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Total Recall | Year: 1990 Classification: Science Fiction Directed: - Paul Verhoeven Actors/Actresses: - Marc Alaimo - Michael Ironside - Robert Picardo - Arnold Schwarzenegger - Sharon Stone A Limited Special Edition DVD in a novel keepcase design! "Total Recall" is set in the distant future after humans have colonized Mars. Vacation packages in this alternate reality are a couch potato's paradise. Now, all one has to do to take a "vacation" is to sit on a high-tech recliner while your chosen vacation program is downloaded, installed and ready to run right into your subconscious mind. The average consumer can also purchase "implanted memories." The main character, Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger), is troubled by recurring dreams about a journey to Mars. To help figure out the meaning of his dreams, Quaid visits Rekall, Inc. where they sell implanted memories. While Quaid is undergoing the treatment he recalls a time in his life when he was a secret agent fighting against the evil Mars administrator (Rony Cox). Quaid finds himself in a nightmarish reality of a Martian mining colony controlled by a terrorizing dictator and rebellious Martians. Meanwhile, he is contacted by members from Rekall, Inc. who attempt to bring him back from an implanted program gone awry. Lori Quaid (Sharon Stone), his wife, is sent into the program ("The Lawnmower Man," and the more recent movie, "The Cell" come to mind) to bring him back from his coma-like state. Quaid is confronted with the difficulty in choosing which reality to accept as the true reality. Is Quaid really a secret agent or is he just imagining that he is due to the program? Which path does he choose? Does he run the course of the program until the secret agent saves everyone or does he choose to take a pill ("Matrix" style) so that Rekall, Inc. can recover him from the errors of the program? The first DVD release of "Total Recall" was a double-sided DVD with one side containing a 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen presentation, and the other side containing a "standard" presentation. The extras were average containing cast and crew histories, a teaser trailer, and a full trailer. This title has now been revisited with a new anamorphic widescreen presentation, plenty of special features, and packaged in a unique collectible tin "Mars" DVD case! Special features that appear on this new Limited Special Edition DVD include the "Imagine Total Recall" documentary that takes you behind-the-scenes with the film's stars, including a new rare interview with legendary actor Arnold Schwarzenegger! The DVD also features an audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a "Mars: Fact or Fiction" featurette, "Rekall's Virtual Vacation," and the "Visions of Mars" featurette! Artisan Entertainment is producing this new Limited Special Edition DVD of "Total Recall." Artisan is the same company that gave us the highly collectible "Terminator 2: Ultimate Edition" DVD! I expect similar results with this new reissue to be released on September 18, 2001! One of the great recent SF thrillers Paul Verhoeven took it on the chin from fans of Philip K. Dick for this film (just as he did from Heinlein fans for his odd take on _Starship Troopers_). But this nonstop SF action-thriller -- besides being, as its legion of fans will attest, a helluva lot of fun to watch -- is actually a fair translation to the screen of Dick's 'We Can Remember It For You Wholesale'. I won't give away any spoilers here, but watch it carefully: are you _sure_ that by the end of the movie you know what's real and what isn't? Readers of Dick's brilliant short story probably wouldn't have cast Arnold in the lead role, either. But all that proves is that we aren't Paul Verhoeven. The movie works. Arnold is in terrific form here as Douglas Quaid, a guy who wants to go to Mars so badly that the subject has become an obsession. He nips off to Rekal, Incorporated, to get a set of false memories implanted, and the rest is SF film history. The special effects are extremely good and the Martian landscape is pretty well realized (although some portions of the 'science' part of the science fiction are decidedly lacking). The supporting cast is magnificent, from Sharon Stone and Rachel Ticotin to Michael Ironside and Ronny Cox. As we expect from Verhoeven, the dialogue includes quite a bit of profanity and the action includes a lot of gory violence. But if you weren't okay with that, you wouldn't be looking for an Arnold movie, would you? I have the Special Limited Edition (the one with the Mars-shaped metal box). The 'special' features are nice; Schwarzenegger and Verhoeven provide some good commentary and the 'making-of' documentary is worth watching once. But the real star is the movie itself, which (despite some cliches) manages to stay fresh after numerous repeated viewings. Pop it in and crank it up. ETMR - Total Recall 1. Humanity: What problems do you see in the Mars colony in the film? Is the colony a feasible idea for today? 2. Implications: The movie is centered around the question of what is reality, and how to discern truth from fiction. What dangers does the film speak of for today, in terms of distinguishing reality from a created world? 3. Evolution: It could be said that the technology expressed in the film is very basic, compared to technological innovation today. Concepts like terraforming using a combustion of air, planetary colonies with glass windows, and cheap, robotic androids are all scientific anomolies in that they seem to belong to a past age. How has the technology in the movie changed in our world? 4. Realism: Philip K. Dick's stories are heralded because of their closeness to what an actual future will be like. Do you think the story in Total Recall is an accurate prophecy for the future? 5. Stageplay: Verhoeven, the director, is known for his elaborate and overblown stories told with a comedic satire, using colorful special effects. But aside from the eye candy, do the actors convince you? Buy Total Recall at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Total Recall Search with the Priority Search Engine on Total Recall This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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