Verhoeven says in the commentary that he wanted to make sure that either interpretation of reality could be correct. He wanted the viewers to be able to decide, maybe change their mind later, and then back again- but always be simultaneously right and wrong. He wanted the audience to have the same conflict of questioning reality as the character Quaid- which is genius.
It's honestly great. I can think of just as many reasons for and against each interpretation and the more you think about it the more ambiguous it gets. So well made.
@@morfx9911 Except that's exactly what happens in the movie, ya drangus. So, yeah, that's probably his interpretation. Much in the same way that my interpretation of Goodfellas is that it starts out in a car on the highway.
You can really tell Mike and RIch are life long friends. Mike looks so INCREDIBLY happy that Rich said Dennis Quaid, lol because he knows he can now bring it up for years to come hahaha
Arnold's commentary track is absolute gold. The casual viewer debates whether Quaid was dreaming or not, the expert viewer questions whether Arnold thought the events in the movie actually happened to him.
I will say Arnold seemed to know the business pretty well, when he requests changes they usually turn out to be the right ones. Getting more creative kills was absolutely the right call.
I think its the opposite on Verhoven, its not that he dismisses human life, on the contrary, every single action scene, every time a person dies in his movies, its significant, its full of gore and detail, and composition, its like there are no extras in his works, there are people, and the horrible violence that is happening around the story is not happening to faceless extras that can just fall over and disappear, its happening to people (characters), and that is why every single time they die its a spectacle because he was a person, not a prop.
I'd go so far as to say most blockbusters nowadays, like the 2012 Total Recall, have less regard for human life for depicting death as so insignificant. It's like how David Lynch talks about death as being something awful and painful instead of just bang-close eyes-dead, and so he depicts it in this really weird and horrible way (Twin Peaks S3 gore effects are SO off-putting).
Agreed, most people think he must be a psychopath but in reality he hates violence. He grew up during WWII and saw a lot of death and destruction so whenever he uses violence in movies he wants to show how horrible it can be like you stated.
100% on point. Mike talking about how that violence made him sick as a kid - it should! Verhoeven goes over the top to make you feel it. The trivialised bloodless violence of the PG action movie is far more harmful ultimately. The scene on the escalator, in any other movie we would never even have noticed that extra who got shot and just fell down. We remember that man because we felt the hits, and because in the end we are all that guy, just bumbling along until we get turned to a bloody mess while trying to mind our own business. I am meat-shield guy, and so are you.
Arnold in the woman suit is one of the craziest, funniest, ingeniously delivered moments in movie history. The whole film is a trip but that is the acid cherry on top.
That was the first scene I saw on television during some people talking about it and I immediately wanted to know what movie that was. I was 6 years old at the time. It took me about 4 years before my dad finally recorded it to VHS when it streamed on tv some night. Oh man, what a joy to behold this movie was. The entire atmosphere of it, it had such amazing set locations, especially in the beginning of the movie where things still happen on earth. Some architecture seem to spawn from dreams. Most memorable scene is still the woman in the suit. That head that opens up really blew my mind
@@JurgenCutters I saw she had a cameo in the remake which didn't happen. I switched the Colin Farrel version on for a couple minutes, saw her deliver "2 weeks" and thought to myself, "Thats nice!". I then switched over.
As someone who grew up in Mexico City, 1990 Total Recall will always have a special place in my heart because not only is it a great movie, but a lot of it was filmed in locations around Mexico City, including a subway station for the subway scenes, and I always thought of all the work they must have done to disguise it just for a few scenes.
When I was in college I took a Philosophy course as an elective. One class we come in and the teacher plays Total Recall for us, next class he talks about all the philosophical questions about reality and identity that the movie deals with. Then, he splits the class into groups and has us do a project where we debate whether or not Quaid should be held responsible for any crimes Hauser had committed prior to the memory wipe since they are, technically/physically, the same person (assuming everything in the movie is real and he is not lobotomized). The teacher assigned us which side of the debate we were on and required us to use clips from the movies as evidence to support our arguments. That was the best class ever, and the only part of college I enjoyed =\
These philosophical ideas are what make Kuato such an interesting character. Because he was such a powerful psychic that he must have discovered Hauser was buried in there and that Douglas Quaid was a fabrication. But he was compassionate and understanding enough to recognize that Douglas Quaid was a life of his own and an entirely new person, not to be held accountable for Hausers plan. I always liked to consider that Kuato was intelligent enough to find that insight and thats why he never harmed Quaid.
Yeah. Philosophy (and history) classes have the potential to be (and often are) a lot of fun, even without movie screenings. That's what got me to switch from pre-med to Phi. Maybe a mistake, but it's part of me now. College was one long bong rip punctuated by earnest grappling with Plato, Spinoza, Nietzsche, and Marx. I would be hanging out with friends at 3am on a Friday night and just ask them what they thought of what I was reading at the time and it made those experiences, the entire experience of being alive from ages 17 to 22 all the more fun and intimate in a way. And now I'm underemployed and married with a kid on the horizon soon. It didn't make my life any easier (no way was I going into academia after a few serious talks with my favorite professor that warned me away from it) and I have few answers to "the big questions." But I wouldn't trade it for anything. Undergrad literally made me who I am today. I think all majors should have more philosophy course requisites and less bullshit electives you HAVE to pay for just for an easy 2-3 credits.
Seeing the original Total Recall cut next to the modern one is probably the most concise criticism on modern cinema I've ever experienced without words
Total Recall was the single greatest movie theater experience of my life. In my small town, movies were never that busy, or at least I never went to a big opening night. For this one the lines were around the block at our downtown theater. It was an old stage theater converted for movies and it had a balcony that had never been used in my lifetime and they opened it for this and it was packed. The crowd was so loud with their cheering that sometimes you couldn't hear the dialogue, which is sometimes annoying, but this time I was into it. When the lady changed the colors of her fingernails there were oohs and aahs from the audience. The escalator guy becoming a human shield caused gasps. And of course when Quaid suggests brunette for his choice of female the girls in the crowed hissed. I remember during the big action people were stomping their feet and you could feel the theater shake. Again, I wouldn't like it for every movie but it was a very memorable experience.
@@chrisd653 I was about 15 and I hadn't seen a response quite that big before. When the Star Wars special editions came out in '97 and Episode I in '99 those were also huge.
I love this running gag of editing Rich so that any time he misspeaks, it’s made to appear even worse. I have to believe he didn’t actually say “Beckinsdale” again after 26:40 and it’s just Jay reusing the audio from a few seconds earlier 😂
You're absolutely correct. I listened back a few times, the 2nd time he says it you can hear a slight cut before "Kate" and the volume is slightly louder than the audio before and after the edit.
Something just struck me. If not for Rich's granny, if she didn't indulge in Mike's and His love for movies, and filming goofy stuff, RLM would never exist. Damn, she is the real MVP
I almost shit myself in disbelief when Mike said he thought it was fuckin terrible after watching it as an adult. This is my absolute favourite of both Verhoeven and Arnolds movies. And this is such a Mike movie.
Effects work in this is all around damn near flawless. One of the last huge projects prosthetic makeup effects GENIUS Rob Bottin spearheaded & that's a damn shame. Plus I think the mixture of miniature & optical effects used to portray the exteriors of Mars in those big long tracking shots, or later when the camera's swirling around the mine to get a better look at all the giant unheated rods is staggeringly inventive. Kinda like the aesthetics of it more than I do seeing so many films now just shrugging it all away with CGI.
I think it’s all about the artistry & how well the production team/director can integrate everything. Sometimes a big matte painting can constrain a scene, but if you work within the constraints & have a great matte painter you can have something that is far more effective than a CGI background that is more versatile, but is just not well thought-out
It's a good call... CG gets overused now, it's got to be super-detailed, have so much going on (thinking of the remake or Transformers). If they just used it to make things like that train shot, but just more realistic, it would be sufficient.. but no, it has to pan in all sorts of wonderful ways and lens flare all over the place (who'd want to work on a bridge like that, Star Trek reboot!). I think that's why the Dune remake is good, a lot of their CG is slower and just enables certain things to be in screen, but even that still has lost a lot of character.
@@fokeyjo absolutely, in the right hands, CGI can be quite effectively employed, Dune ABSOLUTELY being the most current & shining example. I think mainly due to the director being such a precise & detail oriented visual stylist who pre-planned in extraordinary detail way before ever day 1 on the set exactly how CGI would be employed to enhance & expand his overall vision. For similar reasons Matt Reeves' two Planet of the Apes prequels register as SO stunning for his skill at integrating on set photography utilizing actors as the apes & WETA's digital effects translations, no doubt enhanced by Andy Serkis' suggestions. Too often this isn't the case & the difference between reality & CG is jarring.
Now this one is a classic. You got your Arnold one-liners. You got your Paul Veerhoven social commentary and quality direction. You got your amazing practical effects. Everything came together to make a bonafide hit!
In the DVD commentary, Schwarzeneggar started laughing when Michael Ironside opens fire in the bar. He said, "How bad is this guy? He shoots a woman. He shoots an *unarmed* woman. He shoots an unarmed woman *in the back* . He shoots an unarmed woman *with three breasts* in the back."
Arnold Schwarzenegger is great in Directors commentaries, he has nothing to add so just describes and talks about what's currently on the screen "Oh I love this part"
Mike's reaction to the "Dennis Quaid" thing is one of the best RLM moments of all time. I can see his entire thought process play out entirely in his facial expressions: at first he's genuinely confused, trying to figure out what Dennis Quaid has to do with anything and what the hell Rich is talking about. Then he instantly understands what happened in Rich's brain and laughs because it should've been obvious immediately, and then the laughter becomes more and more uncontrollable, and meanwhile Rich just continues to talk unaware of what Mike is going through until he finally notices the laughter.
Mike explaining the correct pronunciation of Kate Beckinsale and then Rich saying it wrong anyway is a classic as well. I’m wondering if there wasn’t some slight of hand with the edit.
