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.
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In 1979, the American embassy in Iran was invaded by Iranian revolutionaries and several Americans were taken hostage. However, six managed to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador and the CIA was ordered to get them out of the country. With few options, exfiltration expert Tony Mendez devised a daring plan: create a phony Canadian film project looking to shoot in Iran and smuggle the Americans out as its production crew. With the help of some trusted Hollywood contacts, Mendez created the ruse and proceeded to Iran as its associate producer. However, time was running out with the Iranian security forces closing in on the truth while both his charges and the White House had grave doubts about the operation themselves.Written by
Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
The first Best Motion Picture winner at the Oscars since Grand Hotel (1932) not to have been also nominated for Best Director or for one of the lead acting categories. See more »
Goofs
In some of the shots in Iran, there are some "Anadol" brand cars on the streets. Anadol is a Turkish car manufactured and sold only in Turkey. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Sahar:
[narration]
This is the Persian Empire known today as Iran. For 2,500 years, this land was ruled by a series of kings, known as shahs. In 1950, the people of Iran elected Mohammad Mossadeqh, a secular democrat, as Prime Minister. He nationalized British and U.S. petroleum holdings, returning Iran's oil to it's people. But in 1953, the U.S. and Great Britain engineered a coup d'etat that deposed Mossadeqh and installed Reza Pahlavi as shah. The young Shah was known for opulence and ...
See more »
Crazy Credits
The movie opens with the 1970s-era Warner Bros. slash logo that eventually became the logo of Warner Music, which was designed by Saul Bass, instead of the traditional shield logo. However, the corporate copy below the logo refers to Time Warner, the current incarnation of Warner Communications since 1990, in the same typeface that was used decades ago. See more »
Alternate Versions
An extended version of the film was released on Blu-Ray in 2013 with 9 minutes worth of alternate or extended footage. Many of the new scenes explored Tony Mendez's family background. See more »
The movie's title is the title of the script for a "proposed" film that Agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) suggests as a cover for a rescue mission concerning six Americans held as guests with some Canadian representatives in Iran in order to avoid capture by the Iranian terrorists during the hostage crises of 1979-80. It's presented like a real '70s film in a documentary-like style that takes its time in getting to the climax. Certainly having such worthy support from John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and Bryan Cranston contributes immensely to the compelling drama of the situation and Affleck's direction doesn't seem false in presenting the way things happened during that tense time though I'm sure some liberties were taken. So on that note, Argo is recommended as a historical docudrama. P.S. Loved seeing many of the vintage news footage including one from ABC saying a late night rerun of "The Love Boat" will be delayed for 15 minutes for Ted Koppel's report on the latest Iranian development. That would eventually become "Nightline". Oh, and this was the second time I watched a movie with the '70s version of the Warner Bros. logo presented this year. The first time was on Magic Mike.
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The movie's title is the title of the script for a "proposed" film that Agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) suggests as a cover for a rescue mission concerning six Americans held as guests with some Canadian representatives in Iran in order to avoid capture by the Iranian terrorists during the hostage crises of 1979-80. It's presented like a real '70s film in a documentary-like style that takes its time in getting to the climax. Certainly having such worthy support from John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and Bryan Cranston contributes immensely to the compelling drama of the situation and Affleck's direction doesn't seem false in presenting the way things happened during that tense time though I'm sure some liberties were taken. So on that note, Argo is recommended as a historical docudrama. P.S. Loved seeing many of the vintage news footage including one from ABC saying a late night rerun of "The Love Boat" will be delayed for 15 minutes for Ted Koppel's report on the latest Iranian development. That would eventually become "Nightline". Oh, and this was the second time I watched a movie with the '70s version of the Warner Bros. logo presented this year. The first time was on Magic Mike.