De Palma’s mastery of cinematic space bears itself out in the rush of a pre-credits set-up, which employs such CV-echoing tics as false sets, POV-tracking shots and (literally, in this case) masked and mistaken identities.
The glee with which he approaches the film’s central set-piece – a raid on an impenetrable vault – is at once a model of economy and the very explication of Hitchcock’s definition of cinematic tension.
Ethan Hunt
Tom Cruise Jim Phelps
Jon Voight Claire
Emmanuelle Béart Kittridge
Henry Czerny Krieger
Jean Reno Luther
Ving Rhames Sarah Davies
Kristin Scott Thomas Max
Vanessa Redgrave Hannah
Ingeborga Dapkunaite Kittridge Technician
Nathan Osgood CIA Analyst William Donloe
Rolf Saxon Matthias
Karel Dobrý
Director
Brian De Palma
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