A question about Total Recall.

[Trekker4747]

^D'oh! My first thought was that Beverly had told Geordi, but I trusted the TV Tome article saying that Geordi had said it to Beverly. I should know better.

Still, given, it was still nice to see them do the "exposure to the vaccum" thing mostly correctly .

I was like 13 when that epiosde aired and I thought Trek had f'ed up by not having them explode in the vaccum.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Except they make a critical mistake: Geordi tells Beverly to hold her breath, which is absolutely the wrong thing to do in that circumstance because you'd rupture your lungs.

Guess Dave Bowman should also have known better in 2001...he does the same thing before entering the Discovery.

 

[MyCylon]

Christopher, I'd be very interested to read your opinions/ideas on whether or not Quaids experiences between Rekall and the end of the movie are part of the "impant" he ordered or "really happened."

My personal take is that it's a dream, because the science is too thoroughly nonsensical to be real, as I explained earlier in this thread or the other one about the movie. I've never quite felt that was the intent of the filmmakers, or that it was a dramatically satisfying interpretation, though.

For what it's worth, Verhoeven states on the DVD commentary that he always considered it a dream and that, among other things, the fade-to-white was meant to convey that notion. He also explains at what point the dream begins (which is just after Quaid agrees to the Rekall trip).

Arnold, on the other hand, it seems, wasn't fond of that idea and preferred to think it all 'really' happened .

 

[Christopher]

This came up on io9 just recently:

http://io9.com/5279494/6-characters-who-escaped-virtual-prisons-or-did-they

The Case For:

Director Paul Verhoeven has occasionally confirmed that the movie really happened, but that was mostly when it looked like the film was going to get a sequel. Perhaps the best evidence that the events seen actually happened is that Arnold Schwarzenegger played Quaid. In the end, is it really any more believable that a guy as impossibly ripped as Schwarzenegger was just a lowly construction worker than that he was a secret agent? And there is the fact that Quaid was dreaming about something similar to his supposedly recovered memories before he ever went to Rekall, but even the movie acknowledges how weak it is to use a dream to disprove virtual reality.

The Case Against:

The guy who claims to be implanted by Rekall to get Quaid out of his broken mind trip not only correctly points out everything that had happened was in line with the adventure Quaid chose, but he also accurately predicts the rest of the movie. (Quaid's logic in this scene also leaves something to be desired. People in virtual reality can't possibly sweat! Shoot him in the head!) For that matter, a Rekall technician at the beginning of the movie says the memory simulator has brought up the unprecedented element of blue skies on Mars for Quaid's trip. And guess what we see at the end of the movie right before the scene fades to white...

Chances That It Really Happened:

10%. Sorry, Quaid, I don't believe you'll be seeing Richter at the party after all.

So Verhoeven used to say it was real, but now he says it was a dream, except I read somewhere that he's said it was deliberately ambiguous.

 

[MyCylon]

^
Interesting. I didn't realize he changed what he was saying. But I suppose it makes sense if a sequel was on the horizon back in the day.

IIRC Verhoeven said he thought it was all a dream but left it somewhat ambiguous.

 

[Trekker4747]

Christopher, I'd be very interested to read your opinions/ideas on whether or not Quaids experiences between Rekall and the end of the movie are part of the "impant" he ordered or "really happened."

My personal take is that it's a dream, because the science is too thoroughly nonsensical to be real, as I explained earlier in this thread or the other one about the movie. I've never quite felt that was the intent of the filmmakers, or that it was a dramatically satisfying interpretation, though.

For what it's worth, Verhoeven states on the DVD commentary that he always considered it a dream and that, among other things, the fade-to-white was meant to convey that notion. He also explains at what point the dream begins (which is just after Quaid agrees to the Rekall trip).

Arnold, on the other hand, it seems, wasn't fond of that idea and preferred to think it all 'really' happened .

The fade to white I always took as the "dream" too.

(But I took it as "begining" once we cut out of the Rekall implant room.

And it would seem that it was one of those Hollywood "dynamic dreams" where we (the audience) can visit other people and things happening that the main character shouldn't be aware of.

 

[Lonemagpie]

The main case for it being real is that we see other characters when Quaid isn't present.

As for Verhoeven changing his mind depending on the possibility of a sequel- I remember him being all "this is a serious, new type of SF film" before Starship Troopers came out - and then in the publicity for the video/dvd release, after it had been panned, he was all "buy my satirical comedy SF movie. It's meant to be funny, honest..."

 

[Lonemagpie]

Any idea where the EXPLODING in space myth originated in Hollyweird? And which movie started that trend?

As with all things in science fiction, it most likely originated in prose at least a decade or two before film and television caught up with it. It probably goes back to early pulp sci-fi stories, from back when people had no direct experience with the vacuum of space and could only speculate about its effects.

Also, it probably comes from a misinterpretation of the term "explosive decompression." We've been conditioned to make certain assumptions about what "explosive" means. It literally means that the gases inside your body or your spaceship will decompress in a single forceful burst through whatever opening is available, but we hear "explosive" and we assume it refers to something blowing up.

Here's a list of films and shows that have used the trope, and those that have averted it:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExplosiveDecompression

In TNG's "Disaster" they accurately depict exposure to a vaccum when Beverly and Geordi decompress the shuttlebay (to exstinguish a "plasma fire" in the room) Beverly tells Geordi that he may feel some capalaries on his skin burst and that they'd only have a few moments of useful consciousness but otherwise they'll weather the experience nicely.

Except they make a critical mistake: Geordi tells Beverly to hold her breath, which is absolutely the wrong thing to do in that circumstance because you'd rupture your lungs. As a doctor, she should've known better and corrected his mistake before it killed him.

IIRC, SHE instructed them both to "resist the temptation to exhale."

The correct procedure is hyperventilate first to oxygenate the blood, then exhale and go

 

[Christopher]

As for Verhoeven changing his mind depending on the possibility of a sequel- I remember him being all "this is a serious, new type of SF film" before Starship Troopers came out - and then in the publicity for the video/dvd release, after it had been panned, he was all "buy my satirical comedy SF movie. It's meant to be funny, honest..."

Well, just from watching the film, it's clearly intended to be a satire of fascism. And I don't necessarily see a contradiction there. Satire often has a serious purpose as social or political criticism.

 

[Lonemagpie]

As for Verhoeven changing his mind depending on the possibility of a sequel- I remember him being all "this is a serious, new type of SF film" before Starship Troopers came out - and then in the publicity for the video/dvd release, after it had been panned, he was all "buy my satirical comedy SF movie. It's meant to be funny, honest..."

Well, just from watching the film, it's clearly intended to be a satire of fascism. And I don't necessarily see a contradiction there. Satire often has a serious purpose as social or political criticism.

Oh, it's definitely satirical and funny; but the different tones of the PR for the theatrical and home releases were quite the polar opposites.

 

[Trekker4747]

Well, this thread has gotten me to do it.

I went out and bought Total Recall, watching it right now.

This one also needs a Rifftrax.

 

[MyCylon]

^
Congratulations! Total Recall is a worthwhile purchase which has been a part of my DVD collection for some time now .