Total Recall (R) 1990

Run Time:124 Minutes
Director: Paul Verhoeven
DVD Release Date: 2003

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This movie is about the best adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story you could expect considering Arnold is the star. Instead of relying primarily on the detective smarts more common to PKD stories, Douglas Quaid (renamed from the original story's Quail) uses typical Schwarzenegger-style police brutality to overcome assailants after discovering that life isn't quite what he thought it was. A trip to Recall for a virtual trip to Mars wakes memories Quaid didn't know existed causing him to question his whole existence in a play to save the Red Planet from disaster. All told, Total Recall is a great escapist sci-fi experience, but PKD fanatics may be more pleased with Speilberg's retelling of Minority Report or the seminal sci-fi classic Blade Runner. Arnold's commentary track is actually quite fun and the featurettes on the DVD round out the bonus features. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track is better than average, although not nearly as amazing as the Special Edition designation might imply. PKD and Schwarzenegger fans will both want to make this part of the growing collection of DVD works that make up the careers of both.

You can hear the original story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, as part of the audio book, Minority Report & Other Stories.