I have lived in México City my whole life, and when I watched this movie as a kid I loved that many of the earth scenes where filmed in the chabacano metro station and many other plazas. In my daily commutes to highschool and college I always thought "I'm living in total recall baby" specially since the metro hasn't visually changed since the early 80s.
There's something so heartwarming about when Mike really just comes out and says he loves a film because he's usually so sarcastic and even stuff he likes he sort of half-assedly talks it up, I love that he just said 'one of the greatest fucking movies ever made'..
Honestly, Ive come to greatly appreciate Rich as the one who often brings the most inciteful and enlightening anal-sis and breakdowns of movies. He's a pretty sharp guy!
@@sweatyhaggis4303 Stopped drinking and got engaged! Good shit. I stopped drinking... but I'm not sure viable wife material still exists in this country, I've looked. I'm no pony ride myself but holy shit.
Total Recall has this oddly warm, nostalgic feeling to me. I remember seeing it on a hotel TV as a seven year old and being freaked out by the scene where they running out of oxygen.
This is why practical effects are so effective. They still have a sense of realism. Whereas when it’s CGI, your brain just doesn’t fall for it and it feels like you’re watching a cartoon. That sense of danger or suspension of disbelief just isn’t as strong.
Mike Remembers being grossed out by man being used as human shield, Rich remembers loving it, I remember almost having a panic attack when Arnold removes a ping-pong ball through his nostril.
I agree. The French (same director as the Professional and Fifth Element) had another opportunity to make a good, non-serious sci-fi action film when that other film came out much later. It was so bad I don't even remember the title or who starred in it, I just remember the two lead actors were models first and always looked vaguely miserable on screen.
@@12ealDealOfficial The director is Luc Besson and you're thinking of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. It was pretty awful, though the first 5 minutes were kinds cool.
Videos with Mike and Rich honestly give me that warm feeling of catching up with my best friend. Where we just end up talking about films, games and the same old quotes that still make us laugh after years apart. "It's staying in!" **Rich does the "fuck! ... I know" look**
As for Total Recall ditching the "Is it real?"-angle after the red pill scene, it makes perfect sense. Either Quaid is really a secret agent, then Cohaagen and Richter tried that angle and know it won't work because Quaid already comitted to being sure it's all real. And if Quaid really is dying at Recall, then he comitted to the fantasy by refusing the red pill and killing the doctor. Either way: The character is comitted to live through this story and this is reflected in the lack of ambiguous scenes.
I always interpreted it as being a fake memory, but that the red pill stuff was part of the fantasy. They had to have simulated that drop of sweat, after all.
@MadnerKami - I agree. I was thinking the same thing when they brought up that point. Either way, the character has committed to that path and the ambiguity no longer matters. It's an interesting twist on the "is it all a dream?" trope to let it "resolve" partway through the movie instead of using it to make an ambiguous ending.
If it were a novel it would be easier to weave doubt throughout the narrative, as Dick famously does in Ubik. But a film has a lot less opportunities to do this kind of thing. I thought the film handled it pretty well.
Isn't it punctuated with the entire wall blasting away and tons of bad guys running to grab him right after that? Like.. There was a moment of pause, but the second he committed to it they literally exploded back into full gear.
@@ArchHippy What the doctor says though is that Quaid is in a "free form delusion that he's inventing himself as he goes along" - so, the bead of sweat is just another part of that delusion. The doctor doesn't fit into what is now cemented into Quaid's head as real, so he's more likely to see him as being co-opted by Cohagen than being at Rekall. Because he strongly suspects this, the bead of sweat appears, meaning essentially, that the image of the doctor is being corrupted by Quaid's mind as it works to make him fit the delusion.
Andrew Freund is most known for his pull quote on the DVD release of Total Recall (2012) where he claims that the re-make of Total Recall is better than the original. Mr. Freund was presumably financially compensated for this MySpace quote.
As a 10-year-old in 1990, my dad took my older brother and I to the theatre and while he saw Total Recall, I dragged our dad to Gremlins 2. I think we both made good decisions that day.
There's lots of fun stuff in this that they rightly touch on, but my fave might be Dan O'Bannon being pissed at them changing his original ending. The original motive was supposed to be that the alien reactor only had a Quaid shaped handprint instead of just a generic alien one, and that he was actually a synth copy created by the reactor/aliens itself. There's a quote floating around online about it where it was supposed to be another layer on the "is it real/fake" thing, about how wiping his memories and sending him to earth is the only way Cohagen can control him and stop him becoming a new God, and that when he touches it all the actual memories of the aliens/his real origin come back to him (a lot of that ended up in the novelisation). O'Bannon said it was a way of explaining how he survives all the madness/is able to kill everyone in an in-universe way IE: because he isn't human but equally it might all be a fantasy. Pretty neat IMO.
So they messed with the same type of question in both total recall and blade runner. I don’t understand, did they just think audiences wanted a concrete answer and ending?
@@natelax1367 not sure. I know in BR they changed it because they thought it became too dark and they wanted at least one human connection to the film (which makes Scott's walking back on the thing even more dumb years later). I think they just didn't want to tip their hand too much like the guys say. You'd have to include a bunch of alien stuff right at the end.
Here's the quote: That wasn't supposed to be a three-fingered Martian hand print [on the machine]. That was supposed to have been a print of [Quaid's] hand which matched only his hand. Quaid, Earth's top secret agent, went to Mars and entered this compound. The machine killed him and created a synthetic duplicate. He is that synthetic duplicate. He cannot be killed because he can anticipate danger before it happens. He is also omnipotent and because he cannot be killed, Earth wants to kill him but cannot. That's why they go to all the trouble to erase his brain to make him think he's nobody. It's the only way they can control him. Audiences don't question it when movie heroes go through adventures and don't get killed. I thought it was clever to actually have a reason for it. At the end of the picture, Quaid puts his hand on the device and it all comes back to him, who he really is. His total recall of his identity is that he is a creation of a Martian machine. He is, in effect, a resurrection of the Martian race in a synthetic body. He turns and says to all the other characters, "It's gonna be fun to play God".
Schwarzenegger was in a decent amount of legit 10/10 movies. Even though this was made in the 80s I think it holds up and has aged well thanks to the set designs of futuristic architecture, and the way they chose to display the philosophy and societal themes. No other movie looks or feels like this one.
They used to actually have actions stars in high concept action movies. Now action movies are just spy thrillers or giant robot movies. I'd they do make a high concept action movie it's never with a big actions star like the rock and its never made by a big time director. It will star an over the hill actor trying to reinvent himself as an action guy and will be made by a no name hack director with a tiny budget and written by an AI script writer.
Such a simple, but evocative movie. That line where a mutant asks Arnold if he "wants to know the future" to which he replies "how about the past" is a great example of a quick, throwaway, funny line of dialogue that is actually pretty revealing about the character. This was like a "holy shit" moment making me realize that characters with amnesia and characters who find out something about the future in films are often practically the same character with the same goals and arcs.
Verhoeven has said often that he believes his fascination with gratuitous, graphic violence was borne out of his experiences as a young child during World War II. Seeing dead bodies, mutilated in the streets by bullets and bombs, scarred his psyche and using graphic violence is an outlet for him.
Specifically the odd mixture of finding it horrifying and exciting at the same time. IIRC he mentions waking up to find that an Allied bombing raid had accidentally blown up his neighbour's house
Verhoeven always struck me as fairly misanthropic. Most of his films center on people being ruthlessly terrible to each other. No doubt a lot of that came from his wartime experiences.
I think Rich likes Verhoeven’s film violence because of the indifference of it all. Nobody outside the main cast in these films matter and are just additional scenery. He’s a schlock genius.
@@larrylaffer3246 I mean, I'll be the first to say I only watch slasher movies like F13th for the kills. There's usually not much else to them in most cases (except Jason Lives).
Verhoeven’s ultraviolence is funny because his characters are like video game protagonists and the dying people are like NPCs. Compare to Clockwork Orange where the ultraviolence is not funny at all
@@dyveira For sure. It's why something like the Nightmare films work so well. You love to see just what kind of scenarios Freddy will get in to next. What kind of creative kill he'll inflict on a helpless victim.
I've always loved filmmakers guessing at how the world would evolve technology wise decades ahead. Mobile phone advancements just came out of nowhere for most sci-fi. Even the the ones that got that right assumed handhelds would continue to become smaller but didn't account for them being used for watching high def videos.
Man i think its something to be said for the fact that the original still rattles around rent free in my head and i regularly forget theres a new one a decade later
Rob Bottin always added so much detail in the expressions in his effects. Stan Winston is a legend in the effects industry, but I think he usually lacked expression in his head sculpts. RIP Stan Winston and hope Rob Bottin is doing well.
I only recently learned that the headshot scene in Robocop was done with a puppet, I always assumed it was Peter Weller with a squib on the back of his head. Rob Bottin did an amazing job there! Also, Rob's last credit on wikipedia is for Game of Thrones, so it seems like he doesn't do much these days but he sure is doing well :)
@@Draliseth That unrated cut is what always fooled me, tho :) Not knowing it was a puppet - I always thought that Peter Weller just agreed to do a super-duper dangerous stunt, because it looked so real! Please keep in mind that I always watched it on a 30" CRT tv, and not a 4k blu ray or something of that quality. I may be just looking for an excuse for my easily fooled eye, tho, not gonna deny it :)
@@ELEKTROSKANSEN For the longest time his last credit was Mr. Deeds which made me sad. I am glad he came out to do something interesting. He and Winston are my favorite special FX artists.
I remember as a kid this movie being in our vast movie collection and thinking nothing of it. Now as a young, grown man this is one of my favorite action movies. It actually has a creative plot!
The blurring in and out on the face of the love interest at the Recall facility could be (and was probably intended to be) interpreted as him hallucinating her actual face as the image of the woman from his dream.
What amazed me as a kid, was the complete lack of health and safety in the movie. Arnie working construction 5 days a week with ZERO ear protection. X-Ray machines making you sterile as you walked through them EVERY DAY to work. Giant fucking mars domes with COUNTLESS glass panels just WAITING to get shattered by some kid with a catapult and a rock. Everyone in this movie deserved to die from just work related injuries.
