e Rekall employees sedate him, wipe his memory of the visit, and send him home.

On the way,
Quaid is attacked by his friend Harry and other men, and is forced to kill them. He is then ambushed
in his apartment by Lori, who states that she isn't his wife; their marriage is a false memory implant,
and "The Agency" sent her to monitor Quaid. Quaid knocks Lori out and runs off, pursued by armed
men led by Richter, Cohaagen's operative and Lori's real husband.
After evading his attackers, Quaid is left a suitcase containing money, gadgets, fake IDs, and a
video recording. The video is of Quaid himself, who identifies himself as Hauser and explains that he
used to work for Cohaagen, but switched sides after learning about an alien artifact on Mars and
underwent the memory wipe to protect himself. Hauser instructs Quaid to remove a tracking device
located inside his skull before ordering him to go to Mars. On arrival, Quaid finds a note from Hauser
directing him to Venusville, populated by people mutated as a result of poor radiation shielding. He
meets Benny, a taxi driver, and Melina, the woman from his dreams, but she spurns him, believing
that he is still working for Cohaagen.
Quaid later encounters Rekall's Dr. Edgemar and Lori. Edgemar asserts Quaid suffered a "schizoid
embolism" and is trapped in a fantasy from the implanted memories, and must take an offered pill to
wake up, or will otherwise be lobotomized. Seeing sweat on Edgemar's face, Quaid refuses the pill
and shoots him, just as Richter's men burst into the room. Melina arrives to aid Quaid, recognizing
Quaid to be truthful, and in their escape Quaid kills Lori.
They flee to Venusville with Benny, and are ushered into a secret tunnel. Unable to locate Quaid,
Cohaagen shuts down the ventilation, slowly asphyxiating its citizens. Quaid, Melina, and Benny are
taken to a resistance base, and Quaid is introduced to the mutant Kuato, conjoined to his brother
George. Kuato reads Quaid's mind recalling a discussion with Cohaagen and Richter about the
Martian artifact and its unknown purpose. Cohaagen's forces burst in and kill most of the resistance.
Quaid, George/Kuato, Melina & Benny escape to an airlock. Benny kills George and reveals that he
works for Cohaagen. Kuato implores Quaid to activate the reactor before being shot by Richter.
Quaid and Melina are taken to Cohaagen, who explains that the Quaid persona was a ploy by
Hauser to infiltrate the mutants and expose Kuato, thereby wiping out the resistance. Cohaagen
orders Hauser's memories to be reimplanted in Quaid and Melina re-programmed as Hauser's
obedient "babe", but Quaid and Melina escape into the mines where the reactor is located. Benny
attacks them in an excavation machine, but Quaid kills him. Quaid and Melina then outwit and kill
Richter and his men lying in ambush for them.
Quaid reaches the reactor control room, where Cohaagen is waiting with a bomb, claiming starting
the reactor will destroy them all. Melina arrives and shoots Cohaagen, but he starts the bomb timer.
Quaid throws the bomb down the tunnel, blowing the door open and causing an explosive
decompression. Quaid pushes Cohaagen aside, and Cohaagen is sucked out onto the surface,
where he suffocates and dies. Quaid manages to activate the reactor before he and Melina are also
sucked out. The reactor rods deploy, sublimating the turbinium glacier underneath and releasing
gas, which bursts from a mountain and forms a breathable planetary atmosphere, saving Quaid,
Melina, Venusville, and the rest of Mars' population. As the Mars humans and mutants stand on an
outcropping looking at the newly blue sky, Quaid momentarily pauses to wonder whether he is
dreaming or not, before turning to kiss Melina.

Cast[edit]
 Arnold Schwarzenegger as Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who discovers that he is
actually a secret agent formerly named Carl Hauser, and travels to Mars to uncover his true
identity and why his memory was erased.
 Rachel Ticotin as Melina, a beautiful woman seen as the partner in Quaid's Rekall memory
program who turns out to be a resistance fighter seeking to overthrow Cohaagen.
 Sharon Stone as Lori Quaid, Quaid's seemingly loving wife who is later also revealed to be an
agent sent by Cohaagen to monitor Quaid. She is Richter's wife. Lori is shown to possess
various martial arts skills (she is able to nearly fight Quaid to a standstill, and also gives Melina a
vicious beating), as well as being proficient in the use of knives and firearms.
 Ronny Cox as Vilos Cohaagen, the corrupt and ruthless governor of the Mars Colony and friend
of Hauser who stops at nothing in the mining of turbinium ore, which places innocent people at
risk.
 Michael Ironside as Richter, Cohaagen's chief lieutenant. He is domineering and sadistic and
has a seething hatred for Quaid stemming from a grudge against Quaid for sleeping with the
undercover Lori. He relentlessly tries to kill Quaid several times, defying Cohaagen's orders to
take him alive.
 Mel Johnson Jr. as Benny, a taxi driver and mutant on Mars Colony who befriends and later
betrays Quaid and the mutants to Cohaagen.
 Marshall Bell as George and as the voice of Kuato. George is a member of the resistance who
has his mutant brother Kuato, the resistance leader, conjoined at his abdomen. Kuato helps
Quaid unlock the secret to his past and the mystery of a reactor built by an ancient Martian
civilization. Kuato seemingly has clairvoyant powers.
 Roy Brocksmith as Dr. Edgemar, who tries to talk Quaid into taking a pill which he claims would
break Quaid out of his fantasy and restore him to reality. Quaid executes him with a pistol upon
discovering he is in league with Cohaagen.
 Ray Baker as Bob McClane, a Rekall manager and sales agent who convinces Quaid to buy an
"Ego Trip" memory implant.
 Michael Champion as Helm, Richter's acerbic right-hand man.
 Rosemary Dunsmore as Dr. Renata Lull, the lead memory programmer at Rekall, who initiated
Quaid's memory implant procedure that triggered his outburst in the lab.
 Robert Costanzo as Harry, Quaid's workmate, who is revealed to be an agent sent by Cohaagen
to monitor Quaid on Earth and later had his neck snapped by Quaid when he and his henchmen
tried to apprehend him.
 Marc Alaimo as Captain Everett, a Captain of the Mars Colony security force. He does not get
along with Richter. Everett orders his men to arrest a disguised Quaid on Richter's orders, but
Quaid escapes.
 Dean Norris as Tony, a disfigured mutant who knew Quaid on Mars as Hauser, and dislikes him.
 Debbie Lee Carrington as Thumbelina, a dwarf mutant who fought against Richter's mercenaries
with Tony.
 Lycia Naff as Mary, widely known as the Three-Breasted prostitute.

