Total Recall

Arnold Schwarzenegger Director: Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven

Overview

In Paul Verhoeven's wild sci-fi action movie Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a 21st-century construction worker who discovers that his entire memory of the past derives from a memory chip implanted in his brain. Schwarzenegger learns that he's actually a secret agent who had become a threat to the government, so those in power planted the chip and invented a domestic lifestyle for him. Once he has realized his true identity, he travels to Mars to piece together the rest of his identity, as well as to find the man responsible for his implanted memory. Verhoeven has created a fast, furious action film with Total Recall, filled with impressive stunts and (literally) eye-popping visuals. Though the film bears only a passing resemblance to the Philip K. Dick short story it was based on ("We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"), the movie is an entertaining, if very violent, ride.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/08/2020
UPC:	0031398322757
Original Release:	1990
Rating:	R
Source:	Lions Gate
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	11,290

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Arnold Schwarzenegger	Doug Quaid
Rachel Ticotin	Melina
Sharon Stone	Lori Quaid
Ronny Cox	Vilas Cohaagen
Michael Ironside	Richter
Marshall Bell	George/Kuato
Mel Johnson	Benny
Michael Champion	Helm
Roy Brocksmith	Dr. Edgemar
Rosemary Dunsmore	Dr. Lull
Pricilla Allen	Fat Lady
Ray Baker	McClane
Robert Costanzo	Harry
Ken Gilden	Hotel Clerk
Dean Norris	Tony
David Knell	Ernie
Alexia Robinson	Tiffany
Mark Carlton	Bartender
Debbie Lee Carrington	Thumbelina
Lycia Naff	Mary
Michael LaGuardia	Stevens
Marc Alaimo	Everett
Ken Strausbaugh	Immigration Officer
Michael Gregory	Rebel Lieutenant
Micky Jones	Burly Miner
Parker Whitman	Martian Husband
Ellen Gollas	Martian Wife
Gloria Dorson	Woman in Phone Booth
Benny Corral	Punk Cabbie
Bob Tzudiker	Doctor
Erik Cord	Lab Assistant
Frank Kopyc	Technician
Chuck Sloan	Scientist
Dave Nicolson	Scientist
Paula McClure	Newscaster
Rebecca Ruth	Reporter
Milt Tarver	Commercial Announcer
Roger Cudney	Agent
Linda Howell	Tennis Pro
Robert Picardo	Johnnycab
Anne Lockhart	Voice Only
Kamala Lopez	Voice Only
Morgan Lofting	Voice Only
Erika Carlson	Miss Lonelyhearts
Sasha Rionda	Mutant Child
Monica Steuer	Mutant Mother
Joe Unger	Voice Only

Technical Credits

Gary Goldman

Dan O'Bannon

Ronald Shusett

Paul Verhoeven	Director
Vic Armstrong	Stunts
Craig Berkeley	Makeup
Rob Bottin	Makeup Special Effects
Eric Brevig	Special Effects
Jeff Burks	Animator
Miguel Chang	Set Decoration/Design
Jeff Dawn	Makeup
Carlos Echeverria	Set Decoration/Design
Buzz Feitshans	Producer
Mike Fenton	Casting
Robert Fentress	Associate Producer
Thomas Fisher	Special Effects
Geo	Songwriter
Gary Goldman	Screenwriter
Jerry Goldsmith	Score Composer
Jose Rodriguez Granada	Art Director
Warren Hamilton	Sound Editor
Mario Kassar	Executive Producer
Joel J. Kramer	Stunts
Valorie Massalas	Casting
Dan O'Bannon	Original Story,Screenwriter
Peter James	Cinematographer
Erica Phillips	Costumes/Costume Designer
Jon Povill	Original Story
William Sandell	Production Designer
Elliot Schick	Associate Producer
Ronald Shusett	Original Story,Producer,Screenwriter
Nelson Stoll	Musical Direction/Supervision
Judy Taylor	Casting
James Tocci	Art Director
Marco Trentini	Set Decoration/Design
Frank J. Urioste	Editor
Jost Vacano	Cinematographer
Andrew G. Vajna	Executive Producer
Robin Weiss	Makeup

Editorial Reviews

One of the most expensive movies produced up to that time, 1990's Total Recall provides Arnold Schwarzenegger with a complicated story, extensive action sequences, and state-of-the-art special effects. Cast as a 21st-century construction worker whose virtual-vacation gear malfunctions, Arnold learns that he's been programmed with false memories of his earthbound existence and is actually a secret agent entangled in a proposed rebellion on draconian Mars. The nominal female lead is Rachel Ticotin, but it's Sharon Stone -- in femme fatale mode as Arnold's duplicitous spouse -- who really grabs viewer attention. The futuristic settings are lavishly designed, and Arnold gets his fair share of terse one-liners. But what sets Recall apart from so many other sci-fi movies is the practically fetishistic staging of graphic, brutal action scenes by director Paul Verhoeven, who provided a template for the decade's ultra-violent genre films. The Special Edition DVD offers a new wide-screen transfer enhanced for 16:9 televisions, along with a plethora of extras -- including a rare, full-length commentary by Schwarzenegger (in tandem with Verhoeven). Other supplemental features include the documentary "Imagining Total Recall," the featurette "Visions of Mars," galleries of photos and conceptual art, production notes, cast/crew filmographies, visual storyboard comparisons, and an assortment of theatrical trailers and TV spots.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

Total Recall revels in the state-of-the-art special effects and frantic violence characteristic to most of director Paul Verhoeven's American productions. Though based on a story by the creator of Blade Runner, author Philip K. Dick, Total Recall is more of an action movie than a philosophical rumination on identity. Still, the film gets a lot of mileage out of the questionable notion that "you are what you remember." The screenplay was finally credited to five writers; it had bounced around Hollywood for a number of years with different directors and stars before it reached Verhoeven. The director's brand of high-octane, cartoonish violence is a good fit with the material, though his style may have been better suited to 1988's more satiric Robocop. The movie received a special achievement Academy Award for its impressive effects.

All Movie Guide

There may be people who overlook the Arnold Schwarzenegger performance in Total Recall - who think he isn't really acting. But the performance is one of the reasons the movie works so well. He isn't a superman this time, although he fights like one. He's a confused and frightened innocent, a man betrayed by the structure of reality itself. And in his vulnerability, he opens the way for Total Recall to be more than simply an action, violence and special effects extravaganza.

Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert

Read More