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Posing as a producer for ''Argo'', Mendez enters Iran and links up with the six escapees. He provides them with [[Canadian passports]] and fake identities to prepare them to get through security at the airport. Although afraid to trust Mendez's scheme, they reluctantly go along with it, knowing that he is risking his own life too. A scouting visit to the [[Grand Bazaar, Tehran|bazaar]] to maintain their cover story takes a bad turn, but their Iranian culture contact gets them away from the hostile crowd.
Posing as a producer for ''Argo'', Mendez enters Iran and links up with the six escapees. He provides them with [[Canadian passports]] and fake identities to prepare them to get through security at the airport. Although afraid to trust Mendez's scheme, they reluctantly go along with it, knowing that he is risking his own life too. A scouting visit to the [[Grand Bazaar, Tehran|bazaar]] to maintain their cover story takes a bad turn, but their Iranian culture contact gets them away from the hostile crowd.


Mendez is told that the operation has been cancelled to avoid conflicting with a [[Operation Eagle Claw|planned military rescue of the hostages]]. He pushes ahead, forcing O'Donnell to hastily re-obtain authorization for the mission to get tickets on a [[Swissair]] flight. Tension rises at the airport, where the escapees' flight reservations are confirmed at the last minute, and a guard's call to the supposed studio in Hollywood is answered at the last second. The group boards the plane, which takes off just as the Revolutionary Guards at the airport uncover the ruse and try to stop them.
Mendez is told that the operation has been cancelled to avoid conflicting with a [[Operation Eagle Claw|planned military rescue of the hostages]]. He pushes ahead, forcing O'Donnell to hastily re-obtain authorization for the mission to get tickets on a [[Swissair]] flight. Tension rises at the airport, where the escapees' flight reservations are confirmed at the last minute, and a guard's call to the supposed studio in Hollywood is answered at the last second. The group boards the plane, which takes off just as the Revolutionary Guards at the airport uncover the ruse and try to stop the plain during takeoff.


To protect the hostages remaining in Tehran from retaliation, all U.S. involvement in the rescue is suppressed, giving full credit to the Canadian government and its ambassador (who left Iran with his wife under their own credentials as the operation was underway; their Iranian housekeeper, who had known about the Americans and lied to the revolutionaries to protect them, escaped to [[Iraq]]). Mendez is awarded the [[Intelligence Star]], but due to the mission's classified nature, he would not be able to keep the medal until the details were publicized in 1997. All the hostages were freed on January 20, 1981. The film ends with former President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s speech about the crisis and the [[Canadian Caper]].
To protect the hostages remaining in Tehran from retaliation, all U.S. involvement in the rescue is suppressed, giving full credit to the Canadian government and its ambassador (who left Iran with his wife under their own credentials as the operation was underway; their Iranian housekeeper, who had known about the Americans and lied to the revolutionaries to protect them, escaped to [[Iraq]]). Mendez is awarded the [[Intelligence Star]], but due to the mission's classified nature, he would not be able to keep the medal until the details were publicized in 1997. All the hostages were freed on January 20, 1981. The film ends with former President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s speech about the crisis and the [[Canadian Caper]].

Revision as of 14:11, 23 July 2013

Argo
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBen Affleck
Screenplay byChris Terrio
Produced byGrant Heslov
Ben Affleck
George Clooney
StarringBen Affleck
Bryan Cranston
Alan Arkin
John Goodman
CinematographyRodrigo Prieto
Edited byWilliam Goldenberg
Music byAlexandre Desplat
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
  • August 31, 2012 (2012-08-31) (Telluride Film Festival)
  • October 12, 2012 (2012-10-12) (United States)
Running time
120 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Persian
Budget$44.5 million[2]
Box office$232,324,128[2]

Argo is a 2012 historical drama thriller film directed, co-produced by, and starring Ben Affleck. This dramatization is adapted from U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operative Tony Mendez's book The Master of Disguise and Joshuah Bearman's 2007 Wired article The Great Escape. The latter deals with the "Canadian Caper,"[3] in which Mendez led the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran, during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.[4]

