NEPTUNE and MANTIS from ‘For Your Eyes Only’(1981)
Starring Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Julian Glover and Topol. Directed by John Glen
For Your Eyes Only is one of the more down to earth James Bond thrillers. Bond is assigned to investigates the suspicious sinking of a British spy ship - ‘St Georges’. There’s a terrific sequence where Bond and Martina Havelock explore the wreck in a scientific submersible the Neptune. The bad guys are there too and there is a tense ‘fight’ between the ’Neptune’ and the bad guy’s sub the ‘Mantis’. Not quite a ‘dogfight’, but this would make for a cool dogfight double. The film is the first film directed by John Glen a very experienced 2nd Unit Director and Editor of many prior Bond films.
It is a great sequence in a thrilling film. Both submarines existed as full size working props - the Neptune was designed and built for the film. This scene also features miniatures of each sub and these shots are inter-cut with the full-size footage. Superb work by the great Derek Meddings and his highly experienced team.
Neptune designed by Peter Lamont