Good afternoon Mr. Phelps, or is that Mr. Hunt?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to have a look at composer Lalo Schifrin, determine his influence on the ongoing tentpole franchise, Mission: Impossible. And lastly, to determine his ongoing musical legacy.

Should you or any member of your IMF force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.

Not only a film composer but also a renowned jazz artist, most people know Lalo Schifrin for his creation of the Mission: Impossible Theme and a number of incidental music beats used repeatedly throughout the series. But he didn’t stop there. Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry patrolled San Francisco with Schifrin as musical backup. Jackie Chan fought through three Rush Hours with tonal assistance from Schifrin. Rode shotgun with McQueen in Bullitt, squared off with Bruce Lee for Enter the Dragon and warned families to get out in The Amityville Horror.

He left his audio mark on film, but nothing resonates with film fans like that fantastic driving M:I theme. It shows up in various forms through all of the Tom Cruise films to date, always augmenting and changing to meet the needs of the time, and each composer brought their own unique spin to it.

For Brian De Palma’s 1996 Mission: Impossible Danny Elfman was brought in to deliver a spy thriller score. One that of all the films embraces its musical roots. Not only is the main theme there, as well as modern pop take on it courtesy of U2’s Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen. But Elfman incorporates a number of the incidental pieces that shows up through the course of the series.

This and the second film were the only two to have two soundtracks issued. There was a songs from and inspired by as well as a score album. The first film may fall on any place on your ranking. But its music can be traced directly back to the original series and definitely feels more like a spy film as opposed to an action film.

The same can’t be said of the rest of the franchise.

Starting with John Woo’s divisive M:I2 the franchise shifted from spy thriller to spy action (and bigger and BIGGER stunts). And the music had to and does keep pace. Stepping into the composer’s seat for this fast-paced over-the-top entry was Hans Zimmer. Zimmer brings  his synth-edged musical stylings to Tom Cruise’s action beats. Whatever you think of the movie, his track, ‘Bare Island’, is a perfect audio accompaniment to Woo’s images. And it includes a wicked guitar riff on the famous theme.

M:I – III and Ghost Protocol both feature a sweeping symphonic score. Responsible for those scores is one of my favourite film composers of the modern era, Michael Giacchino. He brings the whole orchestra into play, embracing Schifrin’s original theme. He wonderfully mixes orchestral work in the ‘Schifrin and Variations’ track on the soundtrack. Simultaneously, he grounds the film with his scoring. And he knows how to deliver the excitement and emotional beats equally as we globetrot with Ethan Hunt. Of his two entries, I feel he got to play a little more in Ghost Protocol. The musical tone of the film had to and does match the locations which takes us from Russia to Dubai to Mumbai. Great fun.

Christopher McQuarrie settled into the director’s chair (where he’s helmed the series ever since) for Rogue Nation. And he brought with him his frequent compost Joe Kramer. The film introduces the oft-cited enemy from the television series, The Syndicate. And, consequently, Kramer’s bold, brassy and bombastic hints at some of Schifrin’s other themes. There are hints of them, their first time back in the franchise since the first film. We are given a few notes here and there, popping up amongst the action, dialogue and spycraft that will feel like a real homage to Schifrin and the series, as Ethan and his team go after their villainous opposite number.

Prolific Scot composer Lorne Balfe joins the IMF team for both Fallout and Dead Reckoning. Balfe delivers a driving score that has you buckling up and holding on, allowing you a quick breather even as his strings keep your pulse pounding. He also uses his strings to great effect throughout Fallout to tug at emotions and occasionally leave you very uneasy. It’s masterful and works incredibly well with the images on the screen.

Schifrin’s legacy, at least as far as Mission: Impossible is concerned, seems to be in very good hands. Each composer has added or tweaked the theme(s) to best suit the film they are scoring, but it’s hard to imagine these films without a driving score, that pulses into that countdown to excitement that is the Mission: Impossible Theme.

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