How Brian De Palma Pitched Tom Cruise On Mission: Impossible’s CIA Break-In Scene
In 1996, Brian De Palma, who directed the first “Mission: Impossible” film, crafted it with the intention of being a standalone spy thriller about an IMF agent called Ethan Hunt who is forced to turn rogue. De Palma couldn’t have foreseen the series’ critical and commercial success — and that it would act as a launchpad for Tom Cruise’s career as a certified action star, who is now synonymous with the death-defying stunts that are a staple in Hunt’s evolving journey.
However, the audacious action sequences that are now an intrinsic part of the “Mission: Impossible” films can be traced back to De Palma taking a massive leap of faith. Be it the memorable CIA infiltration sequence or the massive train car showdown towards the end, De Palma pitched these ideas directly to Cruise, who was blown away by the sheer coolness of the storyboards.
“Mission: Impossible” has De Palma’s fingerprints all over it, replete with Dutch angles and his favorite split diopter shots. There’s also a moody, noir element to the story that is diluted in the sequels — De Palma employs the classic trope of a man being falsely accused by the very organization he serves, where everyone wears literal masks and plays a deft game of deception. The film’s opening mission in Prague sets the tone, as the tables are gradually turned on Hunt, who ends up as the sole survivor as his team is hunted one by one.
That tension carries over to the rest of “Mission: Impossible,” including the very next scene — a verbal confrontation between Hunt and IMF director Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) in a restaurant. But no other sequence screams tension as the time Hunt and Co. decide to break into the CIA. Yes, I’m talking about the iconic vault scene, where Cruise hangs from the ceiling.
How Brian De Palma Pitched Tom Cruise On Mission: Impossible’s CIA Break-In Scene
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