The film stars Affleck as Mendez with Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman in supporting roles, and was released in North America to critical and commercial success on October 12, 2012. The film was produced by Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney. The story of this rescue was also told in the 1981 television movie Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper, directed by Lamont Johnson.[5][6]

Upon release, Argo received widespread acclaim and seven nominations for the 85th Academy Awards and won three, for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Picture. The film also earned five Golden Globe Award nominations, winning Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director,[7] while being nominated for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for Alan Arkin.[8] It won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 19th Screen Actors Guild Awards with Arkin being nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. It also won Best Film, Best Editing, and Best Director at the 66th British Academy Film Awards.

Argo has been criticized for its historical inaccuracies, especially for minimizing the role that the Canadian embassy played in the rescue and for falsely claiming that the American refugees were turned away by the British and New Zealand embassies.

Plot

Iranians storm the United States embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, in retaliation for President Jimmy Carter giving the Shah asylum in the U.S. during the Iranian Revolution. More than fifty of the embassy staff are taken as hostages, but six escape and hide in the home of the Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor (Garber). With the escapees' situation kept secret, the U.S. State Department begins to explore options for exfiltrating them from Iran. Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency exfiltration specialist brought in for consultation, criticizes the proposals, but is at a loss for an alternative. While on the phone with his son, he is inspired by watching Battle for the Planet of the Apes and begins plans for creating a cover story for the escapees being Canadian filmmakers scouting for exotic locations in Iran for a similar science-fiction film.

Mendez and his supervisor Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston) contact John Chambers (John Goodman), a Hollywood make-up artist who has previously crafted disguises for the CIA. Chambers puts them in touch with film producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin). Together they set up a phony film studio, publicize their plans, and successfully establish the pretense of developing Argo, a "science fantasy" in the style of Star Wars, to lend credibility to the cover story. Meanwhile, the escapees grow frantic inside the ambassador's residence. The revolutionaries reassemble embassy papers shredded before the takeover and learn that some personnel have escaped.

Posing as a producer for Argo, Mendez enters Iran and links up with the six escapees. He provides them with Canadian passports and fake identities to prepare them to get through security at the airport. Although afraid to trust Mendez's scheme, they reluctantly go along with it, knowing that he is risking his own life too. A scouting visit to the bazaar to maintain their cover story takes a bad turn, but their Iranian culture contact gets them away from the hostile crowd.

Mendez is told that the operation has been cancelled to avoid conflicting with a planned military rescue of the hostages. He pushes ahead, forcing O'Donnell to hastily re-obtain authorization for the mission to get tickets on a Swissair flight. Tension rises at the airport, where the escapees' flight reservations are confirmed at the last minute, and a guard's call to the supposed studio in Hollywood is answered at the last second. The group boards the plane, which takes off just as the Revolutionary Guards at the airport uncover the ruse and try to stop the plain during takeoff.

To protect the hostages remaining in Tehran from retaliation, all U.S. involvement in the rescue is suppressed, giving full credit to the Canadian government and its ambassador (who left Iran with his wife under their own credentials as the operation was underway; their Iranian housekeeper, who had known about the Americans and lied to the revolutionaries to protect them, escaped to Iraq). Mendez is awarded the Intelligence Star, but due to the mission's classified nature, he would not be able to keep the medal until the details were publicized in 1997. All the hostages were freed on January 20, 1981. The film ends with former President Jimmy Carter's speech about the crisis and the Canadian Caper.

Cast

Actor, producer, and director Ben Affleck.

Production

File:AYA Sophia2012.33.jpg
Mendez meets an agent at Istanbul's Hagia Sophia before going to Iran.

Argo is based on the "Canadian Caper" that took place during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 and 1980. Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay based on Joshuah Bearman's 2007 article in Wired: "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran."[3] The article was written after the records were declassified.

