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Schwarzenegger fuck your freedom8/8/2023 ![]() ![]() Then again, the movie has never actually been much of a looker in the first place, so expectations should be reasonably soften in order to enjoy the several positives. And yet, the picture quality doesn't quite compare to other Blu-ray releases from the same period and doesn't really satisfy our high-def expectations. Verhoeven's 'Total Recall' takes another mind-bending trip to Blu-ray, and as promised, arrives with a slightly better-looking presentation, supposedly taken from the original elements according to information from Lionsgate and approved by Verhoeven as the way he intended the film to look.įor the most part, this 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode (1.85:1) is an improvement over the previous edition, which suffered noticeably from several artifacts. Afterwards, viewers are greeted by a main menu window with full-motion clips and music. Lionsgate Home Entertainment brings 'Total Recall' to Blu-ray for the second time and dubs it the "Mind-Bending Edition." The Region A locked, BD50 disc is housed inside a blue eco-lite keepcase and kicks off with a series of skippable trailers of other flicks from the distributor's catalog. Like I said, I can keep going on and on and on, but I'll just stop for now and go watch 'Total Recall' again because it's more fun to simply enjoy the thrill-ride and admire the awesome special effects. ![]() (There's the Mars train with little screens showing Schwarzenegger looking out onto the planet as the camera pulls back, and how about the original pitch for a sequel years later that evolved into Steven Spielberg's ' Minority Report.') And best of all is never knowing if it actually happened or if it's all part of Quaid's vacation fantasy. I can keep going on and on and on about this highly entertaining sci-fi actioner, the type moviegoers like to call a "thinking man's action movie." There's a great deal more happening in Paul Verhoeven's 'Total Recall,' and I can spend hours picking the whole thing apart, both in the production, the narrative and its place in moviemaking history. ![]() The best friend is the one to plant the idea which later transforms into the funnily named "schizoid embolism." And the real kicker is the beautiful Melina (Rachel Ticotin), who is exactly as he requested and looks identical to her CG renderings. We hear specific words and are shown fairly explicit images that later become part of Quaid's fantasy, and the mention of mutants by Cohaagen (Ronny Cox) is meant as a spiteful insult to freedom fighters during a press conference. The rest of the fantasy and the minor details within are controlled by the user. Once at Rekall, the lowly construction worker is told the fake memory implants are only a means for kick-starting the outlandish vacation. In his dreams, his suspicions of loved ones are justified. We're never given a definite answer although some would point out the suspicious behavior of Quaid's wife (Sharon Stone) and his best friend (Robert Costanzo), but we could just as easily say they're simply concerned for his unhappiness and well-being. A man is defined by his actions, not his memory."Īnother beauty to the whole film is the nagging question of whether or not it's all in Quaid's head. From being one of the last to see large-scale use of miniatures to lifelike animatronics like Schwarzenegger's memorable woman disguise when arriving on Mars, 'Total Recall' is ultimately one of the last Hollywood blockbusters to be made in old-fashioned, classic special effects, which oddly includes the gruesome violence. ![]() (James Cameron's ' Terminator 2' released the following year.) At the time, the visual and practical effects by Rob Bottin were thought of as ground-breaking and excitedly innovative. The actioner also came right at the cusp of the CGI furor, completely revolutionizing the filmmaking industry forever. We can laugh at the sequence today, but the film originally hit cinemas at the peak of a public outcry about the amount of violence on screen, and the hesitation from major studio productions for big-budgeted, ultra-violent, hard R-rated movies started growing. Some poor, random bystander is used as a human shield by our soon-to-be hero, and the blood squibs are massive, leaving behind big gaping holes in the clothing of the stunt performers. Take the escalator scene, for example, fairly early on after Arnold Schwarzenegger's Doug Quaid learns his comfortable middle-class life is a sham. (Verhoeven was actually threatened with an X-rating when he presented his original vision until he was forced to tone down the blood.) These types of movies aren't made nearly as much anymore, or at least not to the extent that Verhoeven seems to exaggerate and relish in the violence. Watching the movie again for the n'teenth time, Paul Verhoeven's wildly crazy actioner 'Total Recall' always reminds me of that bygone era when these wonderfully gory R-rated movies were more commonplace in the 80s and the early 90s. ![]()
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