HACK M:I-3 OFFERS YOU THIS RELEASE-DAY REVIEW OF THE MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE SPECIAL COLLECTORS EDITION DVD SET, WHICH INCLUDES THREE DISCS CONTAINING BOTH M:I FILMS PLUS NEW BONUS MATERIAL.  OUR REVIEW WILL FOLLOW DESCRIPTIONS OF EACH DVD DISC:

THE MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE 10TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION DVD FEATURES A NEW TRANSFER OF BRIAN DE PALMA'S 1996 FILM STARRING TOM CRUISE, JON VOIGHT, VING RHAMES, VANESSA REDGRAVE AND KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS, WHICH BEGAN THE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL FILM FRANCHISE.

THE WIDESCREEN PRESENTATION HAS BEEN ENHANCED FOR 16X9 TELEVISIONS, WITH BOTH DOLBY DIGITAL ENGLISH 5.1 SURROUND, ENGLISH 2.0 SURROUND AND FRENCH 2.0 SURROUND SOUNDTRACKS, PLUS ENGLISH AND SPANISH SUBTITLES. 

SPECIAL FEATURES NOT PREVIOUSLY RELEASED ON VIDEO OR DVD INCLUDE:

• "MISSION: REMARKABLE — 40 YEARS OF CREATING THE IMPOSSIBLE"
  • PRODUCERS TOM CRUISE AND PAULA WAGNER NARRATE A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE TV SERIES AND HOW THEY CARRIED ON ITS LEGACY INTO THE FIRST TWO FILMS, LEADING UP TO M:I-3
• "MISSION: EXPLOSIVE EXPLOITS"
  • A LOOK INTO THE STUNT AND EFFECTS WORK OF THE FILMS
• "MISSION: INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM"
  • FORMER AGENT GIVES A TOUR OF THE WASHINGTON, D.C. MUSEUM WHICH PRESERVES ACTUAL SPY EQUIPMENT USED IN THE HISTORY OF ESPIONAGE, AND RELATES THESE TO DEVICES AND PROPS USED IN MAKING THE M:I FILMS MORE AUTHENTIC
• "MISSION: SPIES AMONG US"
  • FORMER INTELLIGENCE AGENTS GIVE INSIGHTS INTO THE LIVES AND CAREERS OF BEING SPIES, INCLUDING DISCUSSIONS OF CIA PLOTS AGAINST CUBA'S LEADER FIDEL CASTRO, AND THE RECENT IDENTITY LEAK OF CIA OPERATIVE VALERIE PLAME
• "MISSION: CATCHING THE TRAIN"
  • BRIAN DE PALMA, TOM CRUISE AND VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISORS JOHN KNOLL AND JOE LETTERI BREAK DOWN THE TECHNIQUES ILM USED TO CREATE THE TRAIN SEQUENCE.
• "MISSION: AGENT DOSSIERS"
  • CLICK-THROUGH FILES ON THE IMF TEAM GIVE DEEP BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE FILM CHARACTERS' STATS AND TRAINING HISTORY LEADING UP TO THE FILM
• "EXCELLENCE IN FILM: CRUISE"
  • A WELL-EDITED CLIP COMPILATION OF TOM CRUISE'S FILM CAREER, AS PRESENTED BEFORE HIS ACCEPTANCE OF BAFTA'S STANLEY KUBRICK AWARD.  GREAT HIGHLIGHT REEL!
• "BRITANNIA ACCEPTANCE SPEECH"
  • TOM CRUISE'S AWARD ACCEPTANCE SPEECH FROM THE BAFTA CEREMONY IN L.A.
• "GENERATION: CRUISE"
  • MTV's OWN CLIP COMPILATION OF TOM CRUISE'S MANY FILM ROLES, AS SHOWN BEFORE HIS ACCEPTANCE OF THE MTV GENERATION AWARD IN 2005.
• "MTV ACCEPTANCE SPEECH"
  • KATIE HOLMES' INTRODUCTION OF TOM CRUISE AS HE ACCEPTS THE MTV AWARD
• THEATRICAL TRAILERS
  • MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE TEASER
  • MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE TRAILER
  • MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE-3 TEASER
• TV SPOTS
  • 9 TV ADS FOR MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE
• PHOTO GALLERY
• HIDDEN EASTER EGG
  • FIND IT ON THE MENU AND WATCH THE M:I-3 SUPER BOWL TV SPOT

AS A SPECIAL BONUS TO M:I FANS, THIS SPECIAL DVD RELEASE ALSO INCLUDES ONE FREE ADMISSION TICKET TO SEE M:I-3 IN THEATERS FROM MAY 5 TO MAY 14.

THE MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE-2 SPECIAL EDITION DVD RE-RELEASES JOHN WOO'S 2000 FILM STARRING TOM CRUISE, DOUGRAY SCOTT, THANDIE NEWTON, RICHARD ROXBURGH AND VING RHAMES, THE SECOND HIT ENTRY IN THE M:I FRANCHISE.

THE WIDESCREEN PRESENTATION HAS BEEN ENHANCED FOR 16X9 TELEVISIONS, WITH BOTH DOLBY DIGITAL ENGLISH 5.1 SURROUND, ENGLISH 2.0 SURROUND AND FRENCH 2.0 SURROUND SOUNDTRACKS, PLUS ENGLISH SUBTITLES. 

