First conceived of as a sort of futuristic Walter Mitty tale (Quaid was originally an accountant, and Richard Dreyfus was to star!) Total Recall took a tortuous path to the screen, finally arriving as a loud, blustery, hyper-violent summer blockbuster. Verhoeven notes on the commentary track that some 30 different writers had a hand in the script at one time or another.

Given how much of a committee project Total Recall was, it's surprising that it comes as close as it does. But it still doesn't quite succeed. It's big and flashy, in some ways it's clever, and it even has a message. But it doesn't really have any soul. There's nothing going on inside that FX-laden exterior.

In some ways that's the problem with this special edition as well. There are plenty of extras, but they give the impression that the marketing department just shoveled in whatever it could find since more extras means more "special." They're a very mixed bag. Things like the production sketches and parallel storyboards are nice. But others are completely pointless, like "Rekall's Virtual Vacations," a set of three short loops of computer animation intended to suggest exotic locales like Martian Dunes.

The most notable extra is the "rare" audio commentary with the movie's star and director. Let's just say Schwarzenegger and Verhoeven don't come off as two guys with a lot in common. The track is often unintentionally hilarious. Verhoeven will be droning on, comparing his camera angles to Hitchcock's or talking about the film as a metaphor for Western colonialism. Then Schwarzenegger will cut in with something like "Look, there's the thing that came out of my nose. That's how the bad guys could find me."

Weird as it is, the track does offer some interesting insights. For example, Verhoeven explains why it was Sharon Stone's performance in Total Recall that led him to cast her in the film that made her a superstar in her own right, Basic Instinct.

Overall, the disc isn't a bad one. There's nothing here that will expand the film's audience beyond those who were already fans. But those fans should be able to find something they like among the extras.