The new MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT is the latest entry in a franchise that’s become a showpiece for Tom Cruise-endangering stunts and practical effects, but the surprisingly enduring action series began as something more akin to a spy thriller built around a handful of Hitchcockian setpieces. In this half of our franchise-spanning pairing, we look back at 1996’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, in which Brian De Palma helped shape what the series would become, while also exerting his own iconoclastic style on the film. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on HEREDITARY and DON’T LOOK NOW.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, give or take a FALLOUT, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: Pulp, “I Spy”

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