Mission: Impossible Torrent
Leana Eckes
I'm not sure I could pass a test on the plot of "Mission: Impossible." My consolation is that the screenwriters probably couldn't, either. The story is a nearly impenetrable labyrinth of post-Cold War double-dealing, but the details hardly matter; it's all a set-up for sensational chase sequences and a delicate computer theft operation, intercut with that most reliable of spy movie standbys, the midnight rendezvous under a street lamp in a chilly foreign capital.
Tom Cruise stars as Ethan Hunt, professional spy, whose assignment, which he chooses to accept, is to prevent the theft of a computer file containing the code names and real identities of all of America's double agents. It's not enough to simply stop the guy; Cruise and his team (also including Jon Voight, Kristen Scott-Thomas and Emmanuelle Beart) are asked to photograph the enemy in the act of stealing the information, and then follow him until he passes it along. This process involves a check list of Cold War spycraft and cliches: Eye glasses with built-in TV cameras, concealed microphones, laptop computers, agents in elaborate disguise, exploding cars, knifings, shootings, bodies toppling into a river, etc. Of course the whole sequence centers around a diplomatic reception in Prague.
Because "Mission: Impossible" was directed by Brian De Palma, a master of genre thrillers and sly Hitchcockian wit ("Blow Out," "Body Double"), it's a nearly impossible mission to take the plot seriously.
There are so many double-reverses in the first half hour that we learn to accept nothing at face value (not even faces, since they may be elaborate latex masks). And the momentum of the visuals prevents us from asking logical questions, such as, is physically copying a computer file onto another disc the only way to steal it? (My colleague Rich Elias has written that the obvious solution for the CIA would have been to hire Robert Redford's team from "Sneakers" to commit an online theft.) "Mission: Impossible" is all slick surface and technical skill. The characters are not very interesting (except for Vanessa Redgrave, as an information broker, and Jon Voight, who expresses a touching world-weariness in a film too impatient for weariness of any kind). The plot is impossible to follow. The various strategies of Cruise and his allies and foes don't stand up under scrutiny. And none of that matters.
De Palma is expert at sustained nonverbal action sequences, and there are three in the film: The opening scenario at the diplomatic reception; a delicate act of computer theft; and a chase in which a helicopter follows the high-speed London-Paris train into the Chunnel with Cruise and a bad guy clinging to the top of it.
The computer theft scene will ring a bell with anyone who has seen "Rififi" (1954) or "Topkapi" (1964), both by Jules Dassin, who became famous for his extended theft sequences done in total silence. "Topkapi" also used the device of suspending a thief from a hole in the ceiling, to avoid anti-theft devices on the floor. This time, De Palma gives us a computer "safe room" rigged so that alarms will sound at any noise above a certain decibel level, any pressure on the floor, any change in temperature. Cruise hangs in a harness while carefully inserting a blank disc and making a copy of the file.
Of course it's convenient that the decibel level is set high enough that it isn't triggered by the noise of a computer copying a disc -- which is precisely what it should be guarding against. Convenient, too, that the infra-red rays guarding the ceiling hatch can be so conveniently dealt with. And very convenient for the audience that the rays are made visible to a normal eye. If you want to see infra-red rays -- really -- exploited in a heist movie, have a look at "Grand Slam"(1968).
If the heist has been done before, and better, not even the James Bond films have ever given us anything quite like the ending chase sequence, with a bad guy in a helicopter flying into the Chunnel linking Britain to France. Earlier it's been established that the train through Britain is traveling so fast that Cruise, clinging to it, might easily be blown off. This will cheer the film's British viewers, who can forget for a moment that the Chunnel train goes that fast only on the French side, since the high-speed tracks on the British side have not yet been completed. (Inaugurating the Chunnel, Francois Mitter and wickedly described a traveler "Speeding through France and then enjoying a leisurely view of the British countryside").
No matter. The train goes fast, and the helicopter follows it right under the Channel, and De Palma's special effects (by Industrial Light and Magic) are clever for obscuring the scale involved, since a helicopter's blades would obviously not fit into the tunnel -- but then why am I quibbling, since the whole stunt is obviously impossible?
The bottom line on a film like this is, Tom Cruise looks cool and holds our attention while doing neat things that we don't quite understand -- doing them so quickly and with so much style that we put our questions on hold, and go with the flow. When the movie is over, it turns out there wasn't anything except the flow. Our consolation, I guess, is that we had fun going with it.
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Oh yes, I enjoyed watching Mission Impossible 5 last weekend as the hero predictably accomplishes every challenge which seemed desperately impossible to pull off and as the curtain fell, I couldn't help but reflect on many such impossible battles at work, every day.