The silent point of the movie is that Martian colonization is basically a capitalist theme park, where everything has a price, and workers themselves are commodities. There is no government, so therefore no health and safety regulations. On Earth during this time, it is similar - with full deregulation of industries and private ownership of all vital human resources. This is why the corporations on Mars do everything possible to stop Quaid from starting the reactor and giving everyone free air - because they're making billions charging people for it, and it keeps the workers accepting shitty work conditions and pay to create profit for them.
What kid is thinking about those kinds of things? All I thought about were the three tittied lady and the horrifying face prosthetics, as a kid AND an adult.
Wtf? Do androids dream of electric sheep? is like the best book title of all time. Sums up the entire premise of the story without giving too much away and is super unique.
@@bombdatacenters Deckard aspired to own an electric sheep. To the point he dreamed about them. The title plays into the philosophical question of his world pertaining to the ability of artificial intelligence to have wants or aspirations like humans.
If you haven't seen the director's commentary with Paul and Arnold, it's totally worth it. They point out all of the indicators that it's all real or it's all a dream.
Verhoeven’s commentaries are always entertaining. His one for Starship Troopers will have you checking the dates, because it sounds like a critique of the invasion of Iraq but was recorded two years before that happened.
Some of the plotholes can be put on Richter acting on his own as all the serious attempts on Quaid's life are made by him, and Cohaagen not able to rein him in without exposing the plan, with the removal of the tracker being to make sure Richter doesn't know where Quaid is to kill him. Quaid still says it sounds contrived and too perfect, with Cohaagen responding it is dumb stupid luck that the plan still worked.
You might also remove the tracking device because the resistance could detect it and screw up your plan. The question is, why choose Quaid for this project at all? Kidnap one of the untainted resistance fighters and use them rather than someone like Quaid who is questionable.
@@aarondavis8943 They needed an uniquely skilled person, that could immediately be picked and quickly rise the resistance's ranking, to actually have privileged access to Quatto. A generic grunt wouldn't had worked.
I'm surprised they didn't mention that the window inside of the miniature train was done practically because they did not yet have the technology to project an image on the side of the train in post. They had a tiny projector inside of the train showing just enough of the footage of Arnold at the window before the angle of the shot changes where you can't see the window anymore.
@@lucasmccamy90 Nowadays, they would use a computer to keep track of the location and the angle of the window that Arnold was looking through on the model train as it moved through the shot and the camera moved around the train. They would then place the footage of Arnold looking through a window over top of the window in the train model and use a computer to warp and manipulate the footage to be in the right position and at the right angle, so that you would see Arnold looking out of what is, in reality, a small train. When this movie was made they didn't have the computer tracking or the video manipulation technology that we have today. Instead of doing any of that they figured out how long the camera would be able to see into the train window during the shot. Then they shot footage of Arnold looking through a window. Then they built a small projector that projected onto a mirror which reflected the footage onto a small screen which was placed where the window is on the model train. This is called rear screen projection because the light was shining from behind the screen that we end up seeing the image on. Because the projector was so small and it had to fit inside of the model train, it only had enough footage for the amount of time that you can see Arnold in the window.
@@lucasmccamy90 Alternatively, nowadays they could also just build the model with a tiny LCD screen in it and play video footage on a screen built into the model as the filmed it. Most likely though, they would just make the whole train and the surface of Mars in CG and the video footage of Arnold looking out the window would just be a video texture on the 3D model of the train.
@@lucasmccamy90 Tiny projector can only hold tiny amount of footage, while inside tiny moving train, so it only has a few seconds of Arnold looking out the window at a specific angle. Verhoeven sets up the shot, so that the angles line up, for as long as possible. It's important to maintain the illusion of tiny man in tiny train, until the moment it goes into tiny tunnel, so that we don't get the jarring smash-cut or looping footage that directors who aren't Verhoeven leave in.
I absolutely love the shot at 14:12 where Arnie has just killed 4 people. It is incredibly beautifully with perfect composition. One of the best in all of cinema IMO.
"Do androids dream of electric sheep" is actually a really great title imo It identifies perfectly the themes that are explored through the subject matter
The short story, for those who are wondering, is similar but ended with a different twist. The spy situation was real in the story, he had already had his mind erased and going to Rekal brought his memories back. He beats up some agents who were monitoring him and works out a deal with the agency to erase his memories again. He gives them a idea he had when he was a child about meeting aliens who were set to invade Earth, but the aliens like him so much they decide to hold off the invasion until after he dies. When they try to imprint him, they realize that story was also true.
@@FranzSanchez-ky9up - PKD said it himself, sci fi in his generation was pulp. The appeal was the philosophical questions they presented to the reader through very hammy action/detective stories.
I feel so validated by every word of this, the matrix inspiration (I'd also suggest the nose bug is also an inspiration to the belly button bug in matrix)
At the risk of sounding like an 'old man' I really miss the days when we got films like Blade Runner. Conan, Total Recall, Robocop, Star trek The Wrath of Khan, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc. They were good stories that you could talk about with friends and watch over and over again. A lot of the modern stuff looks amazing but is just so dull and forgettable, even the Sound Tracks are often quite forgettable. I wouldn't mind if new films ditched the CGI and focused more on story, also wouldn't mind if we ended these constant reboots but focused on new and exciting movies and universes.
I think the real issue us you can only tell what movies are important and brilliant far after they come out. Schwartzenagger managed to pick a bizarre list of greatest hits, while van Damme films (to pick one of the better options!) were mostly considered in the same sort of class at the time and nowadays are mostly forgotten.
True but some good movies me and my friends always quote and rewatch have been the lighthouse and joker, so there’s still good stuff out there. Too bad the majority of stuff in theatres and streaming services suck.
@@SimonBuchanNz This is where screenwriting and delivery makes the most difference, Arnold wasn't the only big name to star in action films with sci-fi themes. While there are some unique enough premises (Cobra, Demolition Man, Universal Soldier) They just pale in comparison in execution to Terminator, Predator, Running Man.
MIke thank you for doubling up the Beckinsdale. It's always a treat to find the little edit touches in these, especially when it is at Rich or Jay's expense.
I was about 10 when my parents took me and my little brother to see this in theatre. The part where Arny rips off Ironsides arms on the elevator, is still burnt into my brain!
That mask he pulls off still looks utterly awesome. That's just nuts how well the effect has held up. It's better than CGI. I read that it was extremely heavy and was raised with a hydrolic lift. That's why it moves so smoothly upward.
See, my own personal take on it was that it was all a dream, and that Schwarzenegger wasn't what the main character actually looks like. He's the action hero dream appearance, and even the start of the movie is just the prologue of the story being told. Which is genius - Arnold is perfect as what they would program is as the "action body" for you to have a space adventure in.
Yeah, I enjoy the third take on the story: that the entire thing is Working As Intended; at the end the main character is just waking up from his action dream vacation, a satisfied customer.
"I do not want to live in the sort of world Dick is so good at describing... Maybe if a lot of people read Dick's works I'll stand a better chance of not living in that world." -John Brunner One of my favorite PKD films is Screamers ('95) based on the short story "Second Variety".
18:55 Mike, water ice isn't the only form of ice. The ice caps on Mars are carbon dioxide ice, for example. Also, somewhat true to the movie, there is Martian O2 that's locked in the rocks irl. In principle, if the rock were molten, it could release the oxygen as a gas. Terraforming wouldn't happen overnight but it's not nothing.
The way I remember it, I thought the Martian machine was decomposing the water into Oxygen and Hydrogen, not melting it, but that does leave the problem of having an Oxygen and Hydrogen atmosphere...
I for one, find Paul Verhoevens use of violence in all his films utterly hilarious. Robocop was one of the funniest things I had ever seen because to me it was so obvious that it was intended to be over the top. When I recently watched Total Recall, I was laughing out LOUD at the "meat shield" scene. I also loved the fact that Arnold and Ironside violently shoved/tackled every person in their way during the chases. The body language is obvious that they were directed to push pedestrians out of the way as violently as possible. There is a guy walking up a staircase later in the movie that Arnold literally shoves so hard he flips off the stairs and falls. Comedy genius. I definitely believe there is an intentional humor to Verhoevens style that was never understood by like 97% of audiences.
Every single time I've seen this film, I always laugh out loud at one moment where Arnold shoves some pedestrian HARD, and he makes a loud 'UGH' sound. It's so random and a throwaway, I don't know why, but it just always gets me. So ridiculous but so good at the same time
This movie features the greatest Arnold one-liner of all time- Arnold's fake-wife with a gun behind her back: "But honey, we're married" Arnold: "Consider this a divorce" *proceeds to shoot her*
Arnold's commentary track for this movie is hilarious for how bad it is. It's like he didn't understand what a commentary track is for, so he just describes what he's doing, and says, "oh this part is great"
Is anyone else deeply disappointed in Mike for not mentioning that the Rekall guy that offered him the pill was Sirna Kolrami in the season 2 TNG episode "Peak Performance"?
Did he mention that the 3 boobed woman played Ensign Sonia Gomez in 2 episodes? She spills coffee on Picard. I was kind of doing other things while this was playing so I don't know if he did.
Total Recall was one of the last films to use miniature extensively (EDIT: this is before the explosion of CGI; I'm very aware modern films use miniatures, but this was one of the last to rely on miniatures before CG became the norm). It was right on the cusp of the CGI age. Yeah, there's some wonky effects, but it mostly still holds up to me.
Ah miniatures. One of the many unsung heroes of filmaking. Beautiful little, excruciatingly detailed, hand-painted sets made to represent real life; Or fantasy locals. How I love you so. Something that you just can't replicate with a computer, no matter how powerful they get. No matter how good your animator is.
David Drake... who was an incredible sc-fi fantasy author and who wrote grim, self contained story's patterned on the Vietnam War, set about writing a low effort spoof on typical fantasy books of the day. It was over long, repeated the same beats from book to book and had characters who never grew or changed. It sold better than any of his previous works. I bet he and Paul could share a beer about art and audience.
