Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, and Michael Ironside. The film is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale".

The film tells the story of a construction worker who suddenly finds himself embroiled in espionage on Mars and unable to determine if the experiences are real or the result of memory implants. It was written by Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Jon Povill, and Gary Goldman, and won a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects. The original score, composed by Jerry Goldsmith, won the BMI Film Music Award.

With a budget of $50–65 million, Total Recall was one of the most expensive films made at the time of its release,[4] although estimates of its production budget vary and whether it ever actually held the record is not certain.

Plot [ edit ]

In the year 2084, construction worker Douglas Quaid is having troubling dreams about Mars and a mysterious woman there. His wife Lori dismisses the dreams and discourages him from thinking about Mars, where the governor, Vilos Cohaagen, is fighting a rebellion. At Rekall, a company that provides memory implants of vacations, Quaid opts for a memory trip to Mars as a secret agent. However, something goes wrong during the procedure, and Quaid starts revealing suppressed memories of actually being a secret agent. The Rekall employees sedate him, wipe his memory of the visit, and send him home. On the way, Quaid is attacked by his friend Harry and some other men, and is forced to kill them. He is then attacked in his apartment by Lori, who states that she isn't his wife; their marriage is a false memory implant, and Cohaagen sent her to monitor Quaid. He is then attacked and pursued by armed men led by Richter, Cohaagen's operative and Lori's real husband.

After evading his attackers, Quaid is left a suitcase containing money, gadgets, fake IDs, and a video recording. The video is of Quaid himself, who identifies himself as Hauser and explains that he used to work for Cohaagen, but switched sides after learning about an alien artifact and underwent the memory wipe to protect himself. Hauser instructs Quaid to remove a tracking device located inside his skull before ordering him to go to Mars and check into the Hilton Hotel with a fake ID. Quaid makes his way to Mars and goes to Venusville, primarily populated by people mutated as a result of poor radiation shielding. He meets Benny, a taxi driver, and Melina, the woman from his dreams, but she spurns him, believing that he is still working for Cohaagen.

Quaid later encounters Dr. Edgemar and Lori, who claim Quaid has suffered a "schizoid embolism" and is trapped in a fantasy based on the implanted memories. Edgemar warns that Quaid is headed for a lobotomy if he does not return to reality, then offers Quaid a pill that would waken him from the dream. Quaid puts the pill in his mouth, but sees Edgemar sweating. Realizing he's awake, he kills Edgemar and spits out the pill. Richter's men then burst into the room and capture Quaid, but Melina rescues him, with Quaid killing Lori in the process. Melina and Quaid race back to Venusville and escape into the tunnels with Benny. Unable to locate Quaid, Cohaagen shuts down the ventilation to Venusville, slowly asphyxiating its citizens. Quaid, Melina, and Benny are taken to a resistance base, and Quaid is introduced to Kuato. Kuato reads Quaid's mind and tells him that the alien artifact is a turbinium reactor that will create a breathable atmosphere for Mars, eliminating Cohaagen's monopoly on breathable air. Benny reveals that he works for Cohaagen, whose forces burst in and kill most of the resistance, including Kuato.

Quaid and Melina are taken to Cohaagen, who explains that the Quaid persona was a ploy by Hauser to infiltrate the mutants and expose Kuato, thereby wiping out the resistance. Cohaagen orders Hauser's memory to be reimplanted in Quaid and Melina programmed as Hauser's obedient wife, but Quaid and Melina escape into the mines where the reactor is located. Benny attacks them in an excavation machine, but Quaid kills Benny. Quaid and Melina then outwit and kill Richter and his men lying in ambush for them.

Quaid reaches the reactor control room, where Cohaagen is waiting with a bomb. During the ensuing struggle, Cohaagen triggers the bomb, but Quaid throws it away, blowing out one of the walls of the control room and causing an explosive decompression. Cohaagen is sucked out onto the surface, where he suffocates and dies. Quaid manages to activate the reactor before he and Melina are also pulled out and begin to experience the decompression effects. Right before they die, the reactor releases air into the atmosphere, saving Quaid, Melina, and the rest of Mars' population. As humans walk onto the surface of the planet, Quaid momentarily pauses to wonder whether he is dreaming or not, before turning to kiss Melina.

