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The Langley heist

Nominees run through the Prague sequence as a whole (a 32-minute opening act that even fades to black after Tom Cruise jumps through the Aquarium and escapes from Kittredge), Ethan and Max's negotiation, the Langley heist, and the Phelps versus Hunt coffee scene where Hunt sees what Phelps has done while Phelps lies to him, the scene that confused a generation of filmgoers.

One host admits not understanding the coffee scene until rewatching it yesterday after roughly 20 viewings; the Langley break-in is called the most iconic, incredibly staged, ripped off numerous times, and the precedent for Tom Cruise attempting something that seems impossible, even though Wu takes it to another level.

"You've never seen me very upset"

Nominees: 'do you read me, the list is in the open', already flagged; Kittredge's line that dying slowly in America can be a very expensive proposition, guessed to be Robert Towne or David Koepp; 'you've never seen me very upset'; 'relax Luther, it's much worse than you think'; and Kittredge wanting Don Lowe (as transcribed) manning a radar tower in Alaska by the end of the day, just mail him his clothes.

The film

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Directed by Brian De Palma · Drama

110 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Tom Cruise Ethan Hunt : A young IMF agent
Jon Voight Jim Phelps : The leader of Ethan's IMF team and his mentor
Emmanuelle Béart Claire Phelps: Jim's wife and a member of his IMF team, specializing in getaway transportation
Henry Czerny Eugene Kittridge: The director of the IMF
Jean Reno Franz Krieger: A disavowed IMF agent and skilled pilot recruited by Ethan to assist him
Ving Rhames Luther Stickell : A disavowed IMF agent and skilled computer hacker recruited by Ethan to assist him
Vanessa Redgrave Max: An illegal arms dealer
Kristin Scott Thomas Sarah Davies: An IMF agent and undercover infiltration expert on Phelps's IMF team
Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė Hannah Williams: An IMF agent and surveillance expert on Phelps's IMF team
Emilio Estevez (uncredited) Jack Harmon: An IMF agent and security system specialist on Phelps's IMF team
Rolf Saxon William Donloe: A CIA analyst at Langley
Marcel Iureș Alexander Golitsyn: An IMF agent posing as a rogue agent to lure out a mole in Prague

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

Sources

The episode

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Conversation notes

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Movie facts

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