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Argo

  • 2012
  • R
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
625K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,125
23
Argo (2012)
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.
Play trailer2:33
25 Videos
99+ Photos
BiographyDramaThriller

Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. ho... Read allActing under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.

  • Director
    • Ben Affleck
  • Writers
    • Chris Terrio
    • Tony Mendez
    • Joshuah Bearman
  • Stars
    • Ben Affleck
    • Bryan Cranston
    • John Goodman
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    625K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,125
    23
    • Director
      • Ben Affleck
    • Writers
      • Chris Terrio
      • Tony Mendez
      • Joshuah Bearman
    • Stars
      • Ben Affleck
      • Bryan Cranston
      • John Goodman
    • 928User reviews
    • 669Critic reviews
    • 86Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 3 Oscars
      • 95 wins & 156 nominations total

    Videos25

    Winner: Best Picture
    Trailer 2:33
    Watch Winner: Best Picture
    No. 1
    Trailer 2:31
    Watch No. 1
    Argo: Nobody Makes Westerns Any More
    Clip 0:48
    Watch Argo: Nobody Makes Westerns Any More
    Argo: We Did Suicide Missions With Better Odds
    Clip 0:39
    Watch Argo: We Did Suicide Missions With Better Odds
    Argo: What We Like For This Are Bicycles
    Clip 1:08
    Watch Argo: What We Like For This Are Bicycles
    Argo: They Are Going To Try And Break You
    Clip 0:58
    Watch Argo: They Are Going To Try And Break You
    Argo: You Need Somebody Who's A Somebody
    Clip 0:58
    Watch Argo: You Need Somebody Who's A Somebody
    Argo: There Are Only Bad Options
    Clip 0:53
    Watch Argo: There Are Only Bad Options
    "Declassified"
    Featurette 28:42
    Watch "Declassified"
    Argo
    Featurette 5:15
    Watch Argo
    Argo: Behind The Scenes (Featurette)
    Featurette 5:15
    Watch Argo: Behind The Scenes (Featurette)
    Argo: Ben Affleck On The Research He Did At The CIA
    Featurette 0:39
    Watch Argo: Ben Affleck On The Research He Did At The CIA

    Photos367

    Ben Affleck, Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, and Kerry Bishé in Argo (2012)
    Ben Affleck in Argo (2012)
    Ben Affleck, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, and Page Leong in Argo (2012)
    Ben Affleck in Argo (2012)
    Ben Affleck, Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Christopher Denham, and Kerry Bishé in Argo (2012)
    Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Christopher Denham, and Kerry Bishé in Argo (2012)
    Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Chris Messina, and Matt Nolan in Argo (2012)
    Zeljko Ivanek, Matt Nolan, and Titus Welliver in Argo (2012)
    Ben Affleck in Argo (2012)
    Ben Affleck in Argo (2012)
    Ben Affleck in Argo (2012)
    Bryan Cranston and Chris Messina in Argo (2012)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ben Affleck
    Ben Affleck
    • Tony Mendez
    Bryan Cranston
    Bryan Cranston
    • Jack O'Donnell
    John Goodman
    John Goodman
    • John Chambers
    Alan Arkin
    Alan Arkin
    • Lester Siegel
    Victor Garber
    Victor Garber
    • Ken Taylor
    Tate Donovan
    Tate Donovan
    • Bob Anders
    Clea DuVall
    Clea DuVall
    • Cora Lijek
    Scoot McNairy
    Scoot McNairy
    • Joe Stafford
    Rory Cochrane
    Rory Cochrane
    • Lee Schatz
    Christopher Denham
    Christopher Denham
    • Mark Lijek
    Kerry Bishé
    Kerry Bishé
    • Kathy Stafford
    Kyle Chandler
    Kyle Chandler
    • Hamilton Jordan
    Chris Messina
    Chris Messina
    • Malinov
    Zeljko Ivanek
    Zeljko Ivanek
    • Robert Pender
    Titus Welliver
    Titus Welliver
    • Bates
    Keith Szarabajka
    Keith Szarabajka
    • Adam Engell
    Bob Gunton
    Bob Gunton
    • Cyrus Vance
    Richard Kind
    Richard Kind
    • Max Klein
    • Director
      • Ben Affleck
    • Writers
      • Chris Terrio
      • Tony Mendez
      • Joshuah Bearman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In an interview with Piers Morgan, former President Jimmy Carter said that he believes the film was a "great drama", and it deserved to win an Oscar for best film. However, Carter noted that although "ninety percent of the contributions to the ideas, and the consummation of the plan was Canadian", the film "gives almost full credit to the American C.I.A. With that exception, the movie's very good," Carter said, but "the main hero, in my opinion, was Ken Taylor, who was the Canadian ambassador, who orchestrated the entire process."
    • Goofs
      It is stated that the British and New Zealand embassies refused to help staff from the American embassy. This was not true. Both the British and the New Zealand embassies sheltered the Americans, then helped to pass them on to the Canadians. Britain's Arthur Wyatt was later awarded the Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George for the risks that he took.
    • Quotes

