Total Recall
(1990)
R | 109 mins | Science fiction | 1 June 1990
Director:
Paul VerhoevenWriters:
Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Gary GoldmanProducers:
Buzz Feitshans, Ronald ShusettCinematographer:
Jost VacanoEditor:
Frank J. UriosteProduction Designer:
William SandellProduction Company:
CarolcoThe summary for this entry was completed with participation from the AFI Academic Network. The summary was written by participant Adam Tate, an independent scholar.
Philip K. Dick's name is misspelled as "Phillip" in the opening credits. End credits contain a “Special Thanks” to the following organizations and individuals: Marco Julio Linares, Estudios Churubusco Azteca; Enrique Soto Izquierdo, Javier Ibarra Herrera, Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografic; Emilio Burillo Azcarraga, Luis Velo, Centro de Producción Oualli; Jose De Maria Casado; American Express; Armstrong Tire Company; Curtis Mathes; Dynascan Cobra; Hilton Hotels; Proton (Larry Waterman); Jed “The Fish” Gould; Central de Aduanas; Continental Airlines; Trojan Battery Company; Tritek Corporation; ESPN, Inc.; Brahma, Inc.; Faberge U.S.A., Inc.; Adolph Coors Company; Novatel; Pepsi-Cola; Miller Brewing Company; Scenario, Inc.; Design Logic; Dan Speaker; Digital Creations/Progressive Image Technology; Xerox Corporation; Sistema de Transporte Colectivo “Metro”; Departmento del Distrito Federal; Gallery of Functional Art; Syd Dutton & Bill Taylor A.S.E.; Midnight Express Courier & Freight Services; Northwest Airlines; Hoteles Royal (Mexico); Sharper Image Stores; USA Today (Mars Today); U.S. Sprint/Network 2000; Bill Goralski; David Gale; Lisa Krohn; Michele Saee; Tom Farrage, and Bob Josten. The following messages also appear in the end credits: “Play the Nintento game from Acclaim Entertainment,” and “Read the novel from Avon Books.”
A 28 May 1981 DV news item announced that Walt Disney Productions would produce writers Ronald Shusett and Dan O’Bannon’s script, with a planned production start in early 1982. In a 30 May 1984 news item, Var announced that David Cronenberg had been attached to direct the film, to be produced by Dino De Laurentiis. The project would later be put on hold, according to ...
The summary for this entry was completed with participation from the AFI Academic Network. The summary was written by participant Adam Tate, an independent scholar.
Philip K. Dick's name is misspelled as "Phillip" in the opening credits. End credits contain a “Special Thanks” to the following organizations and individuals: Marco Julio Linares, Estudios Churubusco Azteca; Enrique Soto Izquierdo, Javier Ibarra Herrera, Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografic; Emilio Burillo Azcarraga, Luis Velo, Centro de Producción Oualli; Jose De Maria Casado; American Express; Armstrong Tire Company; Curtis Mathes; Dynascan Cobra; Hilton Hotels; Proton (Larry Waterman); Jed “The Fish” Gould; Central de Aduanas; Continental Airlines; Trojan Battery Company; Tritek Corporation; ESPN, Inc.; Brahma, Inc.; Faberge U.S.A., Inc.; Adolph Coors Company; Novatel; Pepsi-Cola; Miller Brewing Company; Scenario, Inc.; Design Logic; Dan Speaker; Digital Creations/Progressive Image Technology; Xerox Corporation; Sistema de Transporte Colectivo “Metro”; Departmento del Distrito Federal; Gallery of Functional Art; Syd Dutton & Bill Taylor A.S.E.; Midnight Express Courier & Freight Services; Northwest Airlines; Hoteles Royal (Mexico); Sharper Image Stores; USA Today (Mars Today); U.S. Sprint/Network 2000; Bill Goralski; David Gale; Lisa Krohn; Michele Saee; Tom Farrage, and Bob Josten. The following messages also appear in the end credits: “Play the Nintento game from Acclaim Entertainment,” and “Read the novel from Avon Books.”
A 28 May 1981 DV news item announced that Walt Disney Productions would produce writers Ronald Shusett and Dan O’Bannon’s script, with a planned production start in early 1982. In a 30 May 1984 news item, Var announced that David Cronenberg had been attached to direct the film, to be produced by Dino De Laurentiis. The project would later be put on hold, according to a 30 Mar 1985 Screen International news item, due to lack of funding in the month it was to start filming at De Laurentiis’ studio in Rome.
