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?
A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
Director:
James Cameron
Stars:
Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Jamie Lee Curtis,
Tom Arnold
A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
Director:
Walter Hill
Stars:
Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Jim Belushi,
Peter Boyle
A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Recall - a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led - goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.
Director:
Len Wiseman
Stars:
Colin Farrell,
Bokeem Woodbine,
Bryan Cranston
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.Written by
Harald Mayr <marvin@bike.augusta.de>
Arnold Schwarzenegger noticed that Michael Ironside was constantly on the phone between takes. When he broached the subject with Ironside, he was told that he was phoning his sister and that she was currently suffering from cancer. Arnold immediately brought Michael to his trailer and they had an hour-long 3-way conversation with Ironside's sister about what exercises she should do and what kinds of foods she should be eating. Ironside has never forgotten Schwarzenegger's kindness and neither has his sister. See more »
Goofs
At several points in the film, characters either shoot at the glass in the Martian domes and crack it, or are advised against doing so. It seems odd that this futuristic, space-faring culture would not install bulletproof glass in these domes, given the dire results of the windows being destroyed. Throughout the movie, several references are made to Cohaagen constructing Mars Colony by cutting corners, building cheap domes, and pocketing the cash for himself. Also the cheaply-built domes not adequately filtering out the solar radiation explains the mutant population on the planet. See more »
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.
See more »
As with RoboCop, the theatrical release of Total Recall in Australia was an M rated censored version of the USA R-rated cut which lacked the bloodier moments. The American R rated cut was released on VHS with an Australian R rating. Both the M and R versions are available on VHS. Some of the cuts in the M rated version included:
Alternate camera angles in the subway fight after Quaid has been to Rekall;
In the scene where the man from the Rekall ad comes to see Quaid and Lori, the shot of his brains splattering on the curtain behind him is omitted;
The fight in the bar on Mars is edited, in particular the stabbing.
Benny's death is severely cut
The frontal shot of the three breasted woman asking Ricther if he would "like some fun" is replaced with a shot taken from higher up and behind her.
The second-last shot of Cohaagen's "expansion" is shortened. The final shot is removed completely.
One of the best mind trips ever, I could only wish this movies was made ten years later. Even for 1990, this film had some of the most imaginative make-up I've ever seen in a movie. While it had Paul Verhoeven's classic shallowness, the film really touched new ground not only with science fiction but also with special effects. Talk a good few years for a director, he not only changed sci-fi with Robocop, he did it again with Total Recall. Verhoeven will never, ever win an Oscar for best director, but his movies will at least be entertaining in most respects.
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One of the best mind trips ever, I could only wish this movies was made ten years later. Even for 1990, this film had some of the most imaginative make-up I've ever seen in a movie. While it had Paul Verhoeven's classic shallowness, the film really touched new ground not only with science fiction but also with special effects. Talk a good few years for a director, he not only changed sci-fi with Robocop, he did it again with Total Recall. Verhoeven will never, ever win an Oscar for best director, but his movies will at least be entertaining in most respects.