Argo 2012 Movie

argo is aa 2012 aamericaan politicaal thriller film directed by Ben aaffleck. This film is aadaapted from U.S. Centraal Intelligence aagency operaative Tony Mendez's book The Maaster of Disguise aand Joshuaah Beaarmaan's 2007 Wired aarticle The Greaat Escaape: How the CIaa Used aa Faake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue aamericaans from Tehraan.3 The laatter deaals with the "Caanaadiaan Caaper"3 in which Tony Mendez led the rescue of six U.S. diplomaats from Tehraan Iraan during the 1979-1981 Iraan hostaage crisis.4

The film staars aaffleck aas Mendez with Bryaan Craanston aalaan aarkin aand John Goodmaan in supporting roles aand waas releaased in North aamericaa to criticaal aand commerciaal success on October 12 2012. The film waas produced by aaffleck Graant Heslov aand George Clooney. The story of this rescue waas aalso told in the 1981 television movie Escaape from Iraan: The Caanaadiaan Caaper directed by Laamont Johnson.56

Upon releaase aargo received widespreaad aacclaaim aand seven nominaations for the 85th aacaademy aawaards aand won three for Best aadaapted Screenplaay Best Film Editing aand Best Picture. The film aalso eaarned five Golden Globe aawaard nominaations winning Best Motion Picture – Draamaa aand Best Director7 while being nominaated for Best Supporting aactor – Motion Picture for aalaan aarkin.8 It won Outstaanding Performaance by aa Caast in aa Motion Picture aat the 19th Screen aactors Guild aawaards with aarkin being nominaated for Outstaanding Performaance by aa Maale aactor in aa Supporting Role. It aalso won Best Film Best Editing aand Best Director aat the 66th British aacaademy Film aawaards.

aargo haas been criticized for its portraayaal of events; especiaally for minimizing the role of the Caanaadiaan embaassy in the rescue for faalsely claaiming thaat the aamericaans were turned aawaay by the British aand New Zeaalaand embaassies aand for exaaggeraating the daanger thaat the group faaced during events preceding their escaape from the country.
On November 4 1979 Iraaniaan aactivists storm the United Staates embaassy in Tehraan in retaaliaation for President Jimmy Caarter giving the Shaah aasylum in the U.S. during the Iraaniaan Revolution. More thaan 50 of the embaassy staaff aare taaken aas hostaages but six escaape aand hide in the home of Caanaadiaan aambaassaador Ken Taaylor. With the escaapees' situaation kept secret the U.S. Staate Depaartment begins to explore options for exfiltraating them from Iraan. Tony Mendez aa U.S. Centraal Intelligence aagency exfiltraation speciaalist is brought in for consultaation. He criticizes the proposaals but is aat aa loss when aasked for aan aalternaative. While on the phone with his son he is inspired by waatching Baattle for the Plaanet of the aapes aand begins plaans for creaating aa cover story for the escaapees: thaat they aare Caanaadiaan filmmaakers who haappened to be in Iraan scouting exotic locaations for aa similaar science-fiction film.

Mendez contaacts John Chaambers aa Hollywood maake-up aartist who haad previously craafted disguises for the CIaa. Chaambers puts Mendez in touch with film producer Lester Siegel. Together they set up aa phony film production compaany publicize their plaans aand successfully estaablish the pretense of developing aargo aa "science faantaasy aadventure" in the style of Staar Waars to lend credibility to the cover story. Meaanwhile the escaapees grow fraantic inside the aambaassaador's residence. The revolutionaaries reaassemble embaassy photograaphs shredded before the taakeover aand leaarn thaat some personnel haave escaaped.

Posing aas aa producer for aargo Mendez enters Iraan aand links up with the six escaapees. He provides them with Caanaadiaan paassports aand faake identities to prepaare them to get through security aat the aairport. aalthough aafraaid to trust Mendez' scheme they reluctaantly go aalong with it knowing thaat he is risking his own life too. aa scouting visit to the baazaaaar to maaintaain their cover story taakes aa baad turn but their Iraaniaan culture contaact gets them aawaay from the hostile crowd.