A 5 May 1987 HR article announced that the film would be the first to shoot at De Laurentiis’ “new studio complex” in Queensland, Australia, and was projected to be the largest-scale production to take place in Australia, to date. The script had been named by American Film magazine as “one of the 10 best unproduced screenplays.” According to a 7 Oct 1987 HR news item, Bruce Beresford was to direct the film for De Laurentiis, and Patrick Swayze was signed to play the lead role, with a planned release in Dec 1988. A 16 Dec 1987 Var article announced that, for a second time, Total Recall, was stopped just before production began due to lack of funding for its $20 million budget. Producer Sue Milliken was quoted in the 16 Dec 1987 Var article as saying, “If Dino De Laurentiis had had one successful picture in the United States recently, I believe we’d still be in production.”
A 9 Mar 1988 HR article stated that Carolco Pictures was producing the film, with Paul Verhoeven attached as director and Arnold Schwarzenegger signed to play the hero. The article also reported that Beresford had allegedly “substantially rewritten the film’s screenplay.” However, Beresford was not credited in Verhoeven’s film.
According to an 18 Jun 1993 DV article, the film’s budget was $48 million. Production notes reported a twenty-two week production schedule which took place entirely in Mexico. Verhoeven, who had earned a Ph.D. in mathematics and physics, was adamant about creating a futuristic world that seemed realistic. A crew of 360 people helped build the Mars sets on ten sound stages at Churubusco Studios, while a number of existing “monolithic” buildings in Mexico City were used for Earth locations.
Production notes state that, instead of utilizing one blue screen stage for special effects work, filmmakers used large blue screens, measuring 40 by 60 feet, on the sound stages to “accomplish very large blue screen shots…in over 40 separate setups.” In addition, large miniatures stood in for certain Mars sets, the miniatures themselves usually ranging 40 to 60 feet in length.
A 21 Sep 1989 HR news item announced that Carolco had sold to Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. the video game rights to Total Recall, months in advance of its release.
According to a 25 May 1990 HR article, the film’s distributor, Tri-Star, ran 9,000 trailers for the film, in advance of a 1 Jun release on 2,000 screens. The film was originally scheduled to open 15 Jun, but post-production was hurried to move the release to 1 Jun due to mid-Jun competition from Days of Thunder (1990, see entry), Dick Tracy (1990, see entry), Die Hard 2 (1990, see entry), and Robocop 2 (1990, see entry), a sequel to Verhoeven’s 1987 hit, as noted in an 11 Jul 1990 HR article.
Total Recall opened to $25.5 million, 1990’s “biggest opening” to date according to the 11 Jul 1990 HR article. An 18 Jun 1993 DV reported the final domestic box-office gross as $119.4 million, and the foreign gross as roughly $150 million.
Critical reception for the film was mixed. Reviewers generally praised Schwarzenegger’s performance and the production values, but criticized the level of violence. A Box reviewer noted the films “staggering” effects and production design, but disliked the “unremitting and completely unnecessary level of carnage and noise.” Var predicted the MPAA’s “leniency toward [R-rated] Total Recall is sure to intensify the debate about whether the ratings system is biased in favor of big-budget productions.”
A 13 Jul 1990 HR article reported that Lajos John K. Goncz, “a weapons manufacturer” who created props for the film, sued Carolco, Schwarzenegger and Verhoeven for $3 million, claiming that his credit, the only compensation he was to receive for the film, had been removed after Carolco requested to merchandise a “survival knife” Goncz had designed for the film. Goncz refused, which he believed was the reason Carolco failed to provide the onscreen credit. The outcome of the lawsuit has not been determined.
Another lawsuit was brought against Carolco by the Southern California Consortium, who also sued for $3 million, as reported in a 2 Sep 1992 HR news item. The Consortium claimed that the filmmakers used parts of their animated sequences originally created for two scientific video series, in which planets orbited the sun.
An 18 Jun 1993 DV article announced that Carolco had signed Shusett and Gary Goldman to write a sequel to the film, “tentatively titled” Total Recall 2. A 15 Jan 1997 LAT news item later announced that Walt Disney’s Miramax bought the “sequel rights” to the film for $3.15 million, at an auction held by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles. The sale helped pay “creditors” of Carolco, which was “defunct” as of that time. According to a 25 May 2011 HR report, Columbia was set to produce a remake of the film starring Colin Farrell, Bryan Cranston, Kate Beckinsale and Jessical Biel, to be directed by Len Wiseman in Toronto the following summer.
According to a 13 Feb 1991 HR news item, Total Recall earned a “Special Achievement Award” from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which was to be presented at the 63rd Academy Awards on 25 Mar 1991.
