Rating: 
Summary: Last of the big rubber effects movies.
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Movie and Collector's Edition!
Review: I bought this movie recently. However the last time I saw it was back when i was 14. I forgotten how bloody this film was, and I forgot how sweet it was. I loved this movie. The plot, the violence, and how it was an action film plus made you think. I am very very glad that I bought this and plus the extras on the Collector's Edition make it 10 times better. If you love the old sci-fi action movies then this is the best movie for ya.
Rating:
Summary: Not "extra-special" special, but special none the less
Review: Ah' nothing like a good Paul Verhoeven-directed sci-fi/action bloodfest to get the ol' testosterone levels up! Add action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, and you've REALLY got 'em packing it in to see this one! Bullet wounds you could steer the Titanic through and body counts that rival the casualties incurred at the battle of Gettysburg! And, being on the digital format, you get to see all the carnage and mayhem in much more vivid color and detail than you ever could on VHS! Boo-yah! All right, enough about the movie itself, let's get down to the good stuff: the special features! Although not quite as extensive as what one would find on the T2 Special Edition DVD, The Special Edition disc of 'Total Recall' has quite a few extra tchotchkes to keep the average action-flick maven fairly entertained after the closing credits roll. There's the trailers and TV spots, arranged as one continuous presentation, rather than seperately. There's a behind-the-scenes documentary, where cast & crew recall (doh!) the grind of producing this movie. From the original effort to get 'TR' made that ended in bankruptcy to cast & crew getting sick from Mexico City's hellish smog (where just about all of the movie was shot), the many grinds and pitfalls of filmmaking are laid bare in this half-our segment. There's even a five-minute featurette about the future of exploring the surface of Mars, as well as the possibilities of a manned excursion to the red planet. Three storyboard-to-shooting sequences are shown, with storyboard stills shown side-by-side with the filmed scene to show the flick-fan how a scene evolves from concept to finished product. Sadly, not all of the special features passed muster in my eyes. The Rekall 'virtual vacations' extra was rather stupid and unnecessary. All this feature offers are twenty-second clips of three locales- Martian desert, the Alps, and an ocean beach. To put a fine point on it, the 'vacation' extras are glorified screen savers. Also, the 'location shoot photo gallery' has only a dozen stills, far less than what I expected. The 'concept art gallery', however, wasn't too shabby. Then there's the extra feature I both liked and disliked at the same time: the commentary track with Arnie and director Paul Verhoeven. First, I'll start out with what I liked about it. Aside from being entertained by their accents (Paul is Dutch; Arnold is from Austria, a German-speaking nation), I was happy that both of them stayed focused on the movie itself. I've experienced quite a few feature-length commentaries where the narrator(s) spent a bit too much time talking about other projects they've done, rather than discussing the actual movie they've recorded the track for. Fortunately, this wasn't the case here- Paul & Arnie kept their talk about their other films down to a minimum. Then there's the big thing I disliked about the track: Verhoeven's revelations that a significant portion of the ultraviolent scenes were shortened a bit to avoid an X rating, similar to what he had to do to get 'RoboCop' a more-demographically-acceptable R rating. I was disappointed that he didn't consider restoring these bits to the flick for the special edition DVD, or at least put them on the side as an extra feature. After all, he saw to the restoration of the gorier cutting-room bits in a special edition DVD of 'RoboCop', as well as the return of several risque moments in the upcoming digital disc release of 'Basic Instinct'. Why he didn't do the same thing with 'Total Recall' will likely be a mystery for some time to come... Then there's the most unusual feature: the packaging. The disc comes in a squat metal cylinder tin, colored and textured to look like the surface of Mars. The lid even has craters and the 'Martian face' embossed on it! Although it's thicker than most DVD cases, it's quite a bit more compact surface area-wise. It's also a bit tougher to open than your basic snap case. But there is one upside- the disc isn't held in place by a 'push-to-release' latch, a little feature on regular DVD cases that has a tendency to not wanna let the disc go. Just be careful opening the tin up- you don't want your DVD to suddenly do an imitation of a frisbee! 'Late
Rating:
Summary: Excellent special edition
Review: The features and interactive menues are excellent, as is the movie, but WHAT on earth is the Vacation Pack feature? It's three 20 second pictures, one of Mars, one of a wooded environment, and one of a beach that keep recycling. Someone please explain that. Good buy and cool casing.
Rating:
Summary: "See you at the party Richter."
Review: Total Recall is one of those movies I can watch over and over and never get sick of. It is what every true Arnold fan wants in an Arnold flick. And aside from being one of Arnold's best films it is a very great sci-fi flick period.
