As i had no history or prior knowledge to the events that transpired in iran in the 1980s, the brief amount of a history lesson was just enough to maintain my interest. Though downton is not a real place the tv series and movie were filmed at highclere castle in hampshire, its struggles represent very real challenges that similar reallife. Opinion history according to hollywood the new york times. Twelfth grade lesson researching argo for bias and accuracy.
Yes, its based on a true story the movie does its best to allude that it sticks to technical accuracy. The facts and fiction behind the ben affleck movie. This became an issue for some people after the film was screened at the toronto film fest, and the film makers tried to make some correction with a postscript to the film. Argo, the new movie from actordirector ben affleck, has mostly been getting ravesincluding a qualified but fairly strong endorsement from slates own dana stevens, who calls it a rollicking yarn and easily the most cohesive and technically accomplished of afflecks three films so far. The opening minutes feel lifted from a documentary about the 1970s iranian revolution. Three of this years oscar contenders lincoln, argo and zero dark thirty invite viewers to look at history, either through the lens of the distant past as in the case of lincoln or through recent events like zero dark thirty, and to question the degree of truth and fiction at work in the retelling of these events. The film, which has received seven oscar nominations including one for best picture. Thus to have expected complete historical accuracy in its film adaptation would have been fallacious and maybe even a little boring. The agency has tweeted what really happened 35 years ago. Argo, like beautiful mind, plays out as a clever mix of genre formulas. The historical accuracy in films argo, lincoln, and their ilk. The debatable importance of historical accuracy in period.
Jun 09, 20 the oscar winning film, argo, directed by ben affleck is about the iranian hostage crisis that took place during the iranian revolution in the 1970s and how on november 4, 1979, some angry iranians got into the us embassy in tehran and took fifty two hostages, while six americans managed to escape. Yes, but in researching the argo true story, we discovered that unlike what is shown in the film, tony mendez did not act as the interrogator. Argo is totally inaccurate which is exactly why its great indiewire. Students would read a newspaper article about the iran hostage crisis and compare that with a news profile of the six embassy workers who escaped looking at the difference in language and tone. The film is a dramatization of the american operation that led to the killing of osama bin laden in 2011, and focuses on a fictionalized c. The movie argo, up for seven oscars at this years academy awards, is based on the true story of the cia rescue of americans in tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis. We cannot dismiss all the coverage about the film s historical accuracy and especially not leave mention of the discussion out of the lead section.
After a major press push and the success of the bestselling novel on which it was based, it looked as though the emma stoneled film. However, the dramatic music, and the lack of historical background of what occurred before the june revolution of 1832, caused the movie to be less accurate, and in some ways influenced the viewers to come to the. The historical accuracy in films argo, lincoln, and their. Based on a true story, argo reenacts the events that freed american foreign service employees from their hideout in the canadian embassy. Mar 28, 20 in regards to the historical accuracy of steve spielbergs lincoln film, nprs linda wertheimer interviewed ronald white, author of a. The downton abbey movie s historical accuracy is perhaps most true to history as we watch mary crawley michelle dockery discuss the fate of her familys country estate. There was a ton of controversy over the choice of the movie plot, both within the cia and at the canadian embassy in real life. Oct 12, 2012 argo, the new movie from actordirector ben affleck, has mostly been getting ravesincluding a qualified but fairly strong endorsement from slates own dana stevens, who calls it a. Argo 2012 continued however, despite these authentic parts of the film, many details were added by the film business to make the movie more interesting to watch, and to appeal to a larger portion of viewers. Clearly, hollywood history differs from historians history. Argo ben afflecks gripping cia thriller sends reality into a tailspin. The use of the real ancient mayan language throughout director mel gibsons film gives the film a true sense of authenticity, one that isnt mirrored by its historical accuracy. Well they certainly emphasized the role of the cia while minimizing the contributions of the canadian embassy in iran. Oct 15, 2012 a postscript during the film s end titles citing the argo incident as a model of international cooperation makes much more sense when you keep those facts in mind.
Hollywoods an expert at spinning history into blockbuster success, but theres little of it in inglourious basterds or italian director enzo g. Ultimately, argo fails as a historically accurate representation of what truly occurred. It is accurate insofar as there was a hostage crisis in 1979, the us embassy in tehran was stormed by iranian militants, and a handful of embassy personnel were smuggled out of the country. Oct 19, 2012 argo is totally inaccurate which is exactly why its great. Iran hostage crisis film fiddles with the facts ctv news. Historical inaccuracies in argo by alexandra vanrooyen on.
