disinformation | m:i-2: the hitchcock palimpsest

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m:i-2: the hitchcock palimpsest
by Alex Burns (alex@disinfo.com) - April 15, 2001

Hollywood's studios have been lingering on the edge of an abyss for the 1990s. Having lost their lucrative distribution oligopoly, and faced with ruinously intense competition from television, studios merged with international conglomerates. The promise of 1970s Brat Pack film generation ended with sterile multiplexes, spiralling budgets, and pictures which strip-mined earlier genres. To see evidence of commodified creativity, look no further than director John Woo's film Mission: Impossible 2 (M:i-2), scripted by Robert Towne, starring and produced by Tom Cruise.

The M:i series is a cyclical replacement for the ailing James Bond franchise, which has steadily lost its ground in the multi-dimensional post-Cold War geo-political landscape. Mission: Impossible (1996) updated the 1960s ensemble-driven spy television series for fragmented times. American IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), under false suspicions of disloyalty, was forced to unmask the identity of the real traitor without organizational assistance.

Unable to decipher film language's visual subtleties, viewers missed Brat Pack director Brian De Palma's scathing subtext about how studio corporate politics has corrupted film-making. De Palma is casually dismissed by film critics as a second-rate Hitchcock (his visual style owes as much to Jean-Luc Godard).

Ironically, the sequel M:i-2 rips off Alfred Hitchcock's classic Notorious (1946), updating its Nazi infiltration plot. Hunt enlists the villain's former girlfriend Nyah (Thandie Newton) to smash a shadowy pharmaceutical conglomerate and recover a deadly virus. M:I-2 not only featured a similar structure to Notorious, but lifted entire sequences. Cruise is no Cary Grant, and Newton pales beside Ingrid Bergman, but they need not worry: the only people who noticed were attentive film critics (a profession relegated to fighting for film promotion quotes).

Despite noble efforts by Brat Pack director Martin Scorsese's A Personal Journey Through American Movies television series (1995) to educate the next generation, many younger viewers would have little awareness of Hitchcock's vast career and influence beyond the much-copied shower scene in Psycho (1960). The classical film style that dominates Hollyood films is invisible to the untrained eye, and appreciation of its historical legacy is being relegated to elitist film schools, the auteur cult, and chaperoned cable services.

The first tactic of PR spin-doctors (modern magicians) is to misdirect your gaze.

M:I-2's hypnoid media campaign had been hyped to induce an amnesiac audience who would worship the Beautiful People. Carefully manufactured 'controversies' such as infighting between director John Woo and producer Tom Cruise or the 'strangeness' of Australia's locations hid the film's derivative nature until its release. The real controversy was accidental: Metallica's lawsuit against Napster after its soundtrack contribution I Disappear was released online.

M:i and M:i-2 scriptwriter Robert Towne began his career with B-pictures king Roger Corman, before creating the hardboiled classic Chinatown (1974). Towne has acknowledged Hitchcock's influence, but his debt to Notorious also reflects a studio scriptwriting system dominated three-act structures derived from 19th century theatre (Syd Field), character-centered plots (Linda Seger, Andrew Horton), fleshed out by Joseph Campbell's mythological heroes (Christopher Vogler), overlaid by non-linear styles (Ken Dancyger) which enable fragmented editing and CGI visual effects over emotional development and substance.

The resulting pre-verbal style performs better in lucrative foreign markets.

Woo's assimilation is parallelled by Jackie Chan's Shanghai Noon (2000), whose plot resembles the apocryphal script pitch session: John Ford's Westerns fused with the Hong Kong action movie.

Cruise's subsequent project, with Brat Pack director Steven Spielberg, was to film Philip K. Dick's short story Minority Report.

Movieweb: Mission: Impossible 2
Movieweb's M:i-2 page is little more than an online press release, a collection of photos, and a link to the official M:i-2 Web site. Dull!

Cruise Starts A Mission
This Age article (May 31st, 2000) by Jo Dougherty of M:i-2's Australian premiere firmly positions the film as a successor to the James Bond franchise.

Coming Attractions: Mission: Impossible 2
This fan Web site traces production troubles and the many rumors surrounding M:i-2 back to 1996. Useful for historical perspective.

Entertainment Weekly Review: M:i-2
This Entertainment Weekly review (May 24th, 2000) praises John Woo's direction and the sequel's decadent feel. Also includes user comments.

Film.com Review: M:i-2
This Film.com review (June 6th, 2000) by Robert Horton of M:i-2 notes plot similarities to Alfred Hitchcock's films Notorious and North By Northwest. Has Robert Towne ripped off classical Hollywood cinema or just updated the McGuffin for the new millennium?

Screen It! Parental Review: M:i-2
Detailed parental guidance information (role-models, sex, violence)for M:i-2. The antithesis of everything Disinformation encourages!

Upcomingmovies.com: Mission: Impossible 2
A collection of M:i-2 reviews and rumors.

The Nation Review: Mission: Impossible 2
This Nation magazine film review (June 19th, 2000) by Stuart Klawans also recognizes John Woo's debt to Alfred Hitchcock, and includes some spot-on caustic remarks: "Of course, as a Nation reader, you will demand more. So I will report that the music of M:I 2 is not entirely pure. There are words in the screenplay, written by Robert Towne; and these words include the bad guy's explanation that "terrorists and pharmaceutical companies" are lining up to do business with him. What's more, when the bad guy is being really rotten, he belittles women and demands stock options."