Arnold plays everyman Douglas Quaid, a guy living an average life on the near future earth who is obsessed with the idea of going to Mars(which is colonized). He decides to go to a futuristic company called Recall, which sells it's customers memories of vacations they did not really take. Quaid decides to do it and while the salesman is making his pitch he poses the question, "what is the same about every vaction you have ever taken?" The answer: You. So Quaid buys the secret agent package and that is when the action begins. Suddenly everyone is out to get Quaid and he can't figure it out, all he knows is he has to get his "a** to Mars." He does and the film really takes off with mutants, rebels, women, corruption, double crossing, heavy carnage, planet saving, and Arnold, smack in the middle of all of it. The story in summary can actually be found within the movie, which is a very unusual plot device, but it works in this film. The guy at Recall says by the time this is over you will kill the bad guys, get the girl, and save the planet. So is Total Recall a dream or a reality. This question is one of the things that makes it such an engaging movie because you don't know. Really though the best part of this film is Arnold. He is in tip top form in this film and it is certainly one of his best. The character allows him all the elements to shine, odds against him, guys always trying to fight him, lots of guns, and terrific one-liners. Paul Verhoeven(Robocop, Basic Instict) has crafted a awesome film. The set direction is great and it makes the fantastic action that much better. Sure Verhoeven may get a little carried away with violent nature of his action, but would anyone really want this film any other way? Not me. Total Recall is a blast. On an additional note I just picked up the DVD Collector's Edition and it is a must have for fans. The commentary with Verhoeven and Arnold is hilarious and the making of's are very well done. This is one of those films that will become a classic over time because that is what it is, CLASSIC.
Rating:
Summary: Arnold Strikes Back with Another Explosive Hit
Review: As an avid fan of both Sci-Fi and Arnold Schwarzenegger, I've managed to log many hours watching both. Total Recall is one of the greatest examples of how both can be molded together into a tremendous ride. Arnold portrays a construction worker whose addiction to the planet Mars sends him to a company who implants memories into his head. During the procedure, he is flung into an inter-planetary conspiracy by the sinister dictator of the Mars colony. As Douglas Quaid (Arnold characters identity) begins to be accused of being the main cause of the terror, he realizes that an alter-ego has set him up with doom. Total Recall is directed by Paul Verhoevan (Robocop), a master of the sci-fi world. His keen eye along with Industrial Light and Magic bring the planet Mars to life as Doug Quaids story leads to an explosive encounter that could change the red planet forever. Do not miss this movie.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Science Fiction Greats
Review: "Total Recall" was an anomaly in the slew of films that Schwarzenegger made in that the concept comes from the same well that produced "Blade Runner" and the upcoming "Minority Report". As a testament to this film, "Memento" has become the most successful independent film of 2001 thusfar. I'm not going to get into story specifics since most of you already know it. This is probably Verhoeven's best made in Hollywood. And it is perhaps the best combination of a science fiction and psychological thriller ever made. This film draws on story dynamics from "North by Northwest". My review is quickly turning into a plot association to other classics and contemporaries. So I will just be frank. I love the aesthetics, the locations, sets, the pure imagination it took to visualize the fantastic story that Philip K. Dick wrote over 20 years ago. Jerry Goldsmith's score is fantastic, and it provides your imagination the soundtrack it needs to follow the journey of Quaid/Howser. This film took over 8 years to bring to the screen. Ronald Shusett, listed as a producer and co-writer, labored from the day he optioned the script to get Verhoeven and Schwarzenegger signed on. A couple of interesting anecdotes: at one point, David Cronenberg was attached with Richard Dreyfuss attached to star. I don't imagine it would've been the same sort of action-heavy film it became had Dreyfuss played the white collar worker in earlier drafts. Arnold signed on, and Quaid was rewritten to be a burly construction worker. Hope you enjoyed these little tidbits. For the record, I think the packaging looks way cool. And I sincerely hope they don't go forward with the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Sci-Fi Film that makes you think!
Review: This box office hit is one of the best movies ever made. It is a violent thinking man's Sci-Fi flick. Was it all an implant or real? To this day fans still debate over this. The extras are awesome esspecially the Schwarzenegger commentary.
Rating: 
Summary: Totally Awful Rubber Mutants!
Review: When Total Recall was first released, I dragged a friend to see it. I had seen the trailer and I thought it would impress others as it did for me. Big mistake! The movie started off great. The plot seem interesting and suspenseful. Then, some rubber mutant freaks came wandering and I was left pondering over the embarrassment for recommending the movie. This embarrassment includes a rubber puppet popping out of an actor's chests, a chick with 3 rubber breasts and some other deformed plastic all-sorts walking around the set. If only they hadn't used any mutants in the movie. This film could have been more mature and if it was, it might have been a great all-time sci-fi classic. Instead, it turned out like a kiddie's movie. Personal Opinion! Schwarzenegger still rules.
Rating:
Summary: An Arnold commentary? This is a must buy.
Review: If you've ever heard the commentary track for "Conan: The Barbarian" with Arnold, you'll know that any commentary with Arnold will be amazing. This new version of one of the best space-action movies has tons of new features, documentaries, trailers, featurettes, and lots more. On September 18, be in line to buy "Total Recall". You can't go wrong.
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