"Argo," the CIA action thriller directed by and starring Academy Award winner Ben Affleck, is the next featured film in the 1891 Fredonia Opera House Cinema Series. It will be screened on Saturday at 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m.
Based on real events, the dramatic thriller "Argo" chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis, focusing on the little-known role that the CIA and Hollywood played information that was not declassified until many years after the event.
On Nov. 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reached its boiling point, militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, the Canadian and American governments asked the CIA to intervene. The CIA turned to its top "exfiltration" specialist, Tony Mendez, 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. "Argo" also stars Bryan Cranston, Academy Award winner Alan Arkin and John Goodman.
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“Argo” will be shown at the Fredonia Opera House Saturday and Tuesday nights.
Richard Roeper calls the film "one of the best movies of the year." Rafer Guzman, in Newsday, calls it "a well-told story that's timely, topical and thoroughly entertaining." Ann Hornaday, in the Washington Post, calls it "serious and substantive, an ingeniously written and executed drama fashioned from a fascinating, little-known chapter of recent history." Manohla Dargis, in the New York Times, says "In the end, this is a story about outwitting rather than killing the enemy, making it a homage to actual intelligence and an example of the same." Rated R for language and some violent images, "Argo" runs 120 minutes.
The Opera House Cinema Series is sponsored by Lake Shore Savings Bank. Tickets are available at the door for $7 (adults), $6.50 (seniors & Opera House members) and $5 (students) the night of each screening. A book of ten movie passes is available for $60 at the door, at the Box Office or online at www.fredopera.org. For more information, call the Opera House Box Office at 716-679-1891.
Chautauqua County's only performing arts center presenting its own programming year-round, the 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.
