Total Recall (1990)
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A construction worker's implanted memory of a Martian adventure begins to blur the lines between fiction and reality.
The story
In the year 2084, the planet Mars is a colony under the tyrannical rule of Vilos Cohaagen. On Earth, a construction worker named Douglas Quaid begins experiencing recurring dreams about Mars and a mysterious woman. Seeking answers, Quaid visits Rekall, a company that implants realistic false memories. He chooses a memory of being a Martian secret agent. However, the process is interrupted, and Quaid begins to believe his memories are real. He is soon pursued by a shadow organization and a mysterious woman, leading him into a conflict where he must determine what is a manufactured fantasy and what is his true past as a rebel against the Martian regime.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After his Rekall visit, Quaid is hunted by agents and his wife, Lori, who claims their marriage is a false memory. He eventually travels to Mars, where he meets Melina, a freedom fighter. He discovers he is actually Hauser, a man who defected from Cohaagen's regime. He joins a mutant resistance and learns of a 500,000-year-old alien reactor that can provide breathable air but would destroy the turbinium monopoly. Cohaagen eventually reveals that Quaid's memories were activated prematurely and that he has been helping him survive the 'illusion' of being on Earth. In the final confrontation at the reactor, Quaid and Melina outwit Cohaagen's forces. Quaid activates the reactor, creating a breathable atmosphere on Mars. The film ends with the two of them together under a newly blue sky, while Quaid briefly questions if the entire experience was a dream.
- First release year
- 1990
- Runtime (minutes)
- 113
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Cast and characters
- Arnold Schwarzenegger · Douglas Quaid / Hauser; Rachel Ticotin · Melina; Sharon Stone · Lori; Ronny Cox · Vilos Cohaagen; Michael Ironside · Richter
- Genres
- science fiction; action
- Themes
- identity; questioning reality; authoritarianism; colonialism
- Tone and mood
- action-packed; tense
- Setting
- Earth and Mars in the year 2084.
- Premise and plot tags
- cyberpunk; space exploration; conspiracy
- Source material / true-story basis
- the 1966 short story 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale' by Philip K. Dick
- Reception
- The film's critical reception was mixed, with praise for its themes and special effects, but criticism regarding its perceived vulgarity and violence. Retrospectively, it has been praised for its ambiguous ending and as one of Schwarzenegger's best films.
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Visual Effects · win; Saturn Award · Best Science Fiction Film · win
- Production trivia
- The film was one of the most expensive films made in its time.; The script went through forty drafts and seven different directors before production.; The special effects were well received and won an Academy Award.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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