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MOVIES / ON DVD / TOTAL RECALL
Total Recall

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Total Recall (1990)

79%
100%
85%
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79 %
Reviews Counted: 39 Fresh: 31  Rotten:8 Average Rating: 7.1/10
 
Consensus: A fast-paced rush of violence, gore, and humor that never slacks. Under Paul Verhoeven's frenetic direction, Total Recall is a fast-paced rush of violence, gore, and humor that never slacks. more
 
Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins
Synopsis:
Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as Quaid, a 2084 construction worker haunted by dreams of Mars in this crowd-pleasing science fiction spectacle. Against the wishes of his sexy blonde wife (Sharon Stone), Quaid goes to Rekall, a company that implants artificial memories, so he can... [More]
Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as Quaid, a 2084 construction worker haunted by dreams of Mars in this crowd-pleasing science fiction spectacle. Against the wishes of his sexy blonde wife (Sharon Stone), Quaid goes to Rekall, a company that implants artificial memories, so he can "remember" visiting the red planet that is now being settled by human inhabitants. However, Quaid is actually an amnesiac secret agent from Mars--or is he? Enemy agents led by a thug named Richter (Michael Ironside) start trying to kill him before Quaid remembers anything more. Bullets and bone-crunching mayhem follow in large doses as Quaid heads to Mars to deal with mutants, ancient alien races, and Cohagen (Ronny Cox), a greedy capitalist controlling the colonists' air supply, in an effort to remember his real identity. TOTAL RECALL is based on the story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick and was a big box-office hit, helping to firmly establish director Paul Verhoeven as a specialist in darkly satiric, blood-drenched genre films. His next stop: BASIC INSTINCT, also with Stone. [Less]

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Story: Philip K. Dick, Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Jon Povill
Screenwriter: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Gary Goldman
Producer: Buzz Feitshans, Ronald Shusett
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith

DVD Info

Release:

Dec 10, 2007

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 1.85 (THX Hi-Res)

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Surround Sound 5.1 - English
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional
  • Closed Captioned - English - Optional

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image

The future doesn't come any better.

Full Review | Comment
02/09/06 03:17 AM
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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Worryingly satisfying in a purely gruesome, beat-em-up kinda way.

Full Review | Comment
05/12/01 11:33 PM
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
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The fierce and unrelenting pace, accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek strain of humor in the roughhouse screenplay, keeps the film moving like a juggernaut.

Full Review | Comment
03/01/07 10:12 PM
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Ugly, stupid, loud, offensive, and pointlessly violent.

Full Review | Comment
03/01/07 10:11 PM
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

A worthy entry in the dystopian cycle launched by Blade Runner, this seems less derivative than most of its predecessors yet equally accomplished in its straight-ahead storytelling, with plenty of provocative satiric undertones and scenic details.

Full Review | Comment
03/01/07 10:09 PM
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
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Say what you will about Verhoeven's penchant for extravagant theatrics, when he's not yanking the arms off people or putting bullets in their forehead, he tells a good story.

Full Review | Comment
02/13/07 11:54 AM
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
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...people are allowed to change their minds

Full Review | Comment
07/10/05 03:58 PM
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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Thought-provoking, flashy, and FULL of action!

| Comment
04/17/05 02:51 AM
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com
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No review available.

| Comment
01/07/05 01:05 AM
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies
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No review available.

| Comment
02/16/04 10:44 PM
Rebecca Murray
About.com
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No review available.

| Comment
02/10/04 02:56 PM
Spence D.
IGN Movies
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No review available.

| Comment
01/08/04 09:27 PM
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)
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Oh for the days when Verhoeven was still in Holland.

| Comment
11/24/03 04:36 PM
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
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...one of the best action flicks to emerge out of Hollywood in the '90s (or ever, really).

Full Review | Comment
08/01/03 08:13 AM
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
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No review available.

| Comment
07/15/03 08:51 PM
Josh Gilchrist
Billings Outpost (Montana)
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Mediocre sci-fi. Gained a cult following, for some unknown reason.

| Comment
05/28/03 07:16 AM
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum
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Melding the ever-more-workable Schwarzenegger mystique with a better-than-average science-fiction premise, the director Paul Verhoeven has come up with a vigorous, superviolent interplanetary thriller that packs in wallops with metronomic regularity.

Full Review | Comment
05/20/03 05:16 PM
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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While it may seem dated today, the film showcases Sharon Stone, evil wife to Schwarzenegger. You may want to take notice of how precious air is after seeing it.

| Comment
04/23/03 04:59 PM
Moira Sullivan
FilmFestivals.com
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This is a very interesting film and is also successful as a headlong roller-coaster ride of a pure action film.

Full Review | Comment
03/27/03 05:14 PM
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
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This futuristic science fiction is based on a Philip K. Dick short story, and features award-winning special effects.

Full Review | Comment
03/10/03 08:49 AM
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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