Feb. 19, 2013 DVD and Blu-ray: 'Argo' with Ben Affleck and Alan Arkin (Video)

From Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning director Ben Affleck comes the thrilling film Argo based on the declassified true story of the “Canadian Caper,” a joint covert rescue mission by the Canadian government and the CIA of six American diplomats in Tehran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. It has earned seven Oscar nominations (including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Alan Arkin and Best Adapted Screenplay) and won two Golden Globe Awards (Best Director for Affleck and Best Drama Film). Affleck directs and stars in the film along with a powerful cast that includes Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman.

On November 4, 1979 during the height of the Iranian Revolution, militants storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in retaliation for the U.S. sheltering the deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. 52 Americans are taken hostage, but six manage to escape and find refuge in Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor’s home. With little time before the escapees would be discovered, the CIA is asked by the Canadian and American government to find a solution. Exfiltration expert Tony Mendez is assigned the task to come up with a plan to get the Americans out of the country before they are killed.

Location: Target

40.764229 ; -73.829589

At first, Mendez is at a loss of what to do until he is inspired by the film Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Together with his supervisor Jack O'Donnell, Hollywood makeup artist John Chambers and film producer Lester Siegel, they come up with a plan so incredible that it could only happen in the movies. They create a cover story that the escapees are Canadian filmmakers scouting locations in Iran to film a Star Wars-style sci-fi fantasy film titled Argo. To lend credibility to the cover story, they go as far as to create a phony studio and advertise about their “fake” upcoming film. Mendez poses as a producer for Argo and enters Iran to retrieve the six Americans. The life-or-death covert operation almost fails when a scouting visit to the bazaar turns bad and then the mission gets abruptly cancelled. As tension rises, Mendez continues to risk his own life until all six Americans are safely aboard the plane taking them back to the U.S.

The DVD and Blu-ray include the featurette “Rescued from Tehran: We Were There” where President Jimmy Carter, Tony Mendez and the actual houseguests recount the real-life harrowing experiences they endured. Exclusively on Blu-ray are audio commentary with director Ben Affleck and writer Chris Terrio, feature length picture-in-picture “Eyewitness Account” with survivors’ stories and three featurettes. In “Argo: Absolute Authenticity,” Ben Affleck explains how he recreated the world of the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. In “Argo: The CIA and Hollywood Connection,” former CIA agent Tony Mendez and director Ben Affleck expose the secrets behind the phony movie that had all of Hollywood believing. Finally in “Escape From Iran: The Hollywood Option,” you get to go inside the Canadian government for a riveting look at the risks the Canadians took to shelter their closest neighbors.

View video: Argo Trailer

Cast:

Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez
Bryan Cranston as Jack O'Donnell
Alan Arkin as Lester Siegel
John Goodman as John Chambers
Tate Donovan as Bob Anders
Clea DuVall as Cora Lijek
Christopher Denham as Mark Lijek
Scoot McNairy as Joe Stafford
Kerry Bishé as Kathy Stafford
Rory Cochrane as Lee Schatz
Victor Garber as Ken Taylor
Kyle Chandler as Hamilton Jordan
Chris Messina as Malinov
Željko Ivanek as Robert Pender
Titus Welliver as Jon Bates
Bob Gunton as Cyrus Vance (United States Secretary of State)
Philip Baker Hall as Warren Christopher (United States Deputy Secretary of State)
Richard Kind as Max Klein
Michael Parks as Jack Kirby
Tom Lenk as Rodd
Christopher Stanley as Tom Ahern
Taylor Schilling as Christine Mendez
Ashley Wood as Beauty
Sheila Vand as Sahar
Devansh Mehta as Matt Sanders
Omid Abtahi as Reza
Karina Logue as Elizabeth Ann Swift
Adrienne Barbeau as Nina
Fouad Hajji as Komiteh

DVD Special Features:

Rescued from Tehran: We Were There - President Jimmy Carter, Tony Mendez and the actual houseguests recount the real-life harrowing experiences they endured.

Blu-ray Special Features:
Includes all DVD Special Features plus:

Feature Length Picture-in-Picture: Eyewitness Account - The chaos of revolutionary Iran comes to life with survivors' stories.
Feature Length Commentary with Director Ben Affleck and Writer Chris Terrio
Argo: Absolute Authenticity - Ben Affleck explains how he re-created the world of the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis.
Argo: The CIA and Hollywood Connection - Former CIA agent Tony Mendez and director Ben Affleck expose the secrets behind the phony movie that had all of Hollywood believing.
Escape From Iran: The Hollywood Option - Go inside the Canadian government for a riveting look at the risks the Canadians took to shelter their closest neighbors.

Exclusives:

USA

Target - Argo Blu-ray Combo Pack with 30 minutes of exclusive content “From the Argo Files" - Discussion with the cast of Argo; "Tony Mendez on Tony Mendez"; and "The Istanbul Journey."

Canada
Release Date: February 19, 2013