March 29, 2017

Discussion Questions:

On first viewing, Verhoeven’s 1990 film Total Recall may appear to be another big budget action adventure film set in the future and, possibly, nothing more than a “dumbing down” or popularization of Dick’s short story on which it is based.  However, reading the film more closely, what do we begin to notice about it?  Is it possible that the film itself may not be what it at first appears to be?  If so, how is this communicated to the viewer?

In what ways is this film entertaining while at the same time being instructive regarding the dangers and perils of entertainment?   In other words, in what ways does this film succeed in always “saying” two things at once?

If a trip to Rekal is identical to a trip to the movies, what is Verhoeven saying about the experience of watching movies and the roles and functions of entertainment?

In what ways may the title of the film be reflective of its aim and purpose to operate on two different levels of meaning simultaneously?

Is the “double meaning” of the movie a reflection of science fiction as a genre?  Is Verhoeven in the end offering a definition of science fiction with this film?  

 

 

On Dangerous Ground: Paul Verhoeven Interviewed

By Michael Wilmington in the July/August 1990 Issue of Film Comment

 

What attracted you to Total Recall?

If I say that, for me, RoboCop is about Lost Paradise, that’s kind of exaggerated—but it’s something that, to some degree, is in the heart of the movie. And if I say that Total Recall, for me, had to do with fear of psychosis, that’s the same over-and-understated situation, yeah? It has to do with the fear—a basic fear of myself—that psychosis is a way my brains could go.

Like The Fourth Man.

Yeah, little bit. More like Repulsion. When people who behave nice suddenly turn out to be monsters and criminals and kill you; when danger is around every corner, while normally it’s okay; when reality changes to that degree, suddenly—that’s the case for people who are psychotic. Now, certainly Total Recall has that element.

For the audience, every moment in the movie seems to be real. But when you get to the next scene, you can doubt the scene before, yeah? I’m exaggerating, because it would be really terrible to do that to an audience; everybody would be driven crazy, probably. But every once in a while you realize that what you saw before should have been seen in a different way. It was not reality, or it was a misinterpreted reality.

https://www.filmcomment.com/article/paul-verhoeven-total-recall-interview/

 

 

For our class on Wednesday, we will be focusing on a discussion of the following scenes from the film: 1/ 18:00 – 20:24; 2/ 38:50 – 39:50; 3/ 44:00 – 46:15; 4/ 49:00 – 55:00; 5/ 56:00 – 60:20 ; 6/ 1:18:00 – 1:23:00. I also encourage all of you to re-read pp. 311- 319.

Total Recall (1990) Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFMLGEHdIjE

 

Total Recall (1990) Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ47IavBh7g

Begins with a dream.

20:00:  Doctor

21:30:  “That’s a new one, blue sky on Mars.”

23:35:   Inside the machine

27:00:   Taxi

30:00:   Lori scene

35:15:   “If I’m not me, who the hell am I”

39:07:   X-ray gun scene; breaking through the screen:

44:00:   Bug in your head/towel/chase scene

50:59:   Quail watches a video of himself

51:09:  “You are not you, you’re me”

56:00    Goes to Mars / Two Weeks

1:06:00  At the Hilton

1:18:00: Dr. Edgemar: “I’m afraid you are not really standing here right now”

1:42:00: Kuato

1:50:00  Cohaagen confrontation

1:52:00  “I want my body back” [Hauser confronts Quaid]

1:56:00  Memories being erased

2:00:00  Drill Scene

2:04:00  Enter Reactor

2:05:00  Hologram Gun Fight

Does the movie end with an implanted dream?

 

Holographic Watch Scene:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqubhTODE-Q

Future Imperfect: Philip K. Dick at the Movies