Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8162 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-07-03
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Swedish, Danish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 106 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Mission: Impossible was one of the best action blockbusters of the 1990s, deriving a quality unique amongst its peers from the tension between Brian De Palma's directorial stylisation and the overriding presence of its star and producer, Tom Cruise. Cruise plays Special Forces agent Ethan Hunt, disavowed as a traitor by his own superiors and forced to uncover the true mole to prove his innocence. The original 1960s television series provides not only the wonderful musical motif, but also the layered complexity of false realities and masked identities, which are revealed with the playful conjuring of a Russian doll.

This was Cruise's last movie as an angst-ridden youth (next stop was Jerry Maguire and the trials of family life) and he presents Ethan Hunt as caught between his heroic physical prowess and a trusting emotional naïvety that is painfully punctured by the treachery of those around him. Hollywood heavyweights Jon Voight (Heat) and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction) are both excellent in support, while the remaining cast reads like an identikit of European cinema, including Emanuelle Beart, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jean Reno (Leon).

De Palma's trademark set-pieces include a giant exploding fishtank in Prague, a helicopter chase through the Channel Tunnel, and, most notably, a break-in to steal a vital disc from CIA headquarters in Langley. The moment in the latter when, in almost complete silence, Cruise dangles precariously from a cable and just catches a bead of sweat before it triggers the floor alarm is as sublimely exhilarating as any in American movies of the last 10 years.

On the DVD: Aside from basic language and chapter selection the disc is devoid of any extras, leaving us to wait for the behind-the-scenes story of the numerous rewrites and wrangling that reportedly beset production. On a more positive note, the picture and sound quality fully realise the film's highly stylised surface beauty and effects-laden kinetic energy. --Steve Napleton

Special Features
2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Theatrical Trailer
Danish\English\Norwegian\Swedish

Synopsis
Tom Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt, leader of a crack squad of intelligence operatives, in this labyrinthine action-thriller based on the hit 1960s-'70s television series. When a dangerous mission in Prague goes inexplicably wrong, Hunt finds himself out in the cold. A mole has infiltrated the CIA, and suspicions are that it's Hunt. His only chance: Find out who the real mole is and turn the tables. The plan takes him on an incredibly suspenseful infiltration of CIA security, leading to a spectacular chunnel climax that would make Hitchcock proud. Thanks to crisp, inventive direction from Brian De Palma and Danny Elfman's dynamite electronica score (including a catchy update of the original Lalo Schifrin theme), this mission is great fun. The talented roster of stars backing Cruise includes Ving Rhames, Vanessa Redgrave, John Voight, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Jean Reno. A witty script by Robert Towne (CHINATOWN, SHAMPOO) and David Koepp keeps the ball rolling in unexpected directions, with the paranoia always set to high. A box-office record-setter during its original release, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE led to a well-deserved sequel, also with Cruise and Rhames.

Customer Reviews

Good quality.
It is exiting to watch a film that uses brains instead of fists to solve problems. This is one of these films. There is very little violence, so the main character has to use other skills in order to come up with a solution.

Tom Cruise is as always a very good actor, and in this film, even though it is not heavy, it is a film that deserves his talent.

Best of the Three
A 90'sblockbuster, Mission Impossible garnered huge expectations on its release back in 1996. With a stellar cast of Cruise , jean Reno, Jon Voight and Ving Rhames, it could do no wrong.Well, it didn't but yet it wasn't perfect. You have to watch this film more than once to get a full gist of the plot, but it does have its moments;
The scene where Cruise dangles precariously from a cable and just catches a bead of sweat before it triggers the floor alarm is as sublimely exhilarating as any in the history of Hollywood.

What spy thrillers should be like
This film is a bit of a mix with the gadgets of a bond film, but with the intrigue and supspense found in the TV series. The basic plot is that Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is the only survivor of a mission gone wrong, where the team end up dead. Ethan hunt has to clear his name, as they thing he is a mole.

This is an intelligent thriller, with a number of plot twists. There is a bit of a conspiracy involved, as Ethan finds out more about the purpose of the mission. Also the stunts are very impressive, and are genuinly tense. The sequence where they abseil into the CIA building to get to data from a computer is tense, as are most of the action sequences, which are an integral part of the film.

I don't think this is a classic, as thriller go, but this is one of the best thrillers around, and sets an example to the makes of the Bond films, of what they should aim at.

They could have fallen into the trap of putting in too many action sequences, and ignored the plot with this, but the balance is just right, as the plot is always the main concern, and all the action revlolves around it. The MI Francise was not wasted here.