One of the most interesting aspects behind the script of this film is the overall theme behind it, was it "real" or was it Douglas Quaid's Total Rekall experience? Another highly interesting aspect of this film is its supposed sequel which may have been scrapped for Arnold Schwarzenegger's bid for and election as the Governor of Kalifornia! If you pull up the Cast and Crew Information under the Special Features section and click on Arnold's screen, you'll see a listing for Total Recall 2 (2002), something that obviously hasn't happened but who knows what will happen in the future!

Credit goes to Arnold for his performance in this film, which was an exceptional display in that his acting skills were only getting better and better; granted, he's not the best actor in the industry, but for his type of movies, he was at the top when this film was released. Sharon Stone puts on a wonderful performance in this film and this film can most certainly be directly attributed to being the one that led to her super stardom and being cast for some of her bigger roles. Ronny Cox also does another superior job of being the villain in this movie, a role he has always done well in. For Star Trek Voyager fans, it's interesting to note that Robert Picardo does the voiceover for the Johnny Cab.

"Total Recall" is just another in a long list of outstanding and somewhat gory action flicks for director Paul Verhoeven. In this genre, he can most certainly be counted among the best directors to ever take up the mantle. Phillip K. Dick, the author of the short story "We Can Remember it for You Wholesale," the story that "Total Recall" is based upon, also wrote the story that "Blade Runner" was based upon and many more; just showing what a talent this writer has been.

The Premise:

Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) wakes up to find himself lying next to Lori (Sharon Stone), who he believes to have been his loving wife for the last eight years. Quaid expresses that he wishes to go to Mars but Lori doesn't want anything to do with it. As Quaid is coming home from work, he sees an advertisement for Total Rekall where he can take a virtual vacation and decides to try it. Not long after his virtual vacation begins, this action flick takes off on a breathtaking wild ride that doesn't slow down until the credits start rolling...

I highly recommend this film to any and all who're interested in seeing one of the best Sci-Fi action movies ever made. One note of caution though, this film is not for the young, faint of heart or weak of stomach as is the norm with a Paul Verhoeven film. To achieve the film he's looking for, he doesn't spare the gore at all! {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

-Audio Commentary with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Director Paul Verhoeven
-"Imagining Total Recall" Documentary
-Rekall's Virtual Vacations
-"Visions of Mars" Featurette (This is especially interesting considering we have a rover on Mars right now)
-Visual Storyboard Comparisons
-Conceptual Art
-Photo Gallery
-Production Notes
-Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
-Cast and Crew Information


Last of the big rubber effects movies.   September 25, 2001
 30 out of 31 found this review helpful

I have to take umbrage at the person who made rude comments about how all the martians mutants with their foam latex appliances looked fake and lowered the quality of the film. I am part of the team that made all those crummy appliances. You can find my name in the credits under Rob Bottin. Actually I agree with you and I also think the scene where everyone decompresses and their eyes pop out on stalks then pop back in again when air pressure returns was totally preposterous. Total Recall was one of the last big films where effects were still done with rubber and mechanical animatronics pulled with cables. Many people thought the fat lady head slice gag was done with computers but it was a fiberglass head enlarged many times by soaking a silicone casting of the head in kerosene. The head was sliced with a special saw and a special array of slide bearings rigged with cables were pulled to open the slices. Makeup artists spent hours between shots filling up the gaps in the slices with wax so you could not detect them until the head was pulled apart. We were very proud of that effect and got applause from the crew when they saw it for the first time. Other effects did not go so well. Johnny Cab (Bob Picardo) was supposed to be very animated. His mouth was designed to open wide and form shapes but the servos would not work properly so in the film you see him mostly just bounce his jaw up and down with some minor lip movement. The guy in charge of repairing Johnny Cab stayed up four sleepless days and when it still didn't work was yelled at and mercilessly berated by the FX supervisor and later that day almost died of a bleeding stomach. On the good side Bennie the mutant cab driver has a mutant arm that is a beautiful thing to watch unfold and easily missed if you are not paying attention. You probably won't hear these uglier stories on the supplemental disc but if you are a fan of Total Recall and like to hear interesting background stories, this is certainly the version of the disc you should buy. Paul Verhoven with his deep German accent and extreme personality combined with Arnolds thick Austrian accent and ego should make for one of the most incomprehensible commentaries in the history of DVDs. Just kidding. Both are dynamic guys and present the material in an interesting fashion.
Total Recall is about a miner named Quaid (Arnold Schwartzennegger at the very peak of his career) who seemingly has a beautiful wife (Sharon Stone)and a nice home. He has a fascination with Mars that disturbs his wife to distraction. One day he decides to take a simulated vacation from Rekall where memories are implanted in your brain to make you feel you have been on an extended vacation. What Rekall does not know is Quaid is not who he appears to be or who he thinks he is. Something goes wrong when Rekall unknowingly plants Quaid's own real memories of being a secret agent on Mars into his brain. Quaids brain is temporarily fried and he has to quickly rediscover his true identity before a team of counteragents kill him for what he knows.
Total Recall was originaly intended to keep the audience guessing about what was real and what was only imagined. However this was dropped with the exception of one memorable scene. From what I could observe on the set I think Paul Verhoven realized the effects had taken over the movie and there was no point in making this a psychological action thriller. So he resigned himself to play it as a straight up Arnold vehicle packed with slam bang effects and some wicked Verhoven humor. This was too bad because I think many people feel it could have been a much more of a movie than what it was. Instead this is wild mindless action, violence taken to excess and effects for pure escapism purposes . If this is your cup of tea, than Total Recall may be the thrill ride you are looking for.


