Essential
Summary
Total Recall: The Official Story of the Film is a must have for fans of the film as it explores all kinds of details which I didn’t know about beforehand. This is great stuff and essential for any collection.
Plot: Official retrospective hardback book telling the story of the making of Total Recall (1990), including new interviews with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Paul Verhoeven, as well as other members of the crew, and featuring behind-the-scenes photography from the shoot.
In 1990, after years of lurking in development hell, Total Recall was finally released. In the creative hands of renowned director Paul Verhoeven, this thrilling, intriguing, and occasionally violent sci-fi action movie, adapted from the Philip K Dick short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, more than justified its huge budget by becoming a massive worldwide box-office hit.
“Get ready for a surprise!” as this lavish hardback book presents the full story of the making of this remarkable film. Incredible concept art and behind-the-scenes photography sheds new light on the production, while new interviews with key cast and crew capture their experiences on the notoriously difficult shoot in the Mexican heat. An in-depth look at the making of a sci-fi film classic.
Review: I didn’t even know this book existed until I was in the bookstore Indigo a few weeks ago; obviously I had to have it right away as Total Recall is one of my favourite movies.
Despite the rather hefty price tag ($66) this is well worth adding to the collection. Total Recall: The Official Story of the Film is an easy read packed with storyboards and early interpretations of the film.
I had no idea David Cronenberg nearly directed Total Recall and it would have been a very different movie, but I’m glad it ended up with Paul Verhoeven as he did an incredible job. I’ve read the story it’s based on – We can Dream it for You Wholesale and the film perfectly expands on the story with more action, violence and 3 breasted mutants.
In this book little details are explored in terms of visual effects like how carpet could be used to create a Martian volcano which is incredibly creative and much more.
Overall, Total Recall: The Official Story of the Film is a riveting read with interesting tidbits about the making of the film and how difficult it was to actually get it made in the early days. If you love the movie as much as I do then you need to pick this up.