of wonderful questions, has a huge number of memorable moments, and is arguably Arnold Schwarzenegger's best film after the first two TERMINATOR movies.

Although the story doesn't stay especially true to the Philip K. Dick short story upon which the movie was based --"We Can Remember It For You At Wholesale" -- it does contain the endless self-referentiality found in Dick's best stories and novels. Construction Worker Douglas Quaid (it was Quail in the short story, but the studio thought it might be viewed as a slap at then-vice president Dan Quayle goes to a virtual reality company named Rekall that provides the imprintation of fake memories of holidays. Having had persistent dreams of Marx, he wants a holiday to Mars. After some prodding, he agrees to pay for some extras, namely, an adventure package, in which he will feature as the hero in an espionage tale featuring resistance fighters, alien artifacts, a brunette who looks like the one who has been featuring in his dreams, and will get to save the world. But shortly after being placed in the equipment things start going wrong because it turns out he has already had false memories implanted. He quickly finds himself chased by the authorities before going to Mars where he meets the brunette of his dreams and with the use of alien artifacts saves the world. Or does he? Any viewer will be wondering along the way whether any of this is real or whether this is just his virtual adventure holiday. The film ends with Quaid wondering whether any of this truly was real or whether it was just the programming. And we are given no answer.

TOTAL RECALL was one of the very last important science fiction films made before the advent of CGI. It was one of the last to employ primarily miniatures and matte paintings rather than SCI. Even BABYLON 5 only three years later on television would use crude CGI for most of its special effects visuals. In this way TOTAL RECALL is the end of an era. Only a year later TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY would be released. Many of its greatest special effects were CGI. So in two straight films Schwarzenegger helped close one chapter of SF history and opened another.

The problem with TOTAL RECALL is that there are just too many moments that don't quite work. The inhabitants in the mutant section of underground Mars are just too comical self-indulgently mannered to contribute much to the film. And the animatronic rebel leader Kuato, who is inextricably attached to the body of another person, is easily one of th emost ludicrous SF creations since the original THE FLY, where at the end of the film we see a fly with the head of a screaming David Hedison, as it is about to be eaten by a spider. There are a host of terrible little lapses in judgment like this. The most unfortunate might be the climax of the film, as Quaid has turned on generators that will oxygenate the atmosphere of Mars. The ludicrousness comes not from the amazingly rapid creation of a breathable atmosphere for the planet, but from their completely ignoring the fact that the surface temperature of Mars is roughing that of Antarctica in the middle of winter. The visuals of Arnold and his female friend as they roll on the surface of Mars has to be one of the silliest sights in the history of big budget films. In real life they wouldn't have had to worry about air pressure; they would have frozen solid in only a few seconds.

All in all, this is both a truly rewarding and an immensely frustrating film to watch. It contains both a host of truly remarkable and utterly horrid moments. For me the good outweighs the bad and what we see in the end is a fascinating if undeniably flawed film. May 12, 2008

Total Recall Special Edition

One of Schwarzenegger's best movies. No, he won't ever win an Academy Award for best actor, that is, if he ever acts again. Action-Adventure is his forte though he proved to be more than able in comedic roles.

Total Recall falls into the former category & is a science-fiction movie. The action takes place on Mars & involves memories & false memories. Rachel Ticotin co-stars as the female lead. But the female that shines is Sharon Stone portraying Schwarzenegger's wife. It was this experience with director Paul Verhoeven that led to her casting in Basic Instinct (directed by Paul Verhoeven). The story is fast paced, well acted (yes) & well directed. The movie is based upon a short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" by Phillip K. Dick.

The bonus features on this edition are many. They include an audio commentary with Schwarzenegger & Verhoeven, a documentary , a virtual vacation segment, the story boards, a photo gallery, production notes, & a cast & crew information piece. December 22, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...