Raise the Titanic (1980)

Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

This pairing is a dual-memorium pairing for two wonderful actors we've lost recently. First up, we celebrate the life of noted character actor M. Emmet Walsh, who passed away on March 19th, 2024 at the age of 88. With over 230 films to his credit, we've already done a few he was part of. To pay tribute, we turn to one of Jeff's guilty pleasures, a film based on a book written before the location of the wreckage of a famous ship had been located. In 1980's "Raise the Titanic," directed by Jerry Jameson and based on a book by Clive Cussler written in 1978, the U.S. Government is developing missile shield technology, but it requires a material called byzanium. The only cache of byzanium known to exist shipped for the U.S. from London in 1912... on the RMS Titanic. The director of the National Underwater Marine Agency (N.U.M.A.), Admiral James Sandecker (Jason Robards) decides to send the agent, Dirk Pitt (Richard Jordan), to head up a search and recovery mission. Step 1: Locate where the Titanic actually sits on the bottom of the ocean. Once that is accomplished, it's determined that it's too deep to allow divers to enter the wreckage. The only alternative is: Raise the Titanic from the ocean floor and complete its voyage to New York. Unfortunately, the Russians learn of the operation and, given the missile defense would stop their missiles from ever reaching the U.S., they set about attempting to stop Pitt and his crew. Also starring Alec Guinness, M. Emmet Walsh, David Selby, Anne Archer, and Elya Baskin!