Iran and the West

August 5, 2009 2:03 PM

Three part BBC documentary analyzes and documents the revolution and the long struggle of Iran and the West to come together ever since the revolution. The documentary shows interviews with a wide range of world leaders who reveal the inner dealings of all governing adminstrations from the past thirty years, both from within Iran’s own adminstration and from the Western counterparts.
posted by semmi (8 comments total)

That was really interesting and quite in-depth. Thank you!
posted by Korou at 6:56 PM on August 5, 2009

Just wanted to say thanks, semmi ... I haven't watched it yet, but plan to in the next day or two - peeking under the covers, it looks great.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:26 PM on August 5, 2009

Funny, I was just listening to the podcast this afternoon: Parts one, two, and three (mp3 download links inside).
posted by unmake at 9:45 PM on August 5, 2009

Thanks for posting, semmi! The only way my bratty little brain is ever able to really understand political issues is when they're placed within a narrative, with characters and consequences I can treat novelistically.
This probably speaks to nothing more than a douchebaggy need for constant entertainment on my part, but for what it's worth, these documentaries did it for me ~ and didn't sacrifice the hard-factual content in doing so.
posted by Rumpled at 9:48 AM on August 6, 2009

I saw this when it was first broadcast, and it was an awesome documentary. I really began to understand the politics behind the news from Iran. Thanks for sharing, semmi!
posted by Petrot at 10:03 AM on August 6, 2009

I could probably watch this three times and not get everything out of it that I might need to in order to make complete sense of the situation. But wow, what an excellent overview of the past 30 years, drawing long threads across time. Really great stuff, should be manditory viewing.
posted by hippybear at 10:29 AM on August 6, 2009

Wow, thanks for that. It was particularly compelling in parts two and three - though I felt strongly that it was wrong for them to gloss over the 1953 coup d'état by the British and American governments, and was surprised they chose to skip over Iran-Contra also. John Bolton though - what a dick.
posted by catchingsignals at 9:03 PM on August 6, 2009

Saw this when it was on TV so just chipping in to recommend it. The interviews with the major players in the politics of the the time are just astonishing. (And yeah, John Bolton is pretty much the definition of "what a dick")
posted by merocet at 9:09 PM on August 6, 2009