Total Recall, 1990 - DVD

I've always loved Schwarzenegger. The first film I ever saw him in was Commando. I even bought one of those 6 foot posters, I thought that film was the end-all-be-all of action (at the time... I was 12). Ever since Robocop, I've been hooked on Paul Verhoeven.

Now, let me give you some details as to how I got to first see Total Recall.

In 1989 I was in highschool, roughly 10th grade... and I was a big Piers Anthony fan. Huge. The Adept series is still one of my favorite reads. So, at the time I worked in the Syosset Public Library. Syosset is on Long Island, pronounced sigh-os-et. So, working in this library, I got some choice reads. One of them was the new Piers Anthony book, Total Recall.

Well, little did I know that Total Recall was to be a movie. But, it being an Anthony book, hell yes I read it. And let me tell you something, I was blown away. The story is different, with the main character Douglas Quail (then changed to Quaid because Quail was in the White House) having some kind of spiritual connection with the erased memory. It was a very strange story, with great characters, a great plot and a hell of a lot of action.

The moment I put the book down I knew it should be a movie. A few days later I found out it was to be one. And I'll tell you something, for the first show at the Syosset Triplex, at 7:15, I was the first one on line at 4:00pm. And I fucking loved it then, and I loved it Saturday night.

To begin with, working with a Philip K. Dick story, it's hard to go wrong (though they did with Screamers and Minority Report, though not too terrible a job with Paycheck) We Can Remember It For You Wholesale is one of the most brilliant short stories I've ever read, and it's a departure from the film. Dan O'Bannon (Dark Star, Alien, among others) helped write the script for Recall and wrote the script for Screamers. His second time was no charm on the P.K. Dick front. Too bad.

The story is wrought with twists and turns to keep the audience guessing about whether or not the story is real, or the work of Rekall, Inc. the fake memory company. One also notices that there isn't more than four or five minutes between action/special effects that are really quite stunning. Thanks to the genius of both Verhoeven and Rob Bottin.

Rob Bottin, for those of you who don't know him, is one of three make-up geniuses out there in the field in Hollywood. Bottin is responsible for the incredible work on Piranha, The Fog, The Howling, The Thing (fucking brilliant work there), Explorers, Inner Space, Robocop, Se7en, Mission:Impossible and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. His work is legendary and made this film a joy to watch.

Verhoeven is the last piece of this triple puzzle, making this movie a lot of fun to watch. (For me, Robocop is the best science-fiction movie out there.) With dazzling direction and such attention to detail in action and gore, from start to finish Total Recall works on most, if not all levels.

Verhoeven has been on for a while. Basic Instinct follows Total Recall, and the movie was successful in its own right, having written itself into the lore of Hollywood on a few levels. Showgirls did too, but in a much more negative way. I loved his work on Starship Troopers... I think he gave his all with that production, and every penny is on the screen. Hollow Man was an effects platform, not unlike Troopers, but with much less substance.

I will admit, though, that it seemed there were times when 'production' had to bend the rules here and there, or there wasn't enough money in the budget for things to be just right. Like when Benny takes his prosthetic arm off to show he's a mutant, and the mutant appendage comes out, there was nothing to attach the fake hand to... weird.

Or when the tunnel diggers crashed into the walls of the rebel headquarters... it looks really fake.

Or that 'tracking' system Richter and Helm use to find Quaid in the beginning. Whew, super cheesy.

Or the cars, those plastic cars that 'look' like they're from the future.

But, the security screen that turns people into x-rays... the fat woman costume that Quaid uses to get to Mars, the hologram 'watch' that Quaid uses to fool the bad guys, or the choking scenes that show Cohaagen and Melina and Quaid choking in the Mars atmosphere... these all make up for it.

So, for me, great movie.