Desert One Documentary Explores Iran Hostage Crisis
By John Saeger
The documentary Desert One details the failed 1980 mission to rescue American hostages in Iran. The comprehensive film looks at different angles of the special forces operation from those who planned, attempted, and opposed the effort. A major event at the time, the fallout from the mission delayed the release of the hostages and affected a presidential election.
Desert One is directed by Barbara Kopple, a filmmaker who has worked with celebrities ranging from Gregory Peck to Woody Allen. She is also a two-time Academy Award winner. Both Oscar documentaries, (American Dream, Harlan County, USA) covered strikes by miners. Kopple’s latest blends her ability to work with high-profile subjects and tap into important American stories.
The film’s narrative is pushed by conversations with Iranian captors, their former hostages, American soldiers, and Ted Koppel. Interviewees also include former top-ranking government officials. Vice President Walter Mondale, President Jimmy Carter, and future Secretary of Defense Robert Gates all lend their critical perspectives to Desert One. Kopple’s deep collection of interviews results in a comprehensive look at the tense time in geopolitical relations between the United States and the Iranian revolution.
Their insight provides a broad focus on how Iranians stormed an American embassy in 1979 and took staffers hostage. Their scope of the film narrows on failed diplomatic efforts and a U.S. Special Forces mission to retrieve the Americans. A vivid description of the mission’s failure reveals the complexity of covert operations and how minor decisions can have a lasting impact on the world. Emotional interviews with families of fallen servicemen also show the human side of military sacrifice and its lasting consequences.
The total package is an expose of a bold effort that was a devastating footnote in American history. Desert One does not hold back on revealing contradictions in American and Iranian accounts of the trying time. It also does not stray from the possibility of the long-rumored October Surprise scandal surrounding the 1980 presidential election.
The 2012 movie Argo stands as the most well-known fictionalized account of the Iranian hostage crisis. The movie, which portrays a heavily twisted version of the covert rescue of six Americans hiding in Tehan, is a gripping feature film that gives a general idea of the time. Desert One makes up for the bent truth of the otherwise excellent film by putting viewers in the shoes of American soldiers, Iranian activists, and government officials. The result is a non-fiction account of the Iran hostage crisis that is as compelling as it’s Oscar-winning counterpart.
About the Author: John Saeger is a music and film writer from Philadelphia. Since 2017 he has been writing his pop-culture blog Long After Dark, a site dedicated to the arts in the City of Brotherly Love and beyond. email/Twitter
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