Total Recall

Rating:
Summary: One of Ah-nold's classics gets the definitive treatment...
Review: I'm not sure exactly how "limited" this dvd is but I didn't wait to find out, snapping it up when I saw it. _Total Recall_, based on a story by Philip K. Dick, is one of those films whose complete uniqueness and contemporary resonances establish it on an almost cult level despite its mainstream success. Director Paul Verhoeven really outdoes himself, rivalling the effects of his previous film _Robocop_ in this fantastical tale of a man in the distant future who journies to Mars in a quest to establish (to himself!) his true identity. Along the way we get a mix of sociology and politics that embeds itself in the whirling spiral of outright violence that overtakes the main character in his flee from one fiction to another. The intellectual points take a backseat to the uptempo action sequences but remain in standby mode, providing the movie with just the right amount of headiness. Verhoeven's humor is evident once again in many scenes, although as a whole the film does not quite reach to the level and tone of sophistication of _Robocop_. However, it is still a ghastly and throbbing ride all the same, a movie of spots of derision and glee occuring often in the same moment. The escalator scenario itself is one of 1990 cinema's darkest moves, and the surreal seriousness with which most of the characters operate only increases the feel of ugliness. Prized for some great dialogue lines and Verhoeven's patented blend of black humor and bloodshed, _Total Recall_ is a film that remains potent and watchable a decade later. Check out the commentary by Verhoeven and Schwarzenegger; it functions well independently as an essay on the film's competing realities, and Verhoeven himself is quite comfortable allowing for more than one reading of the film's "text."

Rating:
Summary: Good 80's action sci-fi gets great DVD, terrible packaging
Review: Total Recall was one of my favourite Arnold films of the 80's. Besides having a cool story (how many post-Terminator Arnold flicks can claim that?) it contained some of the best one-liners the Austrian actor got to say in films. I was glad that it got a new DVD treatment, as the last one was devoid of extras. This one gets a bunch, with cool little Mars-like snippets and the usual trailers. One of the high-points is the commentary by Arnold himself and dirctor Paul Verhoeven. Really informative.
The worst part of the deal is the terrible packaging it comes in. The disc is contained in a stupid round tin, not the usual slimcase packaging of other DVD's. But this is a small complaint. Total Recall Special Edition is an awesome disc to have in your collection.

Rating:
Summary: Verhoeven is the worst film maker around.
Review: With a list of very trash films that includes Show Girls and Starship Troopers, it's really no wonder that Total Recall is as bad as it is, with Arnold playing a man who has a personality problem that comes to the surface when he tries some new holographic technology on his mind. We never really know if what he is experinceing is realor illusion. I don't know why a good actress like Rachel Ticioln agreed to star in this film, she deserves better film roles then this. And why Jerry Goldsmith agreed to score this movie, I don;t know. He should stay with the Star Trek films instead.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: I think this is my second favorit Sci-Fi's of all time. This is such an intense movie. Of course, it is one of those movies with a twisting plot that blows you away the first time you watch it. The plot is so twisted though that you may have to watch it a couple of more times to see if you missed something the first time.

It takes place in a futuristic city where even though its the future, everyday life is mostly the same. There has been a great new invention, A way to take a two week vacation in about 15 minutes. The memories are surgically implanted in your brain. you will remember every detail that never really happened. It will seem as real as any memory in your head. Even better you can take the vacation as someone else, like a secret agent with a mission on mars. The problem is, it is so real that mabie you really are the secret agent, and not who you think you were. mabie your real life is fake. You watch, you decide.

Rating:
Summary: A Perfect fantastic movie..
Review: This movie is my most favorite Arnold movie...
Perfect scenario and acting..
Special Edition dvd is also excellent..It has very original case..

I will recommend to everyone..

Rating:
Summary: It's all in his mind!
Review: I knew this from the movie, but the DVD makes it easy to see all the reasons ... IT'S ALL IN QUAID'S MIND! (at least the secret agent part)

Chapter #4 Bob McClain, the salesman at REKALL, says to Quaid: "You are a top operative, back under deep cover. On your most important mission. People are trying to kill you left and right. You meet this beautiful, exotic woman .... by the time the trip is over, you get the girl, kill the bad guys, and save the entire planet!"

Chapter #5 Rekall Dr. Lull hands her assitant Ernie something. He says, "That's a new one. Blue sky on Mars" Dr. Lull then asks Doug, "How do you like your women?" After getting all Quaid's answers she picks #41A which the screen shows as Melina. The exact woman we see later on Mars.

Chapter #15 Dr. Edgemar from Rekall visits Quaid in his hotel on Mars and says: "...the consequences to you would be devasting. In your mind I'll be dead and with no one to guide you out you'll be stuck in permant psycosis. The walls of reality will come crashing down. One minute you'll be the saviour of the rebel cause and the next thing you know you'll be Cohaagen's bosem buddy. You'll even have fantasies about alien civilizations, as you requested, but in the end, back on Earth, you'll be lobotomized!"

Sure enough, everything everyone has said comes true and at the end what do we have? ... Blue sky on Mars! My only question is whether Quaid did have a psycotic episode or was the entire scenario *exactly* as Rekall designed it to be?

Rating:
Summary: One of Arnold's Best Movie
Review: This movie is great. it's a sci-fi movie at it's best. Arnold does it again with another violent nonstop action packed movie. I have most of Arnold's movies. Their all good except for RAW DEAL which was very bad. i like the part when Arnold is beating up the bad guys and he breaks the one guys neck. if you want total action, total war, total Schwarzenegger than you'll like total recall. trust me it's very good.