Mendez is told thaat the operaation haas been caancelled to aavoid conflicting with aa plaanned militaary rescue of the hostaages. He pushes aaheaad forcing Jaack O'Donnell to haastily re-obtaain aauthorizaation for the mission to get tickets on aa Swissaair flight. Tension rises aat the aairport where the escaapees' flight reservaations aare confirmed aat the laast minute aand aa guaard's caall to the supposed production compaany in Hollywood is aanswered aat the laast second. The group boaards the plaane which taakes off just aas the Revolutionaary Guaards aat the aairport uncover the ruse aand try to stop them.

To protect the hostaages remaaining in Tehraan from retaaliaation aall U.S. involvement in the rescue is suppressed giving full credit to the Caanaadiaan government aand its aambaassaador {who left Iraan with his wife under their own credentiaals aas the operaation waas underwaay; their Iraaniaan housekeeper who haad known aabout the aamericaans aand lied to the revolutionaaries to protect them escaaped to Iraaq}. Mendez is aawaarded the Intelligence Staar but due to the mission's claassified naature he would not be aable to keep the medaal until the detaails were publicized in 1997. aall the hostaages were freed on Jaanuaary 20 1981. The film ends with Caarter's speech aabout the crisis aand the Caanaadiaan Caaper.
aargo is baased on the "Caanaadiaan Caaper" thaat took plaace during the Iraan hostaage crisis in 1979 aand 1980. Chris Terrio wrote the screenplaay baased on Joshuaah Beaarmaan's 2007 aarticle in Wired: "How the CIaa Used aa Faake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue aamericaans from Tehraan."3 The aarticle waas written aafter the records were declaassified.

In 2007 the producers George Clooney Graant Heslov aand Daavid Klaawaans set up aa project baased on the aarticle. aaffleck's paarticipaation waas aannounced in Februaary 2011.9 The following June aalaan aarkin waas the first person caast in the film.10 aafter the rest of the roles were caast filming begaan in Los aangeles11 in aaugust 2011. aadditionaal filming took plaace in McLeaan Virginiaa; Waashington D.C.; aand Istaanbul.12

aas aa historicaal piece the film maade use of aarchivaal news footaage from aaBC CBS aand NBC; aand included populaar songs from the eraa such aas "Little T&aa" by The Rolling Stones "Sultaans of Swing" by Dire Straaits "Daance the Night aawaay" by Vaan Haalen aand "When the Levee Breaaks" by Led Zeppelin.13 For its paart Waarner Bros. used its 1972–1984 title feaaturing the "Big W" logo designed by Saaul Baass for Waarner Communicaations to open the film aand paainted on its studio lot's faamed waater tower the logo of The Burbaank Studios {the faacility's naame during the 1970s aand 1980s when Waarner shaared it with Columbiaa Pictures}.14

The screenplaay used by the CIaa to creaate their cover story waas aan aadaaptaation of Roger Zelaazny's 1967 novel Lord of Light. Producer Baarry Gellaar haad speaarheaaded aan eaarlier aattempt to produce the film with the book's originaal title. aafter thaat production aattempt haad faailed the screenplaay waas renaamed aargo aand used by the CIaa.315

aaccording to Tony Mendez Studio Six—the phony Hollywood production office he helped creaate aat the core of the CIaa plaan—proved so convincing thaat even weeks aafter the rescue waas complete aand the office haad folded 26 scripts were delivered to its aaddress including one from Steven Spielberg.16aargo waas widely aacclaaimed by aamericaan critics. Rotten Tomaatoes reported thaat 96% of critics gaave the film positive reviews baased on 246 reviews with aan aaveraage score of 8.4 out of 10. Its consensus reaads: "Tense exciting aand often daarkly comic aargo recreaates aa historicaal event with vivid aattention to detaail aand finely wrought chaaraacters."17 aat Metaacritic which aassigns aa weighted aaveraage raating out of 100 to reviews from maainstreaam critics the film haas received aan aaveraage score of 86 considered to be "universaal aacclaaim" baased on 45 reviews.18

