Ryan’s Movie Corner

By Ryan Vickers

Welcome to movie corner with Ryan! This month we are going to look at a figure that is known by one name. But, wait, no, it’s two.

Bond. James bond

An action figure for our time, James Bond was created by Ian Fleming and first appeared on our screens in 1962 with Dr. No. Since then, a total of six different actors have played the titular role, and many of the film series have involved main or secondary scuba diving plots. Let’s look at two of them in this month’s movie corner.

Thunderball, 1965.

One of Sean Connery’s finest turns as Bond, Thunderball, involves Bond fighting the baddies at SPECTRE to recover atomic bombs that were stolen from NATO. According to a source, about 25 percent of the movie was filmed underwater – which is quite the fear when you realize it was filmed over 50 years ago! It even won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Apparently, Connery got a little too close for comfort to the sharks!

Interestingly enough, Connery himself stared in a quasi-remake called “Never Say Never Again” in 1983, which is not actually considered part of the “official” Bond franchise.

Availability on streaming: YouTube and Amazon Prime.

For your eyes only, 1981.

A return to form for the Bond franchise, this movie starred Roger Moore as the super spy for the final time. Unfortunately, a system the British Royal Navy used for their submarine fleet is sunk, leading to Bond having to travel (and, of course, dive) to Corfu in Greece. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), most dive scenes were filmed in the Bahamas – a place that over the decades has hosted many a film with underwater sub-plots – but some close-ups were filmed in a tank at Pinewood Studios. In fact, some of those scenes weren’t even underwater; the performers faked them on dry land! Movie trickery at its finest!

Availability: once again, YouTube and Amazon Prime

 

Do you have a television show or a movie that focuses on diving? Please let us know what you’d like me to review by emailing info@ScubaBiz.Help with the subject line “Movie Corner.”

Thanks for joining us once again in Ryan’s Movie and TV Corner!