Total Recall

Factual error: When Quade drills through the hydraulic hose on Benny's mining machine, the pressure indicator on the console drops rapidly and is scaled in "Inches of Mercury Absolute". That scale is normally used only for vacuum, not high pressure hydraulics.

Nicki

Revealing mistake: When Richter's arms get cut off and he falls down the elevator shaft to his death, you can very obviously see the outlines of his real arms inside his shirt when his leather jacket flies up as he falls.

TedStixon

Continuity mistake: When the man delivering the briefcase calls Quaid and tells him to go to the window, you see on the screen he turns to look to his side, but when Quaid goes to the window the man on the phone is still looking straight and then is seen turning to his side again.

Bishop73

Continuity mistake: When Quaid first arrives at The Last Resort, he hands Benny a tip and walks in through the front doors. In a front shot behind him is the head of a man outside who wasn't there a moment before when Quaid walked in.

Revealing mistake: During the scene when Quaid is escaping from Harry and his men, he slams two guys into the concrete wall behind him. The "concrete" wall shakes when the two men hit it. (00:22:25)

Floyd1977

Continuity mistake: When Quaid uses the hologram, it's a mirror image of himself. However, before he enters the reactor room full of guards, we see him put the hologram device on his left wrist. His hologram (the one all the guards shoot at) has the device on his left wrist as well, instead of what would be the right.

Bishop73

Total Recall mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Quaid enters George/Kuato's private room in the rebel base you can see George's desk has a different arrangement from one shot to the other with Quaid's gun disappearing, a blue container swapped with a white on, the computer's screen having a cable plugged in or out and other objects moved around. (01:16:00)

TheSlider

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Quaid takes out Lori with a bullet to the head, she lands on the floor in such a manner that allows blood to run across the right side of her forehead. A few shots later Melina pushes Lori out of the way, repositioning the body on its opposite side. But once Richter discovers Lori moments later, blood is only visible running across the left side of her forehead. If anything, there should be blood running from either side of the bullet wound. (01:08:10 - 01:09:05)

ryguy_1983

Revealing mistake: In the last scene, when Douglas Quaid and Melina are holding each other and looking over the landscape of Mars while the sky gets colored, the camera starts from top behind them (looking down) then moves down while looking at them, so more and more of the Mars horizon gets visible. But the camera-tilt goes too far up, so at the top of the picture, you can see the blue-screen curtain and the pole and rings holding it. Douglas Quaid and Melina are just looking at a blue-screen. (This is visible on the video; on the DVD an extra black top-bar is covering it.) (01:48:55)

Continuity mistake: When Doug and Melina are being chased by Richter they leap from the catwalk in the big dome. When they reach the other side, from one camera angle, they grab the horizontal bar on the dome scaffolding. From the next angle they are holding onto the diagonally vertical bars swinging inward. (01:06:30)

Other mistake: When Quaid goes through the x-ray machine the first time, the person behind the man with the dog isn't shown to be carrying anything (there's no purple object shown). But then later the purple object is seen.

Bishop73

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Could simply be someone else with an item passing the person without any. He was walking very slow and certainly 1 person passed him, could be another one did as well.

lionhead

Two people would have had to pass him and there's nothing to indicate 2 additional people were walking that much faster than him, or close to him.

Bishop73

They were off camera before. 1 person definitely did pass him so a second person doing the same is not unlikely.

lionhead

They weren't off screen long enough.

Bishop73

I've seen this part multiple times. Who you see behind Quaid before entering the machine is first a woman with a handbag, then a man with mustache and case, then a blind man with a dog, after him a woman with a handbag again and more people. Now, the man with the mustache and case and the second woman with the handbag probably paused before entering the machine because we don't see them when Quaid passes, only the first woman with a bag, then a blind man with a dog and then a man with nothing. So both must have then sped up and then passed the man holding nothing. You see them walking faster than the others too. Not illogical when people are rushing to work or home either.

lionhead

Continuity mistake: In the apartment, Lori grabs a knife, and after the first slice, switches the knife to her right hand. After the second slice, the knife can be seen midair as she tosses it from left to right again.

