Question: Does the movie give any indication with any evidence in the movie that Douglas is dreaming for the ending?
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.
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.
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.
Question: At the beginning of the movie, Quaid has a friend at work (if my mind's not failing me his name is Harry) that tells him not to go to Recall because some person got lobotomised. Later, when Quaid is returning from Recall his friend stops him and tries to kidnap (or kill) him because Quaid "talked about Mars". I can't understand the role that this man has in the plot. Quaid told his wife that this man is a spy (I wonder how he knew that), and I'd like to know which side he seems to be fighting for (the Agency or the rebels).
Answer: It depends on whether you choose to believe the events of the film are real or in Quaid's lobotomized brain. If the events are real (i.e. Quaid is actually Houser with his memories blocked) then Harry is from the agency and is there to make sure Quaid doesn't say or do anything that would potentially break his memory block (like going to Recall). If you believe everything is in Quaid's mind after he goes to Recall, then Harry really was just his friend.
Answer: Harry works for the Agency the same way Arnie's wife did. While the wife watched him at home, Harry was to watch him at work. Harry told Arnie that story to keep him from going to Recall and to keep him from having to kill Arnie for bringing up his memories of Mars.
Question: There is a scene in the movie in which Arnie disguises as a woman to pass the entrance control in Mars. Moments later, the mask he's using starts to malfunction and he has to take it off. When he's doing that, we can see that the man who's playing Quaid is not Arnie but a stunt double. Why did the director choose a stunt double to replace Arnie in a scene that's not risky at all?
Answer: It's not a stunt double, it's a mannequin (fake head actually) of Arnie, used for the artificial head shot.
Question: Why does Quaid shoot Dr. Edgemar when he sees sweat dripping from his head? What is it about the sweat that lets Quaid know something is wrong?
Answer: The drip of sweat could have been a consequence of Quaid's imagination going into overdrive, and manifested as part of his delusion. For every argument against it being a dream, there is a counter argument for it, including that of the director whose intention was the latter and as stated in the extended director's commentary.
Question: Throughout the movie it's suggested that Quaid/Hauser isn't experiencing anything at all and what he's experiencing is in fact a memory implant. My questions is, did the events actually happen or were they simply the memory implant Quaid purchased at Rekall?
Chosen answer: Its left deliberately ambiguous for the viewer to make up their own mind about what's real and what's fake.
Answer: Although left deliberately ambiguous, it should be noted that the director's intention was for it to be all part of a dream / delusion. Indeed, despite the ambiguity, more evidence exists to indicate that the story was imagined as opposed to reality.
Question: How was Hauser and Cohagen's plan supposed to work if Quad never went to Recall? Why are Cohagen's workers trying to stop him from going to Recall? His wife is constantly trying to talk him out of going to Mars and Recall, so how would Quad ever lead Cohagen to the mutant physic if he'd not gone?
Chosen answer: We're never told the details of their actual plan, but they indicate that his trip to Rekall activated him prematurely. The whole point of his new life was to give him a credible cover story. For it to work, they need him to stay there for enough time to make it believable under a background check. They could have intended to have him win a trip to mars from a lottery or something, but the point is that they simply weren't ready for him to up their timetable right then.
Question: Was it ever explained why the aliens didn't start the reactor on their own?
Answer: No.
Question: Why is there air in and around the reactor? Humans have extensively researched the reactor, so they obviously needed air to do it, but doesn't Cohaagen control all the air on Mars, and the reactor? So if he doesn't want anyone to turn the reactor on why not simply drain the air from the reactor so nobody could go there?
Answer: The entire chamber is full of the alien graphite that converts into a breathable atmosphere for the entire planet.
But it's not activated.
Answer: They are on a planet with very little atmosphere; therefore, there must be a supply of environmental suits readily available for exploration of the planet's surface and for going outside to repair problems with the outside of the dome. If there are a number of suits available, the absence of air around the reactor would not be a deterrent. People could simply "borrow" one of the many suits and walk on in regardless of the lack of air.
Question: In the office scene, there is a painting in the background of a rocket ship. What is this painting?
Answer: It is an office decoration.
Question: In the opening scene in the bedroom, after Doug wakes up, there's a poster over the bed. Where is it from? Or what does it mean? It looks like 160+ eggs with small markings on them, and some with no markings.
Answer: It's not a poster. It looks to be an original abstract piece of sculptural art. I tried to find out who the artist was, but couldn't find any online information. The piece may have been created for the movie. Artists usually convey some theme or concept in their work, but whatever it is in this piece is unknown. Of course, non-objective abstract art is also subjective to the viewer's own interpretation. I'm going to keep looking for more info, as I'm curious.
Question: Dr. Lull says that she will do as Mr. Mclane says and "cover up any memory (Quaid) has of us or Rekall." However, when Dr. Edgemar comes in Quaid's hotel room on Mars, Edgemar reminds him that his experiences on Mars have been exactly what Quaid requested in his secret agent fantasy at Rekall, to which Quaid agrees. So obviously his memory of Rekall wasn't "covered up"?
Answer: Dr Lull was told to cover up any memory he has of them or Rekall. She replies "I'll do what I can it's pretty messy in there." She may not have done a good job. Later Cohaagen told Richter that Quaid couldn't remember anything and Richter said "that's now, in an hour he could have total recall."
Answer: He said, "Erase his memory of ever coming to Rekall," not the idea of going there, and the doctor said she'll do what she can to erase his memory, but it's pretty messy in there.
No he doesn't say that. He said "cover up any memory he has of us or Rekall." But they didn't, because he knows what Edgemar is talking about when he tells him the "demure and sleazy" woman is exactly what Quaid requested at Rekall.
Maybe they tried their best, but didn't succeed. Quite possible if his mind was already that messy.
Well at first the movie implies that they did erase his memory of Rekall, because when Harry told him he went to Rekall he had no idea that he had been there. But later in the movie he remembers that he chose "demure and sleazy" when Edgemar is talking to him. So it's an internal contradiction and plot hole.
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.