Total Recall (Blu-ray)

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"Total Recall" is the epitome of a Science Fiction classic. It combines top-notch special effects with a powerful story and great acting. Verhoeven was on top of his game when he filmed "Total Recall" and garnered the best performance ever given by muscle-bound hero Arnold Schwarzenegger. There are so many reasons why you should watch this film. There are not many reasons as to why you should not.

Video :
"Total Recall" is nicely framed in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio for its debut on Blu-Ray. The film, which has been released numerous times on DVD in the past makes a nice transition to the realm of high definition with this release. Mastered in 1080p, the film is quite clean and its vibrant hues are nicely reproduced. "Total Recall" is a film with a lot of blues and reds in its color scheme and whether the palette is hot or cold, the Blu-Ray holds up in reproducing them. Black levels are solid and the picture is steady, with clean source materials. Detail was a bit lacking in this high definition transfer and looked only marginally better than the Special Limited Edition DVD playing in an upconverted DVD player. A few sequences exhibited a minor amount of posterization, mostly in the opening sequence. After that, the digital compression appeared to be quite good, but the image simply lacked the detail of many other high definition transfers.

Audio :
Lionsgate continues to support both DTS HD High Resolution ES Audio and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX Audio. Interestingly, the default appears to have been the DTS track. Both tracks are quite good and are lively in their audio presentation. Much of the action does take place in the front three channels, but when the action starts to heat up, the rear channels and the low frequency effects channel spring to action. The Jerry Goldsmith score is nicely rendered and sounds very good through either audio selection. Being an action heavy film, the Blu-Ray release of "Total Recall" handles dialogue, even in the most active scenes, cleanly. You can hear each cheesy one-liner by the Governator with no problem. Now, "Total Recall" is not a film that will leap out and grab you by the ears and it sounds remarkably similar to the former DVD release, it is still a pleasing listening experience.

Extras :
The former DVD release, the "Total Recall: Special Limited Edition" was not the most feature laden release. However, that release was far superior to the Blu-Ray reincarnation of the film. The commentary track and features from that previous release are all missing, with one exception. The five-minute vignette called "Visions of Mars" survives and finds a NASA expert giving information on Mars and laying out plans for the eventual exploration of the red planet. This feature seems especially dated after the success of the Martian rovers, but it is better than nothing. Still, releases such as "Total Recall" continue to show that Blu-Ray has some catching up to do with HD-DVD when it comes to value added content.

Closing Comments :
I´ve seen "Total Recall" a number of times. Fortunately, I am a Paul Verhoeven fan. I love a little violence in my movies. "Total Recall" delivers with a high death count and pretty good action. The Governor of California does a great job in the title role and fifteen years later, this is still a fun film to watch. The Blu-Ray release is serviceable, but I would not consider it a worthy upgrade over the more recent DVD releases. The picture quality is improved, but only marginally better than an upconverted DVD. Sound quality is extremely similar and may be the same soundtrack carried over onto the Blu-Ray disc. The special features are embarrassing, simply because they are missing. This is a fine film to add to you collection, but if you already have the DVD version that came in a pretty Mars shaped container, then you may want to just skip out until the next Blu-Ray release of the film is made. I´m sure a special edition will eventually be released.

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