Argo is a 2012 historical drama thriller film directed by Ben Affleck. The dramatization is adapted from the book 'The Master of Disguise' by CIA operative Tony Mendez, and Joshuah Berman's 2007 "Wired" article "The Great Escape". Mendez led the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran, during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Warner Bros. said Mendez had "to come up with a plan to get the six Americans safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies". The film stars Affleck as Mendez with Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman in supporting roles. Upon its release, Argo received widespread acclaim and also received numerous awards.

 

Argo was widely acclaimed by American critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 96% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 246 reviews. It wrote: "Tense, exciting and often darkly comic, Argo recreates a historical event with vivid attention to detail and finely wrought characters." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4/4 stars, calling it "spellbinding" and "surprisingly funny". Ebert chose it as his best film of the year. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won three, for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Achievement in Editing. A group of Iranian cultural officials said that, "awarding an anti-Iran movie is a propaganda attack against our nation and entire humanity".