MI Rogue Nation Vienna locations

BENJI DUNN IN VIENNA

While most franchises ran out of steam much earlier, the saga about Ethan Hunt showed endurance through the years and raised the quality grade with every new movie. We witnessed the expansion of the story geography in Ghost Protocol with its filming locations in the United States, Canada, India, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the United Arab Emirates. Four years later, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation locations added Austria and Morocco (along with returning to the United Kingdom) to the franchise’s map. While London and picturesque sandy locations around Marrakesh, Casablanca, and Rabat shouldered most of the story, a sequence in Vienna and particularly another impossible mission inside the Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) has left in our memory as one of the best action sequences in the whole series, not so much because of the fight or a gunshot, but in many ways thanks to the location. A few people in the audience visited the capital of Austria, though Tom Cruise’s visit there appeared to be an intriguing guide to one of its most memorable landmarks. 

Vienna was the first primary location in the Mission Impossible Rogue Nation filming schedule, and work here lasted for one and a half weeks in late August 2014, almost a year before the world premiere in July 2015. When Benji Dunn found an envelope with tickets to the Vienna State Opera on his work table, he had no idea about the new challenges and adventures he would come through to help his friend Ethan. It is always amusing to see in the movies when Americans spontaneously decide to visit another country, often Europe, similar to taking a bus to another part of the city. We have just seen Benji going away from work with his jacket, and the next scene already takes us to Austria, 7000 km away from Washington. The story’s move to Vienna begins with a few seconds of a panoramic camera flight above the magnificent city, a former capital of the Habsburg Empire. The peaky shaft of the cathedral undoubtedly belongs to Stephansdom, or St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the soul of Vienna, with a south spire 144 meters high. In the background, we also see the Hofburg Palace’s green dome on Michaelerplatz square. It’s worth noting that Vienna looks similar to Paris or Prague from the air, especially at night. 

Benji, of course, was too optimistic and naive to expect a holiday in Austria watching the opera Turandot, and his escapism ended as early as the motor station platform with another envelope with communication glasses and Ethan’s voice inside. Most sources on the internet copy/paste the information about this filming location by stating that the metro sequence was filmed at Schottenring station in Vienna. It is true, but the complete truth is that the short metro sequence includes the interiors of three separate metro stations in Vienna. The initial moment when Benji receives the envelope is filmed on one of the Schwedeplatz station‘s platforms, a part of the U4 line. The station, which was inaugurated in 1978, was named after the above square, whose name is translated as ‘Swedish Square.’ The square got its name in gratitude to the state of Sweden, which supported Austria after the end of the First World War and the proclamation of Austria’s independence. 

When Benji leaves the initial platform, we see another Vienna metro station in the same area of ‘Innere Stadt’ (Inner City), called Schottenring. The predecessor of the modern station was opened as far back as 1901 as a part of the Vienna Steam City Railway, which was once located on the place of the modern U4 and U6 metro lines. The station was closed in 1918 and reopened seven years later in 1925, now as a part of the electric city railway system. The original building of the Schottenring station survived the fierce fighting of the Second World War but was demolished to make space for a modern version in the 1970s, which has witnessed several renovations since then. While Ethan Hunt was not present in the metro sequence, when Tom Cruise visited the station in August 2014, it drew a huge crowd of movie fans around the star. 

STATE OPERA OF VIENNA

In the previous paragraph, I spoke about three different metro locations, and the third one was Karlsplatz, specifically, one of its exits facing the Vienna State Opera. This one was the easiest for identification, not only because we see Bendji next to the opera house, but because of the large Karlsplatz sign when he left the subway. The station, once a part of the steam railway line, was named after Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (1685-1740). Karlsplatz is one of the busiest stations in Vienna, serving as a meeting point for several metro lines, including U4, where Schwedeplatz and Schottenring belong. It has many exits, and several of them are located close to the State Opera, including the one that Benjamin Dunn leaves at the intersection of Opernring and Karntner Streets. According to the Rogue Nation’s plot, Ethan Hunt comes to Vienna to avert the attempt to assassinate the Austrian Chancellor, where he once again meets a mysterious Ilsa Faust. After a clash with the bad guys, Ethan and Ilsa leave the opera house by getting down from its roof. Unfortunately, the Austrian political leader was killed anyway. 

The opera sequence lasts for fifteen minutes, but not all the scenes and angles were staged inside the real location. The filming crew took advantage of the panoramic shots of the stage and the audience, thus paying tribute to one of the most luxurious operas on the planet. In total, up to three hundred men and women from the filming crew and 1,200 extras took part in the interior shooting. On the other hand, most of the behind-the-scenes action scenes with Ethan were staged at the studio in London. Later, the editing made cinematic magic work. The sequence in the opera impresses us so much since the choreography of the movement and fighting was staged with precision to fit the musical performance. It is worth noting that the classical works of music for the scene were performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra specifically for Rogue Nation. The music of Beethoven, Mozart, and Giacomo Puccini (the author of the Turandot opera) was recorded at the Wiener Musikverein concert hall in Vienna, which is located just a few steps from the State Opera. Film director Christopher McQuarrie later admitted in the interview that listening to the orchestra’s work was one of the most intriguing experiences of his life. 

While a large part of the interior sequence was filmed in the studio in the UK, the filming crew spent several days outside the Staatsoper for all exterior shots, of which the most impressive was a stunt made by Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson. The first shots from the set, which reached the world media, showed the meticulous preparation process that the actor performed with a female stuntwoman. Finally, they made an incredible descent from the roof on the eastern part of the Opera building. A few moments later, a car with the Austrian chancellor was blown up just in front of the Staatsoper. While the short car chase that followed partially owed its window view to Vienna, the end of the sequence was filmed in London. A night scene with Ethan and Benji going toward a river barge with a bridge in the background was shot in London’s East End, showing a bridge over the Lee Canal. 

Eleven months after the shooting inside and around the Vienna Opera House took place, bringing 4 million euros to the local budget, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation came back to the city with a world premiere. It was Tom Cruise’s idea to stage a premiere in Vienna on July 23, 2015, and an ambitious red carpet event was held just outside the Staatsoper. A 60-meter-long platform with red carpets was installed, with actors and director Christopher McQuarrie interacting with an audience of more than 1,000 guests for several hours. Vienna’s Ringstrasse was temporarily closed for the Rogue Nation’s premiere.