RAISE THE TITANIC (1980, UK/USA, 115m, PG) **
Drama, Thriller, Adventure
dist. Associated Film Distribution (AFD); pr co. Incorporated Television Company (ITC); d. Jerry Jameson; w. Adam Kennedy, Eric Hughes (based on the novel by Clive Cussler); pr. William Frye, Martin Starger, Lew Grade; ph. Matthew F. Leonetti (DeLuxe | 2.35:1; 2.20:1 (70mm prints)); m. John Barry; ed. Robert F. Shugrue, J. Terry Williams; pd. John DeCuir; ad. John DeCuir Jr.
cast: Jason Robards (Admiral James Sandecker), Richard Jordan (Dirk Pitt), David Selby (Dr. Gene Seagram), Anne Archer (Dana Archibald), Alec Guinness (John Bigalow), Bo Brundin (Captain Prevlov), M. Emmet Walsh (Master Chief Vinnie Walker), J.D. Cannon (Captain Joe Burke), Norman Bartold (Admiral Kemper), Elya Baskin (Marganin), Dirk Blocker (Merker), Robert Broyles (Willis), Paul Carr (CIA Director Nicholson), Michael C. Gwynne (Bohannon), Harvey Lewis (Kiel), Charles Macaulay (General Dale Busby), Stewart Moss (Koplin), Michael Pataki (Munk), Marvin Silbersher (Soviet Ambassador Antonov), Mark L. Taylor (Spence).
A U.S. admiral (Robards) and his team (Jordan, Selby) compete with Russians to salvage the luxury liner Titanic, when they discover a valuable mineral, which could be used as the ultimate weapon was smuggled onboard. This flat adaptation of Clive Cussler’s novel is slow-moving and blighted by a bland script. The characters are two-dimensional and there is little opportunity to develop them through the story. A love triangle is introduced and goes nowhere, and plot points are raised and then disappear. There is a distinct lack of suspense, and the political conflict is not fully explored. On the positive side, Barry’s core is sumptuous, the visual effects are excellent for the time, and Guinness delivers a nice cameo as a Titanic survivor. However, there is an obvious discrepancy with his age. A victim of disastrous previews the film was hastily re-edited creating some of the issues above. Made 5 years before the discovery of the sunken liner.
