Total Recall (1990)

When a man goes for virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real, or does he?

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writers:

Philip K. Dick (short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"), Ronald Shusett (screen story),

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Douglas Quaid / Hauser
Rachel Ticotin	...	Melina
Sharon Stone	...	Lori
Ronny Cox	...	Vilos Cohaagen
Michael Ironside	...	Richter
Marshall Bell	...	George / Kuato
Mel Johnson Jr.	...	Benny
Michael Champion	...	Helm
Roy Brocksmith	...	Dr. Edgemar
Ray Baker	...	Bob McClane
Rosemary Dunsmore	...	Dr. Lull
David Knell	...	Ernie
Alexia Robinson	...	Tiffany
Dean Norris	...	Tony
Mark Carlton	...	Bartender

Storyline

Douglas Quaid is haunted by a recurring dream about a journey to Mars. He hopes to find out more about this dream and buys a holiday at Rekall Inc. where they sell implanted memories. But something goes wrong with the memory implantation and he remembers being a secret agent fighting against the evil Mars administrator Cohaagen. Now the story really begins and it's a rollercoaster ride until the massive end of the movie.

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Plot Keywords:

mars | memory | reality | colony | planet | 

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Taglines:

They stole his mind, now he wants it back.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 June 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

El vengador del futuro

Filming Locations:

Valley of Fire State Park - Route 169, Overton, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,788 (USA) (10 August 2012)

Gross:

$119,412,921 (USA) (17 August 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carolco Pictures, Carolco International N.V.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The subway scenes were filmed in the Mexico City subway system, specifically, the "Insurgentes" station of the Line 1: Observatorio-Pantitlan.

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Goofs

When Quaid and Richter are fighting on the elevator, Quaid throws Richter into the back of the elevator and it wobbles, revealing it's made of soft material.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Doug awakens from a nightmare]
Lori: Doug? Honey, are you all right?
[nods]
Lori: You were dreaming. Doug? Was it about Mars?
[nods]
Lori: [kisses him] Is that better?
Douglas Quaid: Hmm.
Lori: My poor baby. This is getting to be an obsession.

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Crazy Credits

Play the Total Recall video game by Acclaim.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Equilibrium (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Mutant Dancing"
Written and Performed by Bruno Louchouarn
Produced by Joe La Mont
Published by Lygon St. Music and Barney Sue Music

User Reviews

Certainly One Of Arnie's Best Ever Movies

I've seen TOTAL RECALL many times over the years and I'm never failed to be impressed with it . Some people dislike it and I feel I must defend the movie

" Confused plot " - Sorry but I managed to understand the complex plot first time I saw the movie and was impressed that Hollywood had merged a high concept plot with a FX laden extravaganza , such a pity this didn't lead to more thoughtful action adventures . If you want to see a confused plot try watching a James Bond movie from the 1980s

" The violence " - Yeah this is a violent movie for sure but I do wish people would educate themselves to the work of directors before they criticize . Paul Verhoeven had previously made FLESH AND BLOOD and ROBOCOP so a futuristic adventure by Verhoeven that was awarded an 18 certificate isn't going to be confused with an episode of the teletubbies

What I liked from Verhoeven's directing is that he's made everything so recognizable , nothing is ridiculously futuristic looking and we see the characters wearing clothes that wouldn't look out of place in the 1980s . Verhoeven also brings little satirical stabs to the proceedings as he did with ROBOCOP and it's a great shame we see less and less of this European director working for Hollywood

Verhoeven even gets a good performance from Big Arnie , okay this body builder was never in danger of winning an Oscar but Arnie doesn't send himself up and nor do his wise cracks like in his other blockbusters but he does make for an affable - Though violent - hero . Michael Ironside gives the most memorable performance which considering he spends most of the movie running around with a gun is no small achievement .

One interesting thing I noticed about TOTAL RECALL after seeing it again last night is that it's unapologetic on being on the side of the rebels who are waging a war against the greedy Mars company . Anyone believe that if it was made today the rebels/terrorists would be the bad guys ?

Anyway this is along with the original TERMINATOR the best movie starring Arnie though most of the credit for this movie belongs to the screenwriters and director and it's a great pity Hollywood is reluctant to mix a high concept SF plot with a crowd pleasing action adventure