Total Recall (1990)

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

1 June 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

They stole his mind, now he wants it back.

Plot:

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?

Plot Keywords:

Mars | Memory | Dream | Construction Worker | False Memory

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

El vengador del futuro (USA: Spanish title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Australia:M (cut) | Australia:MA (re-rating) (2005) | Australia:R (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1991) | USA:R (certificate #30288) | New Zealand:M | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1990) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2001) | Germany:16 (cut version) | Iceland:16 | USA:X (original rating) | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:16 | India:A | South Korea:15 (cable rating) | Argentina:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:18 | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Estudios Churubusco Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Carolco International N.V.

Trivia:

Originally to be directed by David Cronenberg, who turned down the chance to direct The Fly (1986) in order to work on this film. Cronenberg was replaced on The Fly by Robert Bierman, but Bierman later pulled out of that project due to the death of his daughter. Around the same time, Cronenberg left Total Recall when it was placed into turnaround, which left him free to return to direct The Fly.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The security guards wear some kind of portable computer (display and keyboard) on their wrist. During the fight at customs, a close-up reveals that it's just a Sharp pocket calculator taped to a glove.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Scarlett Johansson/Björk (#32.18)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Running out of Air

One of Arnie's genuine best performances ever.

I remember when I was about 12 years old I used to watch this movie a lot and it had a strange effect on me because it is so bizarre and so violent, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. Also, that woman with three boobs was enough for me to sit through the rest of the movie just to see again!

It takes place in a dismal future where colonies have long since arisen and decayed on other planets and mutations are as rampant as corruption. Schwarzenegger plays a construction worker named Douglas Quaid who has recurring dreams about a trip to Mars and a mysterious brunette there. His hottie wife (Sharon Stone) is unimpressed by this brunette who keeps turning up in her husband's dreams, but mostly he just can't get over this strange need to go to Mars.

I have to say, however, that based on his dream, which we see at the beginning of the movie in which he falls down a hill and breaks his face mask and then his eyes pop out of his head, doesn't exactly seem like the kind of thing that would make me want to go to that place, but no matter.

The movie really gets going as soon as Quaid goes to a company called Rekall that sells implanted memories, so basically you can travel anywhere you want to go in the world and be anyone you want. There's no danger because you never leave the Rekall offices, but there's always the chance of an accidental lobotomy.

Almost immediately after hooking him up to their machines, he wakes up a completely different person, convinced that he is no longer a happily married construction worker but a secret agent on the run from an evil dictator of Mars named Cohaagen.

At this point all hell breaks loose and the movie gets really good. It's a little confusing, but for the thickness of the plot it's amazing how well presented it is. Quaid is suddenly unsure who he really is, and when at one point he is receiving instructions from his other self, the self on the other side of the Rekall implantation, about how to remove a tracking device from his nose (in one of the movie's most memorable moments), it doesn't make things any easier for him to understand.

There are tons of great characters, impressive sets, amazing special effects and brilliant performances despite the occasional cheese moment (such as that bizarre mutant at the end chanting "Open your miiiiiind….." over and over). Read Volume 2 of my 50 Amazing Movie Facts on Hollywire and you'll know what I really mean.

The movie has the same brutal feeling as RoboCop, and director Paul Verhoeven has really shown that he knows how to do action sci-fi. This is definitely one of the genre's best!