RAISE THE TITANIC

year: 1980 cast: Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, David Selby, Alec Guinness, Anne Archer rating: ***1/2

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That cringe-worthy moment in James Cameron’s TITANIC, when the fat shaggy tech shows old Rose the computerized reenactment of how the ship busted down the middle saying “Cool, huh?” was actually quite a revelation, given the makers of RAISE THE TITANIC, sixteen years earlier, had they known of or cared about this important fact, couldn't fictionally create enough waterproof epoxy to fix the vessel so she could rise to the surface, catapulting a glorious third act... And we begin with a sparse Cold War espionage template: Our McGuffin is a mysterious rare mineral that one of the passengers was secretly transporting when Titanic sunk to an infamous icy doom. 

Jason Robards

Jason Robards receives first billing yet the buried leads are Richard Jordan and David Selby: One doesn’t want the Russians to get to the mineral, which could create a powerful weapon, the other wants America to have all the bad-goods. Meanwhile Anne Archer, a journalist back home, is torn between both polar opposites...

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But a love interest is about as necessary as facts and reality with deep-diving sequences and the titular payoff, balanced by a peripheral Russian subplot and a few close calls for the underwater capsule squad. Seasoned veterans Alec Guinness, as a 1912 survivor holding an important key for the search, and a stalwart Robards, connecting the two younger men with thoughtful wisdom, are merely passengers to the remarkable special effects... Although the characters are interesting and don’t get entirely lost in the splash.

After a while, the diving scenes become somewhat tedious… there’s only so much to see under there… and yet, like already numerously mentioned, when the big ship emerges it’s quite a site. Unbelievable and impossible, sure, but let's toast old school models, matte paintings, a John Barry soundtrack reminiscent of his BLACK HOLE fanfare overture, and another excellent Shout Factory Blu Ray/DVD combo, delivering another “Oh yeah, that movie” into our living room. 

Matte Painting of the returning Titanic in RAISE THE TITANIC

The Titanic returns to port under a bridge

No, Bruce Dern is not flying this blimp

The Titanic ghost ship contrasts with modern vehicles

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