Movie Nut

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: It's not being shown tossed from right to left, you just see her spin the knife in the air to hold it in a different position.

Bishop73

Other mistake: After Arnold kills Harry and his gang at the beginning, how did that blood splatter get on the wall behind him to his right? He shot the henchman standing in that position from the back and the other who was shot was shot standing to the left side of the wall. So there is no explanation why the splatter is there.

Continuity mistake: Arnie has come back to the apartment after shooting his coworkers and asks Lori if this is a hallucination. He then reveals fresh blood smeared all over the palms of his hands but he had grabbed her before he asks the question. Lori is sitting in front of him without a drop of blood on her.

Visible crew/equipment: When Bob abruptly leaves his office due to Quaid's schizoid episode, a boom mic can be seen in a reflection on the glass, immediate left. (00:18:35)

ryguy_1983

Continuity mistake: During the chaos that ensues after Richter shoots out the spaceport windows, one of the rebels clings to a yellow pipe before being sucked into Mars' atmosphere. His hands are varying distances from each other, depending on the shot. (00:46:50)

ryguy_1983

Deliberate mistake: While Cohagen is on Mars, he calls Richter and chides him for trying to kill Quade. Richter is in a car on Earth, yet they're having a real-time conversation, which is impossible because of the distance. [While this is true, a movie with 4 to 21 minute pauses between lines would take rather a long time].

Nicki

Total Recall mistake picture Video

Continuity mistake: When Quaid takes off his old woman disguise and throws the head to a soldier who catches it, the close-up shows that he's holding it beneath the ears. In the wide shot, he's holding it from behind the skull.

Hauser: Howdy, stranger. This is Hauser. If things have gone wrong, I'm talking to myself, and you've got a wet towel wrapped around your head. Now, whatever your name is, get ready for the big surprise. You are not you. You are me.
Quaid: No shit.

Bishop73

More quotes from Total Recall

Trivia: Most of the movie was shot in Mexico because it was believed labour costs to build the sets would be cheaper there, but it turned out that the cost of importing required materials from the US negated this benefit.

Daz

More trivia for Total Recall

Question: Does the movie give any indication with any evidence in the movie that Douglas is dreaming for the ending?

Athletic Jason

Answer: Verhoeven points out that if a viewer believes the whole film is a dream, then Edgemar's prediction that Quaid will end up being lobotomized is fulfilled in the fade to white which ends the movie.

Answer: When Dr. Edgemar is in the hotel room with Quaid and Lori, Quaid puts a gun to Edgemar's head and says that if it's all a dream, that Quaid could just pull the trigger and it wouldn't really matter. Edgemar goes into details about consequences of what would happen if Quaid killed him. As seen, when Quaid kills Edgemar the walls of the hotel room crash down, Quaid believes he's the rebel savior, had visions of alien civilization and is best friends with Cohaagen and the white light that is at the end of the movie indicates that Quaid was lobotomized.

Also, consider the end when Quaid and Melina are on the surface of Mars, suffocating. Their eyes are bulging, the Mars atmosphere is burning their lungs, and their faces are bloated. Yet a few minutes later they're perfectly normal and having a romantic kiss.

Answer: There are many signs that the adventure was reality. When Quaid watched the news (before going to Rekall), the newscasters asked Cohaagen about Kuato and alien artifacts (the alien reactor) in the Mars Pyramid Mine. Lori didn't want Quaid going to Mars or thinking about Mars. Harry didn't want Quaid to go to Rekall, as he sounded very intense when he said this to Quaid. The Rekall technicians popped Quaid's memory cap before they could implant his ego trip. Richter and Helm were watching Quaid the whole time and his trip to Rekall made them attempt to kill him before he could remember the alien reactor and his previous identity. Edgemar lied when he said Quaid's "dream" started in the middle of the implant procedure when Dr. Lull had told McClane they hadn't implanted the ego trip yet. Edgemar shouldn't have been sweating if it was a dream. Richter, Helm, Lori, Edgemar, and Benny were all trying to help Cohaagen keep his evil power and prevent Mars from having free air.