Cast [ edit ]

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who discovers that he is actually a secret agent formerly named Carl Hauser, and travels to Mars to uncover his true identity and why his memory was erased.

Rachel Ticotin as Melina, a beautiful woman seen as the partner in Quaid's Rekall memory program who turns out to be a resistance fighter seeking to overthrow Cohaagen.

Sharon Stone as Lori Quaid, Quaid's seemingly loving wife who is later also revealed to be an agent sent by Cohaagen to monitor Quaid. She is Richter's wife. Lori is shown to possess various martial arts skills (she is able to nearly fight Quaid to a standstill, and also gives Melina a vicious beating), as well as being proficient in the use of knives and firearms.

Ronny Cox as Vilos Cohaagen, the corrupt and ruthless governor of the Mars Colony and friend of Hauser who stops at nothing in the mining of turbinium ore, which places innocent people at risk.

Michael Ironside as Richter, Cohaagen's chief lieutenant. He is domineering, sadistic, and has a seething hatred for Quaid stemming from a grudge against Quaid for sleeping with an undercover Lori. He relentlessly tries to kill Quaid several times, defying Cohaagen's orders to take him alive.

Mel Johnson Jr. as Benny, a taxi driver and mutant on Mars Colony who befriends and later betrays Quaid and the mutants to Cohaagen.

Marshall Bell as George and as the voice of Kuato. George is a member of the resistance who has his brother Kuato, the resistance leader, attached to his abdomen. Kuato helps Quaid unlock the secret to his past and the mystery of a reactor built by an ancient Martian civilization. Kuato seemingly has clairvoyant powers.

Roy Brocksmith as Dr. Edgemar, who tries to talk Quaid into taking a pill which he claims would break him (Quaid) out of his fantasy and restore him to reality. Quaid executes him with a pistol upon discovering he is in league with Cohaagen.

Ray Baker as Bob McClane, a Rekall manager and sales agent who convinces Quaid to buy an "Ego Trip" memory implant.

Michael Champion as Helm, Richter's acerbic right-hand man.

Rosemary Dunsmore as Dr. Renata Lull, the lead memory programmer at Rekall who initiated Quaid's memory implant procedure that triggered his outburst in the lab.

Robert Costanzo as Harry, Quaid's workmate who is revealed to be an agent sent by Cohaagen to monitor Quaid on Earth and later had his neck snapped by Quaid when he and his henchmen tried to apprehend him.

Marc Alaimo as Captain Everett, a Captain of the Mars Colony security force. He does not get along with Richter. Everett orders his men to arrest a disguised Quaid on Richter's orders, but Quaid escapes.

Dean Norris as Tony, a disfigured mutant who knew Quaid on Mars as Hauser, and dislikes him.

Debbie Lee Carrington as Thumbelina, a dwarf mutant who fought against Richter's mercenaries with Tony

Lycia Naff as Mary, widely known as the Three-Breasted prostitute

Production [ edit ]

The original screenplay was written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the writers of Alien, who had bought the rights to Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" while Dick was still alive. They were unable to find a backer for the project and it drifted into development hell, passing from studio to studio.

