192 of 206 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Last of the big rubber effects movies., September 24, 2001
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.
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73 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing Transfer, February 15, 2007
I Love Total Recall as a movie hence the reason I've bought it for a 3rd time, after VHS and DVD. I must say I was very disappointed with this transfer, why when films can be cleaned up prior to transfer do they make us buy such a crap transfer!? I mean I bought the Rambo1 Blu Ray from Lionsgate/ Studio Canal which is now 25 years and that is a superb transfer, even the French HD of Basic Instinct is a Cracking transfer by Studio Canal, In Comparison Total Recall is a let down, and to be honest when we fork out our hard earned cash for movies we love on HD formats we expect a marked improvement, why should we make excuses that this film is old, what 1990 is old! When film companys that do spend the money get results, have you seen the Bond Remasters on DVD, some of these are over 40 years old and look better then ever (cant wait for the blu rays of them!) Overall Buy this if you must have it, but be prepared for a let down visually!
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65 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Total Recall - One of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best films!, January 19, 2004
"Total Recall" is, quite simply, one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best action flicks and quite obviously, one of the ones that helped build his super star status at the time of its release. When this outstanding Sci-Fi action/thriller was released, it was right in the middle of Arnold Schwarzenegger's run of films where he could seemingly do no wrong. After watching the "Imagining Total Recall" documentary, it's even more surprising to find out that the original director wasn't Paul Verhoeven and the original Douglas Quaid wasn't to be Arny but Patrick Swayze; now that would've been an almost entirely different movie. Despite the exceptional script, I doubt Patrick Swayze would've garnered the attention that Arnold did for this memorable flick.
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
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