Production[edit]
The original screenplay was written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the writers of Alien, who
wrote the initial script before their collaboration on Alien. They had bought the rights to Philip K.
Dick's short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" while Dick was still alive. Unable to find
a backer for the project, it drifted into development hell, passing from studio to studio for several
years, during which time approximately forty drafts of the script were written.[5]
In the mid-1980s, producer Dino De Laurentiis took on the project with Richard Dreyfuss attached to
star.[6] Patrick Swayze, who had recently starred in Dirty Dancing, was also considered for the
role.[7] In 1987, it was announced that De Laurentiis would make the film as the first production for his
DEG company at the new De Laurentiis film studios on the Gold Coast, with Bruce Beresford to
direct from a screenplay by O'Bannon and Shusett. This version of the film was never made.[8]
David Cronenberg was given the script by De Laurentiis, which in his opinion had a great start, but
as it went on he felt that O'Bannon and Shusett did not know what to do with the story. Cronenberg
described his work on the project as constantly fighting and eventually falling out with Shusett: "I
worked on it for a year and did about 12 drafts. Eventually, we got to a point where Ron Shusett
said, 'You know what you've done? You've done the Philip K. Dick version.' I said, 'Isn't that what
we're supposed to be doing?' He said, 'No, no, we want to do Raiders of the Lost Ark Go to
Mars."[citation needed] Cronenberg intended to cast William Hurt in the role and envisioned the film as
"Spider goes to Mars". Shusett claimed that another reason why Cronenberg quit the film was
because around the time Dreyfuss was involved, the director wanted to go on a different approach
and in Shusett's words, was "suddenly against his own ideas" after some disagreements.[9] Although
he went uncredited in the final version of the film, Cronenberg originated the idea of mutants on
Mars, including the character of Kuato (spelled Quato in his screenplay).[10] When the adaptation
of Dune flopped at the box office, De Laurentiis similarly lost enthusiasm for the project.[11]
The collapse of De Laurentiis' company provided an opening for Schwarzenegger, who had
unsuccessfully approached the producer about starring in the film. Schwarzenegger had first
become aware of the project while filming Raw Deal, which had been distributed by De Laurentiis
Entertainment Group. He initially discussed doing the film with Predator producer Joel Silver while
working on that film, but this project would never come to fruition.[5] He persuaded Carolco to buy the
rights to the film for a comparatively cheap $3 million and negotiated a salary of $10–11 million (plus
15% of the profits)[12][13] to star, with an unusually broad degree of control over the production. He
obtained veto power over the producer, director, screenplay, co-stars, and promotion.
Schwarzenegger first personally recruited Paul Verhoeven to direct the film, having been impressed
by the Dutch director's RoboCop (for which Schwarzenegger was considered for the title role). By
this time, the script had been through 42 drafts, but it still lacked a third act. Gary Goldman was then
brought in by Schwarzenegger to work with Ronald Shusett to develop the final draft of the
screenplay.[5][7] The director also brought in many of his collaborators on RoboCop, including actor
Ronny Cox, cinematographer Jost Vacano, production designer William Sandell, editor Frank J.
Urioste, and special-effects designer Rob Bottin.[14]

Filming[edit]
Much of the filming took place in 20 March 1989 to 23 August 1989 on location in Mexico City and
at Estudios Churubusco. The futuristic subway station and vehicles are actually part of the Mexico
City Metro, with the subway cars painted gray and television monitors added. The interior of the
metro stations Chabacano and Universidad and the exterior of the metro station Insurgentes were
shot.[15]

Rating[edit]
The film was initially given an X rating. Violence was trimmed and different camera angles were
used in the over-the-top scenes for an R rating.[4]