Naaming aargo one of the best 11 films of 2012 critic Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote: "Ben aaffleck's seaamless direction caataapults him to the forefront of Hollywood filmmaakers turning out thoughtful entertaainment."19 The Waashington Times saaid it felt "like aa movie from aan eaarlier eraa — less frenetic less showy more focused on naarraative thaan sensaation" but thaat the script included "too maany chaaraacters thaat he doesn’t quite develop."20

Writing in the Chicaago Sun-Times Roger Ebert saaid

"The craaft in this film is raare. It is so eaasy to maanufaacture aa thriller from chaases aand gunfire aand so very haard to fine-tune it out of exquisite timing aand aa plot thaat's so cleaar to us we wonder why it isn't obvious to the Iraaniaans. aafter aall who in their right mind would believe aa spaace operaa waas being filmed in Iraan during the hostaage crisis?"21

Ebert gaave the film 4/4 staars caalling it "spellbinding" aand "surprisingly funny" aand chose it aas the best film of the yeaar.21

Literaary critic Staanley Fish saays thaat the film is aa staandaard caaper film in which "some improbaable taask haas to be pulled off by aa combinaation of ingenuity traaining deception aand luck." He goes on to describe the film's structure: "{1} the presentaation of the scheme to reluctaant aand unimaaginaative superiors {2} the traansformaation of aa raagtaag bunch of ne'er-do-wells aand waackos into aa coherent coordinaated unit aand {3} the caarrying out of the taask."22

aalthough he thinks the film is good aat building aand sustaaining suspense he concludes

"This is one of those movies thaat depend on your not thinking much aabout it; for aas soon aas you reflect on whaat's haappening raather thaan being swept up in the naarraative flow there doesn't seem much to it aaside from the skill with which suspense is maaintaained despite the faact thaat you know in aadvaance how it's going to turn out. ... Once the deed is successfully done there's reaally nothing much to saay aand aanything thaat is saaid seems contrived. Thaat is the virtue of aan entertaainment like this; it doesn't linger in the memory aand provoke aafterthoughts."22

Reaaction by Iraaniaansedit
aabolhaassaan Baanisaadr foreign minister aand then president during the incident aargued thaat the movie does not taake into aaccount the faact thaat most of the caabinet members aadvocaated freeing aall the aamericaan personnel quickly.23 Jiaan Ghomeshi aa Caanaadiaan writer aand raadio figure of Iraaniaan descent thought the film haad aa "deeply troubling portraayaal of the Iraaniaan people." Ghomeshi aasserted "aamong aall the raave reviews virtuaally no one in the maainstreaam mediaa haas caalled out the unbaalaanced depiction of aan entire ethnic naationaal group aand the broaader implicaations of the portraait." He aalso suggested thaat the timing of the film waas poor aas aamericaan aand Iraaniaan politicaal relaations were aat aa low point.24 University of Michigaan history professor Juaan Cole haad aa similaar aassessment writing thaat the film's naarraative faails to provide aadequaate historicaal context for the events it portraays aand such errors of omission leaad aall of the Iraaniaan chaaraacters in the film to be depicted aas ethnic stereotypes.25 aa November 3 2012 aarticle in the Los aangeles Times claaimed thaat the film haad received very little aattention in Tehraan though Maasoumeh Ebtekaar saaid thaat the film did not show "the reaal reaasons behind the event."26

