 Not only was the movie inspired by the Lucky Dragon incident, where  the fishing boat known as the Lucky Dragon strayed to close to what  was named the most powerful nuclear test ever and was contaminated  with radiation, but the opening seen in the movie was mostly based  on that accident. A crew on board a fishing boat, going about their  normal day, suddenly a bright flash of light catches their  attention, and they are soon bombarded with radioactivity. The only  difference is that the boat catches fire and sinks in the movie.