March 29, 2017
Discussion Questions:
On first viewing, Verhoevenâs 1990 film Total Recall may appear to be another big budget action adventure film set in the future and, possibly, nothing more than a âdumbing downâ or popularization of Dickâs short story on which it is based. Â However, reading the film more closely, what do we begin to notice about it? Â Is it possible that the film itself may not be what it at first appears to be? Â 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? Â Â In other words, in what ways does this film succeed in always âsayingâ 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 âdouble meaningâ of the movie a reflection of science fiction as a genre? Â Is Verhoeven in the end offering a definition of science fiction with this film? Â
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, thatâs kind of exaggeratedâbut itâs 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, thatâs the same over-and-understated situation, yeah? It has to do with the fearâa basic fear of myselfâthat 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 itâs okay; when reality changes to that degree, suddenlyâthatâs 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? Iâm 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 â 20:24; 2/ 38:50 â 39:50; 3/ 44:00 â 46:15; 4/ 49:00 â 55:00; 5/ 56:00 â 60:20 ; 6/ 1:18:00 â 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: Â Doctor
21:30: Â âThatâs a new one, blue sky on Mars.â
23:35: Â Â Inside the machine
27:00: Â Â Taxi
30:00: Â Â Lori scene
35:15: Â Â âIf Iâm not me, who the hell am Iâ
39:07: Â Â X-ray gun scene; breaking through the screen:
44:00: Â Â Bug in your head/towel/chase scene
50:59: Â Â Quail watches a video of himself
51:09: Â âYou are not you, youâre meâ
56:00 Â Â Â Goes to Mars / Two Weeks
1:06:00 Â At the Hilton
1:18:00: Dr. Edgemar: âIâm afraid you are not really standing here right nowâ
1:42:00: Kuato
1:50:00 Â Cohaagen confrontation
1:52:00 Â âI want my body backâ [Hauser confronts Quaid]
1:56:00 Â Memories being erased
2:00:00 Â Drill Scene
2:04:00 Â Enter Reactor
2:05:00 Â Hologram Gun Fight
Does the movie end with an implanted dream?
Holographic Watch Scene: Â https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqubhTODE-Q
Future Imperfect: Philip K. Dick at the Movies
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