Customer Reviews

Total Recall [Import]

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

VIDEO:

Total Recall (1990)(Mind-Bending Edition) arrives at blu ray with MPEG-4 AVC 1080p 1.85:1 encode. The original Total Recall blu ray was released in 2007 with disastrous results. This new Mind-Bending Edition is much improved, supposedly taken from the original elements according to information from Lionsgate and approved by director Paul Verhoeven as the way he intended the film to look. As evidenced by the restoration comparison included on this blu ray as a supplement, the results are rather dramatic. Contrast is markedly better in this presentation, as is colour timing and especially saturation. We can see more of the finer details in the background. Besides, this goes back to the deliberate photography of Jost Vacano ('Das Boot,' 'Robocop') and Verhoeven, wanting the feel of a dystopic, lifeless and morose future. The colour palette is severely affected by these artistic decisions, also looking fairly glum and downcast, but primaries are cleanly rendered and stable. (4.0/5)

AUDIO:

This DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track is also an improvement from the last edition. It has a wide dynamic range. The English track is an incredibly visceral experience, completely immersive and wonderfully nuanced. Dialogue and Jerry Goldsmith's nicely bombastic score are well prioritized and are delivered cleanly and clearly. (4.0/5)

TRIVIA:

Total Recall (1990) has an estimated budget of $65 million, but grossed $261 million worldwide.

Arnold Schwarzenegger suffered several hand-related injuries during the shoot. When filming the scene where Quaid smashes a train window, a tiny explosive in the glass was supposed to shatter the glass a fraction of a second before Schwarzenegger struck it, but it didn't go off and Schwarzenegger hit the glass for real, badly cutting himself. When filming the fight scene inside Quaid's Hilton suite (immediately after Quaid shoots Dr. Edgemar), Schwarzenegger broke a finger on his right hand and had to get a cast fitted. As a result, most of his scenes shot afterward kept his injured hand off-screen.

The subway scenes were filmed in the Mexico City subway system, specifically, the Insurgentes station of the Line 1: Constituyentes-Pantitlan.

Some of the large ads seen after Quaid gets off the subway were real signs featured above the Insurgentes subway station in Mexico City, most noticeable the Fuji Film and Coca Cola signs, the Coca Cola sign still stands today.

All of the crew fell ill due to food poisoning during production in Mexican City, with the exception of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronald Shusett (Screenplay writer). Schwarzenegger escaped because he always had his food catered from the US. This was because three years earlier, he had fallen ill due to drinking tap water in Mexico during production of Predator. As for Shusett, he took extreme health precautions, such as only brushing his teeth with boiled or bottled water and insisting on getting a weekly vitamin B12 shot. Shusett was even mocked by the crew until they all got sick themselves.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I am still very fond of the Mars-surfaced-colour tin-can of the Special Limited Edition DVD. But this latest Mind-Bending Edition, being released to coincide with the 2012 Total Recall, is significantly improved over the 2007 release, and is the definitive version of this movie as far as video and audio are concerned. But the most attractive part is the price…$10!!! IWhat a bargain. Get it before the price goes up. The blu ray disc is highly recommended.

As per the usual Amazon.ca tradition, reviews of the standard DVD edition and the 2007 blu ray editions are also included in this latest edition column. Please read the date of review before wasting time in reading out-dated materials.

I hope the above review is helpful to you.

Fine movie, don't get me wrong.
But as Blu-Ray movies go, the picture quality is horrid.
It would be above average as a DVD ... but that's not what you're paying for.

Total Recall is a 1990 American dystopian science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale".

I got this for a gift this Christmas.....and my son loves it! So if he is happy with it - I'm happy with it!

This movie has an excellent quality! I totally recommend! Better than the non mind-bending version. And also much better than the 2012 one, but that's my opinion.

I've always enjoyed the original version. It was cutting edge at the time it came out and Michael Ironside was one of my favourite actors. His intensity is palatable.

While I haven't taken a look at the Blu-ray version of this movie, I can however safely say that this is the best DVD version of the movie you can own. Not only does it feature crisp and clear audio and video, but it also comes with some pretty wonderful special features, including a hilarious and somewhat insightful commentary track with Arnie and Verhoeven.

If you love Total Recall, what can I say, buy this DVD.

I ordered this movie and received the French version. I returned it with no problems and reordered it.
But to my dismay the new one was also in French only. I made yet another trip to the post office to return it.

What a hassle. Just bought it at a locl store instead for husband at xmas.

I'm glad I picked this up for under $10. If I got this as a DVD I'd be disappointed but not surprised. I've seen a lot of garbage film-to-DVD transfers. You know, the ones with the film grain and scratches? Well, now we have it on Blu-ray. The BR version of this movie offers no video quality improvements over DVD. It's like watching a movie film, but with lots of dithering. If you have this on DVD, don't waste your money on this version.

Having said all that, I still like this movie. I'd like to see a remaster of it eventually.

I ordered this movie, and received a French version. I returned that movie in exchange for the correct one, and received another French version. I was told by Amazon that they couldn't fix the problem so just gave me a refund.

Then Amazon asks me for a movie review? I think the left hand has no clue what the right hand is doing.