HOME   News   Reviews   Adv Search   Features   My DVD   About   Apps   Stats     Search:
  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL 54:32)
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • English: Dolby Digital Surround
  • French: Dolby Digital Surround
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital Surround
  Subtitles
    English, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer - Original Trailer

Total Recall

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 109 mins . R . PAL

  Feature
Contract

"Hi, I'm Paul Verhoeven. You may remember me from the movies I've directed such as the metallic pig in Robocop, the case of mortein doesn't quite cut it in Starship Troopers and that whacky thriller, Basic Instinct." Verhoeven has become a cult favorite amongst us sci-fi lovers and it's easy to see why. He does a great job of portraying a world unlike our own.

In Total Recall, Verhoeven takes Doug Quaid (Arnie) on a journey that will lead him to mars, both in mind and body. Doug is your average futuristic american, he has a gorgeous wife (sharon Stone - Basic Instinct), a steady job and all the standard luxuries life can offer. But Doug is missing something in his life - an Adventure, a trip to a far away planet, mars maybe? - and the only way he can afford it is to visit Rekall and have a memory of an adventurous vaction to mars implanted, to give him that feeling of having been there.

That's where the problem is, Doug has already been to mars, he just doesn't know it and when the procedure for the implant begins, his memory is triggered and all hell breaks loose. People now want him dead as his mind was initially surpressed because of what he knew about mars and the likes of Ronny Cox (Robocop, OCP) and Michael Ironside (Starship Troopers) are on his trail to make sure he doesn't gain full memory and find the secret that has been hiding within the core of mars.

  Video
Contract

An exceptional transfer from Columbia Tristar once again. I never did get around to seeing the region 4 disc and I am now glad I did as it is a noticeable improvement over the region 1 disc with the bonus of an anamorphic 1.85 presentation.

The main positive of dvd is that color bleed, dot crawl and chroma noise are not existent on good transfers and since this movie has scenes with very deep reds, you begin to cringe at the thought of what your TV will do. It does nothing but display the image perfectly. You don't realise how good a red image can look until you see this disc and all the problems you've seen from previous vhs and laserdisc releases are swept away.

Black level is very good and as you'd expect, color saturation is perfect. The detail in this transfer is excellent and sharpness is sustained throughout.

  Audio
Contract

Not the greatest of soundtracks which is a disappointment as it's a great looking disc and would benefit so much from a decent 5.1 mix. Suffice, the front sound stage is exceptional but the rears could do with a little more information.

There are times when you hear a surround stage as you'd expect but other times you are let down with "what could have been". Dialogue is always clear, audio synch is not a problem and your subwoofer is going to enjoy this movie immensly.

  Extras
Contract

A theatrical trailer is all we get which is just one trailer short of the US release. Nothing to cry about but then again, nothing to crow about.

  Overall  
Contract

A great movie. The more I watch it, the more I enjoy it and this disc is now the best version I own. Arnold is his usual macho self and has an array of one-liners suited to his character and situation.

This is one of the best sci-fi films to come out in this decade and thus is a must for any sci-fi collection.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=184
  • Send to a friend.

    Cast your vote here: You must enable cookies to vote.
  •   
      And I quote...
    ""
    - Steve Koukoulas
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Start SD-2010
    • TV:
          Hitachi CMT2979 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Yamaha RX-V795
    • Speakers:
          Peterson Labs 100Watts
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sherwood SC-60E
    • Surrounds:
          Sherwood LS-502
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
      Recent Reviews:
    by Steve Koukoulas

    Star Wars: Clone Wars - Volume 1
    "... created for the Cartoon Network, made their way onto starwars.com in small quicktime versions and are now available on DVD."

    The Fifth Element - Collectors Edition
    "a truly special edition"

    Duel - Special Edition
    "Duel is easily the best bang-for-your-buck suspense car-chase, truck hounded thriller ever ... a must have for Spielberg and suspense fans."

    Dodgeball - Uncut
    "Sometimes the simplest of ideas for a movie pay off the best."

    Ultimate Matrix Collection (10 Disc Box Set)
    "If no-one can be told what the Matrix is, this Ultimate collection edition is the closest you're going to get to finding out."

      Related Links
      None listed

     

    Search for Title/Actor/Director:
    Google Web dvd.net.au
       Copyright © DVDnet. All rights reserved. Site Design by RED 5   
    rss