The film claims shah mohammad reza pahlavi been shah or shahanshah which is a title given to kings of iran since he was placed in power by the 1953 iranian coup detat. But while learning history by watching hollywood thrillers may be enjoyable, its not really the best way to get an accurate account of events. Ben afflecks new film argo upsets british diplomats who. Ben afflecks film argo tells the bizarre story of how in 1980 the cia with canadian help sprang a group of americans from iran after they escaped a us embassy overrun by protestors. The setup involves afflecks character, mendes, putting together the cover story of a canadian film crew scouting locations in the mideast for a scifi movie. When victor malarek caught up with affleck on his way into. The true story behind ben afflecks globewinning film. Jan 11, 20 the most vital subject of argument is the role of cia and the canadian government. Oct 22, 2012 but argo is not nearly as epistemologically savvy as singer makes it out to be.
The mayans in the film were portrayed as radical savages, which was more akin to the aztecs. It is important to note that the movie is not intended to be historically accurate in the sense of portraying an exactly specific time or historical figure. How much of the downton abbey movie is historically accurate. State department employees who escaped the 1979 siege at the american embassy in tehran which resulted in the 444day hostage saga. History must reflect argo was mainly a canadian mission. In regards to the historical accuracy of steve spielbergs lincoln film, nprs linda wertheimer interviewed ronald white, author of a. The last samurai 2003 was a historical epic loosely set during the last great samurai rebellion of the meiji restoration.
Master and commander feels authentic even though its not an accurate retelling of the book it was based on which was also not historically accurate. Daniel craig is not a dashing spy, robert downey jr. The best historical movies that are also mostly accurate. While many of the films in this category have historical inaccuracies they are minor compared to our chosen films. Some true events rendered to film or other media can be subject to artistic, political and literary license altering the accuracy of depicted truth represented. Ben afflecks film argo tells how in 1980 the cia with canadian help. Screenwriter chris terrio adapted the screenplay from the book by the u.
It may not be the most historically accurate film out there, but ben afflecks argo proves him to not only be an improved actor, but also a magnificent director with a deft attention to tension. Critics claim that the distortion of the events by the film argo is offensive to countries such as canada, new zealand, and the united kingdom that played a critical role in. Ben afflecks movie, argo, tells how several americans escaped from tehran in 1979, and it too contains several fictional scenes. With careful scaffolding, the film can also be a platform from which students can explore lessons about the risks of causing regime change in other countries and u. The choppy version in argo certainly makes for a more exciting film. Inaccuracies in argo showcase dangers in diplomacy the college. Historical accuracy in the film agora ancient history. A cia agent remembers the political drama argo is based on the real story of a ciaplanned rescue in revolutionary iran.
Jan 14, 20 ben afflecks film argo tells the bizarre story of how in 1980 the cia with canadian help sprang a group of americans from iran after they escaped a us embassy overrun by protestors. Prior to the film s release, and more so following, christian writers criticized the movie s historical inaccuracies and its. May 11, 2018 the controversy first emerged after argo debuted at the toronto international film festival last september. While the movie didnt stray too far from reality, some of the cias tidbits shed new light on the rescue operation. In 2009, film director alejandro amenabar brought the story of hypatia of alexandria c. Students would read about the historical events presented in the movie argo before they watched the movie. Historic fiction in movies and historical accuracy. Argo wasnt a real movie but in hollywood, whats real anyway.
Jun 09, 20 to conclude, the movie, argo tells the story of six hostages trying to escape iran during the iranian revolution by using a fake movie. Argo is a 2012 american historical drama thriller film directed by ben affleck. Although mostly historically accurate, argo has stirred some. One could theorize that there is a purpose to taking creative license with history. It is true that this is a work of fiction, but the conflict of history and fictionalization of history is a common topic. Find out which details of the 20 best picture winner were true, and which were hollywood fabrications. Apr 03, 20 questions about historical accuracy are, of course, not uncommon for hollywood. Argo is totally inaccurate which is exactly why its. Just how accurate was ben afflecks 2012 movie argo. The true story behind ben afflecks globewinning film bbc. That being said, the movie does go very far in reimagining the cias role in a selfinflected horror upon the americans. Oct 29, 2015 the impact of a fictionalized account of a true story can substantially change the public perception, with an enduring, if not permanent effect. The real fake argo, as it were, was based on hindubuddhist mythology not quite middle eastern or a glorification of islam, but the cia.