This isn't true. The DVD commentary states that if the viewer is believing that the story is a dream, then it begins right where the camera cuts to McClane and his female client watching the TV monitor. The bit where Quaid resists and Renata says she hasn't implanted the ego trip yet are part of the dream. The clue is that McClane's statement is "the trip is as real as any memory in your head." So for it to come across as real, it has to begin right there and then.

If Lori is really Quaid's wife, it seems strange that he would dream of her trying to kill him. When Richter and Helm are trying to kill Quaid, several people get killed in the crossfire. When Edgemar and Lori visit Quaid, Lori gives Edgemar a look right before he takes out the red pill, almost as if Lori is signaling Edgemar to do that. They are awfully eager for Quaid to take that pill, and the film's novelization states that the pill could possibly be a knockout dose or lethal. If Edgemar is a projection, he should not be sweating, which makes Quaid realise Edgemar is real. Those four agents who blast through the wall were back there listening to the conversation and waiting to see if Edgemar's plan with the pill would work. Richter and Helm were downstairs in the bar waiting to hear from Lori and Edgemar that they captured Quaid. If Edgemar was telling the truth, why would Richter and Helm be down in the bar waiting? Also, the novel points more toward reality.

You are forgetting to assume the dream shows him stuff that didn't actually happen, like innocents being killed in crossfire. If it is all a dream it all doesn't matter, he is being fed lies by the implants, about his wife, about Cohaagen, about everything, the fact it connects to real events before he went to Recall (which don't show the truth at all) just shows the ingenuity of the implants, who use his memories to create the story. Edgemar sweating could be another illusion caused by the implants. If it really is all a dream the moment he killed Edgemar the implants screwed his brain up enough there was no way of knowing what was real anymore, and his wife is sitting besides him at Recall crying that he isn't going to wake up anymore, whilst Quaid is experiencing killing her in his dream. This then goes on for him until the end it lobotomizes him. That is, if you believe it was a dream.

lionhead

There is a villains site called Villains Wiki. Edgemar is listed on this site along with Cohaagen, Richter, Helm, Lori, Harry, and Benny. The article about Edgemar states that Quaid realises Edgemar is working for Cohaagen when he sees him sweating. It also states that Edgemar's goal is to aid Cohaagen in his plans. Also mentioned is the fact that Richter is Lori's real husband and is angered when Quaid kills her the same way he kills Edgemar.

Answer: The novel also reveals another detail that indicates reality. Before it is revealed that Richter is Lori's real husband, Quaid doesn't seem to love Lori. He dreams of Melina every night and actually loves Melina despite being with Lori. Quaid wonders why Lori married him, and she doesn't seem to have aged since their wedding. Once Lori reveals that their eight years together is actually a six-week memory implant, Quaid realises that is why his eight year memory of Lori hasn't changed. When Lori tries to detain Quaid for Richter and Helm at the Hilton Hotel, she tries to kill Melina because she knows Melina is Quaid's dream girl.

Answer: The novel by Piers Anthony has other signs that indicate Quaid's adventure was reality. When Richter and Helm are looking for Quaid on Earth, it says the bug in Quaid's head alerted them about his trip to Rekall. Richter and Helm went to Rekall to question the Rekall staff and dispatch them. When Richter and Helm are chasing Quaid and Melina on Mars, Quaid asks Melina if she has ever heard of Rekall, and she tells him she used to model for Rekall, which explains why Quaid saw Melina's face on the screen during his implant procedure at Rekall. Furthermore, Edgemar tells Quaid he is still at Rekall strapped in the implant chair, but McClane told the other Rekall staff members to dump Quaid in the Johnnycab and send him home. So it doesn't make sense that Quaid is still at Rekall after they sent him home.

Answer: The "dream" is when Quaid thinks Lori is his wife. Lori is really Richter's wife. The dreams Quaid had of Melina were visions reminding him of his past life.

Answer: Edgemar's red pill may have been a knockout dose so Richter, Helm, and Lori could take Quaid to Cohaagen. The red pill could also have possibly been poison, like cyanide. The pill wouldn't have returned Quaid to reality because he was still in reality.

More questions & answers from Total Recall

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