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Mission: Impossible (1996)

Mission: Impossible
Kittridge, you've never seen me very upset.
—Ethan Hunt
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Author Andrea Codrington discusses the opening titles for Mission: Impossible, from her 2003 book Kyle Cooper: Monographics.

The opening sequence to Mission: Impossible takes its cue from the 1960s television show, which always begins with a fuse being lit as a trigger for action sequences. An emphasis is put on the flame and sparks by placing them tightly in frame and against a black background. As scenes from the film flash on and off the screen, interspersed with metal-reminiscent credits that glint with speed and urgency, the fuse sparks on to the end of its logical course — a visual explosion that introduces the title of the movie in bold italic serif type.

Andrea Codrington is a Brooklyn-based editor and writer specializing in design and visual culture. She is the co-author of Pause: 59 Minutes of Motion Graphics and sole author of Kyle Cooper: Monographics and has written extensively for such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Metropolitan Home, Metropolis and Cabinet.

SUPPLEMENTARY: Mission: Impossible (1996) end crawl

  • Credits

Title Designer: Kyle Cooper
Production Studio: RGA/LA

Titles Pyrotechnician: Karl Nettmann

Opticals: General Screen Enterprises

Music by: Danny Elfman

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Kyle Cooper: Monographics

By Andrea Codrington

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Title sequence

  • Production Studio

    R/Greenberg Associates (R/GA)
  • Title Designer

    Kyle Cooper
  • Category

    Film
  • Styles

    1990s, editorial, graphic, live action, main title, montage, typographic
Mission: Impossible
  • Film Director

    Brian De Palma
  • Release Date

    May 22, 1996
  • Aspect Ratio

    2.35:1
  • Studio

    Paramount Pictures
  • Country

    USA
  • Language

    English
  • Reviews

    Reviews on Letterboxd
  • IMDb has full details

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