Coup 53

2019
2h

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Theatrical feature documentary on the story of Operation Ajax, the CIA/MI6 staged coup in 1953 in Iran that overthrew Prime Minister Mossadegh.Theatrical feature documentary on the story of Operation Ajax, the CIA/MI6 staged coup in 1953 in Iran that overthrew Prime Minister Mossadegh.Theatrical feature documentary on the story of Operation Ajax, the CIA/MI6 staged coup in 1953 in Iran that overthrew Prime Minister Mossadegh.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

746

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins & 8 nominations total

Photos7

Top cast33

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Ralph Fiennes

Norman Darbyshire

Walter Murch

Self

Winston Churchill

Self
(archive footage)

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Self
(archive footage)

David Talbot

Self

Mohammed Mossadegh

Self
(archive footage)

Allen Dulles

Self
(archive footage)

Stephen Kinzer

Self

Ervand Abrahamian

Self

Kermit Roosevelt Jr.

Self
(archive footage)
(as Kermit Roosevelt)

Julian Willson

Self

Taghi Amirani

Self

Asadollah Aram

Self
(archive footage)

Mousa Mehran

Self

Hamid Ahmadi

Self

Abol Ghasem Kashani

Self
(archive footage)

Hedayat Matin Daftari

Self

Amir Pishdad

Self
(archive footage)

Director
- Taghi Amirani
Writers
- Taghi Amirani
- Walter Murch
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The rapid montage of file boxes near the end of the film is each labeled with brief details of US-backed coups and other US regime change attempts since the events of this film: 1953 - Mohammad Mossadegh - Iran; 1954 - Jacobo Árbenz - Guatemala; 1960 - Patrice Lumumba - Congo; 1961 - Rafael Trujillo - Dominican Republic; 1961 - Fidel Castro - Bay of Pigs; 1963 - Ngo Dinh Diem - South Vietnam; 1964 - Joao Goulart - Brazil; 1967 - Sukarno - Indonesia; 1973 - Salvador Allende - Chile; 1976 - Perón - Argentina; 1971 - Juan José Torres - Bolivia; 1983 - Grenada; 1960 - Kong Le - Laos; 1982-1989 - Nicaragua (Iran-Contra); 1980-1992 - El Salvador; 1965-1966 - Dominican Republic; 1988-2002 - Chavez - Venezuela; 1952 - Farouk - Egypt; 1959-present - Iraq.

User reviews5

Featured review

5/10

There is a good documentary hiding in there

This is a fascinating subject but terribly edited/put together. It is a jumbled mess of styles, first it is non linear, then linear and then dramatized. It covers so many different styles it feels like it was three or four different versions that are mashed together. The producers said they weren't sure if it was a multi part documentary or a single part and it shows. The camera works switches from slickly framed to jarringly jangly close ups of old persian men. The names and text of interviewees disappears before you have a chance to read it. The gonzo style camera work gave me a headache and is quite jarring against the tightly framed talking heads.

But, there is a lot of fascinating stuff in there and if they could edit it and decide on one style it could be brilliant. 3/4 through it, they bring in this pastel effect on live action reenactments which again is very jarring from what came before.