In 2007, the producers George Clooney, Grant Heslov and David Klawans set up a project based on the article. Affleck's participation was announced in February 2011.[9] The following June, Alan Arkin was the first person cast in the film.[10] After the rest of the roles were cast, filming began in Los Angeles[11] in August 2011. Additional filming took place in McLean, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Istanbul.[12]

As a historical piece, the film made use of archival news footage from ABC, CBS and NBC; and included popular songs from the era such as "Little T&A" by The Rolling Stones, "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits, "Dance the Night Away" by Van Halen and "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin.[13] For its part, Warner Bros. used its 1972–1984 title featuring the "Big W" logo designed by Saul Bass for Warner Communications to open the film and painted on its studio lot's famed water tower the logo of The Burbank Studios (the facility's name during the 1970s and 1980s when Warner shared it with Columbia Pictures).[14]

The real-life screenplay that the CIA used to create their cover story came from an adaptation of Roger Zelazny's 1967 novel Lord of Light. Producer Barry Gellar had spearheaded an earlier, sincere attempt to produce the film with the book's original title. After that production attempt had failed, it was utilized by the CIA, and the title was changed to Argo.[3][15]

According to Tony Mendez, Studio Six—the phony Hollywood production office he helped create at the core of the CIA plan—proved so convincing that even weeks after the rescue was complete and the office had folded, it received 26 scripts, including one from Steven Spielberg.[16]

Release and reception

First Lady Michelle Obama announces the winner of Academy Award for Best Picture, Argo, live from the Diplomatic Room of the White House, Feb. 24, 2013.

Critical response

Argo was widely acclaimed by American critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 96% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 246 reviews, with an average score of 8.4 out of 10. Its consensus reads: "Tense, exciting and often darkly comic, Argo recreates a historical event with vivid attention to detail and finely wrought characters."[17] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 86, considered to be "universal acclaim," based on 45 reviews.[18] Naming Argo one of the best 11 films of 2012, critic Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote: "Ben Affleck's seamless direction catapults him to the forefront of Hollywood filmmakers turning out thoughtful entertainment."[19] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4/4 stars, calling it "spellbinding" and "surprisingly funny." Ebert chose it as his best film of the year.[20]

The Washington Times said it felt "like a movie from an earlier era — less frenetic, less showy, more focused on narrative than sensation," but that the script included "too many characters that he doesn’t quite develop."[21]

The craft in this film is rare. It is so easy to manufacture a thriller from chases and gunfire, and so very hard to fine-tune it out of exquisite timing and a plot that's so clear to us we wonder why it isn't obvious to the Iranians. After all, who in their right mind would believe a space opera was being filmed in Iran during the hostage crisis?

—Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times[20]

Literary critic Stanley Fish says that the film is a standard caper film in which "some improbable task has to be pulled off by a combination of ingenuity, training, deception and luck." He goes on to describe the film's structure: "(1) the presentation of the scheme to reluctant and unimaginative superiors, (2) the transformation of a ragtag bunch of ne'er-do-wells and wackos into a coherent, coordinated unit and (3) the carrying out of the task." Although he thinks the film is good at building and sustaining suspense, he concludes,

This is one of those movies that depend on your not thinking much about it; for as soon as you reflect on what's happening rather than being swept up in the narrative flow, there doesn't seem much to it aside from the skill with which suspense is maintained despite the fact that you know in advance how it's going to turn out. ... Once the deed is successfully done, there's really nothing much to say, and anything that is said seems contrived. That is the virtue of an entertainment like this; it doesn't linger in the memory and provoke afterthoughts.[22]