SPECIAL FEATURES FOR M:I-2 ARE IDENTICAL TO ITS FIRST DVD RELEASE:

• "BEHIND THE MISSION"
  • INTERVIEWS WITH TOM CRUISE, JOHN WOO PLUS OTHER CAST AND CREW ON THE MAKING OF M:I-2
• "MISSION: INCREDIBLE "
  • DETAILING THE STUNT AND ACTION SEQUENCES
• "IMPOSSIBLE SHOTS "
  • A LOOK IN GREATER DETAIL AT 11 STUNT SEQUENCES WITH TOM CRUISE, JOHN WOO AND STUNT COORDINATOR BRIAN SMRZ
• FEATURE COMMENTARY
  • DIRECTOR JOHN WOO PROVIDES HIS PERSONAL COMMENTARY DURING THE FILM
• "I DISAPPEAR "
  • METALLICA'S EDGY MUSIC VIDEO OF THEIR SONG CONTRIBUTION TO THE SOUNDTRACK
• ALTERNATE TITLE SEQUENCE
  • A DIFFERENT OPENING TITLE CLIP NOT USED THE FINAL RELEASE OF THE FILM
• " MISSION:IMPROBABLE "
  • THE COMEDIC MOCKUMENTARY STARRING BEN STILLER AND TOM CRUISE, SHOWN ON THE MTV MOVIE AWARDS

NEW BONUS FEATURES FOR M:I-2 DUPLICATE SOME OF THE MATERIAL ON THE M:I 10TH ANNIVERSARY DISC:

• M:I-3 TRAILERS
  • MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE-3 THEATRICAL TEASER
  • THE M:I-3 SUPER BOWL LAUNCH TV SPOT (NOT AN EASTER EGG ON THIS DISC)
• "BRITANNIA ACCEPTANCE SPEECH"
  • TOM CRUISE'S AWARD ACCEPTANCE SPEECH FROM THE BAFTA CEREMONY IN L.A.
• "GENERATION: CRUISE"
  • MTV's OWN CLIP COMPILATION OF TOM CRUISE'S MANY FILM ROLES, AS SHOWN BEFORE HIS ACCEPTANCE OF THE MTV GENERATION AWARD IN 2005.
• "MTV ACCEPTANCE SPEECH"
  • KATIE HOLMES' INTRODUCTION OF TOM CRUISE AS HE ACCEPTS THE MTV AWARD

REVIEW:

THE MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE SPECIAL COLLECTORS EDITION DVD SET IS A GOOD ADDITION TO ANY FAN'S MOVIE LIBRARY, ESPCIALLY FOR THE M:I 10TH ANNIVERSARY DISC WHICH PUTS THE FILM BACK ON DVD IN AN UPDATED PRESENTATION.  THE ENHANCED WIDESCREEN IMAGE AND DOLBY DIGITAL 5.0 SURROUND AUDIO MAKE M:I PLAY VERY CRISP AND CLEAR NOW, A WELCOME UPGRADE IN QUALITY.

HACK M:I-3  IS A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED THAT NEW MATERIAL WASN'T OFFERED FOR M:I-2, BUT I SUSPECT THAT IF ANY NEW BONUS GOODIES EXIST, THEY WILL BE SAVED FOR A FUTURE THREE-FILM DVD BOX SET, OR PERHAPS THE HD DVD RELEASES LATER IN 2006.

ALSO SLIGHTLY DISAPPOINTING IS THE ABSENCE OF ANY BONUS MATERIAL EXCLUSIVE TO THE 2-FILM SET.  ALL THE NEW BONUS MATERIAL IS OFFERED IN FULL ON THE M:I 10TH ANNIVERSARY DISC, AND THEN REPEATED IN-HALF ON M:I-2'S ADDED 2nd DISC.  IF NOTHING ELSE, I'M SURE THERE IS PLENTY OF M:I-3 MATERIAL IN-STOCK TO HAVE OFFERED AN EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK BONUS FOR THOSE WHO BUY THE 2-FILM COLLECTORS SET.

IN SHORT, NOTHING COMPELS BUYERS TO PURCHASE THE COMPLETE COLLECTORS EDITION DVD SET BEYOND THE PRICE BREAK GIVEN WITH BOTH FILMS IN ONE BOX.  THE LIST PRICE FOR THE 2-FILM SET IS $26.99, BUT YOU CAN BEAT THAT PRICE THROUGH ONLINE STORES LIKE AMAZON OR AT CHAIN DISCOUNTERS LIKE BEST BUY, WHO SELL IT IN THE $17.99 RANGE.   THAT PRICE IS A SOLID VALUE, SINCE COMPARED TO THE SINGLE FILM PRICE, YOU GET THE SECOND FILM FOR ABOUT $3 -- TOUGH TO PASS UP THAT DEAL, EVEN IF IT DUPLICATES A DVD ALREADY IN YOUR LIBRARY.

THE SPECIAL FEATURES ON THE M:I DISC ARE WELL PRODUCED, WITH THE TWO SPY-BASED TRACKS STANDING OUT TO PLACE THESE HIGHLY IMAGINATIVE ACTION FILMS IN A SOLID, REAL-WORLD CONTEXT. 

I WISH THE M:I HISTORIC RETROSPECTIVE "MISSION: REMARKABLE" DELVED DEEPER INTO THE CLASSIC TELEVISION SERIES OF THE 1960s.  SIMPLY TOUCHING ON THE TV SHOW'S LEGACY JUST MAKES FANS ALL THE HUNGRIER TO SEE THE CLASSIC SHOW FINALLY RELEASED IN ITS OWN DVD SETS!  BUT THIS DOC DOES OFFER NEW SCENES AND INTERVIEWS WITH J.J. ABRAMS, TALKING ABOUT HOW HE HAS EXPANDED THE M:I SAGA FURTHER BY EXPLORING ETHAN HUNT'S CHARACTER IN M:I-3.

HACK M:I-3  RECOMMENDS THAT FANS PICK UP ONE OR BOTH FILMS ON DVD TO UPDATE YOUR M:I FILM COLLECTION AND REVISIT THE FIRST FILM THAT STARTED ETHAN HUNT'S ONGOING MISSION.

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