Book Vs Movie
Total Recall
The Philip K. Dick Short Story Vs the Arnold Schwarzenegger 1990 Film
If memory serves, this is the first movie the Margos are covering that stars action star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. This time we are visiting Mars and it is nothing like David Bowie would have enjoyed. 1990’s Total Recall (directed by Paul Verhoeven) is based on the short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by prolific writer Philip K. Dick.
The short story (first published in 1966 in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction) follows the story of Douglas Quail and an ordinary, earth-bound man who dreams of going to Mars. He works as a clerk at a boring office job and his wife, Kristen, seems to enjoy making fun of his dreams.
Quail discovers Rekal Incorporated, a company that provides memory implants that takes the place of actual experience. Instead of a fake memory–he actually remembers that he is a secret agent who killed a political operative on Mars and his “real life” is fake.
The movie is much more complicated and the budget of $55 million for 1990 was considered astronomical for the time (it eventually made over $261 million) and was the 5th highest-grossing film in 1990 (Ghost was #1!)
The plot? We try to make sense of it in this episode while enjoying the insane special effects and inane dialog.
Between the short story and film–which did the Margos like better?
In this ep the Margos discuss:
- The bio of Philip K. Dick
- The career of Paul Verhoeven & Schwarzenegger
- The “sleazy & demure” love interest (eye roll)
- Margo’s story about San Diego actress Priscilla Allen (billed as “Fat Lady” in the movie!)
- The cast which includes: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Quaid,) Rachel Ticotin (Melina,) Sharon Stone (Lori,) Ronny Cox (Cohaggen,) Michael Ironside (Richter,) Marshall Bell (Kuato,) Ray Baker (McClane,) and Rosemary Dunsmore (Dr. Lull.)
Clips Featured:
- Total Recall trailer
- “Two Weeks”
- “You Blew My Cover!”
- Arnold yelling
- “Take the pill”
- Music: Soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith The Dream
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Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.com
Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/