Rating:
Summary: Great movie, terrible packaging
Review: I remember seeing this movie with my dad when I was 10 or 11 years old. Even though the subject matter was a little mature for me at that age, it started my appreciation of Arnold movies. I've known about this special edition coming out now for a while, so waiting has been painful. Unfortunately, I didnt find any of the special features to be worth the wait and I especially disliked the packaging. The disc is placed within a tin that looks like the planet mars. It lies on top of a piece of foam with nothing holding it place. My brand new copy even has little scuffs on it. The tin fits into a flimsy cardboard base with the film's title and Arnold Scwarzenegger's face on it. It looks awkward and out of place on my shelf next to the other movies and will not fit properly into a conventional DVD rack. As for the disc itself, the sound was nothing I'd consider spectacular though it wasn't bad (played through a moderate Sony surround system), the visuals were sharp and altogether very clean. I would have loved to see it on a 16 x 9 (widescreen) tv though. The commentary was difficult to sit through, despite Arnold being entertaining, Paul Verhoeven was incredibly boring. The other extras were nothing spectacular, very short and not all that entertaining. The most important aspect of any disc is the movie and this one is quite good. I don't regret purchasing it, but I wish a little more thought had been put into it.

Rating:
Summary: "Consider That a Divorce"
Review: Total Recall is a milestone in Scince Fiction Cinema that helped boost the careers of actor Arnold Scwarzenegger, actress Sharon Stone, as well as director Paul Verhoeven, who first got our attention with his other Sci-Fi Masterpiece; Robocop.

Certainly purists will pick the film apart, but as Leanord Nimoy once said in Star Trek II, "It is easier to destroy than to create". Total Recall works on two levels: a dream or a reality, but whichever way you choose to watch the movie, both levels make sense to you. That in itself is an accomplishment. Most sci-fi's these days can't even work on one level, let alone two.

If you've been holding out for a Special Edition of Total Recall, you can finally cash in your chips because it has finally arrived, in a circular metal tin, shaped to look like Mars no less. I'm sure that some people will have mixed feelings on the special features (the "Recall's Virtual Vacations" are nothing really special) only because other releases like the T2 Special Edition have made us more picky as far as a good S.E. and a bad one. Total Recall extras are in no way bad. The 30 minute "Imagining Total Recall" documentary is well made and delivers a lot of insight. It's also a retrospective documentary, with both Arnold and Mr. Verhoeven looking back at the film 10 years after the fact. This is of course defined more closely in the audio commentary by both the star and the director. If you bought the Collector's Edition of Conan The Barbarian and enjoyed Arnold's audio commentary for that movie, you'll most assuredly enjoy this one..although there was no mention of the two working together on a sequel which has been talked about for years.

The disappointment from many is that Total Recall, at one time, had a longer cut which made it even more excessively violent. From fear of receiving and X-rating, the film was cut down to the version we all know and love. Why hasn't Paul Verhoeven added those scenes back in now or at least given us a deleted scenes section? Considering that Robocop and Basic Instinct (his two other successful movies) have already gotten the "Director's Cut" treatment, it is indeed a wonder why Total Recall was forgotten in that aspect. Not that I'm complaining, but considering that the T2 Special Edition gave us three different versions of that movie to watch, would it have been so bad to do the same here?

As far as the picture and sound is concerned I don't have any real complaints whatsoever. The picture is crisp, clean and clear and the sound plays great on my sound system. Perhaps one day a two disc set of Total Recall will be released. Yeah, and maybe one day Paul Verhoeven will release a Special Unrated Edition of "Showgirls", complete with commentary. Until then.

"Get your ass to Mars" - Arnold Schwarzenegger as Hauser

Rating:
Summary: ATTENTION: a Home Theatre/HDTV/16:9/480p DVD Review!!
Review: Home Theatre is becoming more common each day and buying the right DVD for your system is most important. The movie is the main ingredient/bottom line to all this equipment! Being a videophile I am obsessed in getting the best quality picture and sound available! So my reviews will concentrate on the total DVD package.
TOTAL RECALL is my (#2nd) Home Theatre DVD Review. This is the movie's second release and the first was fair but they got it right on this "Special Limited Edition".
Now this DVD is Digitally ReMastered (Picture & Sound). It is enhanced for Widescreen (16:9 Aspect Ratio) TV's & HDTV's. The movies picture is one of the best (sharpest clarity) I've ever seen on home DVD. NOTE: 480p = 480 horizontal lines (Digital) of Progressive Scan (p) - which is basically a line doubler and using COMPONENT VIDEO cable for the best picture quality. Regular DVD players have 480i = 480 horizontal lines (Analog) and use either COMPOSITE or S-VIDEO Cables. For more information see my SD-6200 & MV3CV-2M reviews.
Simply put this is a scifi Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie of the highest quality (special effects, story line, casting & color). He is caught between a boring life and the strange desire to be an action hero on Mars. He sees a TV ad referring to a brain implant journey to Mars. This is the latest Travel scheme fad of the time. A mental exercise in time and space. (pretty clever huh?) The name of the company is "Rekall". This is just the beginning of a great DVD journey!!!! (Parental Guidance required - some graphic violence and mutant make-up).
The colors are absolutely beautiful, so vivid. The Sound is so crystal clear. (5.1)
Extras are abundant and delightful including a Commentary Track with Schwarzeneggers many fond memories. This DVD is a great value and total eye & ear candy!!!!