Governments deny and governments cover-up. To paraphrase the oft quoted line from Captain Renault in Casablanca, “It’s a shock, a shock to learn governments do such a thing.” This commonplace situation found throughout history is the basis for a new documentary by award-winning filmmaker Philip Carter. In Neither Confirm Nor Deny, viewers return to the 1970s at the height of the Cold War and go under the surface to witness some shadowy CIA maneuvers. A closely guarded project until recently, involving Howard Hughes and an effort to retrieve a sunken Soviet nuclear submarine. Sounds like the stuff of movies except it is real life, proving the maxim: truth is stranger than fiction.
The origin for the documentary stems from a long-guarded government secret. In 1968, a Soviet submarine sank off the West coast, setting-off the CIA on a six-year process to recover the submerged sub in what is now known as Project Azorian. To retrieve it they first need to keep gawkers off the scene. Enter into the picture: Howard Hughes. By playing on his eccentric business developments the government concocts a multi-faceted plan. The task: to build a large ship in secret complete with an underwater crane to retrieve the Soviet sub. The cover-story: an ocean mining mission. Nothing newsworthy or flashy other than Hughes’s larger-than-life persona. The result: a false story takes root in the public’s imagination, while a secret mission goes under the radar and the press is none the wiser.
The documentary features participants from the recovery mission. Interviews with players in the CIA at the time, David Sharp and Walter Lloyd (now deceased) recount their involvement in the project, as well as the late Curtis Cooke, the president of the company responsible for building the top-secret ship. The documentary peels back the layers of covert operations and spills some secrets on the high-stakes and risky undertaking.
The sensitivity of the project is top of mind for the people involved. Everyone from the architects to the secretaries knew the global ramification if the mission went public; from the potential of souring Soviet relations to the dire possibility of World War III. Carter weaves a harrowing narrative of a duplicitous mission and an outright brazen operation conducted by the CIA.
Cover stories, distortions, censorship. It is all here in this documentary. The government working in secret away from the inquisitive press or concerned public, all the while engaging in covert acts in order to gain insights on the-then US’s primary international rival. Now sprinkle Howard Hughes into the drama and this story flows like a script for some spy movie of the era. Except, it is real life, and it happens out in the open without the public knowing. And if and when questions arise the government stonewalls.
Neither Confirm Nor Deny makes use of its ninety minute runtime giving viewers a sense of American history. From the birth of investigative journalists to rising tensions between the US and the Soviets, this era predominately defined by Watergate reminds viewers how government mistrust came bubbling to the surface in the ‘70s and continues to the permeate the discourse today.
Amid increasing domestic and international tensions today, the documentary offers something of a lesson. What is said in public often contradicts what happens in private. The only recent declassification of Project Azorian begs a larger question: what else is the government hiding? It is a rhetorical question but gets to the theme of this documentary. An informed citizenry proves the only means necessary for stability in a democratic society. The documentary spotlights journalists of the era, who kept asking questions. The documentary posits when the government lies, even in the name of national security, it creates a catalyst for the destabilization of democratic norms. The documentary is also commendable for imbuing the importance of a free and open press vis à vis government efforts to censor, deny and cover-up.
Carter embeds actual footage along with declassified documents showcasing what painstaking efforts the CIA took to convince and outright fool the press and the public. Estimates at the time put the project’s cost around $500 million, equivalent to $3 billion in today’s money. Putting aside any technical or patriotic achievements from the operation today Mr. Sharp questions the project’s worth. Not only in terms of cost, but in justification. The documentary wrestles with this question and in doing it shines a spotlight on the workings of the CIA as an off-the-record operator on a national and international scale. The viewers will find the exploits riveting, but also will find themselves questioning the CIA methods and even more so the results.
Neither Confirm Nor Deny will be available to rent or purchase on Amazon and Apple TV on September 22, 2023 courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koLj1WpPXDU]
Writing & podcasting, for the love of movies.
His Letterboxd Favorites: The Dark Knight, Halloween, Jaws & Revenge of The Sith.