Previous experience has taught me to expect the unexpected; after all, anything can happen. So, upon starting pre-production, it came as no surprise when one of my first meetings with Tom Cruise was at the London Heliport in Battersea. It took place as Cruise piloted the helicopter that took us to an airfield close to the studios. He explained there was a plan for a helicopter-chase sequence in the film where he needed to be able to pilot the helicopter with no visible headset or helmet. At this stage there was no script, and for some weeks, we worked with Writer/Director/Producer Christopher McQuarrie, verbally explaining the storyline. The Mission films are all about practical stunts and FX so everything has to work in real-life situations.
Fortunately, I have worked on a number of films featuring helicopters and used them as an essential means of reaching challenging locations. The most notable project, Black Hawk Down, garnered me an Academy Award for Best Sound.
The next stage was to test if and how they would work. I set up four large powered speakers in a studio office and played back helicopter sounds at a level in which you could not hear someone speak. We then invited Tom Cruise to sit in the room with the earpieces fitted and connected to a walkie-talkie. Incidentally, the earpieces also offered a high degree of hearing protection, which would be important for anyone spending hours in a helicopter without a headset. I went outside the room with another walkie-talkie, and we were able to communicate perfectly. With the first stage complete, I now had to work out how the system would function in a helicopter.
At this stage, the model of helicopter had not been determined, though we knew that it would be one made by Airbus Industries. Speaking with Airbus engineers, I established that different helicopters may use different avionics systems, and it was not possible to modify or interfere with these in any way given it may affect airworthiness of the aircraft.
As a result, I called upon long-term collaborator Jim McBride, who has been the technical wizard on many films that I have been involved with in the past such as Black Hawk Down, Gravity, and Captain Phillips. McBride has worked in varying technical capacities on films, as well as in music, and even in a nuclear power station. McBride and I decided we needed to build totally independent self-powered interfaces that were isolated from the helicopter avionics, yet could still use the same PTT (push to talk) button on the helicopter cyclic or control stick.
The next step was sorting how we would connect to a recorder. The limited space within the helicopter prompted us to find something that could be easily hidden when cameras were fitted.
We originally thought about using a radio link to connect to a hidden multitrack recorder that would also be recording 5.1 FX but wanted to avoid radio transmission within the helicopter if possible. I decided to record to Lectrosonics PDRs which would have timecode sync with cameras and could be easily hidden. We made an output on the helicopter communication interfaces for them to connect to.
Even with production not yet underway, I had put in a substantial contribution to the film. This level of prep was essential for sound efficiency and to ensure all ran smoothly. In some respects, there are similarities to sound design in the theatre, and perhaps a production sound designer would be a more appropriate title considering we no longer mix to a mono or stereo Nagra. The mixing component of our job has become less important; however, our responsibilities have increased proportionately with the advancements in technology.
The helicopter sequences were not at the start of the schedule so we still had a little time to perfect the systems. Shooting began in Paris in April of 2017 at the Grand Palais, with car and motorbike chases throughout central Paris. I was joined by UK assistants Lloyd Dudley and Jim Hok, as well as Paris-based assistant Gautier Isern, who had recently finished working with Mark Weingarten on Dunkirk.
I needed a small multitrack capability at this stage and experimented with the Zoom F8 and the DPA 5100 surround mic which we could easily hide in the BMW M5 cars. Given we had several cars with different camera rigs, their relative low cost made it possible to hide one in every car. We used radio mics on the actors, primarily so that we could record a rushes track for editorial purposes. This also allowed McQ to monitor performances in a follow vehicle. Supervising Sound Editor James Mather, his dialog editors, along with Re-recording Mixer Mike Prestwood Smith, would later decide which of the mics worked best. We also mounted transmitters on various parts of the car exterior with DPA 4160 mics to get sound FX. We followed the chases in a specially adapted high-speed-chase vehicle with antennae mounted for sound and video and remote camera heads. The van was rigged to carry McQ, DP (who also operated a remote head camera), video assist, another camera remote, and 1st ACs. We would chase the cars or motorbikes whist shooting either from cameras mounted on the action vehicles, tracking vehicles, or very often, an electric bike. We always had a team pre-rigging the next car or bike to be used after a shot was complete. Our team rigged mics on every camera tracking vehicle whether it be the Russian Arm, an electric camera bike or ATV. The rear-mounted mics on the cars and bikes were rigged close to the exhausts, while others were mounted close to the engines. I was particularly looking for FX that sounded real, knowing that sound FX editors could use these later as a base to create a much bigger soundscape. I was not always looking for super-clean FX but usually something raw that sounded more documentary style rather than super-clean FX. That said, I did usually try to record clean interior ambiences in 5.1 with the DPA 5100 surround mic.
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