In the mid-1980s, producer Dino De Laurentiis took on the project with Richard Dreyfuss attached to star.[5] Patrick Swayze, who had recently starred in Dirty Dancing, was also considered for the role.[6] In 1987, it was announced that De Laurentiis would make the film as the first production for his DEG company at the new De Laurentiis film studios on the Gold Coast, with Bruce Beresford to direct from a screenplay by O'Bannon and Shusett. This version of the film was never made.[7]

David Cronenberg was given the script by De Laurentiis, which in his opinion had a great start, but as it went on he felt that O'Bannon and Shusett did not know what to do with the story. Cronenberg described his work on the project as constantly fighting and eventually falling out with Shusett: "I worked on it for a year and did about 12 drafts. Eventually, we got to a point where Ron Shusett said, 'You know what you've done? You've done the Philip K. Dick version.' I said, 'Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?' He said, 'No, no, we want to do Raiders of the Lost Ark Go to Mars. Cronenberg intended to cast William Hurt in the role and envisioned the film as "Spider goes to Mars". Shusett claimed that another reason why Cronenberg quit the film was because around the time Dreyfuss was involved, the director wanted to go on a different approach and in Shusett's words, was "suddenly against his own ideas" after some disagreements.[8] Although he went uncredited in the final version of the film, Cronenberg originated the idea of mutants on Mars, including the character of Kuato (spelled Quato in his screenplay).[9] When the adaptation of Dune flopped at the box office, De Laurentiis similarly lost enthusiasm for the project.[10]

The collapse of De Laurentiis' company provided an opening for Schwarzenegger, who had unsuccessfully approached the producer about starring in the film. He persuaded Carolco to buy the rights to the film for a comparatively cheap $3 million and negotiated a salary of $10–11 million (plus 15% of the profits)[11][12] to star, with an unusually broad degree of control over the production. He obtained veto power over the producer, director, screenplay, co-stars, and promotion. Schwarzenegger first personally recruited Paul Verhoeven to direct the film, having been impressed by the Dutch director's RoboCop (for which Schwarzenegger was considered for the title role). By this time, the script had been through 42 drafts, but it still lacked a third act. Gary Goldman was then brought in by Verhoeven to work with Ronald Shusett to develop the final draft of the screenplay.[6] The director also brought in many of his collaborators on RoboCop, including actor Ronny Cox, cinematographer Jost Vacano, production designer William Sandell, editor Frank J. Urioste, and special-effects designer Rob Bottin.[13]

Filming [ edit ]

Much of the filming took place on location in Mexico City and at Estudios Churubusco. The futuristic subway station and vehicles are actually part of the Mexico City Metro, with the subway cars painted gray and television monitors added. The interior of the metro stations Chabacano and Universidad and the exterior of the metro station Insurgentes were shot.[14]

Rating [ edit ]

The film was initially given an X rating. Violence was trimmed and different camera angles were used in the over-the-top scenes for an R rating.[4]

Soundtrack [ edit ]

The score was composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith, and 40 minutes of it were released by the Varèse Sarabande label in 1990.[15] Ten years later, the same label released a "Deluxe Edition", in chronological order with additional cues that were left out, totaling 74 minutes.[16] As with several Goldsmith scores, the music was performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra.

The score has been hailed as one of Goldsmith's best, especially as heard in the Deluxe Edition, and commended for its blend of electronic and orchestral elements.[17]

Reception [ edit ]

Critical response [ edit ]

Total Recall debuted at number one at the box office.[18] The film ultimately grossed $261,299,840 worldwide. It received an 82% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 66 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critical consensus states "Under Paul Verhoeven's frenetic direction, Total Recall is a fast-paced rush of violence, gore, and humor that never slacks."[19] Metacritic rated it 57 out of 100 based on 17 reviews.[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[21]

Roger Ebert awarded the film three and a half stars (out of four), calling it "one of the most complex and visually interesting science-fiction movies in a long time."[22] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave it a score of "B+" and said that it "starts out as mind-bending futuristic satire and then turns relentless [and] becomes a violent, post-punk version of an Indiana Jones cliff-hanger."[23] Film scholar William Buckland considers it one of the more "sublime" Philip K. Dick adaptations, contrasting it with films like Impostor and Paycheck, which he considered "ridiculous".[24]

