S9E1: TOTAL RECALL

It's not too often that we examine a major Hollywood blockbuster on this show, but it's not too often that the studios release something as baffling as TOTAL RECALL, and by that we mean the original 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger–Paul Verhoeven sci-fi schlockfest. Is it all a dream? Did he read Word Up! magazine? Did Quaid ever get his ass to Mars, or is he lobotomized in the chair at Rekall? We may never know for sure, but in this first episode of our ninth season, your hosts Renan and Bill go long to discuss the film's vision of the future, its context in our recent past, Ahnold vs. The Rock, Philip K. Dick's posthumous Hollywood takeover, the long adaptation process and many almost-was versions, and other big-budget mind-benders. Also: prefacing our discussion of the film, a conversation about how the films we watch for this show might reflect on the mind-bending real world we live in.

Episode links:

• Total Recall on IMDb
• Total Recall on Wikipedia
• Roger Ebert 1990 TR review
• AV Club on Total Recall in 2016
• Den of Geek on TR Blu-ray release
• Film Comment Verhoeven interview
• "Verhoeven FINALLY explains the ending"
• Comparison of 1990 and 2012 TR versions
• Wired on Philip K Dick's Hollywood ascension
• "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale" (PDF)

Show links:

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