Ben Affleck’s engrossing Argo arrives with great supplements and video in an enjoyable Blu-ray release.

In a year that saw one of the deepest collections of potential Oscar winners in recent memory, Argo somehow stood out in the minds of those associated with AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).   While I fully expected to see Lincoln or Zero Dark Thirty receive top prize on February 24, 2013 I knew the Ben Affleck historical thriller also had a chance, based on its quality and themes of American courage.  And so it was with only a small sense of disappointment that I watched Affleck and Producer George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven) arrive on stage to celebrate a film whose director had not even been nominated.  Credit the enthusiastic audience, whose passionate applause clearly indicated their acceptance that the duo had in fact completely deserved it.  As Argo arrives this week on Blu-ray, we get one last chance to witness a film that was both absolutely deserving and yet not even the best picture of the year.

Argo is a story that skirts the most dangerous part of historical period pieces, that of accuracy over drama.  And even though audiences know how things will end, we find ourselves on the edges of our seats, at once cheering for the safe return of Americans that we already know did come home, and booing those responsible for making this world such a dangerous place afterwards.  Our story is less about character redemption and more about the real-life story of CIA agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck, Dogma) following through on a simple promise to rescue six embassy employees who escape the Iranian embassy after an angry mob demanding the return of the Shah overtakes the building.  While the release of the remaining hostages took 444 days to resolve, crushing Jimmy Carter’s presidency, it’s the recently declassified rescue story which emphatically stands the test of time.  The result is an emotionally-charged, well-built film about six desperate people and the CIA guy charged with bringing them home.

As the CIA learns that six employees are hold up at the Canadian Ambassador’s home, Mendez and his boss Jack O’Donnell (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad) are summoned by the State Department to brainstorm ideas for a rescue operation.  They entertain unlikely scenarios (assume the identities of western teachers) as well as ridiculous one (issue them bikes to ride 300 miles in the torrid desert heat to the border) while the newly-installed Revolutionary Guard learn of their escape and begin a massive manhunt.  Eventually charged with extricating them, Mendez takes a bold risk: assume the role of a Canadian movie crew who are producing the space film Argo and are currently scoping desert locations throughout the Middle East.  But Mendes needs help to give the fake film some credibility, enlisting the services of Hollywood director Lester Seigel (Alan Arkin, Gross Pointe Blank) and makeup specialist John Chambers (John Goodman, The Big Lebowski) to cast, fund, and greenlight the picture. With seemingly the entire city looking for them, Mendez arrives in Tehran but soon learns that The White House has abandoned their plan. With members of the Revolution hot on their trail, Mendez must ether follow orders or fulfill his promise to the Americans who have run out of options.

Affleck has a director’s eye, creating scenes that are both compact but well-choreographed, building tension from almost the first scene, and motivating his cast to keep that anxiety high for the sake of the story.  Watching the supplmenents, you learn that the cast stayed in a home together for 6 days, wearing costumes from the period and only having access to the technolofy of the time.  This demonstrates Affleck’s keen eye for accuracy, but also shows that his directorial debut in 2010’s The Town was not just lucj.   Affleck rightfully portrays the Americans as scared but motivated prisoners of a country that has gone completely insane.  Audiences will realize that there’s no hero element on display, no wild shoot outs or even the cliched line that can sometimes define a film like this.  Instead, Affleck ups the tension, instantly placing everyone in the theater on the side of the Americans while absolutely despising the Iranians. It’s this sort of storytelling by newcomer Writers Chris Terrio and Joshuah Bearman that creates such a believable structure, with Affleck providing the environment.  But to say Argo is a perfect film is going a bit too far.  The normally electric Victor Garber (Alias) is relegated to muttering a few lines as the Canadian Ambassador, and the story’s chase ending is loosely (understatment) based on what really happened, leading some to wonder why Affleck felt he needed to spice things up when his efforts to that point had been so accurate.

Argo features a fairly impressive list of features which will educate and entertain everyone, with almost everything presented in high definition:

• Picture in Picture: Eyewitness Account (HD, 120 minutes): Turning on this feature allows the audience to see interviews with the survivors of the Iran hostage crisis and other key players including President Jimmy Carter, CIA agent Tony Mendez, and everal others.  If you have limited knowledge of this event, this feature really brings home the level of tension that must have existed.
• Audio Commentary: Director Ben Affleck and Writer Chris Terrio cover every detail of the film’s production, from conception to shooting, casting, and the difficult task of melding reality and fiction into a wathcable product.  I like the level of detail which pervades the entire commentary, which only helps to strengthen my appreciation for the final product.
• Rescued from Tehran: We Were There (16:51): A slickly-made series of interviews detailing the dangers which Mendez and the actual houseguests faced during the crisis.  President Jimmy Carter is also interviewed.
• Absolute Authenticity (11:19): Affleck takes us through a well-made featurette showing how closely he wrapped the cast and crew in the period.  The result brings a believable sense of authenticity.
• The CIA and Hollywood Connection (6:05): Made up of cast, crew, and real-life participants, Affleck, Goodman, and Mendez discuss how the the CIA and Hollywood collaborated on the mission.  Check out Makeup Artist John Chambers’s connection to Star Trek during the interviews.
• Escape from Iran: The Hollywood Option (SD, 46:34 minutes): Known as the “Canadian Caper,” and “The Hollywood Option,” this 2005 television documentary explores the events leading up to and through Argo.  Authors, government officials, and other participants take us through an insightful but rather dry presentation.