20 Things You Didn’t Know About For Your Eyes Only (1981)

17. Dead In The Water

James Bond For Your Eyes Only
MGM/UA

In recalling classic espionage thrillers in the Bond canon such as From Russia With Love, the filmmakers looked to real-life espionage activity for inspiration.

In particular, the sinking of the covert surveillance vessel, the St. Georges and the race to recover its ATAC device was inspired by the 1968 sinking of the Soviet submarine K-129 in deep water and a subsequent top-secret CIA mission named Project Azorian that was mounted to recover it. This led to the construction of the USNS Hughes Glomar Explorer, a deep-sea drilling ship that had been specifically built for the operation by Cubby Broccoli’s friend and reclusive entrepreneur, Howard Hughes.

Project Azorian resulted in only part of the submarine being brought to the surface, apparently revealing little of interest, although the exact location of the wreck of K-129 remains a closely-guarded US government secret to this day.

Similarly, Bond’s mission to recover the ATAC is also only partially successful.

Contributor

I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.