@@jakehyde8728 He is most famous for his Hammer's Slammers books and they are very good. But I would actually argue his book Ranks of Bronze is a great entry. The "parody" series was the Lord of the Isles. I actually read and enjoyed them all because even though he was trying to make a point... the man's writing style is still way to my tastes.
Philip K Dick is one of the greatest authors of the last 100 years. He’s like Verhoeven in that they both worked in genres that were diminished by critics, but now revisionism is leading to recognition of their masterpieces. If you’ve never read one of his books because you’ve already seen the movies, you’re missing out in a huge way.
Second this. And some of his best novels were never adapted either. Ubik; Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch; Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said (there's another one of those wonky titles), and VALIS.
My favorite was always Dr. Bloodmoney which I know gets a lot of flak but its just so weird and the setting really pulled me in, it's nowhere near as heady or thought provoking as a lot of his other stuff but I had a lot of fun reading it. I feel like it might actually make a really good tv show although nowadays it will be constantly compared to fallout.
Man this review was so reserved. 🤭 I expected way more vulgar goofing off from these two during a review of this ridiculous yet defining action shlockfest of a by gone era. Love you guys and the team so much. Your media has gotten me through the toughest part of my loss of my beautiful and hilarious wife. 45 more years to go. I rewatched everything from beginning to end to help me deal with my loss. Gold and a blessing. Thank you.
I'm really sorry to hear that. Honestly the thought of losing my partner is enough to make me want to commit suicide, so I truly have no idea how you're still going. I wish you the best, whatever that is, for whatever it's worth.
I remember my parent taking me and my sisters to the drive-in to go see this and they were perfectly fine with us watching the violence but when that chick with the 3 boobs showed up my mom made us close our eyes eyes. It made no sense to me, considering I just watched Arnold obliterate everyone in his path.
The fact that some parents do this sort of thing before kids hit puberty makes no sense. The kids have no idea what’s going on, but now you’ve just made them curious about what you’re trying to hide. Either that, or they grow up with some kind of fear or guilt when it comes to sex.
Bulky modern street phones - or hubs - are a reality too. In UK, BT started installing "street hub" phones that can make free calls locally, have touch screens, WiFi and USB ports for charging etc. From what I've heard drug dealers occasionally use them, so it ties with the idea in Total Recall that someone from resistance would use one.
Rich is right! Paul Verhoeven was a hipster ahead of his time! This makes perfect sense! His earlier work is what they would now call arthouse (Turks Fruit is imo still his best film). In the eighties Verhoeven must have (somewhat naively) thought that Hollywood schlock was the only thing that would reach a large audience in the US. That's at least how most Dutch people saw Hollywood productions back then, and perhaps even now. I think the only reason his films became successful "popcorn science-fiction movies" was because of his preconceptions on American cinema plus his progressive artistic mindset. Without Verhoeven's talent they would all have been just another BOTW movie :D
When I was working on the PC game Carmageddon 2 in the nineties, I asked the art director (the whole development team was English) about an American character in the first game, driving Ram Rod, a jeep type vehicle with ram horns on the front, the driver being Big Daddy, with sports fan face paint and US flag bandana. He said it was styled after criminals in the US who would drive their vehicles into closed stores, demolishing storefronts in order to loot them. I told him I had never heard of such a thing here in the US - it was something apparently happening in the UK around that time and he had just assumed that it had originated and was widespread here, because, you know, America...
I really enjoyed this great job guys. One movie from the 80’s that never gets talked about anymore and I wonder why is Innerspace. You were talking about great practical effects and that one is up there. For me it’s as much of a classic as Ghostbusters or BTTF.
I wholeheartedly agree. Innerspace is an excellent film. Very strange indeed it is so overlooked when it comes to 80's films...Or Sci-Fi films in general.
For a science fiction movie, the part where Arnold chose a Hispanic woman over his wife was surprisingly realistic.
Great comment! If only Melina was a maid!
YOOOOOOOOOOOO
@@eugener9706 maybe she dressed up for him, we don't know...
Well done, sir.
😂
Verhoeven says in the commentary that he wanted to make sure that either interpretation of reality could be correct. He wanted the viewers to be able to decide, maybe change their mind later, and then back again- but always be simultaneously right and wrong. He wanted the audience to have the same conflict of questioning reality as the character Quaid- which is genius.
Quaid doesn't actually seem to question it that much. He makes his decision once he sees that guy sweat.
@@clownpendotfart thats your interpretation (?
It's honestly great. I can think of just as many reasons for and against each interpretation and the more you think about it the more ambiguous it gets. So well made.
Yes! This is what I recall from a recent listen to the commentary, and it works. Im always flipping back and forth.
@@morfx9911 Except that's exactly what happens in the movie, ya drangus.
So, yeah, that's probably his interpretation. Much in the same way that my interpretation of Goodfellas is that it starts out in a car on the highway.
You can really tell Mike and RIch are life long friends. Mike looks so INCREDIBLY happy that Rich said Dennis Quaid, lol because he knows he can now bring it up for years to come hahaha
Arnold's commentary track is absolute gold. The casual viewer debates whether Quaid was dreaming or not, the expert viewer questions whether Arnold thought the events in the movie actually happened to him.
Virgin Total recall viewer
vs Chad Total Recall viewer
😂
@@Edbradvirgin Total Recall theorizer vs the chad Arnold delusion enabler
I will say Arnold seemed to know the business pretty well, when he requests changes they usually turn out to be the right ones. Getting more creative kills was absolutely the right call.
He wouldn’t have needed to ask Verhoeven twice.
I think its the opposite on Verhoven, its not that he dismisses human life, on the contrary, every single action scene, every time a person dies in his movies, its significant, its full of gore and detail, and composition, its like there are no extras in his works, there are people, and the horrible violence that is happening around the story is not happening to faceless extras that can just fall over and disappear, its happening to people (characters), and that is why every single time they die its a spectacle because he was a person, not a prop.
I'd go so far as to say most blockbusters nowadays, like the 2012 Total Recall, have less regard for human life for depicting death as so insignificant. It's like how David Lynch talks about death as being something awful and painful instead of just bang-close eyes-dead, and so he depicts it in this really weird and horrible way (Twin Peaks S3 gore effects are SO off-putting).
Verhoven does not dismiss human life. The societies he depicts in his films do, and he is drawing attention to that.
Agreed, most people think he must be a psychopath but in reality he hates violence. He grew up during WWII and saw a lot of death and destruction so whenever he uses violence in movies he wants to show how horrible it can be like you stated.
I love this take
100% on point. Mike talking about how that violence made him sick as a kid - it should! Verhoeven goes over the top to make you feel it. The trivialised bloodless violence of the PG action movie is far more harmful ultimately. The scene on the escalator, in any other movie we would never even have noticed that extra who got shot and just fell down. We remember that man because we felt the hits, and because in the end we are all that guy, just bumbling along until we get turned to a bloody mess while trying to mind our own business. I am meat-shield guy, and so are you.
Arnold in the woman suit is one of the craziest, funniest, ingeniously delivered moments in movie history. The whole film is a trip but that is the acid cherry on top.
That was the first scene I saw on television during some people talking about it and I immediately wanted to know what movie that was. I was 6 years old at the time. It took me about 4 years before my dad finally recorded it to VHS when it streamed on tv some night. Oh man, what a joy to behold this movie was. The entire atmosphere of it, it had such amazing set locations, especially in the beginning of the movie where things still happen on earth. Some architecture seem to spawn from dreams. Most memorable scene is still the woman in the suit. That head that opens up really blew my mind
@@themoviedealers haha fuck, yea that's what I meant. Good call
@@JurgenCutters I saw she had a cameo in the remake which didn't happen. I switched the Colin Farrel version on for a couple minutes, saw her deliver "2 weeks" and thought to myself, "Thats nice!". I then switched over.
two weeks...🤪
TWO WEEKS!!!
Paul Verhoeven is a underrated genius, he manages to glorify violence and make it horrifying at the same time.
@@KrillLiberator lol total Chad move
Who underrated him
@Neal McEneaney critics of his era would completely not get it, then on vhs they would become cultish, then slowly make top 100 lists 30 years later
Just like Showgirls glorified nudity while making it horrifying at the same time
The brain bug feeding, it's so disturbingly grotesque, but GOD I love it.
As someone who grew up in Mexico City, 1990 Total Recall will always have a special place in my heart because not only is it a great movie, but a lot of it was filmed in locations around Mexico City, including a subway station for the subway scenes, and I always thought of all the work they must have done to disguise it just for a few scenes.
No sabía eso.
The brutalism design of the buildings were seen as futuristic and work so well for the film!
@@k.w.2275 brutalism? Never heard of that as a style of architecture
@@MrCae001 oooh boy you are in for a wild ride, look up Boston City Hall and that would be the "premier" example of brutalist architecture
Probably wrong, but im surprised Mexico has a subway system.
Mike is just full of science facts in this one, almost makes you wonder if he could moonlight as some sort of Man, who is a Scientist...
Oh come on that's ridiculous, what would they call him? Man Scientist? Pfft
The Human Scientist.
When I was in college I took a Philosophy course as an elective. One class we come in and the teacher plays Total Recall for us, next class he talks about all the philosophical questions about reality and identity that the movie deals with. Then, he splits the class into groups and has us do a project where we debate whether or not Quaid should be held responsible for any crimes Hauser had committed prior to the memory wipe since they are, technically/physically, the same person (assuming everything in the movie is real and he is not lobotomized). The teacher assigned us which side of the debate we were on and required us to use clips from the movies as evidence to support our arguments.
That was the best class ever, and the only part of college I enjoyed =\
These philosophical ideas are what make Kuato such an interesting character. Because he was such a powerful psychic that he must have discovered Hauser was buried in there and that Douglas Quaid was a fabrication. But he was compassionate and understanding enough to recognize that Douglas Quaid was a life of his own and an entirely new person, not to be held accountable for Hausers plan. I always liked to consider that Kuato was intelligent enough to find that insight and thats why he never harmed Quaid.