      LA Times Reporter: What does the title refer to?

      Lester Siegel: The Argo. You know, it's the thing.

      LA Times Reporter: Like Jason and the Golden Fleece, or what?

      Lester Siegel: No, no. It's the ship. It's the spaceship. It goes everywhere. It goes all throughout space.

      LA Times Reporter: So, it's Argonaut.

      Lester Siegel: No.

      LA Times Reporter: What does Argo mean?

      Lester Siegel: I don't know.

      LA Times Reporter: You don't know?

      Lester Siegel: It means "Argo fuck yourself."

    • Crazy credits
      Past the photos of cast members and the real people they play, there's audio from an interview with then-President Jimmy Carter talking about the crisis.
    • Alternate versions
      After it screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, the postscript at the end credits was changed because it was felt that it slighted Canada's involvement in the rescue of the American hostages.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.11 (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Upside Down
      from In the Valley of Elah (2007)

      Written by Mark Isham

      Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./Summit Entertainment, LLC

    User reviews928

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Hollywood Hyperbole
    Ben Affleck who originally got acclaim for his collaboration with best bud Matt Damon on Good Will Hunting, went out gloriously alone and came back with a Best Picture Oscar for Argo, the story of one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated in the last century or even in the short time this century has been around. I'm sure Matt Damon would love to have had a piece of this one.

    Based on writings of CIA operative Tony Mendez who engineered the escape of six American diplomats who were lucky enough to get out of Iran during the Ayatollah Khomeini craziness during the Iran hostage crisis, Affleck who sports a heavy beard that makes him totally unrecognizable as Affleck, but no doubt Mendez had such a growth. Only the voice lets you know from time to time that it is Affleck.

    Our protagonist has a history of pulling off good intelligence coups and he's given an assignment by his superiors. When they learn that the American diplomats are hiding at the Canadian ambassador's home he has to devise a scheme to get them out. He's one of several people put on this problem. His solution is to appeal to the Iranian's sense of celebrity. Affleck creates the cover story of a movie being shot in Iran, a science fiction spectacular like Star Wars and these folks were there scouting locations in the desert. Hollywood contacts John Goodman and Alan Arkin were most helpful, their sense of Hollywood hyperbole comes in handy. In fact both make several jokes about the movie capital. Arkin got a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

    Of course we know what happened. I remember the news breaking that the Canadians had gotten these diplomats out who should have been hostages along with the others. The Iranians huffed and puffed and vowed divine retribution on Canada for aiding the Great Satan. It all came to naught however.

    Argo which is the title of the pretend science fiction epic so far represents the summit of Ben Affleck's career. Why he did not get nominated for Best Actor and Director is quite beyond me if the Academy thought the film that good. Now that the story is declassified we now see that the CIA can occasionally get it right.
    helpful•19
    10
    • bkoganbing
    • Mar 27, 2013

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    FAQ9

    • What is 'Argo' about?
    • Is 'Argo' based on a book?
    • How did the embassy fall?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 12, 2012 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Persian
      • German
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
      • Escape from Tehran
    • Filming locations
      • Istanbul, Turkey
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • GK Films
      • Smokehouse Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $44,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $136,025,503
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $19,458,109
      • Oct 14, 2012
    • Gross worldwide
      • $232,325,503
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • SDDS
      • Datasat
      • Dolby Digital
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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