Raise the Titanic (1980) Associated Film Distribution/Action-Adventure-Thriller RT: 114 minutes Rated PG (language, violence) Director: Jerry Jameson Screenplay: Adam Kennedy Music: John Barry Cinematography: Matthew F. Leonetti Release date: August 1, 1980 (US) Cast: Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, David Selby, Anne Archer, Sir Alec Guinness, Bo Brundin, M. Emmet Walsh, J.D. Cannon, Norman Bartold, Elya Baskin, Dirk Blocker, Robert Broyles, Paul Carr, Michael C. Gwynne, Harvey Lewis, Charles Macaulay, Stewart Moss, Michael Pataki, Michael Ensign. Box Office: $7M (US)
Rating: ** ½
Before there was Jack, Rose and a certain $200 million movie, there was Raise the Titanic, a reasonably entertaining action-adventure about an operation to raise the ship that famously sunk in 1912 in order to obtain a rare mineral. As I mentioned in my review of The Final Countdown, I saw Raise the Titanic as part of a late summer double bill. I have to say that I’m glad I saw them as a double feature rather than separately. I would have felt gypped otherwise.
That being said, I think Raise the Titanic is the better of the two even though it has similar pacing problems. I like how Cold War intrigue is thrown into the mix with the Russians attempting to sabotage the operation. It adds a bit more tension to the proceedings. What threatens to sink the movie is the inclusion of a female reporter (Archer, Fatal Attraction) who’s romantically attached to two other characters. She’s entirely unnecessary to the plot. Her sole function seems to be printing a story about the secret operation after the Russians leak it to her. Nothing much comes of this, so why even include it?
Raise the Titanic starts off strong with an American spy searching for an extremely rare mineral called byzanium in an old mine on a frozen, snow-covered island. He’s discovered and shot by Soviet soldiers, but rescued by Dirk Pitt (Jordan, Dune), a former Navy officer-turned-adventurer for hire. It’s explained by NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency) admiral James Sandecker (Robards, All the President’s Men) and scientist Gene Seagram (Selby, Falcon Crest) that the byzanium is needed to power a new defense system called “The Sicilian Project”. Basically, it’s a laser shield capable of stopping and destroying incoming nuclear missiles. The problem? The byzanium that was supposed to be in the mine is actually in a safe that was loaded onto the Titanic before it left on the fateful voyage.
In order to obtain the rare mineral, the sunken wreckage of the Titanic must be found. Next problem? It’s too far down for divers to retrieve the safe. The solution? Raise the Titanic from the ocean floor. How is this to be accomplished? Easy. Fill it with plastic foam, attach giant balloons and blast it free. Admittedly, it’s pretty cool when this happens. Director Jerry Jameson (Airport ’77) accomplishes it by way of smaller scale models and special optical effects. Today, such a cinematic feat would be accomplished with CGI effects. I’ll stick with the 1980 version, thank you.
I haven’t forgotten about the intrigue aspect of Raise the Titanic. The Soviets, believing the byzanium to be their property, plan to capture the Titanic once it’s raised. In keeping with the times, KGB baddie Prevlov (Brundin, Meteor) further states if there’s a superior weapon to be made from it, the Soviets must have it for themselves. While interesting, it occurs to me that Raise the Titanic would have worked just as well without it. The Titanic is a fascinating subject on its own. There’s plenty of history. The notion of raising it is rife with all sorts of scientific possibilities. Why not limit the screenplay to its initial premise? Well, I may have an answer for that. The movie sags quite a bit in the middle section when they’re searching for the sunken ship. These scenes aren’t as tight as they should be. Luckily, the movie picks up once the guys find a clue leading to the ship’s location.
The acting is fairly decent. We’re not talking about Oscar caliber performances here, but they’re more than functional. Sir Alec Guinness (Star Wars) briefly appears as a Titanic survivor who provides Gene with a bit of backstory. The only weak link, like I said, is Archer. For the record, Dirk is her ex-lover and Gene is her current squeeze. Again, I don’t know why the makers saw fit to include this. The real draw of Raise the Titanic is the superior visual effects. I think it’s a decent, if flawed, movie. It’s totally watchable.
TRIVIA TIDBIT: Upon release, the reviews for Raise the Titanic were overwhelmingly negative. Clive Cussler, the author of the original novel, was so disgusted by the adaptation that he refused to grant permission for any further cinematic adaptations of his books. Personally, I don’t think it’s as bad as all that.