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film is not a classic, "but it's still solid and entertaining."[20] James Berardinelli gave the film two and a half stars (out of four), saying that "neither Schwarzenegger nor Verhoeven [has] stretched [his] talents here," but added, "with a script that's occasionally as smart as it is energetic, Total Recall offers a little more than wholesale carnage."[25]

Some critics, such as Janet Maslin of The New York Times, considered the film excessively violent.[26] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post gave it a negative review, saying that director Paul Verhoeven "disappoints with this appalling onslaught of blood and boredom."[27] Feminist cultural critic Susan Faludi called it one of "an endless stream of war and action movies" in which "women are reduced to mute and incidental characters or banished altogether."[28]

Accolades [ edit ]

Legacy [ edit ]

Novelization [ edit ]

The film was novelized by Piers Anthony.[30] The novel and film correspond fairly well, although Anthony was evidently working from an earlier script than the one used for the film, with the main character named Douglas Quail instead of Douglas Quaid.[31] Anthony was criticized for the ending of his book which removed the ambiguity about whether the events of Total Recall are real or a dream. In addition, the novel had a subplot wherein the aliens planted a fail-safe device within their Mars technology, so that if it were misused or destroyed, the local star would go nova and therefore prevent the species from entering the galactic community. It coincided with a comment earlier in the novel that astronomers were noticing an abnormal number of recent supernovae, giving an indication that the aliens seeded their tech as part of a galactic experiment in technological maturity. Instead of mentioning that he dreamt of her earlier in the film, Melina mentions she was once a model, explaining how Quaid could have seen her on the screen at Rekall.

Video game [ edit ]

A Total Recall video game based on the film was developed and released by Ocean Software in 1990, featuring 2D action, platformer scenes and top-down racing scenes; a version for popular 8-bit home computers (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC) and popular 16-bit home computers (Amiga and Atari ST) was also released the following year.





Television series [ edit ]

A television series called Total Recall 2070 went into production in 1999. The show was meant to be a sequel; however, it had far more similarities with the Blade Runner film (also inspired by a Philip K. Dick story) than Verhoeven's film.[32] The two-hour series pilot, released on VHS and DVD for the North American market, borrowed footage from the film, such as the space cruiser arriving on Mars.

Comic books [ edit ]

DC Comics: Total Recall (1990) [33] [34]

(1990) In 2011, a four-issue comic book adaptation was released by Dynamite Entertainment, continuing the story from the film.[35]

Sequel [ edit ]

Due to the film's success, a sequel was written with the script title Total Recall 2, and with Schwarzenegger's character still Douglas Quaid, now working as a reformed law enforcer. The sequel was based on another Philip K. Dick short story, "The Minority Report", which hypothesizes about a future where a crime can be solved before it is committed—in the movie, the clairvoyants would be Martian mutants.[36] In 1994, producer Mario Kassar spoke with director Ronny Yu about possibly helming the sequel.[37] In 1998, actor-director Jonathan Frakes was also attached to the follow-up.[38] The sequel ultimately was not filmed, but the script survived and it was changed drastically and contained greater elements from the original short story. The story was eventually adapted into the Steven Spielberg sci-fi thriller Minority Report, which opened in 2002 to commercial success.[39][40]

Remake [ edit ]

In February 2009, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Neal H. Moritz and Original Film were in negotiations for developing a contemporary version of Total Recall for Columbia.[41] In June 2009, it was announced that Columbia Pictures had hired Kurt Wimmer to write the script for the remake. Over a year later, Len Wiseman was hired to direct.[42]

On January 9, 2011, it was confirmed that Colin Farrell would be starring in the remake and Bryan Cranston would play the villain, with production starting in Toronto on May 15. According to Moritz, this version of the film would be closer to Dick's original story. Moritz also stated that the film would not be shot in 3D, saying "we decided that it would be too much."[43] Kate Beckinsale was cast in the role of agent Lori,[44] while John Cho was cast as McClane, the smooth-talking rep for the memory company.[45] The film was released on August 3, 2012,[46] and received mixed reviews.[47][48]

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Bibliography [ edit ]