DocumentaryHistory

Coup 53

- Old secrets cast long shadows

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.

Release Date : 2019-09-01

Language :EnglishFrenchPersian

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Amirani Media

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Self - Actor / Norman Darbyshire

Original Name : Ralph Fiennes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Filmmaker

Original Name : Taghi Amirani

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Mossadegh's Nephew

Original Name : Farhad Diba

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Researcher

Original Name : Malcolm Byrne

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Writer

Original Name : Stephen Kinzer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Film Editor

Original Name : Walter Murch

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Writer

Original Name : Ervand Abrahamian

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - End of Empire (1985) Researcher

Original Name : Alison Rooper

Gender : Female

Character Name : Self - Politician

Original Name : David Owen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - End of Empire (1985) Producer (voice)

Original Name : Mark Anderson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - End of Empire (1985) Cameraman

Original Name : Humphry Trevelyan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Cameraman

Original Name : Chris Morphet

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Former Ferry Boat Captain

Original Name : Rameza Mahsani

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Former Gardener

Original Name : Adbolzahra Baghlani

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Former Oil Engineer

Original Name : Ghobad Fakhimi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Journalist (voice)

Original Name : Nigel Hawkes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Writer

Original Name : Stephen Dorril

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Researcher

Original Name : Hamid Ahmadi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Mossadegh's Former Bodyguard

Original Name : Mousa Mehran

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Former Politician

Original Name : Ardeshir Zahedi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Writer

Original Name : David Talbot

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Historian

Original Name : Siavush Randjbar-Daemi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Photojournalist

Original Name : Ahmad Djalili

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Butcher

Original Name : Haj Habib

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Mossadegh's Grandson

Original Name : Abdolmajid Bayat

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Mossadegh's Doctor

Original Name : Esmail Yazdi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Loyal Guard

Original Name : Andrew Goddard

Gender : Male

Character Name : Colonel Nassiri

Original Name : Kane Morrell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Dwight D. Eisenhower

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Winston Churchill

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Richard Nixon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Mohammad Mosaddegh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Julian Amery

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - CIA Officer (archive footage)

Original Name : Kermit Roosevelt

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Bernie Sanders

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Anchorman (archive footage)

Original Name : Frank Reynolds

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - British Official (archive footage)

Original Name : Peter Ramsbotham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - British Official (archive footage)

Original Name : Donald Logan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - US Diplomat (archive footage)

Original Name : Henry Grady

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - British Official (archive footage)

Original Name : Sam Falle

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - CIA Agent (archive footage)

Original Name : Stephen Meade

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Iranian Diplomat (archive footage)

Original Name : Nasrollah Fatemi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Teacher (archive footage)

Original Name : Peter Avery

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Refinery Manager (archive footage)

Original Name : Eric Drake

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Legal Advisor (archive footage)

Original Name : Fouad Rouhani

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - UK Attorney General (archive footage)

Original Name : Frank Soskice

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Harry S. Truman

Gender : Male

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

Original Name : Basil Jackson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Lawyer (archive footage)

Original Name : Joe Addison

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Shapour Bakhtiar

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Abolhassan Banisadr

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Army General (archive footage)

Original Name : Fazlollah Zahedi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - British Official (archive footage)

Original Name : George Middleton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : George McGhee

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Joseph McCarthy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : John Foster Dulles

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - CIA Officer (archive footage)

Original Name : Richard Cottam

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Tudeh Militant (archive footage)

Original Name : Fereydoun Azarnour

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Shah's Sister (archive footage)

Original Name : Princess Ashraf Pahlavi of Iran

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Royal Guard / Tudeh Militant (archive footage)

Original Name : Mehdi Homayouni

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Abol-Ghasem Kashani

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Mossadegh's Aide (archive footage)

Original Name : Alireza Saheb

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Nematollah Nassiri

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Queen Consort (archive footage)

Original Name : Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari

Gender : Female

Character Name : Self - Medical Student (1953) (archive footage)

Original Name : Amir Pishdad

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Tudeh Militant (archive footage)

Original Name : Abbas Aghelizadeh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Mossad Head (archive footage)

Original Name : Efraim Halevy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Jacobo Árbenz

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Jimmy Carter

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Ruhollah Khomeini

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self - Politician (archive footage)

Original Name : Donald Trump

Gender : Male

Reviews

CitygalSF

@CitygalSF

2021-06-23

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.