Argo
Short description
Based on the true events of November 1979, when militants stormed the United States embassy in Tehran and took dozens of Americans hostage, a small group managed to slip away and find refuge with the Canadian ambassador. As the Iranian revolution reaches its height, the six fugitives face near-certain discovery and death if they cannot be smuggled out of the country. A CIA specialist in getting people out of hostile territory devises an improbable cover: posing the group as a Canadian film crew scouting locations for a science-fiction production. The plan is so strange it could only work as a piece of theater.
Ben Affleck directs and stars as the CIA officer, with Chris Terrio writing the screenplay. The film marks Affleck's third directorial feature, following Gone Baby Gone in 2007 and The Town in 2010. Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber and Tate Donovan round out the main cast. Affleck produced alongside George Clooney and Grant Heslov. The production carried a budget of 45 million dollars and returned 232 million dollars worldwide, a strong multiple of its cost. On IMDb, the film holds 7.7 out of 10 from 664,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7.3 from over 9,000 votes. A film critics' rating of 8.4 from 360 reviews places it above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the scene where Tony Mendez and John Chambers first arrive at Lester Siegel's house, the camera shows the awards displayed in his home. One of them is a special prize from the 1948 Cannes Film Festival, however, the festival was not held that year.
- The TV show featuring Ted Kennedy's victory speech in the New York and Connecticut primaries aired on March 25, 1980, while the mission was completed on January 27th.
- In the scene where Tony Mendez goes to Hollywood to ask for help, the Hollywood sign is very dilapidated. The sign was built in 1920 and was originally intended to be a temporary structure. However, it was repaired and restored, with the letters being replaced in November 1978, a year before the start of the Iranian hostage crisis.
- The title of the film “Argo,” which is being shot within the movie, comes from Greek mythology; it was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed to find the Golden Fleece.
- To give the film a 1970s feel, Ben Affleck shot it on regular film, cut the frames in half, and then stretched them to 200% to increase the graininess. He also copied camera movements and noisy office scenes from “All the President's Men” (1976) for scenes depicting CIA headquarters. He borrowed street scenes in Los Angeles from “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie” (1976).
- Initially, Ben Affleck considered Brad Pitt for the role of Tony Mendez, but due to scheduling conflicts, it didn't work out.
- During a meeting with the head of the CIA, Ben Affleck’s character says that Hollywood is known worldwide, which would allow a film to be shot even in Stalingrad. However, the city’s name was abolished back in 1961, and since then the city has been called Volgograd.
- Tony Mendez is wearing a Rolex Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA (number 116660). These watches were first introduced in 2008 (in 1980, the Rolex Sea-Dweller model should have had the number 1665).
- When the Swiss Boeing-747 takes off, police cars keep up, despite the aircraft's takeoff speed being 160–180 knots (approximately 290–320 km/h). They also drive directly behind engine number four without experiencing the jet blast.
- Upon arriving in Istanbul, the protagonist goes to a meeting at the Blue Mosque, and in the next shot, the meeting is already taking place in a completely different cathedral – Hagia Sophia.
- A two-engine aircraft, which was not authorized for transatlantic flights until 1985, is shown in a general shot of a plane taking off from Dallas to London.
- When this film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (Ontario, Canada), it received a lot of criticism for unfairly minimizing the role of the Canadian government in helping six Americans who were provided protection during their escape from Iran. Ben Affleck eventually agreed and rewrote the closing text, noting that the CIA operations were actively assisted by the Canadian government, and the case became an excellent example of international cooperation.
- The Calgary Flames team was originally called the Atlanta Flames. The name changed in 1980, but they only played their first game in October of that year.
- When Tony Mendes writes greetings to his son on a postcard, the word “so” jumps to the line below after a cut.
- The screenplay for “Argo” (which utilizes the CIA in the film) was taken from a never-filmed movie called “Lord of Light” based on the novel by Roger Zelazny.
- Actor Kyle Chandler and his character Hamilton Jordan both graduated from the University of Georgia.
- Scoot McNairy and Kerry Bishé starred together in the series *Halt and Catch Fire* and also played husband and wife.
- In the scene of the meeting at Max Klein's office, Sid Caesar's autobiography – “Where Have I Been?” – is visible on the bookshelf. These memoirs were not published until 1983.
- There is a typo in the credits: Battlestar Gallactica. It should be spelled Galactica.
- Marines at the US embassy wear combat uniforms. This type of clothing was only introduced after the fall of 1981.
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