Reaction by Iranians

Jian Ghomeshi, a Canadian writer and radio figure of Iranian descent, thought the film had a "deeply troubling portrayal of the Iranian people." Ghomeshi asserted "among all the rave reviews, virtually no one in the mainstream media has called out [the] unbalanced depiction of an entire ethnic national group, and the broader implications of the portrait." He also suggested that the timing of the film was poor, as American and Iranian political relations were at a low point.[23] University of Michigan history professor Juan Cole had a similar assessment, writing that the film's narrative fails to provide adequate historical context for the actual events it portrays, and such errors of omission lead all of the Iranian characters in the film to be depicted as ethnic stereotypes.[24] A November 3, 2012, article in the Los Angeles Times claimed that the film had received very little attention in Tehran, though Masoumeh Ebtekar said that the film did not show "the real reasons behind the event."[25]

Despite the Iranian government's response, bootleg DVDs have become popular and are estimated at "several hundreds of thousands" of copies. Interpretations of the film's popularity in Iran have varied, ranging from the fact that the movie portrays the excesses of the revolution and the hostage crisis, which had been long glorified in Iran, to regular Iranians viewing it as a somber reminder of what caused the poor relations with America and the ensuing cost to Iran, decades after the embassy takeover. It has also been claimed that high DVD sales are a form of silent protest against the government's ongoing hostility to relations with America.[26][27]

Box office

The film earned $136,024,128 in North America, and $96,300,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $232,324,128.[2]

Home media

The film was released in North America on February 19, 2013 on DVD, Blu-ray Disc and with an UltraViolet digital copy.[28]

Accolades

The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won three, for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Achievement in Editing. Affleck was not nominated for Best Director, and following the announcement of the nominations, Bradley Cooper, whose film, Silver Linings Playbook was nominated in several categories, declared: "Ben Affleck got robbed."[29] This opinion is shared by the ceremony's host Seth MacFarlane[30] and Quentin Tarantino.[31]

Entertainment Weekly wrote about this controversy:

Standing in the Golden Globe pressroom with his directing trophy, Affleck acknowledged that it was frustrating not to get an Oscar nod when many felt he deserved one. But he's keeping a sense of humor. "I mean, I also didn't get the acting nomination," he pointed out. "And no one's saying I got snubbed there!"[32]

List of awards and nominations
Award Category Nominee Result
85th Academy Awards[33][34] Best Picture Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney Won
Best Supporting Actor Alan Arkin Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Chris Terrio Won
Best Film Editing William Goldenberg Won
Best Sound Editing Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn Nominated
Best Sound Mixing John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia Nominated
Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated
AFI Awards Movies of the Year Ben Affleck, George Clooney, and Grant Heslov Won
2nd AACTA International Awards[35] Best Film – International Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney Nominated
Best Direction – International Ben Affleck Nominated
Best Screenplay – International Chris Terrio Nominated
British Academy Film Awards[36] Best Film Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney Won
Best Director Ben Affleck Won
Best Adapted Screenplay Chris Terrio Nominated
Best Actor in a Leading Role Ben Affleck Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Alan Arkin Nominated
Best Original Music Alexandre Desplat Nominated
Best Editing William Goldenberg Won
César Award Best Foreign Film Ben Affleck Won
Critics Choice Awards Best Picture Won
Best Supporting Actor Alan Arkin Nominated
Best Acting Ensemble Nominated
Best Director Ben Affleck Won
Best Adapted Screenplay Chris Terrio Nominated
Best Editing William Goldenberg Nominated
Best Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society Best Picture Nominated
Best Director Ben Affleck Nominated
Best Ensemble Nominated
70th Golden Globe Awards[7][8] Best Motion Picture – Drama Won
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Alan Arkin Nominated
Best Director – Motion Picture Ben Affleck Won
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture Chris Terrio Nominated
Best Original Score – Motion Picture Alexandre Desplat Nominated
International Film Music Critics Association Awards Film Composer of the Year Alexandre Desplat, also for Moonrise Kingdom, Rise of the Guardians, Rust and Bone and Zero Dark Thirty Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Screenplay Chris Terrio Won
2013 MTV Movie Awards Best Male Performance Ben Affleck Nominated
National Board of Review Awards 2012 Top 10 Films Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Grant Heslov Won
Special Achievement in Filmmaking Ben Affleck Won
Spotlight Award John Goodman, also for Flight, ParaNorman and Trouble with the Curve Won
Nevada Film Critics Society Best Picture Won
Best Director Ben Affleck
Tied with Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty 		Won
New York Film Critics Online Best Ensemble Cast Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Top Ten Films Won
Best Director Ben Affleck Nominated
Best Ensemble Acting Nominated
Best Screenplay Adaptation Won
Best Film Editing Won
Directors Guild of America Best Director Ben Affleck Won
Producers Guild of America Best Picture Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Grant Heslov Won
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Alan Arkin Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Cast Won
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Film Won
Best Director Ben Affleck Won
Best Supporting Actor Alan Arkin Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Chris Terrio Won
Best Editing William Goldenberg Won
Best Production Design Sharon Seymour Nominated
Best Score Alexandre Desplat Nominated
Best Ensemble Performance Nominated
Satellite Awards Motion Picture Nominated
Best Director Ben Affleck Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Chris Terrio Nominated
Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat Won
Saturn Award Best Horror/Thriller Film Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics Best Film Won
Best Director Ben Affleck Won
Best Supporting Actor Alan Arkin Nominated
John Goodman Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Washington D. C. Area Film Critics Association Best Film Nominated
Best Director Ben Affleck Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Alan Arkin Nominated
Best Acting Ensemble Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay Chris Terrio Won