Doug Quaid dreams of walking on Mars, accompanied by a beautiful brunette. As the dream becomes a nightmare, he wakes. His wife, Lori, comforts him. Aware of his recurring dreams, she asks if the brunette was there, but Doug assures Lori that she is "the girl of his dreams." At breakfast, Doug watches a news report about a rebel leader named Kuato organizing an uprising on Mars. Recently, Kuato and his “Freedom Brigade” were trying to access the now-closed Pyramid Mines. Attempting to snuff out all rebels in the Mars mining community, Vilos Cohaagen, Mars Administrator, has vowed to use military force against the rebels in order to keep up production of the mines’ turbinium ore. After Lori changes the channel, Doug suggests to her that they move to Mars, as he feels he’s destined to accomplish something meaningful with his life. Riding the subway to work, Doug sees an advertisement for Rekall, a company that implants memories of vacations in clients’ minds, so they do not have to endure the hassle of actual travel. At his construction job, Doug speaks to co-worker Harry about Rekall. Harry tells him about a man who was “nearly lobotomized” after purchasing a mind trip from the company. Undeterred, Doug visits Rekall after work. The doctor, Bob McClane, encourages Doug to purchase memories from a trip to Saturn, but Doug has his mind set on Mars. McClane offers an additional perk called an "ego trip." For a little more money, Doug can visit Mars as a secret agent on a mission to save the planet from destruction. Doug accepts, and McClane’s aids strap him into the Rekall machine. Before undergoing anesthesia, Doug ...
Doug Quaid dreams of walking on Mars, accompanied by a beautiful brunette. As the dream becomes a nightmare, he wakes. His wife, Lori, comforts him. Aware of his recurring dreams, she asks if the brunette was there, but Doug assures Lori that she is "the girl of his dreams." At breakfast, Doug watches a news report about a rebel leader named Kuato organizing an uprising on Mars. Recently, Kuato and his “Freedom Brigade” were trying to access the now-closed Pyramid Mines. Attempting to snuff out all rebels in the Mars mining community, Vilos Cohaagen, Mars Administrator, has vowed to use military force against the rebels in order to keep up production of the mines’ turbinium ore. After Lori changes the channel, Doug suggests to her that they move to Mars, as he feels he’s destined to accomplish something meaningful with his life. Riding the subway to work, Doug sees an advertisement for Rekall, a company that implants memories of vacations in clients’ minds, so they do not have to endure the hassle of actual travel. At his construction job, Doug speaks to co-worker Harry about Rekall. Harry tells him about a man who was “nearly lobotomized” after purchasing a mind trip from the company. Undeterred, Doug visits Rekall after work. The doctor, Bob McClane, encourages Doug to purchase memories from a trip to Saturn, but Doug has his mind set on Mars. McClane offers an additional perk called an "ego trip." For a little more money, Doug can visit Mars as a secret agent on a mission to save the planet from destruction. Doug accepts, and McClane’s aids strap him into the Rekall machine. Before undergoing anesthesia, Doug chooses a woman to accompany him on the trip, the brunette from his dreams. As the aids start the Rekall procedure, Doug becomes agitated, and McClane rushes into the room. Doug fights them, insisting he is a special agent and they have compromised his cover. The aids subdue him with tranquilizers and inform McClane that Doug's "ego trip" has yet to be implanted. McClane orders his aids to erase Doug’s memory of Rekall, destroy his records, and send him off in a cab. Doug awakes in a taxi as he arrives at the subway station. There, a group of thugs, including Doug’s co-worker Harry, attacks him. Harry tells Doug he is in trouble because he "blabbed about Mars." Doug fights the thugs and kills them. Returning home, Doug alerts Lori that he is being chased and tells her about Rekall. While Doug is in the other room, Lori contacts an agent named Richter. Lori attacks Doug, revealing that she is not actually his wife and their marriage is a false memory implanted by “The Agency." More agents arrive, and Doug manages to flee to the subway station, with Richter and his men close behind. Station guards spot Doug’s concealed weapon as he travels through an x-ray machine. As agents fire at him, Doug runs up an escalator, using the body of a bystander to shield himself from bullets. Doug escapes on a passing train. Richter alerts Cohaagen that Doug has fled. Richter feels a personal vendetta against Doug because Lori, who was acting as Doug’s wife, is actually married to Richter. However, Cohaagen commands Richter to deliver Doug alive so that his memory can be re-implanted and he can be returned to his false identity, with Lori back in place as his “wife.” Using a tracking device, Richter follows Doug to a motel. Just as Doug enters his hotel room, a stranger calls from a pay phone outside, informing him there is a tracking device inside his skull and he must cover his head with a wet towel to muffle the signal. Doug covers his head then rushes downstairs and picks up a suitcase the caller left for him on the street. Doug hijacks a cab, and travels to a remote location where he opens the suitcase and finds several gadgets inside. Doug experiments with a hologram device and creates an illusory doppelganger of himself. He then listens to a video message from himself, informing