Ben Affleck’s ‘Bosch’ Team-Up Spy Thriller Is Officially Leaving Streaming

There was no denying that The Academy harbored reservations about Ben Affleck when he delivered the universally acclaimed thriller Argo nearly 15 years ago. The movie marked a significant level-up for the star, who made his feature directorial debut a few years earlier with the mystery film Gone Baby Gone, and then directed the acclaimed crime-thriller The Town. Argo opened to widespread critical acclaim and box-office success in 2012, with the late critic Roger Ebert going out on a limb and predicting in his review that the movie would win the Best Picture honor at the Oscars. He was right, but he couldn’t have known that Affleck would be entirely shut out of the Best Director category. It was almost as if the movie directed itself.

Affleck also starred in the film, which presented a nationalist retelling of a bizarre real-life operation conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency during the Iranian Revolution in the 1970s. The CIA sent an operative into Iran to rescue American citizens trapped there under the guise of conducting a reconnaissance for a Hollywood sci-fi film in the vein of Star Wars. Argo attracted some controversy for its portrayal of the operation, for omitting the role that the Canadians played in it, and glorifying the CIA in the aftermath of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars of the early 2000s. Yet it holds a “Certified Fresh” 96% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Tense, exciting, and often darkly comic, Argo recreates a historical event with vivid attention to detail and finely wrought characters.”

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Here’s Where You Can Watch ‘Argo’ at Home

Produced on a reported budget of $44 million, the movie grossed more than $230 million worldwide. It was nominated in seven categories at the Oscars, winning three — Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing. Responding to his snub, Affleck joked after winning the Best Director honor at the Golden Globes, “I mean, I also didn’t get the acting nomination. And no one’s saying I got snubbed there.” Oscars host Seth MacFarlane brought up the snub at the ceremony, joking, “Argo’s story is so top-secret that its director remains unknown to the Academy.” The movie remains a home-video favorite, but as of April 1, is no longer available on its sole streaming home, Peacock. It can, however, be rented or purchased on Prime Video and Apple TV. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Release Date

October 12, 2012

Runtime

120 Minutes