That sounds like a good teacher right there Holy cow
Teachers like that are rare, they go the extra step to make learning interesting to make it easier to absorb
I had a similar class except our movie was "Requiem for a Dream" your project seems like more fun.
Yeah. Philosophy (and history) classes have the potential to be (and often are) a lot of fun, even without movie screenings. That's what got me to switch from pre-med to Phi. Maybe a mistake, but it's part of me now. College was one long bong rip punctuated by earnest grappling with Plato, Spinoza, Nietzsche, and Marx. I would be hanging out with friends at 3am on a Friday night and just ask them what they thought of what I was reading at the time and it made those experiences, the entire experience of being alive from ages 17 to 22 all the more fun and intimate in a way. And now I'm underemployed and married with a kid on the horizon soon. It didn't make my life any easier (no way was I going into academia after a few serious talks with my favorite professor that warned me away from it) and I have few answers to "the big questions." But I wouldn't trade it for anything. Undergrad literally made me who I am today. I think all majors should have more philosophy course requisites and less bullshit electives you HAVE to pay for just for an easy 2-3 credits.
Seeing the original Total Recall cut next to the modern one is probably the most concise criticism on modern cinema I've ever experienced without words
Total Recall was the single greatest movie theater experience of my life. In my small town, movies were never that busy, or at least I never went to a big opening night. For this one the lines were around the block at our downtown theater. It was an old stage theater converted for movies and it had a balcony that had never been used in my lifetime and they opened it for this and it was packed. The crowd was so loud with their cheering that sometimes you couldn't hear the dialogue, which is sometimes annoying, but this time I was into it. When the lady changed the colors of her fingernails there were oohs and aahs from the audience. The escalator guy becoming a human shield caused gasps. And of course when Quaid suggests brunette for his choice of female the girls in the crowed hissed. I remember during the big action people were stomping their feet and you could feel the theater shake. Again, I wouldn't like it for every movie but it was a very memorable experience.
Is this for real or u joking? No way people went that crazy for movies back in 90
@@chrisd653 why do you say that? We were the Star Wars generation. We loved movies!
@@FanboyFilms wow. I guess I'm so jaded and used to everyone getting wild over marvel movies.
Also, I was only four in 1990 lol.
@@chrisd653 I was about 15 and I hadn't seen a response quite that big before. When the Star Wars special editions came out in '97 and Episode I in '99 those were also huge.
I love this running gag of editing Rich so that any time he misspeaks, it’s made to appear even worse. I have to believe he didn’t actually say “Beckinsdale” again after 26:40 and it’s just Jay reusing the audio from a few seconds earlier 😂
lollololol never change rich
Mike's not above the odd gaff... pretty sure I just heard him make up a new word...scerenic???
You're absolutely correct. I listened back a few times, the 2nd time he says it you can hear a slight cut before "Kate" and the volume is slightly louder than the audio before and after the edit.
Haha it is edited, nice catch
Why would Jay have edited this? Pretty sure it’s Mike
Something just struck me. If not for Rich's granny, if she didn't indulge in Mike's and His love for movies, and filming goofy stuff, RLM would never exist. Damn, she is the real MVP
Canon/Nexus Event
@@thedarthbred Mushu the my buddy doll is key to all of this
RIP Nanu. She truly fostered young talent.
I almost shit myself in disbelief when Mike said he thought it was fuckin terrible after watching it as an adult. This is my absolute favourite of both Verhoeven and Arnolds movies. And this is such a Mike movie.
Great pick, there’s a lot of great Arnold movies. Mine is maybe Predator.
@@ethanwalker3519 terminators 1-3
shat.
@@VadimBolshakov you mistyped 1-2
Was mid sip of my coffee during that part and almost did a spit take.
Effects work in this is all around damn near flawless. One of the last huge projects prosthetic makeup effects GENIUS Rob Bottin spearheaded & that's a damn shame. Plus I think the mixture of miniature & optical effects used to portray the exteriors of Mars in those big long tracking shots, or later when the camera's swirling around the mine to get a better look at all the giant unheated rods is staggeringly inventive. Kinda like the aesthetics of it more than I do seeing so many films now just shrugging it all away with CGI.
I think it’s all about the artistry & how well the production team/director can integrate everything. Sometimes a big matte painting can constrain a scene, but if you work within the constraints & have a great matte painter you can have something that is far more effective than a CGI background that is more versatile, but is just not well thought-out
It's a good call... CG gets overused now, it's got to be super-detailed, have so much going on (thinking of the remake or Transformers). If they just used it to make things like that train shot, but just more realistic, it would be sufficient.. but no, it has to pan in all sorts of wonderful ways and lens flare all over the place (who'd want to work on a bridge like that, Star Trek reboot!). I think that's why the Dune remake is good, a lot of their CG is slower and just enables certain things to be in screen, but even that still has lost a lot of character.
@@fokeyjo absolutely, in the right hands, CGI can be quite effectively employed, Dune ABSOLUTELY being the most current & shining example. I think mainly due to the director being such a precise & detail oriented visual stylist who pre-planned in extraordinary detail way before ever day 1 on the set exactly how CGI would be employed to enhance & expand his overall vision. For similar reasons Matt Reeves' two Planet of the Apes prequels register as SO stunning for his skill at integrating on set photography utilizing actors as the apes & WETA's digital effects translations, no doubt enhanced by Andy Serkis' suggestions. Too often this isn't the case & the difference between reality & CG is jarring.
Now this one is a classic. You got your Arnold one-liners. You got your Paul Veerhoven social commentary and quality direction. You got your amazing practical effects. Everything came together to make a bonafide hit!
In the DVD commentary, Schwarzeneggar started laughing when Michael Ironside opens fire in the bar. He said, "How bad is this guy? He shoots a woman. He shoots an *unarmed* woman. He shoots an unarmed woman *in the back* . He shoots an unarmed woman *with three breasts* in the back."
Arnold Schwarzenegger is great in Directors commentaries, he has nothing to add so just describes and talks about what's currently on the screen "Oh I love this part"
To the point that he says "Ouch! That hurt..." when Quaid gets kicked in the nuts.
He also talked about how he loved being in bed with Sharon Stone.🤣
@@hiigara4159 based
I love that commentary track. Although it was Veerhoven who added the 3 breasts part.
Mike's reaction to the "Dennis Quaid" thing is one of the best RLM moments of all time. I can see his entire thought process play out entirely in his facial expressions: at first he's genuinely confused, trying to figure out what Dennis Quaid has to do with anything and what the hell Rich is talking about. Then he instantly understands what happened in Rich's brain and laughs because it should've been obvious immediately, and then the laughter becomes more and more uncontrollable, and meanwhile Rich just continues to talk unaware of what Mike is going through until he finally notices the laughter.
Its staying in, you know its staying in.
8:17 Mike absolutely *drinking and savoring* the delight he feels at hearing Rich's mistake, like he's letting a caramel melt in his mouth
Mike explaining the correct pronunciation of Kate Beckinsale and then Rich saying it wrong anyway is a classic as well. I’m wondering if there wasn’t some slight of hand with the edit.
It's also funny because they reviewed Enemy Mine recently, which stars Dennis Quaid :D
I have lived in México City my whole life, and when I watched this movie as a kid I loved that many of the earth scenes where filmed in the chabacano metro station and many other plazas. In my daily commutes to highschool and college I always thought "I'm living in total recall baby" specially since the metro hasn't visually changed since the early 80s.
This Re:View inspired me to rewatch the movie for the first time in years. What an awesome action movie... even better than I remembered!
"better than I remembered!" - Tinfoil Hat / RUclips
Same. Think the last time saw it was in the late 90’s haha.
See you at the party, Richter!
There's something so heartwarming about when Mike really just comes out and says he loves a film because he's usually so sarcastic and even stuff he likes he sort of half-assedly talks it up, I love that he just said 'one of the greatest fucking movies ever made'..
You all meme, but it’s genuinely been incredible seeing Rich’s self-esteem and confidence grow over the last decade. He’s honestly cool as fuck.
Honestly, Ive come to greatly appreciate Rich as the one who often brings the most inciteful and enlightening anal-sis and breakdowns of movies. He's a pretty sharp guy!
Makes me want to see Milwaukee
Rich has been awesome from the start.
I only want the best for Rich, he deserves any clout that comes his way. Although being on Ellen will be hard to top!!
@@sweatyhaggis4303 Stopped drinking and got engaged! Good shit. I stopped drinking... but I'm not sure viable wife material still exists in this country, I've looked. I'm no pony ride myself but holy shit.
Legit watched this last night and thought, I’d love to hear my RLM friends discuss this for an hour. I don’t care what happens for the rest of the day
Rich being afraid of flying makes sense. I always viewed him as the B.A. Baracus of the RedLetterMedia crew.
Mike: "I don't really like gore."
Also Mike: "So much needless death and violence. It's great."
Hack Fraud!
He likes gore when it's funny and not trying to be just disgusting.
"Needless death and violence is great, as long as it's not so bloody that it hurts my tummy".
Total Recall has this oddly warm, nostalgic feeling to me. I remember seeing it on a hotel TV as a seven year old and being freaked out by the scene where they running out of oxygen.
This is why practical effects are so effective. They still have a sense of realism. Whereas when it’s CGI, your brain just doesn’t fall for it and it feels like you’re watching a cartoon. That sense of danger or suspension of disbelief just isn’t as strong.
Mike Remembers being grossed out by man being used as human shield, Rich remembers loving it, I remember almost having a panic attack when Arnold removes a ping-pong ball through his nostril.
Don't forget the eyeballs oh jeez
Right?!?
RLM content more entertaining than 95% of current movie output. Loved this.
In my mind, 'Fifth Element' was the last film with this tone -- that fun, grand, sci-fi adventure with a good sense of humor and violence.
I agree. The French (same director as the Professional and Fifth Element) had another opportunity to make a good, non-serious sci-fi action film when that other film came out much later. It was so bad I don't even remember the title or who starred in it, I just remember the two lead actors were models first and always looked vaguely miserable on screen.
