Discovery Channel has picked a terrific time to dust off “Argo: The Inside Story,” a documentary which didn’t attract much attention when it first aired way back in 2002.
But you can bet that, 11 years and one hit Hollywood movie later, viewers will be keen to watch “Inside Story,” which includes first-person interviews with, and accounts from, the actual people fictionalized in Ben Affleck’s box-office blockbuster, “Argo” — an odds-on Oscar favorite heading into Sunday night’s Academy Awards.
The hourlong “Inside Story,” with updated narration from “Argo” co-star Bryan Cranston, delivers a blow-by-blow account of how, in 1979, the CIA smuggled six Americans out of Iran after the US Embassy was overtaken by militants — and how a fake Hollywood movie called “Argo” starred in the ensuing real-life drama.
It’s especially interesting to see and hear Antonio “Tony” Mendez, portrayed on the big screen by “Argo” director/star Affleck, walk and talk us through the elaborate plan that was hatched once the US Embassy was stormed and six Americans managed to escape unnoticed, taking refuge with the Canadian ambassador.
Even if you’ve seen the movie — and especially if you haven’t — it’s worth an hour to hear how the CIA’s plan came to fruition with the “Argo” cover story, and how close the plan came to being exposed and the group’s cover (as Canadian filmmakers scouting locations in Iran) completely blown.
Because “Inside Story” is a real-life account — as opposed to liberties taken for its big-screen retelling — there are a few things you won’t see here, particularly the movie’s scenes with Alan Arkin and John Goodman as the Hollywood schmoozers tasked with drumming up press and publicity for the fake “Argo” movie.
But as is often the case, the facts laid out in “Inside Story” are just as compelling as their “Hollywood” cousin.
Be sure to tune in.