8. Argo (Ben Affleck, 2012)
The Subject Tony Mendez, a CIA exfiltration specialist tasked with the recovery of six diplomats hiding in Tehran during the hostage crisis of 1979-80.
The Story (According To The Film) Following the Iranian revolution, militants storm the American embassy in Tehran, taking all of the staff within it as hostages. Six, however, escape to the home of Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor. CIA operative Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) is tasked with bringing the six home safely, as if found by the Iranians they will be executed as spies. He formulates a plan that involves a fictional movie, Argo, pre-production for which involves the scouting of locations in the Middle East, including Iran. He seeks to take the six diplomats out of the country disguised as the films crew. Mendez enters Tehran and meets with the six, who are reluctant to go ahead with his plan. He is told to cancel the operation in favour of a military rescue of the six, but ignores the order to successfully carry out his own operation and get the six to safety, barely managing to do so following a number of close shaves at the airport.
The Lies Though its undoubtedly one of the greatest films of recent years and is fully deserving of its Oscar glory, Argo features a vast number of deviations from reality, including the following: Adding a number of scenes for dramatic effect, which imply that the six diplomats were in more danger than they actually were. These include both their trip to the bazaar, in which a confrontation with a merchant ensues, and the entire airport finale, which actually went off without a hitch. Glossing over the roles of both the British and New Zealand embassies, who are both stated to have turned down the diplomats, when in reality they provided assistance to the Canadians who housed them. Completely omitting John Sheardown, a Canadian official as important to the hiding of the diplomats as Ambassador Ken Taylor, from the film. Overstating the CIA involvement in rescuing the diplomats, when the bulk of the rescue was down to the efforts of the Canadian government. Jimmy Carter, the American president at the time of the hostage crisis, criticised the film for this.