The Fifth Element doesn't even remotely come close to the violence in Total Recall. Did you only watch a heavily censored version on TV or something?
@@12ealDealOfficial The director is Luc Besson and you're thinking of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. It was pretty awful, though the first 5 minutes were kinds cool.
Valerian tried and failed horribly
That's one of my favorites. 99% because I had a massive crush on Leeloo but.
Mike hasn't cared about anything but Ghost hunters for the last 8 years and this is still the best movie review youtube.
You mean Ghost Adventures. Mike's never mentioned Ghost Hunters
Videos with Mike and Rich honestly give me that warm feeling of catching up with my best friend. Where we just end up talking about films, games and the same old quotes that still make us laugh after years apart.
"It's staying in!"
**Rich does the "fuck! ... I know" look**
As for Total Recall ditching the "Is it real?"-angle after the red pill scene, it makes perfect sense. Either Quaid is really a secret agent, then Cohaagen and Richter tried that angle and know it won't work because Quaid already comitted to being sure it's all real. And if Quaid really is dying at Recall, then he comitted to the fantasy by refusing the red pill and killing the doctor. Either way: The character is comitted to live through this story and this is reflected in the lack of ambiguous scenes.
I always interpreted it as being a fake memory, but that the red pill stuff was part of the fantasy. They had to have simulated that drop of sweat, after all.
@MadnerKami - I agree. I was thinking the same thing when they brought up that point. Either way, the character has committed to that path and the ambiguity no longer matters. It's an interesting twist on the "is it all a dream?" trope to let it "resolve" partway through the movie instead of using it to make an ambiguous ending.
If it were a novel it would be easier to weave doubt throughout the narrative, as Dick famously does in Ubik. But a film has a lot less opportunities to do this kind of thing. I thought the film handled it pretty well.
Isn't it punctuated with the entire wall blasting away and tons of bad guys running to grab him right after that?
Like.. There was a moment of pause, but the second he committed to it they literally exploded back into full gear.
@@ArchHippy What the doctor says though is that Quaid is in a "free form delusion that he's inventing himself as he goes along" - so, the bead of sweat is just another part of that delusion. The doctor doesn't fit into what is now cemented into Quaid's head as real, so he's more likely to see him as being co-opted by Cohagen than being at Rekall. Because he strongly suspects this, the bead of sweat appears, meaning essentially, that the image of the doctor is being corrupted by Quaid's mind as it works to make him fit the delusion.
That Randy Quaid clip was perfect.
Andrew Freund is most known for his pull quote on the DVD release of Total Recall (2012) where he claims that the re-make of Total Recall is better than the original. Mr. Freund was presumably financially compensated for this MySpace quote.
As a 10-year-old in 1990, my dad took my older brother and I to the theatre and while he saw Total Recall, I dragged our dad to Gremlins 2. I think we both made good decisions that day.
Gremlin 2 🤮
There's lots of fun stuff in this that they rightly touch on, but my fave might be Dan O'Bannon being pissed at them changing his original ending. The original motive was supposed to be that the alien reactor only had a Quaid shaped handprint instead of just a generic alien one, and that he was actually a synth copy created by the reactor/aliens itself. There's a quote floating around online about it where it was supposed to be another layer on the "is it real/fake" thing, about how wiping his memories and sending him to earth is the only way Cohagen can control him and stop him becoming a new God, and that when he touches it all the actual memories of the aliens/his real origin come back to him (a lot of that ended up in the novelisation). O'Bannon said it was a way of explaining how he survives all the madness/is able to kill everyone in an in-universe way IE: because he isn't human but equally it might all be a fantasy. Pretty neat IMO.
So they messed with the same type of question in both total recall and blade runner. I don’t understand, did they just think audiences wanted a concrete answer and ending?
noice
@@natelax1367 not sure. I know in BR they changed it because they thought it became too dark and they wanted at least one human connection to the film (which makes Scott's walking back on the thing even more dumb years later). I think they just didn't want to tip their hand too much like the guys say. You'd have to include a bunch of alien stuff right at the end.
King v Kubrick quality take
Here's the quote: That wasn't supposed to be a three-fingered Martian hand print [on the machine]. That was supposed to have been a print of [Quaid's] hand which matched only his hand. Quaid, Earth's top secret agent, went to Mars and entered this compound. The machine killed him and created a synthetic duplicate. He is that synthetic duplicate. He cannot be killed because he can anticipate danger before it happens. He is also omnipotent and because he cannot be killed, Earth wants to kill him but cannot. That's why they go to all the trouble to erase his brain to make him think he's nobody. It's the only way they can control him. Audiences don't question it when movie heroes go through adventures and don't get killed. I thought it was clever to actually have a reason for it. At the end of the picture, Quaid puts his hand on the device and it all comes back to him, who he really is. His total recall of his identity is that he is a creation of a Martian machine. He is, in effect, a resurrection of the Martian race in a synthetic body. He turns and says to all the other characters, "It's gonna be fun to play God".
Schwarzenegger was in a decent amount of legit 10/10 movies. Even though this was made in the 80s I think it holds up and has aged well thanks to the set designs of futuristic architecture, and the way they chose to display the philosophy and societal themes. No other movie looks or feels like this one.
Commando, Terminator 1/2, Predator, Total Recall, Conan, Last Action Hero, True Lies, Jingle All The Way, all classics.
They used to actually have actions stars in high concept action movies. Now action movies are just spy thrillers or giant robot movies. I'd they do make a high concept action movie it's never with a big actions star like the rock and its never made by a big time director. It will star an over the hill actor trying to reinvent himself as an action guy and will be made by a no name hack director with a tiny budget and written by an AI script writer.
@@MrJeanjean2009 Conan is one of the most underrated films of all time
@@MrJeanjean2009 Just take out Jingle All The Way and replace with Kindergarten Cop and Twins and I agree 100%
@@dash4800 So, Rambo Last Blood? Sounds about right.
Such a simple, but evocative movie.
That line where a mutant asks Arnold if he "wants to know the future" to which he replies "how about the past" is a great example of a quick, throwaway, funny line of dialogue that is actually pretty revealing about the character.
This was like a "holy shit" moment making me realize that characters with amnesia and characters who find out something about the future in films are often practically the same character with the same goals and arcs.
Verhoeven has said often that he believes his fascination with gratuitous, graphic violence was borne out of his experiences as a young child during World War II. Seeing dead bodies, mutilated in the streets by bullets and bombs, scarred his psyche and using graphic violence is an outlet for him.
Specifically the odd mixture of finding it horrifying and exciting at the same time. IIRC he mentions waking up to find that an Allied bombing raid had accidentally blown up his neighbour's house
Like Tom Savini's special effects in horror movies being inspired by his experiences in Vietnam.
Verhoeven always struck me as fairly misanthropic. Most of his films center on people being ruthlessly terrible to each other. No doubt a lot of that came from his wartime experiences.
@@troyschulz2318 Yeah, but some of his interviews come off as if he was the only one who saw the war as a kid.
Of course Korben Dallas is justifying the use of gratuitous violence
I think Rich likes Verhoeven’s film violence because of the indifference of it all. Nobody outside the main cast in these films matter and are just additional scenery. He’s a schlock genius.
Verhoeven does a great job of showing how dangerous the worlds the characters inhabit are. Also, I love squibs.
Rich is the kind of guy who watches a Friday The 13th film and roots for Jason. My kind of guy.
@@larrylaffer3246 I mean, I'll be the first to say I only watch slasher movies like F13th for the kills. There's usually not much else to them in most cases (except Jason Lives).
Verhoeven’s ultraviolence is funny because his characters are like video game protagonists and the dying people are like NPCs. Compare to Clockwork Orange where the ultraviolence is not funny at all
@@dyveira For sure. It's why something like the Nightmare films work so well. You love to see just what kind of scenarios Freddy will get in to next. What kind of creative kill he'll inflict on a helpless victim.
I've always loved filmmakers guessing at how the world would evolve technology wise decades ahead. Mobile phone advancements just came out of nowhere for most sci-fi. Even the the ones that got that right assumed handhelds would continue to become smaller but didn't account for them being used for watching high def videos.
Man i think its something to be said for the fact that the original still rattles around rent free in my head and i regularly forget theres a new one a decade later
"Is it Beckinsdale or Beckinsale?"
"Beckinsale."
"So anyway Kate Beckinsdale..."
Rob Bottin always added so much detail in the expressions in his effects. Stan Winston is a legend in the effects industry, but I think he usually lacked expression in his head sculpts. RIP Stan Winston and hope Rob Bottin is doing well.
I only recently learned that the headshot scene in Robocop was done with a puppet, I always assumed it was Peter Weller with a squib on the back of his head. Rob Bottin did an amazing job there! Also, Rob's last credit on wikipedia is for Game of Thrones, so it seems like he doesn't do much these days but he sure is doing well :)
@@ELEKTROSKANSEN
A squib like that would've been dangerous. In the unrated cut they show the puppet from the front and it kinda gives it away.
@@Draliseth That unrated cut is what always fooled me, tho :) Not knowing it was a puppet - I always thought that Peter Weller just agreed to do a super-duper dangerous stunt, because it looked so real! Please keep in mind that I always watched it on a 30" CRT tv, and not a 4k blu ray or something of that quality. I may be just looking for an excuse for my easily fooled eye, tho, not gonna deny it :)
@@Draliseth The expression really sells it as being believable, but the movement of the head does give it away.
@@ELEKTROSKANSEN For the longest time his last credit was Mr. Deeds which made me sad. I am glad he came out to do something interesting. He and Winston are my favorite special FX artists.
I remember as a kid this movie being in our vast movie collection and thinking nothing of it. Now as a young, grown man this is one of my favorite action movies. It actually has a creative plot!
The blurring in and out on the face of the love interest at the Recall facility could be (and was probably intended to be) interpreted as him hallucinating her actual face as the image of the woman from his dream.
What amazed me as a kid, was the complete lack of health and safety in the movie.