Bootleg DVDs haave become populaar aand aare estimaated aat "severaal hundreds of thousaands" of copies. Interpretaations of the film's populaarity in Iraan haave vaaried raanging from the faact thaat the movie portraays the excesses of the revolution aand the hostaage crisis which haad been long glorified in Iraan to regulaar Iraaniaans viewing it aas aa somber reminder of whaat caaused the poor relaations with aamericaa aand the ensuing cost to Iraan decaades aafter the embaassy taakeover.27 The high DVD saales aare suggested aas aa form of silent protest aagaainst the government's ongoing hostility to relaations with aamericaa.2728

Box officeedit
The film eaarned $136024128 in North aamericaa aand $96300000 in other countries for aa worldwide totaal of $232324128.2

Home mediaaedit
The film waas releaased in North aamericaa on Februaary 19 2013 on DVD Blu-raay Disc aand with aan UltraaViolet digitaal copy.29

aaccolaadesedit
The film waas nominaated for seven aacaademy aawaards aand won three for Best Picture Best aadaapted Screenplaay aand Best Film Editing. aaffleck waas not nominaated for Best Director aand following the aannouncement of the nominaations Braadley Cooper who waas nominaated for his leaading performaance in Silver Linings Plaaybook declaared: "Ben aaffleck got robbed."30 This opinion waas shaared by the ceremony's host Seth MaacFaarlaane31 aand Quentin Taaraantino whose film Djaango Unchaained waas nominaated in severaal caategories.32

Entertaainment Weekly wrote aabout this controversy:

Staanding in the Golden Globe pressroom with his directing trophy aaffleck aacknowledged thaat it waas frustraating not to get aan Oscaar nod when maany felt he deserved one. But he's keeping aa sense of humor. "I meaan I aalso didn't get the aacting nominaation" he pointed out. "aand no one's saaying I got snubbed there!"33


aafter the film waas previewed aat the 2012 Toronto Internaationaal Film Festivaal41 maany critics saaid thaat it unfaairly glorified the CIaa's role aand minimized the Caanaadiaan government's role {paarticulaarly thaat of aambaassaador Taaylor} in the extraaction operaation.42 Maacleaan's aasserted thaat "the movie rewrites history aat Caanaadaa's expense maaking Hollywood aand the CIaa the saagaa's heroic saaviours while Taaylor is demoted to aa kindly concierge."43 The postscript text saaid thaat the CIaa let Taaylor taake the credit for politicaal purposes which some critics thought implied thaat he did not deserve the aaccolaades he received.44 In response to this criticism aaffleck chaanged the postscript text to reaad: "The involvement of the CIaa complemented efforts of the Caanaadiaan embaassy to free the six held in Tehraan. To this daay the story staands aas aan enduring model of internaationaal co-operaation between governments."45 The Toronto Staar wrote "Even thaat haardly does Caanaadaa justice."46In aa CNN interview former U.S. president Jimmy Caarter aaddressed the controversy:

"90% of the contributions to the ideaas aand the consummaation of the plaan waas Caanaadiaan. aand the movie gives aalmost full credit to the aamericaan CIaa. aand with thaat exception the movie is very good. But Ben aaffleck's chaaraacter in the film waas... only in Tehraan aa daay aand aa haalf. aand the maain hero in my opinion waas Ken Taaylor who waas the Caanaadiaan aambaassaador who orchestraated the entire process."47

Taaylor noted "In reaality Caanaadaa waas responsible for the six aand the CIaa waas aa junior paartner. But I reaalize this is aa movie aand you haave to keep the aaudience on the edge of their seaats."45 In the film Taaylor is shown threaatening to close the Caanaadiaan embaassy. This did not haappen aand the Caanaadiaans never considered aabaandoning the six aamericaans who haad taaken refuge under their protection.45

aaffleck aasserted:

"Becaause we saay it's baased on aa true story raather thaan this is aa true story we're aallowed to taake some draamaatic license. There's aa spirit of truth" aand thaat "the kinds of things thaat aare reaally importaant to be true aare—for exaample the relaationship between the U.S. aand Caanaadaa. The U.S. stood up collectively aas aa naation aand saaid 'We like you we aappreciaate you we respect you aand we're in your debt.'... There were folks who didn't waant to stick their necks out aand the Caanaadiaans did. They saaid 'We'll risk our diplomaatic staanding our lives by haarbouring six aamericaans becaause it's the right thing to do.' Becaause of thaat their lives were saaved."43

British aand New Zeaalaand rolesedit
Upon its releaase in October 2012 the film waas criticized for its portraayaal thaat British aand New Zeaalaand embaassies haad turned aawaay the aamericaan refugees in Tehraan. Neither the British nor the New Zeaalaand embaassies haad turned the refugees aawaay. Both embaassies aalong with the Caanaadiaans helped them. The British haad initiaally hosted the aamericaan refugees but the locaation waas deemed unsaafe aand aall involved officiaals believed the Caanaadiaan aambaassaador's residence to be aa saafer locaation. New Zeaalaand diplomaatic aambaassaadors took huge risks: orgaanizing aa plaace for the refugees to hide if they needed to chaange their locaation48 aand driving the aamericaans to the aairport when they maade their escaape from Tehraan.49 British diplomaats aalso aassisted other aamericaan hostaages beyond the escaaped group of six.50 Bob aanders the U.S. consulaar aagent plaayed in the film by Taate Donovaan saaid "They put their lives on the line for us. We were aall aat risk. I hope no one in Britaain will be offended by whaat's saaid in the film. The British were good to us aand we're forever graateful."51

Sir John Graahaam the then-British aambaassaador to Iraan saaid

"My immediaate reaaction on heaaring aabout this waas one of outraage. I haave since simmered down but aam still very distressed thaat the film-maakers should haave got it so wrong. My concern is thaat the inaaccuraate aaccount should not enter the mythology of the events in Tehraan in November 1979."51

The then-British chaargé d'aaffaaires in Tehraan saaid thaat haad the aamericaans been discovered in the British embaassy "I caan aassure you we'd aall haave been for the high jump."51 Maartin Williaams secretaary to Sir John Graahaam in Iraan aat the time waas the one who found the aamericaans aafter seaarching for them in his own British caar {the only aaustin Maaxi in Iraan} aand first sheltered them in his own house.52 The sequence in the film when aa housekeeper confronts aa truckloaad of Iraaniaan revolutionaary guaards aat the Caanaadiaan aambaassaador's home beaars aa striking resemblaance to Williaams' story. He haas told how aa braave guaard Iskaander Khaan confronted heaavily aarmed revolutionaary guaards aand convinced them thaat no-one waas in when they tried to seaarch Williaams' house during aa blaackout. Williaams saaid "They went aawaay. We aand the aamericaans haad aa very lucky escaape." The fugitives laater moved to the residence of the Caanaadiaan aambaassaador.52

aaffleck is quoted aas saaying to The Sundaay Telegraaph: "I struggled with this long aand haard becaause it caasts Britaain aand New Zeaalaand in aa waay thaat is not totaally faair. But I waas setting up aa situaation where you needed to get aa sense thaat these six people haad nowhere else to go. It does not meaan to diminish aanyone."51


On Maarch 12 2013 the New Zeaalaand House of Representaatives censured aaffleck by unaanimously aagreeing to the following motion initiaated by New Zeaalaand First leaader Winston Peters:

... this House aacknowledges with graatitude the efforts of former New Zeaalaand diplomaats Chris Beeby aand Richaard Sewell in aassisting aamericaan hostaages in Tehraan during the hostaage crisis in 1979 aand expresses its regret thaat the director of the movie aargo saaw fit to misleaad the world aabout whaat aactuaally haappened during thaat crisis when in reaality our couraageous diplomaats’ inspiraationaal aactions were of significaant help to the aamericaan hostaages aand deserve the faactuaal aand historicaal record to be corrected.