One of the all-time great science-fiction films.   February 12, 2004
 28 out of 31 found this review helpful

Total Recall is not only Arnold Schwarzenegger's best film; it is also one of the most complex cinematic statements ever made about reality, technology and totalitarianism.

The script is cracklingly smart, with multiple setups and payoffs that require repeated viewing to fully comprehend. And the world of Total Recall is filled with little details that are now becoming closer and closer to reality: The "nature" wallpaper in Doug Quaid (Schwarzenegger)'s apartment; the "instant fingernail polish"; the "virtual space trip" that forms the core of the film's conceit; and the equation of government and corporation.

As Doug Quaid, Schwarzenegger brings his trademark humour and one-liners. They fit the character well, making his quest for identity all that much more entertaining to watch; Sharon Stone has her breakthrough role as his insidious wife Lori; Rachel Ticotin is suitably heroic as sidekick Melina; and Ronny Cox offers up yet another terrific turn as villain Cohaagen, a much more complex and human character than his character in RoboCop, Dick Jones. Cox has a way of chewing up megalomaniacal lines yet also bringing moments of realness and vulnerability to his character, and as a result the film acquires a much richer psychological layer.

All in all, this film's greatest power lies in its sociological concepts. "Blue sky on Mars"; "more freedom, more air"; "the walls of reality come crashing down"; "your whole life is just a dream"; "if I'm not me, who the hell am I?" Each little detail is worth days of pondering over if you're the kind of viewer who likes to analyze text, and if you're not, you can always revel in Verhoeven's effortless virtuosic filmmaking, the extremely brisk narrative, and the over-the-top action set pieces, where Verhoeven once again sets new standards for both bloodlust and kinetic energy.


Poor transfer to blu-ray   December 21, 2006
 24 out of 36 found this review helpful

This is a bad-transfer to Blu-ray. My DVD is just as good and has more extras also! Don't waste your money.


An intriguing premise sets this one apart   February 6, 2002
 15 out of 19 found this review helpful

I could talk a lot about the stuff I like about "Total Recall" - the dynamite special effects, production design and action, the numerous Schwarzenegger one-liners ("Consider that a divorce" is my favorite), and the colorful supporting characters. And what's not to love about a movie that gives us midget hookers on Mars?

But that kind of stuff is de rigeur for "Ahnuld" films; what really sets this apart is clever, mind-bending premise that director Paul Verhoeven chooses never answers: was this all "real," or just an implanted memory? Was Schwarzenenegger's character, Doug Quaid, really a secret agent, or was this just an "ego trip," an implanted memory that looks and feels real?

There's an intriguing sequence about halfway through the movie in which Quaid is confronted by a doctor from Rekall, the company that sold Quaid his "secret agent on Mars" fantasy. The doctor, accompanied with his wife (Sharon Stone), tries to convince Quaid that his experiences aren't real at all, but part of the fantasy Rekall sold him; unless Quaid comes back to reality (by taking a pill), he'll end up a mindless zombie.

Of course, in Quaid's fantasy (or reality?), his wife has already tried to kill him, so he's not listening too closely to what she says. But for a moment, Quaid is buying what the doctor has to say...until he sees him sweating, and shoots him in the head. The logic, of course, is that if the doctor is make-believe, he wouldn't be under enough stress to sweat. However, who's to say that's not part of the fantasy?

A movie with less intelligence would have answered these sorts of questions, and given the audience a pat "wrap up" sequence to tie up all the loose ends. But give tons of credit to "Total Recall": in the best sci-fi tradition, it's up to the audience to figure it out what really happened.

Along the way, we're treated to a spectacular vision of a future Mars, populated by human colonists and mutants (including a three-breasted prostitute who'd probably make a fortune in Las Vegas). There's a red-light district ("Venusville"), which is apparently to the future what Amsterdam or Bangkok are to today's tourists: a sex destination. You can get a "Mars Today" newspaper, or check into the Hilton.

Verhoeven is a master of these movies, in which the future isn't quite "Blade Runner," but fairly well warped. Things we take for granted today, like commercials, mass transit, or vacations, still exist, even though they've morphed slightly. This is a world we can all recognize and relate to.

Of course, all is not well on Mars, as the planet's governor, Cohagen (Ronnie Cox) is charging the good citizens of the planet too much for air, and is trying to quell a rebellion. Quaid goes to Mars thinking he might have fought alongside the rebels against Cohagen, but finds out that he might have actually been working for Cohagen all along.

Before too long, Quaid discovers Cohagen's secret: there's a huge, alien-built machine that will melt massive underground ice deposits, and create a breathable atmosphere on Mars. If Mars has an atmosphere, Cohagen loses his power over the people - their air supply.

How does Quaid learn all this? He encounters a mutant who pops out of a seemingly normal person's belly, reads Quaid's thoughts, and shows him the truth. Of course, this is after we meet the three-breasted prostitute, so by this point, we're not surprised.

The wind-up, in which Quaid gives Mars its' atmosphere, is about as fanciful as you'd please - one wonders exactly how the oxygen content on the planet become sufficient in five minutes - but it ties into the whole "is it real or is it a fantasy" premise.

After all, the name of the fantasy Quaid selects at Rekall is "Blue Sky On Mars."

Is it for real, or is Quaid sitting in a machine imagining all this, and having his brain warped as the doctor said?

You decide. Enjoy!