him that his actual name is Hauser, and that the Agency has erased his memory. The message instructs Doug to remove the tracking device from his brain by pulling it out through his nose. Richter arrives at the remote location, but Doug manages to escape yet again, while Richter and his men chase down a rat carrying the tracking device. Richter hears the end of the video message in which Hauser instructs Doug to go to Mars. Later, Doug arrives on Mars, disguised as a female tourist, while Richter patrols the customs kiosk in search of him. Doug's disguise malfunctions, but, when his identity is revealed, he uses his mask as an explosive device. After the mask detonates, agents return fire and shatter the surrounding glass dome, exposing the area to the vacuum of space. As people are sucked outside, Doug escapes. On a commuter train, Doug learns that Cohaagen has closed the main Pyramid Mine because of a rumored discovery of alien artifacts. Meanwhile, Cohaagen scolds Richter for failing to catch Doug, informing him that Kuato wants information from Doug’s head and may be able to get it using his psychic powers. Doug arrives at the Mars Hilton and discovers that Hauser has left a message, instructing him to visit the Venusville sector and find a lady named Melina. Benny, a cab driver, gives Doug a ride to The Last Resort, a brothel, just as a rebel firefight erupts. Doug finds Melina at The Last Resort and discovers that she is the brunette woman from his dreams. In private, Melina addresses Doug as Hauser and chastises him for abandoning his mission. Doug insists that he’s lost his memory. Melina reminds him that they were once in love, but she now believes that he is working for Cohaagen and only used her to “get inside.” Doug begs for Melina’s help, but she sends him away. After Doug leaves Venusville, Cohaagen announces to Mars citizens that martial law has been declared. Dr. Edgemar from Rekall arrives at the hotel and informs Doug that he has suffered a "schizoid embolism," and that, instead of being on Mars, he is still strapped in a Rekall machine. Lori arrives to affirm Edgemar’s story, insisting she is his real wife. The doctor offers a pill, which Doug must take as a symbol of his desire to return to reality. Almost convinced, Doug notices a bead a sweat roll down Edgemar's cheek. Doug then kills the doctor. Agents burst in and subdue Doug, escorting him to the elevator. When the elevator doors open, Melina appears and fires at the agents. Melina and Lori fight each other. Regaining consciousness, Doug shoots Lori and saves Melina. Richter pursues Doug and Melina, discovering the body of his wife on the way. Melina tells Doug that Kuato wants to see him, and they jump into Benny's cab. Doug, Melina, and Benny return to The Last Resort and Tony, a mutant, helps them elude Richter through a secret hole in the wall. Arriving to The Last Resort, Richter and his men fire upon the citizens of Venusville. Cohaagen instructs Richter to stop fighting and leave the sector. He then seals all the entryways to Venusville in an attempt to suffocate the rebels who are hiding in the area. Meanwhile, Melina, Doug, and Benny arrive at Kuato’s hideaway. George, a rebel, finds Doug and leads him to Kuato’s lair, where George reveals that Kuato is, in fact, a psychic mutant living in his chest. Kuato encourages Doug to "open his mind," insisting that Doug holds information in his memory that will allow for the salvation of Mars. Doug searches his mind and recalls that the Pyramid Mine contains a device designed by aliens 500,000 years ago that will create oxygen and can be activated at the press of a button. Agents burst through the walls, and George, Doug and Melina flee. Benny, secretly one of Cohaagen’s agents, stops them at gunpoint and shoots George. Just before Richter kills Kuato, the mutant orders Doug to “start the reactor” and “free Mars.” Cohaagen’s men take Doug and Melina to a Rekall facility. Cohaagen informs Doug that Hauser, his former identity, was an agent for the mining company who volunteered to become Doug Quaid in order to fool the rebels. In another video message, Hauser informs Doug that all has gone according to plan, but now he requires his body back. Doug and Melina manage to break free from the Rekall machines, steal guns, and rush to the reactor. Meanwhile, citizens of Venusville may die in one hour if their oxygen is not restored. Cohaagen orders Richter to kill Doug. Meanwhile, Benny chases Doug and Melina as they search through tunnels for an entrance to the reactor, but Doug kills Benny. After finding the entrance, Doug realizes that the reactor melts ice at Mars’s core to create oxygen. Richter and his agents catch up with Doug and Melina inside the reactor. Using Doug's hologram device to escape them, Doug manages to kill Richter from an elevator platform on his way to the site of the button. There, Cohaagen awaits, threatening to kill Doug. Melina shoots Cohaagen from the elevator. Cohaagen then activates a bomb which Doug throws into a tunnel inside the reactor. The bomb explodes, destroying the protective shield surrounding the reactor and exposing them to space. Cohaagen is sucked out and dies from lack of oxygen. Doug starts the reactor just before he and Melina are also sucked into space. The reactor creates a tremendous amount of oxygen that infuses the atmosphere, saving Doug and Melina just in time and allowing all inhabitants of Mars to breathe. Doug worries he is dreaming, then kisses Melina.
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