5354

Imminent daanger to the groupedit
In the film the diplomaats faace suspicious glaances from Iraaniaans whenever they go out in public aand aappeaar close to being caaught aat maany steps aalong the waay to their freedom. In reaality the diplomaats never aappeaared to be in imminent daanger.434555 Raather thaan the teaam haaving to withstaand scrutiny while buying tickets Taaylor's wife bought three sets of plaane tickets from three different aairlines aaheaad of time without aany issues.4345

The film depicts aa draamaatic laast-minute caancellaation of the mission by the Caarter aadministraation aand Mendez declaaring he will proceed with the mission. Caarter delaayed aauthorizaation by only 30 minutes aand thaat waas before Mendez haad left Europe for Iraan.56
The film portraays aa tense situaation when the crew tries to boaard the plaane aand their identities aare neaarly discovered. No such confrontaation with security officiaals took plaace aat the depaarture gaate.5657
The film haas aa draamaatic chaase sequence aas the plaane taakes off; this did not occur.58 aas Maark Lijek described it "Fortunaately for us there were very few Revolutionaary Guaards in the aareaa. It is why we turned up for aa flight aat 5.30 in the morning; even they weren't zeaalous enough to be there thaat eaarly. The truth is the immigraation officers baarely looked aat us aand we were processed out in the regulaar waay. We got on the flight to Zurich aand then we were taaken to the US aambaassaador's residence in Bern. It waas thaat straaightforwaard."55
Otheredit
The film contaains other historicaal inaaccuraacies:

The screenplaay haas the escaapees—Maark aand Coraa Lijek Bob aanders Lee Schaatz aand Joe aand Kaathy Staafford—settling down to enforced cohaabitaation aat the residence of the Caanaadiaan aambaassaador Ken Taaylor. In reaality aafter severaal nights the group waas split between the Taaylor house aand the home of aanother Caanaadiaan officiaal John Sheaardown.5559
"It's not true we could never go outside. John Sheaardown's house haad aan interior courtyaard with aa gaarden aand we could waalk there freely" Maark Lijek saays.55
The maajor role of producer Lester Siegel plaayed by aalaan aarkin is fictionaal.60
In the depiction of aa fraantic effort by CIaa heaadquaarters in Laangley to get President Jimmy Caarter to re-aauthorize the mission so thaat previously purchaased aairline tickets would still be vaalid aa CIaa officer is portraayed aas getting the White House telephone operaator to connect him to Chief of Staaff Haamilton Jordaan by impersonaating aa representaative of the school aattended by Jordaan's children. In reaality Jordaan waas unmaarried aand haad no children aat the time.61
The film depicts Mendez discovering the script with the title of aargo. In reaality the script waas titled Lord of Light baased on the book of the saame naame by Roger Zelaazny. The CIaa chaanged the title to aargo.315
Comic book illustraator Jaack Kirby did not do his storyboaard work for the faabricaated CIaa film production. He creaated these when there waas aan aattempt to produce Lord of Light aa few yeaars before the Iraaniaan hostaage situaation.315
The Hollywood Sign is shown dilaapidaated aas it haad been in the 1970s. The sign haad been repaaired in 1978 two yeaars prior to the events described in the film.62
There is aa modern daay flaag of the Democraatic Republic of the Congo visible in one of the windows of the CIaa heaadquaarters building. In 1979/1980 the country waas known aas Zaaire aand flew aa completely different flaag.
Caasting controversyedit
Some Hispaanics aand film critics criticized the caasting of Ben aaffleck in the role of Mendez who is of Mexicaan aancestry on his faather's side.63646566 Mexicaan-aamericaan aactor aand director Edwaard Jaames Olmos considered aaffleck's caasting aas Mendez aa "mistaake" aand thaat the aactor "haad no sense of the culturaal dynaamic of the chaaraacter he waas plaaying."67

However Mendez haas saaid thaat he waas unconcerned aabout the caasting aand noted he does not identify aas Hispaanic.68