Ben Affleck’s Argo emerged from its Telluride and TIFF debuts with fantastic early reviews, coming in as a strong early contender in the coming awards season.

We caught the first UK TV spot for the film earlier this morning, and now Apple have released the first featurette, giving us a look at the fascinating true story upon which the film is based.

“Based on true events, Warner Bros. Pictures’ and GK Films’ dramatic thriller “Argo” chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis–the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades.”

Affleck takes the lead as expert exfiltrator, Tony Mendez, alongside an all-star cast headed up by John Goodman, Scoot McNairy, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, Kyle Chandler, Taylor Schilling, Clea DuVall, and Tate Donovan.

Chris Terrio penned the script, adapting the fascinating original 2007 Wired article by Joshuah Bearman, How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran, which you can (and should) read here.

Argo will be released in the US this Friday, 12th October, and will be coming to the UK on 7th November, following its premiere here at the BFI London Film Festival. This looks to be one of the best films of the year, with a lot of anticipation surrounding it. I can’t wait for it to land. In the meantime, here’s the brilliant first featurette, giving us a look at the bizarre and fascinating true story behind the film.

[yframe url=’www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0WvGpM9cxw’]