Taken Hostage

PBS Western Reserve (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):

Monday, Nov. 14, and Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 9 PM
Tuesday, Nov. 15, and Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 2 AM

Fusion (WNEO 45.2 / WEAO 49.2):

Mondays, Nov. 21 & 28, at 8 PM

Unfolding like a political thriller, TAKEN HOSTAGE is a riveting two-part documentary film about the Iran hostage crisis. On Nov. 4, 1979, 52 American diplomats, Marines 
and civilians were taken hostage at the American Embassy in Tehran. 

For the next 444 days, the world watched as the United States received a daily barrage of humiliation, vitriol and hatred from a country that had long been one of its closest allies. The crisis would transform both the United States and Iran and forever upend the focus and direction of American foreign policy. 

Produced by acclaimed filmmaker Robert Stone, the documentary also explores the backstory of America’s political miring in the Middle East and the nation’s role in igniting the firestorm that has consumed the most strategically important part of the world for the last 40 years.

Part One chronicles America’s quarter-century of unwavering support for its ally, the Shah of Iran, despite his dictatorial and brutally corrupt regime. The film traces the shah’s program to rapidly modernize and westernize Iran in the span of a single generation and portrays in harrowing detail the violent Islamic revolution that overthrew the shah in 1979, sending shockwaves around the world. 

Part Two explores the holding of the hostages at the American embassy in Tehran by militant Islamic students, with the support (and encouragement) of the Iranian government led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The film details how the crisis degenerated into what is arguably the most consequential foreign policy debacle of the second half of the 20th century. The Iran hostage crisis laid the groundwork for the modern 24-hour news cycle, inspired an escalating cycle of political terrorism and brought down the presidency of Jimmy Carter.