Overview
When militants seize control of the U.S. embassy in Tehran during the height of the Iranian Revolution, CIA agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) creates a fake Hollywood film production in order to rescue a group of American diplomats who have sought refuge at the home of the Canadian ambassador. As the six members of the embassy staff remain behind closed doors, armed militants conduct thorough searches of local homes, and kill anyone suspected of harboring the Americans. Realizing that it's only a matter of time before the six are identified and taken hostage, Mendez offers a unique - yet potentially dangerous - solution: posing as a Canadian film producer, he will enter into Tehran under the precipice of scouting locations for an upcoming science fiction opus, gather up the refugees, pass them off as his crew at the airport, and fly out of Iran right under the militants' noses. Shortly after touching down in Iran, however, Mendez contends with a few unexpected developments that threaten to erode the bond of trust he needs to establish with the refugees, and expose his deception. Meanwhile, even if they do manage to make it as far as the airport, government bureaucracy threatens to leave them hopelessly stranded in their most desperate hour. Alan Arkin, John Goodman, and Bryan Cranston co-star. Inspired by actual events.
Awards:
Main Cast & Crew:
Ben Affleck - Director
Ben Affleck
Bryan Cranston
Alan Arkin
John Goodman
Kyle Chandler
Scoot McNairy
Clea DuVall
Rory Cochrane
Christopher Denham
Kerry Bishe
Details
- Format: DVD
- Run Time: 120
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 883929241392
- Genre: Drama
- Rating: R (MPAA) (language and some violent images)
- Release Date: February 2013
Movie Reviews
Reviews:
"ARGO is a crackerjack political thriller told with intelligence....Proving even more than before that he’s a behind-the-camera force to be reckoned with, Ben Affleck tells a dense, multilayered yarn..." - 09/01/2012 Hollywood Reporter
5 stars out of 5 -- "This certain Best Picture contender proves to be a prime example of accomplished major studio filmmaking, and also a smart, crafty suspense-laden picture that should win critical plaudits across the board." - 09/07/2012 Box Office
"ARGO is most impressive in the number of moods its director has casually mastered." - 10/11/2012 Los Angeles Times
"[T]he results are nothing less than sensational. This political thriller has it all..." - 10/12/2012 Wall Street Journal
"ARGO plays out like an unlikely heist movie in which all the suspense comes from unexpected corners." - 10/11/2012 Movieline
"[A] smart, jittery thriller about a freakish and little-known chapter of the Iranian hostage crisis..." - 10/12/2012 New York Times
4 stars out of 4 -- "[B]oth spellbinding and surprisingly funny. Many of the laughs come from the Hollywood guys played by Goodman and Arkin..." - 10/10/2012 Chicago Sun-Times
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "Ben Affleck doesn't merely direct ARGO, he directs the hell out of it, nailing the quickening pace, the wayward humor, the nerve-frying suspense." - 10/18/2012 Rolling Stone
"Affleck threads viewers through the dauntingly tricky geopolitics and tonal shifts of ARGO with an utterly flawless sense of control..." - 10/12/2012 Washington Post
4 stars out of 5 -- "[Affleck] makes it work, anchoring proceedings with a likeable, layered lead performance." - 12/01/2012 Total Film
"[S]lick enough to send us smiling out of cinemas on a Saturday night, but with the substance to avoid insulting our intelligence in the process." - 12/01/2012 Sight and Sound
