Question:
Having just watched this yet again, i'm still trying to get my head round it:confused:
OK one bit i'm confused about is why when Quaid returns from Rekall, Harry knows he has been there, and has taken a trip to Mars?
Also when he says "you blabbed Quaid, you blabbed about Mars", what exactly does he mean by that?
So is it a dream or what? I listened to the commentry on the DVD and that did help explain a lot of what I didn't understand.
In an interview I read many years ago in an old issue of starburst, Paul Verhoeven (sp?) said that Quaid actually dies at the end of the movie.
Once Quaid is put to sleep in the chair, everything after that is his personal secret agent fantasy. Theres even some pictures of the mars machine on the monitor while they prepare Quaid for the implant. Also theres the girl on the monitor as well come to think about it.
Then when that fat guy turns up and tries to talk him out of it, he says something like "if you continue, the walls of reality will come crashing down" and then the bad guys burst through the wall. Theres just little things like that.
But what really sticks out in my mind from the interview is the ending. Paul said Quaid is lobotmised on earth, thats why the movie fades to white at the end.
Originally posted by Captain_Chaos
OK one bit i'm confused about is why when Quaid returns from Rekall, Harry knows he has been there, and has taken a trip to Mars?
Also when he says "you blabbed Quaid, you blabbed about Mars", what exactly does he mean by that?
The character Harry was supposed to be a Cohaagen agent placed next to Quaid to keep an eye on him. I don't remember that Harry knew Doug had been to Recall - I thought that Doug told Harry (which is when Harry talks about a guy who ended up lobotomised?) about the trip, but I haven't watched the film for a while.
I quite like the way that the story gives you two possible situations (the Mars segment being real or delusional), but I think that Verhoeven probably pushed the film to far towards the delusional explaination.
Still a cracking film though.
"Come on Cohaagen, you've got what you want - give these people air!"
:thumbs: :D
HMmmm, * head hurts*:zzz:
If you get baffled by Total Recal never watch Mullholland drive or Donnie Darko...
Originally posted by Arch Stanton
If you get baffled by Total Recal never watch Mullholland drive or Donnie Darko...
Never seen Donnie Darko, but Mulholland Dr confused the hell outta me.
Philp K. Dicks short stories and novels are mostly better left in print..except for Blade Runner which differs from the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep but retains the spirit and tone of the novel..this film Total Recall is an Arnie vehicle unfortunately lacks the spirit if not Dicks ideas..I reckon Dennis Quaid, the original choice for the lead would have been better. 6/10.
It's quite simple really, but I like that this film could go many different ways, and sometimes it's fun to never understand what is what.
Haven't listened to the commentary but the evidence in the movie suggests it's his delusion - the Mars machine on the monitor as mentioned above and the technician saying something like "Blue sky on Mars? That's a new one" as he puts Quaid to sleep.
But there's stuff in there which contradicts the delusion theory such as in the very start when Melina is in Quaid's dream before he has even gone to Recall - unless someone here can explain that to me? :)
OK one bit i'm confused about is why when Quaid returns from Rekall, Harry knows he has been there, and has taken a trip to Mars?
Also when he says "you blabbed Quaid, you blabbed about Mars", what exactly does he mean by that?
So is it a dream or what? I listened to the commentry on the DVD and that did help explain a lot of what I didn't understand.
Answers:
In an interview I read many years ago in an old issue of starburst, Paul Verhoeven (sp?) said that Quaid actually dies at the end of the movie.
Once Quaid is put to sleep in the chair, everything after that is his personal secret agent fantasy. Theres even some pictures of the mars machine on the monitor while they prepare Quaid for the implant. Also theres the girl on the monitor as well come to think about it.
Then when that fat guy turns up and tries to talk him out of it, he says something like "if you continue, the walls of reality will come crashing down" and then the bad guys burst through the wall. Theres just little things like that.
But what really sticks out in my mind from the interview is the ending. Paul said Quaid is lobotmised on earth, thats why the movie fades to white at the end.
Answers:
Originally posted by Captain_Chaos
OK one bit i'm confused about is why when Quaid returns from Rekall, Harry knows he has been there, and has taken a trip to Mars?
Also when he says "you blabbed Quaid, you blabbed about Mars", what exactly does he mean by that?
The character Harry was supposed to be a Cohaagen agent placed next to Quaid to keep an eye on him. I don't remember that Harry knew Doug had been to Recall - I thought that Doug told Harry (which is when Harry talks about a guy who ended up lobotomised?) about the trip, but I haven't watched the film for a while.
I quite like the way that the story gives you two possible situations (the Mars segment being real or delusional), but I think that Verhoeven probably pushed the film to far towards the delusional explaination.
Still a cracking film though.
"Come on Cohaagen, you've got what you want - give these people air!"
:thumbs: :D
Answers:
HMmmm, * head hurts*:zzz:
Answers:
If you get baffled by Total Recal never watch Mullholland drive or Donnie Darko...
Answers:
Originally posted by Arch Stanton
If you get baffled by Total Recal never watch Mullholland drive or Donnie Darko...
Never seen Donnie Darko, but Mulholland Dr confused the hell outta me.
Answers:
Philp K. Dicks short stories and novels are mostly better left in print..except for Blade Runner which differs from the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep but retains the spirit and tone of the novel..this film Total Recall is an Arnie vehicle unfortunately lacks the spirit if not Dicks ideas..I reckon Dennis Quaid, the original choice for the lead would have been better. 6/10.
Answers:
It's quite simple really, but I like that this film could go many different ways, and sometimes it's fun to never understand what is what.
Answers:
Haven't listened to the commentary but the evidence in the movie suggests it's his delusion - the Mars machine on the monitor as mentioned above and the technician saying something like "Blue sky on Mars? That's a new one" as he puts Quaid to sleep.
But there's stuff in there which contradicts the delusion theory such as in the very start when Melina is in Quaid's dream before he has even gone to Recall - unless someone here can explain that to me? :)
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