The Iran Hostage Crisis: 444 Days to Freedom (What Really Happened in Iran)

For 444 days in Iran, a group of United States citizens endured 15 months of captivity, held hostage inside the American embassy in Tehran by overzealous Islamic students. Produced by acclaimed filmmaker Les Harris, this historical documentary is narrated by William Shatner. Interweaving rare documentary footage with individual reminiscences and contemporary video, this Award-Winning film moves presidents and pundits to the wings, leaving center stage for the 52 brave American hostages to vividly relive the trials of captivity and the euphoria of release in this important DVD. With the ever-rising tensions in the Middle East, the insightful messages conveyed in this film are as imperative today as they were the day the hostages were set free.

On November 4, 1979, a group of radical Islamic students, with the encouragement of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, swarmed into the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking its staff hostage, and demanding that the American government return the Shah to Iran. 444 days later the captors went home, having failed to induce the U.S. government to produce the Shah (he had died), but having succeeded in unleashing a geopolitical disturbance, which wreaked havoc on the American psyche and Jimmy Carter's presidency.

With Iran's nuclear ambitions in the today's headlines (some believe that current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was one of the captors) and today's ever-rising tensions in the Middle East, this DVD can help us better apply the lessons of history to the current situation in Iran.

Caught in the eye of this international storm were the men and women held hostage by these zealots. The film includes appearances from hostages included William Daugherty, Kevin Hermeming, David Roeder, Donald Sharer, among others. Then there were those that helped the frightened Americans during this crisis, like Somchai Sriweawnetr who risked personal safety to hide and feed them. While politicians postured and rescue missions misfired (President Carter's failed Operation Eagle Claw), the hostages endured nearly 15 months of uncertainty, fear, and abuse while being held in a damp windowless basement the hostages dubbed The Mushroom Inn. Subject to mock executions, paraded before cameras for sham celebrations, and cut off from their family and friends, this DVD, The Iran Hostage Crises: 444 Days to Freedom, tells the traumatic story of the diverse group of Americans who spent 444 days wondering when or if they would ever get out of Iran alive.

DVD BONUS FEATURES:
History of Iran (Persia)
Persian Historical Periods
Digitally Mastered Audio & Video
Instant Access to 60 Chapter Stops

Rated NR (Not Rated)

William Shatner, William Daugherty, Kevin Hermeming, David Roeder, Donald Sharer