Raise the Titanic

I saw this movie in the theatre, and I remember enjoying it. I knew it was a financial failure, but over the years since I've been surprise by the hatred it has generated. Long before Robert Ballard, finding the Titanic and possibly raising it was a dream I shared with a lot of Titanic fans. Clive Cussler wrote a pulpy but entertaining book on the subject, and I thought the story was made into a pulpy, but entertaining movie. I liked the cast: Richard Jordan, David Selby (I'm a Dark Shadows fan also...hoots of derision), Jason Robards and Anne Archer. Now, however, I have to watch a fading print under cover of darkness to avoid more hoots of derision! I've read that there is excised footage that might help the storyline. I'd buy a directors cut DVD, and have a "Raise the Titanic" party. It's only an entertainment, not a work of art.

A folly worthy of its namesake, Lord Grade, its liner sized producer famously remarked that it would have "been cheaper to lower the Atlantic", a feat he could have accomplished simply by jumping into it.

Raise the Titanic(!)is an adaptation of the novel by Clive Cussler. In its transition to the big screen however, most of the intricate cold war plotting didn't make it to the lifeboats. In its stead you have the basic story and of course the bank breaking poster promise of the doomed liner rising from her watery grave. It might have worked too had the source material been handled a little better. The screenplay is pretty talky and never really succeeds in building the necessary tension but what really sinks (sorry) the whole enterprise is direction from Jerry Jameson so moribund and lifeless, you'd think he was helming a movie for cable television. Its a mark of this that although it doesn't take very long to find the ship itself on screen you could be forgiven for thinking that you began watching the movie in 1912. Also RTT! has, for the most part a cut price look that undermines the epic scale of the story and its subject matter. When the ship does eventually see the light of day its via some model work and camera over-cranking that fails in producing that all important wow factor. To be fair though there are some very good shots of the ship entering New York harbour that do pack a punch, aided enormously by one of John Barry's best ever scores - a wonderful bombastic orchestral suite that is as good as hes ever produced. Were this a better film, and had anyone gone to see it Barry may have been in line for an Oscar (which he got when he plagiarised parts of the score for Out of Africa). In fact, its fair to say that Barry is the only person behind the camera who does the story any justice.

Richard Jordan gives a good performance as Cussler's hero Dirk Pitt and there's a nice Cornish Cameo for Alec Guinness but everyone else is really just waiting to die here. The twist is a good one but is handled poorly and you're left wondering what a director like John McTernian who did such good work with Clancy's Hunt for Red October may have made of the same material. Sadly the discovery of the real ship in two pieces has scuppered any remake possibilities so this is it. Raise the Bismarck anyone?

To obtain a supply of a rare mineral, a ship raising operation is conducted for the only known source, the Titanic . A group of Americans (Jason Robards Jr , David Selby) led by Dirk Pitt (Richard Jordan , Steve McQueen was offered the lead role in the film ; however, he felt the script was flat and turned down the offer) are interested in raising the ill-fated Ocean liner Titanic. As the marine research foundation carries out the preparatives to pick up a precious radioactive metal whose only known world supply reportedly went down as contraband aboard the Titanic , as they have to raise and recover it . One of the team members finds out the Russians also have plans to raise the ship from its watery grave .

This a spectacularly big-budgeted but slow-moving film that failed really at box office . The bulk of this tiring film surrounds schemes to locate and recover a valuable metal called Byzanium . The picture develops a thrilling suspense about a strange mineral along with an international intrigue blending the Titanic , Russians and submarines . Based on best-seller by Clive Cussler who appears as a reporter during a press conference ; however he hated this movie so much that he refused to allow the sale of any film rights for his other Dirk Pitt novels , he finally relented 20 years later, and agreed to sell the rights to 3 novels and the first to be filmed was Sahara, which Cussler also hated . Spectacual FX , as a model of the Titanic was built for $350,000 , when it was finished, it was too big for its tank , a bigger tank had to be built, for $6 million. The Titanic model used for filming was on display at Anchor Bay, Malta, in a building close to the set used for the town of Sweethaven in the film Popeye ; later, it was moved next to the deep water tank at the Rinella studios in Malta. A storm hit the island in 2003, damaging the model beyond repair. Acceptable main actors as Jason Robards as Admiral James Sandecker , early deceased Richard Jordan as Dirk Pitt , David Selby as Dr. Gene Seagram and Anne Archer as Dana Archibald . Supporting cast is frankly excellent as Alec Guinness as John Bigalow , M. Emmet Walsh as Master Chief Vinnie Walker , J.D. Cannon as captain Burke and Michael Pataki as Munk and Michael C. Gwynne as Bohannon .

