Top 10 CIA Movies
Ever notice how movies almost always make the Central Intelligency the bad guy? Ridley Scott's new Body of Lies is no different. TIME looks back at some of the most memorable flicks starring the secretive organization.
One of the best scenes Brian De Palma has ever directed takes place in this film. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his crew infiltrate the CIA headquarters at Langley, which is no mean feat, in order to steal the NOC list, a list of agents which serves as the film's MacGuffin. Once inside, Hunt must make his way into a vault that contains a pressure-sensitive floor. He goes in through the ceiling, lowered down slowly like a trapeze artist. Cruise is dressed in black, set against an all-white grid floor. It's striking to look at and tense as hell.
The rest of the movie's pretty fun, too. But man, what a scene.
From the TIME archives, Richard Schickel's 1996 review of Mission: Impossible
View the full list for "Top 10 CIA Movies"Latest Lists
Most Popular »
- How Christmas Is (Not) Celebrated in North Korea
- No Churchgoing Christmas for the First Family
- Protecting the Pope: Keeping Him Safe But Open
- Israel vs. Hizballah: Drumbeats of War
- Up in the Air: What Does 10 Million Miles Get You?
- China's Christmas Warning to Political Dissidents
- Sherlock Holmes: Impressive Abs, Unmemorable Action
- Is Running Bad for Your Knees? Maybe Not
- Climate Change: How Fast Is the Earth Shifting?
- Memories of Aceh: Indonesia Five Years After the Tsunami
- No Churchgoing Christmas for the First Family
- How Panera Bread Defies the Recession
- How Christmas Is (Not) Celebrated in North Korea
- Is Running Bad for Your Knees? Maybe Not
- China's Christmas Warning to Political Dissidents
- Mexico City's Revolutionary First: Gay Marriage
- Climate Change: How Fast Is the Earth Shifting?
- Sherlock Holmes: Impressive Abs, Unmemorable Action
- Has the Alleged Fort Hood Gunman's Imam Been Silenced?
- Dubai: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours
RSS