Historical inaccuracies

Canadian versus CIA roles

After the film was previewed at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2012,[37] many critics said that it unfairly glorified the CIA's role and minimized the Canadian government's role (particularly that of Ambassador Taylor) in the extraction operation. Maclean's asserted that "the movie rewrites history at Canada's expense, making Hollywood and the CIA the saga's heroic saviours while Taylor is demoted to a kindly concierge."[38] The postscript text said that the CIA let Taylor take the credit for political purposes, which some critics thought implied that he did not deserve the accolades he received.[39] In response to this criticism, Affleck changed the postscript text to read: "The involvement of the CIA complemented efforts of the Canadian embassy to free the six held in Tehran. To this day the story stands as an enduring model of international co-operation between governments."[40] The Toronto Star wrote, "Even that hardly does Canada justice."[41]

People welcoming the six American diplomats back to the United States and expressing thanks to Canada, 1980

In a CNN interview, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter addressed the controversy by stating: "90% of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan was Canadian. And the movie gives almost full credit to the American CIA. And with that exception, the movie is very good. But Ben Affleck's character in the film was... only in Tehran a day and a half. And the main hero, in my opinion, was Ken Taylor, who was the Canadian ambassador who orchestrated the entire process."[42] Taylor himself noted that, "In reality, Canada was responsible for the six and the CIA was a junior partner. But I realize this is a movie and you have to keep the audience on the edge of their seats."[40] In the film, Taylor is also shown threatening to close the Canadian embassy; in reality, this did not happen and the Canadians never considered abandoning the six Americans who had taken refuge under Canadian protection.[40]

Affleck asserted: "Because we say it's based on a true story, rather than this is a true story, we're allowed to take some dramatic license. There's a spirit of truth" and that "the kinds of things that are really important to be true are—for example, the relationship between the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. stood up collectively as a nation and said, 'We like you, we appreciate you, we respect you, and we're in your debt.'... There were folks who didn't want to stick their necks out and the Canadians did. They said, 'We'll risk our diplomatic standing, our lives, by harbouring six Americans because it's the right thing to do.' Because of that, their lives were saved."[38]