The flick lavishly produced by Sir Lew Grade , caused the collapse his enterprise , regarding the film's cost, producer Lew Grade famously said that it would've been cheaper to lower the Atlantic . The motion picture was middling directed by James Goldstone , though Stanley Kramer was hired to direct, but quit after two weeks due to "creative differences". Jerry Jameson was an usual filmmaker for television who filmed other catastrophe movies such as Hurricane , Fire and rain , The elevator , Deadly tower , Fire in the sky and his greatest hit was ¨Airport 77¨ with an all-star-cast and one of the best of disaster genre .

Strictly speaking, I found this to be acceptable entertainment. Its many detractors maintain that it's a poor, poor adaptation of the Clive Cussler novel. In fact, Cussler himself hated it so much that there would be no more adaptations of his work until "Sahara" in 2005. Does the execution of the movie fail to match the awesomeness of the concept? Sure. Could it have used a more accomplished director at the helm? It wouldn't have hurt. But it sustains interest for close to two hours. This viewer was caught up enough in the story that any flaws didn't detract from the experience.

The U.S. government is in an intense search for an obscure mineral (for national defense purposes, of course) and believes that the only place it could be found is on board the wreckage of the Titanic. Since at this point in time, divers couldn't travel that deep into the ocean, people working on the project come up with this offbeat solution of using explosive devices to bring the massive ship to the surface.

Political intrigue adds to the plot, as the Russians believe that by rights they should be allowed to retrieve the mineral. They do everything that they can to undermine the operation.

The actors deliver decent performances, although there are precious few characters that really engage the viewer. One exception is the Titanic survivor John Bigalow, played by Sir Alec Guinness. There's a lot of familiar faces here: Jason Robards, David Selby, Richard Jordan, and Anne Archer as the stars, and a steady array of top notch character actors. The romantic subplot with Selby and Archer never really goes anywhere, but fortunately it doesn't take up TOO much of the running time.

The special effects are adequate, and the actual event of the title is reasonably impressive.

The most worthy component is really the rousing, emotionally rich music score by John Barry.

Seven out of 10.

I have never understood the degree of ire, dislike, contempt and scorn heaped upon this movie. A multi million dollar turkey at the box office which virtually sank Lord Lew Grade and one that has provided film critics with cheap laughs ever since. I sit here this morning, having sat through ZOOLANDER last night, watching a complacent, pre-programmed brain-dead audience guffaw itself senseless, contributing another truck load of dollars to Ben Stiller's superannuation fund and you know, I wonder about RAISE THE TITANIC. What has happened to sentiment, simplicity, the ultimately simple values in life?

Sure, RAISE THE TITANIC captures none of the power of Cussler's novel, but I don't really care! Yeah, they got the funnel configuration shot to hell, the underwater model as it surfaces looks much like the little rubber boat I used to play with in the bath as a child, and David Selby has the animal magnetism of Osama bin Laden, but I'd like to tell you something. Perhaps because I maintained a fascination with the TITANIC ever since I was a child and dreamed of just how it must have been that night, when watching that absolutely awesome scene in RAISE THE TITANIC as the great ship broke the surface I have never in my life been so emotionally moved. Tears just ran down my face and I cried like a child. When I got home that night my wife asked me what was wrong. I couldn't talk about it and was never able to explain, and you people reading this want to believe it, I am the absolute last guy you would consider to be a wuss! How anyone could have witnessed that scene in the theater and NOT been moved I could never understand.

So many memorable things in the film. Titanic survivor, Sir Alec Guinness' touching cameo in the pub when he gives Dirk Pitt (the late Richard Jordan) the white star flag that he removed from the stern the night the great ship foundered, and which he wanted replaced if they were ever to raise it from the bottom of the Atlantic. The inarguably realistic scene when Jordan and his crew members finally discover the wreck on the bottom, played out against John Barry's ultimately moving musical score, the best he wrote for ANY film. The external shots of the ship once it has been raised (Way better I thought than Cameron's digitised TITANIC) and the internal shots of the gymnasium still dripping with water. Finally, the wonderful scenes as it is towed into New York harbor to complete its (then) 68-year journey. True, the last twenty minutes or so were all downhill, but nothing can detract from what went before.

Worst thing they ever did was to FIND the wreck! A dream died that day!