Total recall

 

Based on	"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick
Produced by	Buzz Feitshans Ronald Shusett
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger Rachel Ticotin Sharon Stone Michael Ironside Ronny Cox
Cinematography	Jost Vacano
Edited by	Frank J. Urioste
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Production company	Carolco Pictures
Distributed by	Tri-Star Pictures
Release date	June 1, 1990
Running time	113 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$48–90 million
Box office	$261.4 million

Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, and Gary Goldman. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, and Michael Ironside. Based on the 1966 short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick, Total Recall tells the story of Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger), a construction worker who receives a memory implant about a fantastical adventure on Mars. He subsequently finds his adventure occurring in reality as agents of a shadow organization try to prevent him from recovering memories of his past as a Martian secret agent aiming to stop the tyrannical regime of Martian dictator Vilos Cohaagen (Cox).

Shusett bought the rights to Dick's short story in 1974 and developed a script with O'Bannon. Although considered a competent idea, the project's ambitious scope and the budget required to achieve it kept it in various stages of development at multiple studios over sixteen years, receiving forty script drafts, seven different directors, and multiple actors cast as Quaid. Total Recall eventually entered the early stages of filming in 1987 under the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group shortly before its bankruptcy. Schwarzenegger, who had long held an interest in the project but had been dismissed as inappropriate for the lead role, convinced Carolco Pictures to purchase the rights and develop the film with him as the star. On an estimated $48–90 million budget (making it one of the most expensive films made in its time), filming took place almost entirely on expansive sets at Estudios Churubusco in Mexico over six months. Cast and crew suffered injuries and food poisoning during filming.

Expectations were high for Total Recall: it was anticipated to be one of the year's most successful films. On its release, the film earned approximately $261.4 million worldwide, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film of the year. Its critical reception was mixed, with reviewers praising its themes of identity and questioning reality, but criticizing content perceived as vulgar and violent. The practical special effects were also well received, earning the film an Academy Award, and the score by Jerry Goldsmith has been praised as one of his best works.

Since its release, the film has been praised for its ambiguous ending positing whether Quaid's adventures are real or a fantasy. It has also been analyzed for themes of colonialism, authoritarianism, sexism, and racism. Retrospective reviews have called it one of Schwarzenegger's best films and placed it among the best science-fiction films ever made. Alongside comic books and video games, Total Recall has been adapted into the 1999 television series Total Recall 2070. An early attempt at a sequel, based on Dick's The Minority Report, became the 2002 stand-alone film Minority Report, and a 2012 remake, also called Total Recall failed to replicate the success of the original.