Arnie working construction 5 days a week with ZERO ear protection.
X-Ray machines making you sterile as you walked through them EVERY DAY to work.
Giant fucking mars domes with COUNTLESS glass panels just WAITING to get shattered by some kid with a catapult and a rock.
Everyone in this movie deserved to die from just work related injuries.
Those are weird things to think about as a child haha
The silent point of the movie is that Martian colonization is basically a capitalist theme park, where everything has a price, and workers themselves are commodities. There is no government, so therefore no health and safety regulations. On Earth during this time, it is similar - with full deregulation of industries and private ownership of all vital human resources. This is why the corporations on Mars do everything possible to stop Quaid from starting the reactor and giving everyone free air - because they're making billions charging people for it, and it keeps the workers accepting shitty work conditions and pay to create profit for them.
Could use some work safety regulations yeah lol
What kid is thinking about those kinds of things? All I thought about were the three tittied lady and the horrifying face prosthetics, as a kid AND an adult.
Sounds like the origin story for an Occupational Health and Safety superhero
Wtf? Do androids dream of electric sheep? is like the best book title of all time. Sums up the entire premise of the story without giving too much away and is super unique.
I mean it's very Philip k dick. If you like title style or not is subjective.
It doesn't make sense, because you don't dream of sheep, you count them to fall asleep. Dreaming of sheep isn't a thing!
@@bombdatacenters Touché.
@@bombdatacenters Deckard aspired to own an electric sheep. To the point he dreamed about them. The title plays into the philosophical question of his world pertaining to the ability of artificial intelligence to have wants or aspirations like humans.
@@skullkrusher4078 Oh, maybe I should have read the book before having such a strong opinion.
If you haven't seen the director's commentary with Paul and Arnold, it's totally worth it. They point out all of the indicators that it's all real or it's all a dream.
Verhoeven’s commentaries are always entertaining. His one for Starship Troopers will have you checking the dates, because it sounds like a critique of the invasion of Iraq but was recorded two years before that happened.
Some of the plotholes can be put on Richter acting on his own as all the serious attempts on Quaid's life are made by him, and Cohaagen not able to rein him in without exposing the plan, with the removal of the tracker being to make sure Richter doesn't know where Quaid is to kill him. Quaid still says it sounds contrived and too perfect, with Cohaagen responding it is dumb stupid luck that the plan still worked.
You might also remove the tracking device because the resistance could detect it and screw up your plan.
The question is, why choose Quaid for this project at all? Kidnap one of the untainted resistance fighters and use them rather than someone like Quaid who is questionable.
@@aarondavis8943 They needed an uniquely skilled person, that could immediately be picked and quickly rise the resistance's ranking, to actually have privileged access to Quatto.
A generic grunt wouldn't had worked.
I'm surprised they didn't mention that the window inside of the miniature train was done practically because they did not yet have the technology to project an image on the side of the train in post. They had a tiny projector inside of the train showing just enough of the footage of Arnold at the window before the angle of the shot changes where you can't see the window anymore.
Explain it like I'm 5
@@lucasmccamy90 Nowadays, they would use a computer to keep track of the location and the angle of the window that Arnold was looking through on the model train as it moved through the shot and the camera moved around the train. They would then place the footage of Arnold looking through a window over top of the window in the train model and use a computer to warp and manipulate the footage to be in the right position and at the right angle, so that you would see Arnold looking out of what is, in reality, a small train.
When this movie was made they didn't have the computer tracking or the video manipulation technology that we have today. Instead of doing any of that they figured out how long the camera would be able to see into the train window during the shot. Then they shot footage of Arnold looking through a window. Then they built a small projector that projected onto a mirror which reflected the footage onto a small screen which was placed where the window is on the model train. This is called rear screen projection because the light was shining from behind the screen that we end up seeing the image on. Because the projector was so small and it had to fit inside of the model train, it only had enough footage for the amount of time that you can see Arnold in the window.
@@lucasmccamy90 Alternatively, nowadays they could also just build the model with a tiny LCD screen in it and play video footage on a screen built into the model as the filmed it.
Most likely though, they would just make the whole train and the surface of Mars in CG and the video footage of Arnold looking out the window would just be a video texture on the 3D model of the train.
@@james.b.mcgill Nowadays, that little Arnold would be CG too. Much easier, and doesn't require Arnie + a crew + a real shoot.
@@lucasmccamy90 Tiny projector can only hold tiny amount of footage, while inside tiny moving train, so it only has a few seconds of Arnold looking out the window at a specific angle. Verhoeven sets up the shot, so that the angles line up, for as long as possible. It's important to maintain the illusion of tiny man in tiny train, until the moment it goes into tiny tunnel, so that we don't get the jarring smash-cut or looping footage that directors who aren't Verhoeven leave in.
I absolutely love the shot at 14:12 where Arnie has just killed 4 people. It is incredibly beautifully with perfect composition. One of the best in all of cinema IMO.
Fred Flintstone was insane to go up against Arnold; buddies or no
One of the best in all of cinema is a bit of a stretch I'd say, but it's a great shot for sure.
9:31 So awesome
Totally
"Do androids dream of electric sheep" is actually a really great title imo
It identifies perfectly the themes that are explored through the subject matter
i was just thinking the same thing, but it's only really true after you know the plot. otherwise its just "huh?"
The short story, for those who are wondering, is similar but ended with a different twist. The spy situation was real in the story, he had already had his mind erased and going to Rekal brought his memories back. He beats up some agents who were monitoring him and works out a deal with the agency to erase his memories again. He gives them a idea he had when he was a child about meeting aliens who were set to invade Earth, but the aliens like him so much they decide to hold off the invasion until after he dies. When they try to imprint him, they realize that story was also true.
Yeah they basically just took the first part before he goes to Mars from the story; everything after that is original to the film.
@@FranzSanchez-ky9up - PKD said it himself, sci fi in his generation was pulp. The appeal was the philosophical questions they presented to the reader through very hammy action/detective stories.
I feel so validated by every word of this, the matrix inspiration (I'd also suggest the nose bug is also an inspiration to the belly button bug in matrix)
“What the fuck did I do wrong” lives in my head rent free
One of the best movies ever, still holds up well to me.
One of my favorite movies ever
Mine too. Definitely in the top 10.
Rich talking: "If you're a snooty art fucker, you can be, 'Oh I love it. He's dead."
Rich thinking: "If you're Jay, you can be..."
Rich and Mike , profilic haters of the elderly and the showing early signs of dementia, reviewing a movie named "Total Recall" is like pottery
Pottery?
@@daftbanna7202 Yes, Harry Pottery
@@daftbanna7202 It's like pottery, you know, they rhyme
Rich Evans moment
(Popped in to see if people would not get the bit. Welp)
At the risk of sounding like an 'old man' I really miss the days when we got films like Blade Runner. Conan, Total Recall, Robocop, Star trek The Wrath of Khan, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc.
They were good stories that you could talk about with friends and watch over and over again. A lot of the modern stuff looks amazing but is just so dull and forgettable, even the Sound Tracks are often quite forgettable.
I wouldn't mind if new films ditched the CGI and focused more on story, also wouldn't mind if we ended these constant reboots but focused on new and exciting movies and universes.
You're not an old man. I'm 37 am I considered a old man.
Everything now just feels so disposable marginalized made by committee
Suspiria, jojo rabbit and the new Dune movie fit that criteria perfectly and those are all very recent and were all in major movie theatres.
I think the real issue us you can only tell what movies are important and brilliant far after they come out.
Schwartzenagger managed to pick a bizarre list of greatest hits, while van Damme films (to pick one of the better options!) were mostly considered in the same sort of class at the time and nowadays are mostly forgotten.
True but some good movies me and my friends always quote and rewatch have been the lighthouse and joker, so there’s still good stuff out there. Too bad the majority of stuff in theatres and streaming services suck.
@@SimonBuchanNz This is where screenwriting and delivery makes the most difference, Arnold wasn't the only big name to star in action films with sci-fi themes. While there are some unique enough premises (Cobra, Demolition Man, Universal Soldier) They just pale in comparison in execution to Terminator, Predator, Running Man.
MIke thank you for doubling up the Beckinsdale. It's always a treat to find the little edit touches in these, especially when it is at Rich or Jay's expense.
26:30 is 30 seconds of greatness. Mike’s overdub was flawless.
You could see it coming and it is still funny.
Total Recall is one of the greatest movies ever. Very underrated.
The balls of, in 2012, putting a quote from a guy on MySpace of all places on your Blu Ray almost makes me like it more.
I was about 10 when my parents took me and my little brother to see this in theatre. The part where Arny rips off Ironsides arms on the elevator, is still burnt into my brain!
"See you at the party, Richter!"
You should have been arrested. This movie is 18 plus. Haha
That mask he pulls off still looks utterly awesome. That's just nuts how well the effect has held up. It's better than CGI. I read that it was extremely heavy and was raised with a hydrolic lift. That's why it moves so smoothly upward.
I watch that mask coming off and can't understand how it looks so real.
See, my own personal take on it was that it was all a dream, and that Schwarzenegger wasn't what the main character actually looks like. He's the action hero dream appearance, and even the start of the movie is just the prologue of the story being told. Which is genius - Arnold is perfect as what they would program is as the "action body" for you to have a space adventure in.
Nice night for a walk.
That makes a lot of sense.
Yeah, I enjoy the third take on the story: that the entire thing is Working As Intended; at the end the main character is just waking up from his action dream vacation, a satisfied customer.
Nothing clean right.
"I do not want to live in the sort of world Dick is so good at describing... Maybe if a lot of people read Dick's works I'll stand a better chance of not living in that world." -John Brunner
One of my favorite PKD films is Screamers ('95) based on the short story "Second Variety".
Second Variety deserves its own Re:View
Screamers is amazing movie. It would be great if they ever review it indeed.
18:55 Mike, water ice isn't the only form of ice. The ice caps on Mars are carbon dioxide ice, for example. Also, somewhat true to the movie, there is Martian O2 that's locked in the rocks irl. In principle, if the rock were molten, it could release the oxygen as a gas. Terraforming wouldn't happen overnight but it's not nothing.