Central intelligence agency operative tony mendez, the master of disguise, and the 2007 wired article by joshuah bearman, the great escape. Argo combines an appropriate sense of humor with a devastating piece of history that younger generations know little about. This is a very effective critical analysis of film and its historical accuracy, as well as how film has immense power to manipulate the way the audience thinks, feels, and interprets history. Ben affleck continues hitting them out of the park. I think a good movie is more important than historical accuracy or accuracy to source material. Argo movie true story meet the real tony mendez and the 6. It is about the mission to rescue six americans who went into. It is concerned with events that happended during the iranian revolution in 1979. In the movie argo, we learned the story of a top secret mission to create a fake movie called argo in an attempt to smuggle american civilians out of an unstable iran.
With a strongly adapted script and a hell of a standout cast, particularly by goodman, arkin and cranston, arguing fact vs. It is apparent that issues related historical accuracy in filmmaking, especially in hollywood, are common as noted in other films such as zero dark thirty and lincoln. By fudging its factsincluding, as singer readily acknowledges, just about all the details beyond its truly incredible premise the movie only reinforces its point about how even fake movies. Feb 26, 20 i am secular, atheist and not proregime but i think the film argo has distorted history and insulted iranians, said hossain, a cafe owner worried about business because of customers lack of. When films are historically inaccurate it can be a hindrance and annoyance, but also shows artistic and creative freedom. It succeeds, wonderfully, as the kind of movie that can save your life from boredom for a couple of hours, but it. A film that i can only describe as ben afflecks baby, argo is about the true story of the us embassy in tehran, iran being raided with 6 americans stuck in tehran as refugees, but its only a. By fudging its factsincluding, as singer readily acknowledges, just about all the details beyond its truly incredible premise the movie only reinforces its point about how even fake movies have real power. Prior to the films release, and more so following, christian writers criticized the movies historical inaccuracies and its depiction of christians specifically. So the argo in argo is a fake version of a fake movie. Jul 14, 2017 the true story behind the new movie argo about how cia operatives posing as a hollywood production team rescued six americans hiding in iran during the 1979 embassy crisis. Moreover, it calls attention to how the film could have been something quite different. The fake fake argo in this movie is a star wars ripoff.
Argo, singer says, is a love letter to the literally lifesaving power of the movies. Feb 04, 20 and the oscar for historical accuracy goes to. Jan 22, 20 overview zero dark thirty is a historical drama written by mark boal and directed and coproduced by kathryn bigelow. It is clear that the directors did attempt to be accurate in many ways such as how they portrayed the six hostages, in how the americans first reacted to the revolutionaries storming the us embassy, and in how they depicted the environment of iran outside the. And i hope it gets the academy award for best film. And what are the white lies and dramatic whoppers the movie indulges in.
The opening of the movie played a huge part in setting the tone of the rest of the film. The movie argo, up for seven oscars at this years academy awards, is based on the true story of the cia rescue of americans in tehran during. Mendez book, argo how the cia and hollywood pulled off the most audacious rescue in history. The true story behind operation argo to rescue americans. The movie opens with this lesserknown account from harriet tubmans life. After all, historical events and people arent known for being simple, clearcut or morally unambiguous. There was almost no resistance to the movie idea the hostages staying in the embassy chose the. The film can serve as the basis for discussion and writing with respect to the risks and benefits of using movies as historical fiction.
The most vital subject of argument is the role of cia and the canadian government. It is about the mission to rescue six americans who went into hiding when iraninan protesters took over u. It centred on a postscript at the end of the film which inferred that the cia. Critics have argued that the movie barely does any justice to the role of the canadian government especially ambassador taylor while glorifying the cias role. Historical pictures of flag burners, rioters, gate climbers, etc up against argo film stills run by during the credits make it seem that the facts were adhered to down to the tiniest detail. The true story behind the new movie argo about how cia operatives posing as a hollywood production team rescued six americans hiding in iran during the 1979 embassy crisis.
The most historically inaccurate movies ever readers digest. Argo is totally inaccurate which is exactly why its great. The biopic stars rachel weisz as hypatia, a mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in late 4thcentury roman egypt, who investigates the flaws of the geocentric ptolemaic system and the heliocentric model that. How the cia used a fake scifi flick to rescue americans from tehran. In answering the question, how accurate is harriet. Instead, a man named roger lucy, who was housesitting with the four americans staying at the sheardowns home, volunteered to be the interrogator.
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