British and New Zealand roles

Upon its release in October 2012, the film was criticized for its claim that British and New Zealand Embassies had turned away the American refugees in Tehran. This claim was incorrect, as neither the British or New Zealand Embassies had turned the refugees away. In fact, the embassies of both of those countries helped them, along with the Canadians. The British had initially hosted the American refugees, but the location was deemed to not be safe, and all involved countries considered the Canadian ambassador's residence to be a safer location. New Zealand diplomatic ambassadors also put themselves at huge risk while assisting – by organising a place for the refugees to hide if they needed to change their location,[43] and by driving the Americans to the airport when they made their escape from Tehran.[44] British diplomats also assisted other American hostages beyond the escaped group of six.[45] Bob Anders, the U.S. consular agent played in the film by Tate Donovan, said, "They put their lives on the line for us. We were all at risk. I hope no one in Britain will be offended by what's said in the film. The British were good to us and we're forever grateful."[46]

Sir John Graham, the then-British ambassador to Iran, said, "My immediate reaction on hearing about this was one of outrage. I have since simmered down, but am still very distressed that the film-makers should have got it so wrong. My concern is that the inaccurate account should not enter the mythology of the events in Tehran in November 1979." The then-British chargé d'affaires in Tehran said that, had the Americans been discovered in the British embassy, "I can assure you we'd all have been for the high jump."[46] Martin Williams, secretary to Sir John Graham in Iran at the time, was the one who found the Americans, after searching for them in his own British car (the only Austin Maxi in Iran)[47] and sheltered them in his own house at first. The sequence in the film when a housekeeper confronts a truckload of Iranian revolutionary guards at the Canadian ambassadors home bears a striking resemblance to Mr Williams' own story. He has told how a brave guard, Iskander Khan, confronted heavily-armed revolutionary guards and convinced them that no-one was in when they tried to search Williams' house during a blackout. Mr Williams said "They went away. We and the Americans had a very lucky escape." The fugitives later moved to the home of the Canadian ambassador and his No. 2.[48]

Affleck is quoted as saying to The Sunday Telegraph: "I struggled with this long and hard, because it casts Britain and New Zealand in a way that is not totally fair. But I was setting up a situation where you needed to get a sense that these six people had nowhere else to go. It does not mean to diminish anyone."[46]

On 12 March 2013, the New Zealand House of Representatives censured Affleck by unanimously agreeing to the following motion, initiated by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters:[49][50]

... this House acknowledge[s] with gratitude the efforts of former New Zealand diplomats Chris Beeby and Richard Sewell in assisting American hostages in Tehran during the hostage crisis in 1979, and express[es] its regret that the director of the movie Argo saw fit to mislead the world about what actually happened during that crisis when, in reality, our courageous diplomats’ inspirational actions were of significant help to the American hostages and deserve the factual and historical record to be corrected.

Imminent danger to the group

In the film, the diplomats face suspicious glances from Iranians whenever they go out in public, and appear close to being caught at many steps along the way to their freedom. In reality, the diplomats never appeared to be in imminent danger:

  • In the film, while pretending to scout for filming locations at a bazaar, the crew face suspicious glances, and are accosted by a few vendors, who suspect them of being American. In reality, this scouting trip never happened.[38][40][51]
  • In the film, the crew again encounters suspicion while purchasing plane tickets to Zurich (while at the Tehran check in waiting for confirmation of bookings for the group [52]); in reality Taylor's wife bought three sets of plane tickets from three different airlines ahead of time, without any issues.[38][40]
  • The film depicts a dramatic last-minute cancellation of the mission by the Carter administration and a bureaucratic crisis in which Mendez declares he will proceed with the mission. Carter delayed authorization by only 30 minutes, and that was before Mendez had left Europe for Iran.[53]
  • In the film, there is again a tense situation when the crew tries to board the plane, and their identities are nearly discovered. In reality, there was no confrontation with security officials at the departure gate.[53][54]
  • In the film, before the plane takes off, gun-toting Iranian guards try to stop the plane in a dramatic chase sequence; in reality, there was no runway chase at the airport.[55] As Mark Lijek described it, "Fortunately for us, there were very few Revolutionary Guards about. It's why we turned up for a flight at 5.30 in the morning; even they weren't zealous enough to be there that early. The truth is the immigration officers barely looked at us and we were processed out in the regular way. We got on the flight to Zurich and then we were taken to the US ambassador's residence in Bern. It was that straightforward."[51]