An atmosphere that was mostly oxygen woul d be deadly poison to most terrestrial life.
The way I remember it, I thought the Martian machine was decomposing the water into Oxygen and Hydrogen, not melting it, but that does leave the problem of having an Oxygen and Hydrogen atmosphere...
I for one, find Paul Verhoevens use of violence in all his films utterly hilarious. Robocop was one of the funniest things I had ever seen because to me it was so obvious that it was intended to be over the top. When I recently watched Total Recall, I was laughing out LOUD at the "meat shield" scene. I also loved the fact that Arnold and Ironside violently shoved/tackled every person in their way during the chases. The body language is obvious that they were directed to push pedestrians out of the way as violently as possible. There is a guy walking up a staircase later in the movie that Arnold literally shoves so hard he flips off the stairs and falls. Comedy genius.
I definitely believe there is an intentional humor to Verhoevens style that was never understood by like 97% of audiences.
Yeah, Verhoeven is highly satirical. Considered a master in the Netherlands.
Every single time I've seen this film, I always laugh out loud at one moment where Arnold shoves some pedestrian HARD, and he makes a loud 'UGH' sound. It's so random and a throwaway, I don't know why, but it just always gets me. So ridiculous but so good at the same time
@@HipiO7 That part got me also! I LOL'd when that poor civilian backflipped off the escalator. That's when I knew this movie was great.
I've felt no greater betrayal from a fictional character than Benny turning out to be evil the whole time. Great movie and great discussion!
Dude's got 5 kids to feed.
I think I've seen Total Recall 3x, and each time I'm shocked at his betrayal!
"He can't keep getting away with this!!!"
“Consider that a divorce.”
Not just Arnies best one liner. The best one liner of all time.
It truly is.
what more can be said? Total Recall is a goddamn masterpiece, thanks in no small part to Verhoeven giving the finger to Hollywood and going all out
This movie features the greatest Arnold one-liner of all time-
Arnold's fake-wife with a gun behind her back: "But honey, we're married"
Arnold: "Consider this a divorce" *proceeds to shoot her*
One of my favorites is,
Melina:
What have you been feeding this thing?
Douglas Quaid:
Blondes.
Melina:
I think it's still hungry.
Heeey Beeeennnnnieeeeeee, Screeeeew yooooooo.
Man I'd love for everyone to do Dark City. I think it'd be great to see their take on it.
Let the tuning commence!
My actual favourite Sci Fi movie.
Love that movie.
Paul Verhoeven is a top 10 Director of all time. The man is brilliant and so are many of his movies.
In the novelization, Melina says she was a Model for Rekall
One of my favourites. Shame you didn’t mention the incredible Jerry Goldsmith score. 😥 Regardless, great video, as always. 👍👍
Arnold's commentary track for this movie is hilarious for how bad it is. It's like he didn't understand what a commentary track is for, so he just describes what he's doing, and says, "oh this part is great"
Yeah I remember that! He labels every subsequent scene as his favorite. Rightfully so, this movie has so many highlights.
Is anyone else deeply disappointed in Mike for not mentioning that the Rekall guy that offered him the pill was Sirna Kolrami in the season 2 TNG episode "Peak Performance"?
Ah, is he the fella who beats Data at Stratagema?
@@HusbandofLois yessir!
Now that you point it out (I didn't notice), all I can say is: My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
Did he mention that the 3 boobed woman played Ensign Sonia Gomez in 2 episodes? She spills coffee on Picard. I was kind of doing other things while this was playing so I don't know if he did.
@@digitalintent I believe he did
Total Recall was one of the last films to use miniature extensively (EDIT: this is before the explosion of CGI; I'm very aware modern films use miniatures, but this was one of the last to rely on miniatures before CG became the norm). It was right on the cusp of the CGI age. Yeah, there's some wonky effects, but it mostly still holds up to me.
Hmmm LoTR used miniatures pretty extensively, and even Blade Runner 2049 relied on them quite a bit
@@prah89 I'm talking pre-CGI here. Other films since then have obviously used it, I'm talking exclusively using miniatures.
What about the Lord of the Rings movies?
Ah miniatures. One of the many unsung heroes of filmaking. Beautiful little, excruciatingly detailed, hand-painted sets made to represent real life; Or fantasy locals. How I love you so. Something that you just can't replicate with a computer, no matter how powerful they get. No matter how good your animator is.
@@MonsieurJimjams that's fair
David Drake... who was an incredible sc-fi fantasy author and who wrote grim, self contained story's patterned on the Vietnam War, set about writing a low effort spoof on typical fantasy books of the day. It was over long, repeated the same beats from book to book and had characters who never grew or changed. It sold better than any of his previous works. I bet he and Paul could share a beer about art and audience.
Did people consume it has satire or take it seriously?
What is the parody book? And any recommendations from his other works?
@@jakehyde8728 He is most famous for his Hammer's Slammers books and they are very good. But I would actually argue his book Ranks of Bronze is a great entry. The "parody" series was the Lord of the Isles. I actually read and enjoyed them all because even though he was trying to make a point... the man's writing style is still way to my tastes.
@@wolfsigma Will definitely check these out, thanks!
Philip K Dick is one of the greatest authors of the last 100 years. He’s like Verhoeven in that they both worked in genres that were diminished by critics, but now revisionism is leading to recognition of their masterpieces. If you’ve never read one of his books because you’ve already seen the movies, you’re missing out in a huge way.
Second this. And some of his best novels were never adapted either. Ubik; Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch; Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said (there's another one of those wonky titles), and VALIS.
They will never properly adapt Flow My Tears and it hurts.
Ubik is my favorite of his novels
@@Kirkenburer74 I vote for Richard Linklater to direct.
My favorite was always Dr. Bloodmoney which I know gets a lot of flak but its just so weird and the setting really pulled me in, it's nowhere near as heady or thought provoking as a lot of his other stuff but I had a lot of fun reading it. I feel like it might actually make a really good tv show although nowadays it will be constantly compared to fallout.
Man this review was so reserved. 🤭 I expected way more vulgar goofing off from these two during a review of this ridiculous yet defining action shlockfest of a by gone era.
Love you guys and the team so much. Your media has gotten me through the toughest part of my loss of my beautiful and hilarious wife. 45 more years to go.
I rewatched everything from beginning to end to help me deal with my loss. Gold and a blessing.
Thank you.
I didn't even know she was sick.
I'm really sorry to hear that. Honestly the thought of losing my partner is enough to make me want to commit suicide, so I truly have no idea how you're still going. I wish you the best, whatever that is, for whatever it's worth.
My heart goes out to you, man. I'm sorry for your loss. Hang in there
This was one of my dad's favourite movies. It still is, but it was too.
The closest we get to violence like that in movies nowadays is whenever Quentin Tarantino releases a film. It’s glorious!
You forget MEL GIBSON
Too much of Demolition Man is coming true these days, including (and especially) the censorship.
@@Constantine_IA you’re absolutely right
@@desther7975 someone's mad they can't use slurs
That’s What Makes It So Fun, Jan
I still desperately need a Highlander re:View with these two
Was surprised they didn’t explicitly mention the
„See you at the party, Richter“-scene.
Prolly the best line in the film, IMHO, thanks to Arnold’s perfect delivery.
I remember my parent taking me and my sisters to the drive-in to go see this and they were perfectly fine with us watching the violence but when that chick with the 3 boobs showed up my mom made us close our eyes eyes. It made no sense to me, considering I just watched Arnold obliterate everyone in his path.
The fact that some parents do this sort of thing before kids hit puberty makes no sense. The kids have no idea what’s going on, but now you’ve just made them curious about what you’re trying to hide. Either that, or they grow up with some kind of fear or guilt when it comes to sex.
My mom did the same thing. I could watch the most violent R rated violence but she would cover my eyes if any nudity was on screen
May I say arnold has been in most of the brilliant films of the 80s-90s era. Also eye popping part was insane
Bulky modern street phones - or hubs - are a reality too. In UK, BT started installing "street hub" phones that can make free calls locally, have touch screens, WiFi and USB ports for charging etc. From what I've heard drug dealers occasionally use them, so it ties with the idea in Total Recall that someone from resistance would use one.
When I first saw Robocop get blown to pieces and the acid scene with the melting skin, that haunted me til this day. love it.
Man...Total Recall is a perfect mix of nice sci fi, schlock action, fun sequences, interesting plot and visuals. True classic.
Rich is right! Paul Verhoeven was a hipster ahead of his time! This makes perfect sense!
His earlier work is what they would now call arthouse (Turks Fruit is imo still his best film). In the eighties Verhoeven must have (somewhat naively) thought that Hollywood schlock was the only thing that would reach a large audience in the US. That's at least how most Dutch people saw Hollywood productions back then, and perhaps even now.
I think the only reason his films became successful "popcorn science-fiction movies" was because of his preconceptions on American cinema plus his progressive artistic mindset.
Without Verhoeven's talent they would all have been just another BOTW movie :D
When I was working on the PC game Carmageddon 2 in the nineties, I asked the art director (the whole development team was English) about an American character in the first game, driving Ram Rod, a jeep type vehicle with ram horns on the front, the driver being Big Daddy, with sports fan face paint and US flag bandana. He said it was styled after criminals in the US who would drive their vehicles into closed stores, demolishing storefronts in order to loot them. I told him I had never heard of such a thing here in the US - it was something apparently happening in the UK around that time and he had just assumed that it had originated and was widespread here, because, you know, America...
I love that they couldn't be arsed to read a short story.
I really enjoyed this great job guys. One movie from the 80’s that never gets talked about anymore and I wonder why is Innerspace. You were talking about great practical effects and that one is up there. For me it’s as much of a classic as Ghostbusters or BTTF.
I wholeheartedly agree. Innerspace is an excellent film. Very strange indeed it is so overlooked when it comes to 80's films...Or Sci-Fi films in general.
One day someone will remake this episode of re:View and ruin it.