Film Snail

Coup 53
Coup 53

7.6

Coup 53

NR·2019·121m

Summary

Tehran, Iran, August 19, 1953. A group of Iranian conspirators who, with the approval of the deposed tyrant Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, have conspired with agents of the British MI6 and the US CIA, manage to put an end to the democratic government led by Mohammad Mosaddegh, a dramatic event that will begin the tragic era of coups d'état that, orchestrated by the CIA, will take place, over the following decades, in dozens of countries around the world.

Cast

Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes

Self - Actor / Norman Darbyshire

Taghi Amirani

Taghi Amirani

Self - Filmmaker

Farhad Diba

Self - Mossadegh's Nephew

Malcolm Byrne

Self - Researcher

Stephen Kinzer

Self - Writer

Walter Murch

Walter Murch

Self - Film Editor

Ervand Abrahamian

Self - Writer

Alison Rooper

Self - End of Empire (1985) Researcher

David Owen

David Owen

Self - Politician

Mark Anderson

Self - End of Empire (1985) Producer (voice)

Humphry Trevelyan

Self - End of Empire (1985) Cameraman

Chris Morphet

Self - Cameraman

Rameza Mahsani

Self - Former Ferry Boat Captain

Adbolzahra Baghlani

Self - Former Gardener

Ghobad Fakhimi

Self - Former Oil Engineer

Nigel Hawkes

Self - Journalist (voice)

Stephen Dorril

Self - Writer

Hamid Ahmadi

Self - Researcher

Mousa Mehran

Self - Mossadegh's Former Bodyguard

Ardeshir Zahedi

Self - Former Politician

David Talbot

David Talbot

Self - Writer

Siavush Randjbar-Daemi

Self - Historian

Ahmad Djalili

Self - Photojournalist

Haj Habib

Self - Butcher

Abdolmajid Bayat

Self - Mossadegh's Grandson

Esmail Yazdi

Self - Mossadegh's Doctor

Andrew Goddard

Loyal Guard

Kane Morrell

Colonel Nassiri

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Mohammad Mosaddegh

Mohammad Mosaddegh

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Julian Amery

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Kermit Roosevelt

Self - CIA Officer (archive footage)

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Frank Reynolds

Frank Reynolds

Self - Anchorman (archive footage)

Peter Ramsbotham

Self - British Official (archive footage)

Donald Logan

Self - British Official (archive footage)

Henry Grady

Self - US Diplomat (archive footage)

Sam Falle

Self - British Official (archive footage)

Stephen Meade

Self - CIA Agent (archive footage)

Nasrollah Fatemi

Self - Iranian Diplomat (archive footage)

Peter Avery

Self - Teacher (archive footage)

Eric Drake

Self - Refinery Manager (archive footage)

Fouad Rouhani

Self - Legal Advisor (archive footage)

Frank Soskice

Self - UK Attorney General (archive footage)

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Basil Jackson

Self - Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. VP (archive footage)

Joe Addison

Self - Lawyer (archive footage)

Shapour Bakhtiar

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Abolhassan Banisadr

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Fazlollah Zahedi

Self - Army General (archive footage)

George Middleton

Self - British Official (archive footage)

George McGhee

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Joseph McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy

Self - Politician (archive footage)

John Foster Dulles

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Richard Cottam

Self - CIA Officer (archive footage)

Fereydoun Azarnour

Self - Tudeh Militant (archive footage)

Princess Ashraf Pahlavi of Iran

Self - Shah's Sister (archive footage)

Mehdi Homayouni

Self - Royal Guard / Tudeh Militant (archive footage)

Abol-Ghasem Kashani

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Alireza Saheb

Self - Mossadegh's Aide (archive footage)

Nematollah Nassiri

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari

Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari

Self - Queen Consort (archive footage)

Amir Pishdad

Self - Medical Student (1953) (archive footage)

Abbas Aghelizadeh

Self - Tudeh Militant (archive footage)

Efraim Halevy

Self - Mossad Head (archive footage)

Jacobo Árbenz

Jacobo Árbenz

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Ruhollah Khomeini

Ruhollah Khomeini

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Donald Trump

Donald Trump

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Crew

Director, Writer

Taghi Amirani

Writer

Walter Murch

Reviews

C

CitygalSF

January 11, 2020

8

This important movie, over 4 years in the making, is even more pertinent today, with renewed tensions with Iran. Prodigious research underlies the revelation of British leadership in the coup that re-installed the Shah of Iran. The film provides evidence and context for subsequent events, without losing focus on the overthrow of a democratically elected leader to preserve British oil interests at Abadan. Currently making the rounds of the festival circuit, the producers are trying for a wide release as soon as possible. The persistence of the director and editing by Murch combine for a film that successfully tells a complex story without unnecessary simplification. It’s a sophisticated and vital film.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Keywords

espionage
cinema on cinema
nationalism
coup d'etat
teheran (tehran), iran
historical figure
animated scene
political assassination
docudrama
archive footage
oil refinery
government conspiracy
british colonialism
national identity
1950s
political repression
geopolitics
state crimes
iranian expats
mohammad mosaddegh