Soundtrack[edit]
Total Recall: The Deluxe Edition

Soundtrack album by

Jerry Goldsmith

Released 2001
 Length 66:52

Language English

Label Varèse Sarabande

Director Jerry Goldsmith

The score was composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith, and 40 minutes of it were released by
the Varèse Sarabande label in 1990.[16] Ten years later, the same label released a "Deluxe Edition",
in chronological order with additional cues that were left out, totaling 74 minutes.[17] As with several
Goldsmith scores, the music was performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra.
The score has been hailed as one of Goldsmith's best, especially as heard in the Deluxe Edition,
and commended for its blend of electronic and orchestral elements.[18]

Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Total Recall debuted at number one at the box office.[19] The film ultimately grossed $261,299,840
worldwide. It received an 82% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 68 reviews, with an
average rating of 7.29/10. The site's critical consensus states "Under Paul Verhoeven's frenetic
direction, Total Recall is a fast-paced rush of violence, gore, and humor that never
slacks."[20] Metacritic rated it 57 out of 100 based on 17 reviews.[21] Audiences polled
by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[22]
Roger Ebert awarded the film three and a half stars (out of four), calling it "one of the most complex
and visually interesting science-fiction movies in a long time."[23] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment
Weekly gave it a score of "B+" and said that it "starts out as mind-bending futuristic satire and then
turns relentless [and] becomes a violent, post-punk version of an Indiana Jones cliff-hanger."[24] Film
scholar William Buckland considers it one of the more "sublime" Philip K. Dick adaptations,
contrasting it with films like Impostor and Paycheck, which he considered "ridiculous".[25]
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film is not a classic, "but it's still solid and
entertaining."[21] James Berardinelli gave the film two and a half stars (out of four), saying that
"neither Schwarzenegger nor Verhoeven [has] stretched [his] talents here," but added, "with a script
that's occasionally as smart as it is energetic, Total Recall offers a little more than wholesale
carnage."[26]
Some critics, such as Janet Maslin of The New York Times, considered the film excessively
violent.[27] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post gave it a negative review, saying that director Paul
Verhoeven "disappoints with this appalling onslaught of blood and boredom."[28] Feminist cultural
critic Susan Faludi called it one of "an endless stream of war and action movies" in which "women
are reduced to mute and incidental characters or banished altogether."[29]

Accolades[edit]
 Award Category Recipients Result

Nelson Stoll, Michael J.

Best Sound Kohut, Carlos Delarios & Aaron Nominated
Rochin
Academy
Awards[30]
Best Sound Effects Editing Stephen Hunter Flick Nominated

Best Visual Effects (Special Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, Tim

Won
Achievement Award) McGovern & Alex Funke

Best Science Fiction Film Won

Best Costume Erica Edell Phillips Won

Best Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger Nominated

Best Direction Paul Verhoeven Nominated

Saturn
Awards

Rob Bottin, Jeff Dawn, Craig

Best Make-up Nominated
Berkeley & Robin Weiss

Best Music Jerry Goldsmith Nominated

Thomas L. Fisher, Eric Brevig & Rob

Best Special Effects Nominated
Bottin

Best Supporting Actress Rachel Ticotin Nominated

 Award Category Recipients Result

Ronald Shusett, Dan

Best Writing Nominated
O'Bannon & Gary Goldman

Japan
Outstanding Foreign
Academy Nominated
Language Film
Prize

Whole Special Visual Effects

BAFTA Best Special Visual Effects Nominated
Production team

Hugo Award Best Dramatic Presentation Tyler Maurice Kooy Nominated

Legacy[edit]
Novelization[edit]
The film was novelized by Piers Anthony.[31] The novel and film correspond fairly well, although
Anthony was evidently working from an earlier script than the one used for the film, with the main
character named Douglas Quail instead of Douglas Quaid.[32] Anthony was criticized for the ending of
his book which removed the ambiguity about whether the events of Total Recall are real or a dream.
In addition, the novel had a subplot wherein the aliens planted a fail-safe device within their Mars
technology, so that if it were misused or destroyed, the local star would go nova and therefore
prevent the species from entering the galactic community. It coincided with a comment earlier in the
novel that astronomers were noticing an abnormal number of recent supernovae, giving an
indication that the aliens seeded their tech as part of a galactic experiment in technological maturity.
Instead of mentioning that he dreamt of her earlier in the film, Melina mentions she was once a
model, explaining how Quaid could have seen her on the screen at Rekall.

Video game[edit]
A Total Recall video game based on the film was developed and released by Ocean Software in
1990, featuring 2D action, platformer scenes and top-down racing scenes; a version for popular 8-bit
home computers (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC) and popular 16-bit home
computers (Amiga and Atari ST) was also released the following year.

Television series[edit]
A television series called Total Recall 2070 went into production in 1999. The series was meant to
be a sequel; however, it had far more similarities with the Blade Runner film (also inspired by a Philip
K. Dick story) than Verhoeven's film.[33] The two-hour series pilot, released on VHS and DVD for the
North American market, borrowed footage from the film, such as the space cruiser arriving on Mars.

Comic books