Mission: Impossible (1996)

Tom Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt in Brian De Palma's 1996 big screen adaptation of Mission: Impossible, the classic TV show, created by Bruce Geller.

Our mission is: To investigate this fantastic action movie, with a critical eye, especially in terms of plot and connection to the original show.

On this track we cover:

- The logic of the plot
- The movie franchise vs. the series
- The origin of the series
- Tom Cruise the movie star
- And much more

Please note this track includes spoilers for all four Mission Impossible films, plus Stolen and The Untouchables.

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld.
Day of recording: June 20th, 2013.
Version: Bluray or NTSC DVD.
Movie runtime: 1:50:12.

SCREENSHOTS

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt.

Jim Phelps explains the bad plan to the troops.

Rob Bottin makeup on Tom Cruise. That guy behind him fought aliens!

Prague by night.

Explain this paradox thing to me again.

When we're done here, you guys are gonna have sex, right?

The Kubrick room, by production designer Norman Reynold.

Cruise. Movie star.

A split diopter shot.

The fantastic final explosion.

Jim clearly shoots himself.

To the left: A cameo from visual effect supervisor John Knoll.

ARTICLES

American Cinematographer, June 2000, article by Eric Rudolph.
Cinefex No. 81, April 2000, article by Kevin H. Martin.
Premiere, Issue #109, June 1996, article by Tom Friend.

LITERATURE

The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier, Patrick J. White
Mission: Impossible - A Novel, by Peter Barsocchini

AUDIO/VIDEO

Bluray and DVD extras.

The Mythbusters episodes mentioned are:
- Crimes and Myth-Demeanors (Airduct stunt)
- Mission Impossible Mask
- Bouncing Bullet (Riding an explosion)

CNBC Show with a Cast Reunion of "Mission Impossible". Link.

LINKS

IMDb. Link.

Wiki. Link.

CORRECTIONS

Alex North wrote the discarded score for 2001, not Lalo Schifrin.

David says the train background plates were shot at high speed. He means low speed, so that they appear to go fast.

ADDITIONAL

You can find even more screenshots and interesting goodies in this The Mission Impossible Visual Companion blog.

Poltergeist (1982)

On our second audio commentary we tackle yet another classic movie from the 80's. Poltergeist from 1982, directed by Tobe Hooper, written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor, and produced by Frank Marshall & Steven Spielberg.

On this track we cover:

• 80's movies
• Makeup and visual effects
• Controversy surrounding the director
• Controversy surrounding the script
• The Poltergeist curse

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld
Day of recording: August 18th, 2011.
Version: Poltergeist Bluray (also works with 25th Anniversary US DVD)
Movie runtime: 1:54:28

SCREENSHOTS

Gorgeous cloud tank shot.

A combonation of cloud tank elements and matte painting.

The most difficult bluescreen sequence ever.

Sometimes you just don't like what you see in the mirror.

The spirit on the stairs

Another epic matte painting.

The beast in a beautiful forced perspective shot.

The beast, shot as a water tank element.

The $250.000 sentence.

LITERATURE

Cinefex No. 10 (October 1982), article by Paul Mandell.

Cinefantastique, Vol. 13 No 2 & 3, article by James Van Hise.

Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Special Effects, by Thomas G. Smith.

Poltergeist (The Novelization), by James Kahn.

LINKS

Poltergeist fan site. Link.

American Cinematographer Podcast - Episode 03. Link.

The Making of Poltergeist - Original 1982 Featurette. Link.

The Poltergeist location. Link.

Single-Minded Movie Blog, Cloud tank effect. Link.

Cinefex. Link.

IMDb. Link.

Wikipedia. Link.

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Welcome to our first attempt at doing an unofficial audio commentary in English. Our subject is the 1985 movie Young Sherlock Holmes, directed by Barry Levinson, written by Chris Columbus and produced by Steven Spielberg.

On this track we cover:

• The visual effects
• Steven Spielberg's involvement
• Our love of 80's movies
• CGI vs. doing things practically
• The creation of the Sherlock Holmes character
• And David reveals his dying words

DOWNLOAD

Download the mp3 file here. Link.

Subscribe to the commentary podcast in iTunes. Link.

STATS

Participants: David Bjerre and Dennis Rosenfeld
Day of recording: June 8th, 2011.
Version: Young Sherlock Holmes NTSC DVD
Movie runtime: 1.48:48.

SCREENSHOTS

To illustrate some of the things we talk about in specific shots, we have a few screenshots from the film.

Painted figures slide down a painted pyramid.

A clever combination of matte painting, models, and live-action.

Another outstanding matte paining.

LITERATURE

Cinefex, no. 26. (May 1986)

LINKS

Wikipedia's Young Sherlock Holmes page. Link.

Cinefex, no. 26. Link.

New York Times review. Link.

Young Sherlock Homes reunion. Link.