The True Story
The Bourne Identity
TV-G
S1 • E7 Dec 27, 2009 45mThis documentary explores the real CIA history that inspired the Jason Bourne films. Robert Ludlum based Bourne on secret CIA mind-control and assassination programs, including unethical brainwashing experiments on psychiatric patients. The novels also drew on Ludlum's CIA contacts and real-life figures such as Carlos the Jackal. For *The Bourne Identity*, director Doug Liman replaced the original villain with Operation Treadstone, a fictional CIA black-ops unit inspired by the Iran-Contra affair, in which CIA operatives secretly conducted illegal missions in Nicaragua. Liman, whose father led the Iran-Contra investigation, used his firsthand insight into espionage to shape the story. Bourne's combat, driving, and survival skills were also designed to reflect the abilities of real elite intelligence operatives.