Other

The film contains other historical inaccuracies:

  • The screenplay has the escapees—Mark and Cora Lijek, Bob Anders, Lee Schatz and Joe and Kathy Stafford—settling down to enforced cohabitation at the residence of the Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor. In reality, after several nights—including one spent in the UK residential compound—the group was split between the Taylor house and the home of another Canadian official, John Sheardown.[51][56]
  • "It's not true we could never go outside. John Sheardown's house had an interior courtyard with a garden and we could walk there freely," Mark Lijek says.[51]
  • The major role of producer Lester Siegel, played by Alan Arkin, is fictional.[57]
  • In the depiction of a frantic effort at CIA headquarters to get Carter to re-authorize the mission so that previously purchased airline tickets would still be valid, a CIA officer is portrayed as getting the White House telephone operator to connect him to Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan by impersonating a representative of the school attended by Jordan's children. In reality, Jordan was unmarried and had no children at the time.[58]
  • The film depicts Mendez discovering the script with the title of Argo. In reality the script was titled Lord of Light, based on the book of the same name by Roger Zelazny. The title was changed to Argo by the CIA.[3][15]
  • Comic book illustrator Jack Kirby did not do his storyboard work for the fabricated CIA film production. There had been an authentic attempt to produce Lord of Light a few years before the Iranian hostage situation, which was when Kirby created the storyboards.[3][15]

Casting controversy

There was some criticism, among Hispanics and film critics, of Ben Affleck's decision to cast himself, and not a Hispanic, in the role of Tony Mendez, who is of Mexican ancestry on his father's side.[59][60][61][62] Mexican-American actor and director Edward James Olmos considered Affleck's casting as Mendez a "mistake," and that the actor "had no sense of the cultural dynamic of the character he was playing."[63]

Mendez himself has said that he was unconcerned about the casting, and that he does not consider himself Hispanic.[64]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Argo". British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Argo (2012)". Box Office Mojo. January 9, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bearman, Joshuah (81April 24, 2007). "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran". Wired. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Killoran, Ellen (October 13, 2012). "'Argo' Review: Ben Affleck Pinches Himself In Stranger-Than-Fiction CIA Story". International Business Times. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  5. ^ Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper (TV 1981) – IMDb
  6. ^ "escape-from-iran-the-canadian-caper-1981-true-story-dvd-94c7%255B2%255D.jpg (image)". Lh4.ggpht.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "70th Golden Globe Awards". The Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  8. ^ a b "70th Golden Globe Awards: Nominations". The Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  9. ^ McNary, Dave (February 3, 2011). "Affleck in talks to direct 'Argo'". Variety. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Sneider, Jeff (June 10, 2011). "Alan Arkin first to board 'Argo'". Variety. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Scenes from 'Argo' shot in 'Los Angeles'". filmapia.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  12. ^ Staff (September 12, 2011). "Affleck starts shooting 'Argo' film |in LA". United Press International. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Argo (2012) – Soundtrack.net
  14. ^ Haithman, Diane (December 31, 2012). "OSCARS: Re-Creating The Look Of The '70s For 'Argo'". Deadline.com. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ a b c Higgins, Bill; Kit, Borys. "ARGO'S ODD HOLLYWOOD HISTORY." Hollywood Reporter. 05 Oct. 2012: 64. eLibrary. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.
  16. ^ Lane, Anthony (October 15, 2012). "Film Within A Film". The New Yorker: 99. Retrieved 17 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  17. ^ "Argo". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 17, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ "Argo Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 10, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ Holden, Stephen (December 14, 2012). "The Year of the Body Vulnerable". The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
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  52. ^ Argo film released 2012 directed by Ben Afleck
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  63. ^ Interview with Edward James Olmos, LatinRapper.com, May 4, 2013
  64. ^ HuffingtonPost: 'Argo's' Real Tony Mendez Says He Is Not Hispanic
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