The Long Hot Summer
This Salon magazine article (May 26th, 2000) by Gregg Kilday examines the battle between John Woo's M:i-2 and Jackie Chan's Shanghai Noon. Interesting background detail for understanding how multiplex cinema chains have forever altered movie distribution practices.

The Wooing Of Tom Cruise
This Age newspaper article (May 28th, 2000) details the logistical problems of filming M:i-2 in Sydney, and the battles between director John Woo and star/producer Tom Cruise.

Australian Premiere Of Mission: Impossible 2
This Age article (May 31st, 2000) showcases the glitzy side of Hollywood, obscuring the dubious production realities surrounding M:i-2.

Internet Movie Database: Mission: Impossible 2
This Internet Movie Database entry for Mission: Impossible 2 lists cast, credit, and plot details.

Internet Movie Database: Mission: Impossible
This Internet Movie Database entry for Mission: Impossible lists cast, credit, and plot details.

Internet Movie Database: Notorious
This Internet Movie Database entry for Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious features cast, credit, and plot details.

Rolling Stone.com Review: M:i-2 Soundtrack
This Rolling Stone review (June 5th, 2000) by Rob Sheffield of the M:i-2 soundtrack notes: "Metallica lumber out of the cave for "I Disappear," which suggests that these guys probably sued Napster for being so hard to spell . . .Anyone inspired to blow a twenty on M:I-2 must have third-degree popcorn burns on the brain."

Mission: Impossible 2
The official Web site for Mission Impossible 2 features production details, a multimedia trailer, a behind the scenes documentary, and more!

Mission: Impossible 2: A BDG Fansite
BenDavid Grabinski's fan Web site includes fan fiction, John Woo information, a message board, and M:i-2 polls. Highly recommended!

Hollywood.com: M:i-2
Hollywood.com examines the strange hit-and-miss film career of Tom Cruise, the mainstreaming of director John Woo, and lists some impossible missions to attempt in Hollywood.

Jam! Showbiz: M:i-2
A collection of Canadian news articles on the M:i-2 production debacles and critical reception from Canadian film reviewers. Interesting to contrast with US reviews.

Movie Review Query Engine: Mission: Impossible 2
The most extensive collection of M:i-2 film reviews available on the Internet. An incredible film research resource!

Rotten Tomatos: M-i:2
If you're a fan of review capsule comments featured on film posters, this is definately the Web site for you! Quickly conveys the different reactions to M:i-2.

Shanghai Noon
Jackie Chan's competitor to M:i-2 already has a sequel in the works. The movie's production pitch is evident: Hong Kong kung fu action transplanted to Western-era America.

Salon.com Review: M:i-2
This Salon movie review (May 25th, 2000) by Charles Taylor is a damning critique of John Woo's commercialization in Hollywood, and also reveals how Brian De Palma's prequel featured a deeply personal subtext about movie corporate politics. Taylor shows that Hollywood's 'Brat Pack' film-makers have ended up producing material for an audience bereft of understanding the visual subtleties of film language.

Missionary Positions
This Age newspaper film review (June 1st, 2000) by Phillipa Hawker lays out in great detail how M:i-2 steals directly from Alfred Hitchcock's classic Notorious. Hire the latter on video, then see M:i-2 and compare for yourself!

Risky Business
This Salon interview (June 1st, 2000) by Michael Sragow with M:i-2 scriptwriter Robert Towne reveals the harsh realities of the contemporary scriptwriting craft, and has many insights into the business of film production. A must read!

Disinformation Dossier On She Blinded Me With Scientology: Battlefield Earth
Check out the Disinformation dossier on She Blinded Me With Scientology: Battlefield Earth.

Lars Ulrich's Death Wish: Metallica vs. Their Fans
Check out the Disinformation dossier on Lars Ulrich's Death Wish: Metallica vs. Their Fans.

Travolta, Cruise And Other Celebrities Con Fans And Media
This FACTNet bulletin (October 15th, 1998) reveals how Scientology uses celebrities to manipulate fans.

Drew's Script-o-Rama
Become the next Robert Towne by studying the complete scripts and transcripts at this legendary online screenwriting resource!

Internet Movie Database: Alfred Hitchcock
This Internet Movie Database entry for Alfred Hitchcock lists his films, biographical details, and much more!

Internet Movie Database: Tom Cruise
This Internet Movie Database entry for Tom Cruise includes a photo gallery, biography, and film credits.

Internet Movie Database: John Woo
This Internet Movie Database entry for director John Woo includes a photo gallery, biography, and list of film credits.

Internet Movie Database: Robert Towne
This Internet Movie Database entry for scriptwriter Robert Towne includes a photo gallery, biography, and film credits.

AFI Online: Harold Lloyd Master Seminars: Robert Towne
The American Film Institute's Harold Lloyd Master Seminars series featuredd M:i-2 scriptwriter Robert Towne (September 12th, 1994) with moderator Ron Silverman, discussing the deep structure of Hitchock's films and classics including Chinatown and Mean Streets. Insightful comments from a master Hollywood scriptwriter and director!

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