Total Recall (1990) - Page 3 - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

Dave · 19th April 2002, 10:16 AM

Has anyone seen "Vanilla Sky", the Tom Cruise film?

I don't want to spoil the film for you so if you haven't, you might want to look away from any replies that I get to this:

Did you think that the 'LE Corporation' was very like 'Rekall'?

It's a much more complex film, I didn't even realise it was SciFi until about half an hour from the end, I was expecting a Romantic Comedy Thriller. It had all that too, but it had the same "Is this real? - Is this a dream?" element that 'Total Recall' did. It was also a little sad.

Annette · 19th April 2002, 05:37 PM

No, not seen 'Vanilla Sky'. Sounds OK from your description tho.

annette

Dave · 18th June 2006, 10:08 PM

I've just watched both 'Vanilla Sky' and 'Total Recall' again and their are certainly similarities, though in 'Vanilla Sky'I think it is clear that David Aames is dead and his mind is living on in a Lucid Dreamwhereas in 'Total Recall' I can still not say for certain whether he is in reality, in a dream, or having a freeform delusion from a schizoid embolism and likely to get a Lobotomy when he wakes up.

I would say it is unlikely to be reality - far-fetched, alien technology on Mars, secret agents - and these are the things he asked for - unlikely coincidences, but then his subconcious might remember them - isn't that's why he chose a brunette.

The other twist is that he is not Doug Quaid at all, but Hauser, a friend of Cohagen and the author of his own new identity. That really is a twist too far, which tends to go against the reality idea. The old video in which secret agent Quaid/Hauser explains that Quaid/Hauser himself contrived the memory loss scheme as a way of catching rebel leader Kuato could have been falsified. It isn't clear whether Quaid doesn't believe it, or if he just disregards it. Kuato tells Hauser “A man is defined by his actions, not his memories” and he seems to act on instincts rather than memories.

He could have just gone back to sleep that first morning and dreamt the whole thing - but dreams are not usually so lucid with so much detail - At the end of the movie Quaid says “I just had a terrible thought: what if this is a dream?” The scene also fades to white (rather than black), to suggest a dream-like state.

That leaves the Lobotomy - that would rule out any Total Recall 2 - the visit from Doctor Edgemar and his wife on Mars would make that a certainty is it wasn't for the sign of Edgemar sweating, but even that could be part of the freeform delusion from a schizoid embolism. In the DVD special feature, one of the filmmakers implies that Quaid was indeed lobotomized during a botched memory implant.

I also want an explanation of why the mutant taxi driver was a mole. What did he have to gain? I don't think he had 5,4 or even any children.

Dave · 11th June 2008, 08:26 PM

Change of subject; but I couldn't find a better place to post this:

Remember the security scanner scene near the start of Total Recall - a long glass corridor at the entrance to the subway in which Arny walks down with a gun, setting off every alarm?

Well, this looks remarkably similar: uncannily so:
Ananova - New scanners 'strip' passengers

Quote:

from Ananova:

New scanners 'strip' passengers

US civil liberties campaigners are opposing the introduction of security scanners that visually remove passengers' clothes.

The powerful new security scanners are set to be installed at airports in Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles and other major cities.

Passengers will be shut in the glass booths while an incredibly detailed 3D image is made of their body.

The booths close around the passenger and emit 'millimeter waves' that go through cloth to identify metal, plastics, ceramics, chemical materials and explosives, according to the Transport Safety Authority.

"People have no idea how graphic the images are," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the technology and liberty programme at the American Civil Liberties Union.

To protect the passengers privacy, their faces will be blurred and the images will not be saved.

Lara Uselding, a TSA spokeswoman, said passengers were not obliged to accept the new machines.

"The passengers can choose between the body imaging and the pat-down," she said.

Connavar · 12th June 2008, 08:47 AM

Heh thats spooky...

About the movie, i thought it was stupid typical hollywood SF but after i have read the very good short story by PKD its even worse in my eyes.

Poor PKD they dumped down one of his stories this much.

12th June 2008, 08:47 AM	#35 (permalink)
Connavar Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 3,343	Re: Total Recall (1990) Heh thats spooky... About the movie, i thought it was stupid typical hollywood SF but after i have read the very good short story by PKD its even worse in my eyes. Poor PKD they dumped down one of his stories this much.

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19th April 2002, 10:16 AM	#31 (permalink)
Dave Wherever I Am, I'm There Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Greater London Posts: 11,422	Has anyone seen "Vanilla Sky", the Tom Cruise film? I don't want to spoil the film for you so if you haven't, you might want to look away from any replies that I get to this: Did you think that the 'LE Corporation' was very like 'Rekall'? It's a much more complex film, I didn't even realise it was SciFi until about half an hour from the end, I was expecting a Romantic Comedy Thriller. It had all that too, but it had the same "Is this real? - Is this a dream?" element that 'Total Recall' did. It was also a little sad.

19th April 2002, 05:37 PM	#32 (permalink)
Annette This is Star - my honey!! Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: West Midlands Posts: 5,944	No, not seen 'Vanilla Sky'. Sounds OK from your description tho. annette

18th June 2006, 10:08 PM	#33 (permalink)
Dave Wherever I Am, I'm There Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Greater London Posts: 11,422	I've just watched both 'Vanilla Sky' and 'Total Recall' again and their are certainly similarities, though in 'Vanilla Sky'I think it is clear that David Aames is dead and his mind is living on in a Lucid Dreamwhereas in 'Total Recall' I can still not say for certain whether he is in reality, in a dream, or having a freeform delusion from a schizoid embolism and likely to get a Lobotomy when he wakes up. I would say it is unlikely to be reality - far-fetched, alien technology on Mars, secret agents - and these are the things he asked for - unlikely coincidences, but then his subconcious might remember them - isn't that's why he chose a brunette. The other twist is that he is not Doug Quaid at all, but Hauser, a friend of Cohagen and the author of his own new identity. That really is a twist too far, which tends to go against the reality idea. The old video in which secret agent Quaid/Hauser explains that Quaid/Hauser himself contrived the memory loss scheme as a way of catching rebel leader Kuato could have been falsified. It isn't clear whether Quaid doesn't believe it, or if he just disregards it. Kuato tells Hauser “A man is defined by his actions, not his memories” and he seems to act on instincts rather than memories. He could have just gone back to sleep that first morning and dreamt the whole thing - but dreams are not usually so lucid with so much detail - At the end of the movie Quaid says “I just had a terrible thought: what if this is a dream?” The scene also fades to white (rather than black), to suggest a dream-like state. That leaves the Lobotomy - that would rule out any Total Recall 2 - the visit from Doctor Edgemar and his wife on Mars would make that a certainty is it wasn't for the sign of Edgemar sweating, but even that could be part of the freeform delusion from a schizoid embolism. In the DVD special feature, one of the filmmakers implies that Quaid was indeed lobotomized during a botched memory implant. I also want an explanation of why the mutant taxi driver was a mole. What did he have to gain? I don't think he had 5,4 or even any children.