I just loved how they kept to the book and didn't cut any of main story line out.
AND the character were great, that was JUST how I pictured Dirk and Al :wacko:


All joking aside, I almost cried while I was watching it, I just couldn't believe what they had done to such a great book, infact the only good thing was hearing the names Dirk Pitt and Admiral Sandecker BUT where was Al???? (how dare they change his name?) :angry:

I think Sahara is going to be a good movie, well it can't be any worse than this. At least Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn are good actor's I have every faith they'll do a good job (fingers crossed) :)

Being a rabid Cussler collector, I rented the film way back when. I fell asleep in the first 30 minutes and never could finish it. Only one film--Cabin Boy--keeps it from having a special place in my personal list of worsts!

I couldn't find it anywhere to rent so unfortunatley I bought it :blink:

And to top it all off I've just seen an advertisment for one of our national papers here in the UK which are giving the movie away free next week; just typical. :rolleyes:

if they are giving the movie away, that ought to tell everybody the quality of the film. I to was totally disapointed with the film version, but it wasn't the first time i'd been so disapointed. Alistair McLean's BEAR ISLAND was totally destroyed; enough to say the only thing that the book and movie had in common was the title. However, if you haven't seen the film you should, if only to see how not to make a movie. I personally will NEVER watch it again!!!!!! :angry:

I saw the flick again about a year ago, and would love to get a copy...especially a DVD. Alas, it is not meant to be... :(

What alot of us don't take into account is even though the screenplay was awful, The special effects in RTT, especially the underwaters scenes drew much praise. We might not think much about them now with CGI doing all the work but back in 1980, RTT's Effects were cutting edge stuff...

Althought the film is awful and so too are the choice of actors and lack of book to script, you have to admit the soundtrack is pretty awesome in my opinion.

steve

I agree completely. The effects were great, and the model itself was a spectacular piece of work, as well.

Welcome productionx !!

I wouldn't mind the soundtrack to RTT on dvd. I'll have to look out for it.

Cheers t:

RTT was absolute crap. Richard Jordan did not fit my image of Dirk Pitt in the least. Never could figure out what happened to Al - and the whole Dana Seagram subplot of previous affairs was goofy and unnnecessary. David Selby was OK as Seagram - but where was Mel Donner?

The model of the ship was OK - but the damage to the ship didn't fit the description of the book - and who would really believe the the ship's funnels would still be intact after being sunk then resurrected?

The hurricane merited only a brief mention and Andre Prevlov was a total wuss. The only character I thought was OK was Jason Robards as Admiral Sandecker, but he should have tinted his hair red for the role.

And the end... the "byzanium bomb"???

The only thing I liked about the movie was the intro and then the line at the very end, "I started out to save the world, but then I realized they had me outnumbered."

BTW, I *do* have the original John Barry soundtrack... p: In MP3 format no less... :P

Anyone have a copy of RTT?? I've never seen it...can't find it to rent anywhere?? Preferably in US format??

There's a reason no one has a copy of it. :lol: beer:

Hi. First post from me.

I got a hold of a Div-X version of the movie a while ago.

As a Cussler-fan it's still worth watching, just to find
the few things that are from the books. Some parts
are quite fascinating, but most of the movie is boring.

®

w: Welcome R

I agree with you on the soundtrack. I believe that it is John Barry's best work ever. Too bad it got stuck with such a stinker of a movie.

Im probably gonna get grief from this but i dont think the movie is that bad. im a massive cussler fan and saw this film when i was about 12, so a few years ago now. and it was at uni in a charity shop that i saw RTT remembered the film, brought the book and got hooked on dirk and al's adventures. i brought it on dvd and do watch it every now and again. i just keep it as a completly separate thing in my head and not the book that i have read.

i am hoping sahara when it comes out will be as good as i hope it to be. ive watched the trailer many times now and although they arnt my first choice of actors for the parts, clive did pick them so he must have seen something good in them which we havent as yet. i know they have taken out stuff from the book but so did peter jackson with LOTR, and look how those films did. i dont agree with them going behind clives back though, that did get my back up.

cheers guys and girls

Steve

Well, I've seen it more times than Star Wars :lol:

The movie has its moments. Maybe the guy that played Seagram should have been cast as Pitt.

I agree. For some reason, the guy looks like Dr. Cussler's son, Dirk. <_<

I'd be curious to know the reaction of viewers whose first exposure to Dirk Pitt and Clive Cussler was Raise the Titanic.

Remember that when this film was optioned, CC didn't have the enormous fan base he now has. The Hollywood mindset where Bestseller=Blockbuster is still in effect, but studio execs rarely actually READ the books in question. I'm sure Lord Lew Grade never anticipated that there might be a Dirk Pitt film franchise, or that he needed to think about the importance of satisfying future Clive Cussler readers.

As far as it goes, most of the plot lines in the film were lifted from the book. Imagine one of those CIA documents that has been heavily censored with a sharpie. Leaving aside the obvious omissions, the biggest sticking point for me is that bit at the end, which I believe has been addressed, where Sandecker wimps out after discovering the Byzanium.

I think it's important to judge an artwork on its own merits, even if it is inspired or adapted from another source. A good example is Congo. The movie completely threw out the book, but on its own, was a fun romp. In some ways, it was better than the book as Michael Crichton has trouble creating sympathetic characters. RTT wasn't a great movie by even those standards, but I'd rather watch that than Dumb and Dumber.

I too have seen the movie way back in 1981 and found it was a bit plodding but then it was not in the blockbuster style of today. Movies back then did not have the pace that we are used to today. But it was an enjoyable tale on film despite mis-casting. I remember enjoying it at the time and this was before i discovered the books the next year. There probably could be a better remake in this and it should be done. So i say kudos to the lacluster attempt made back then. It was definitely the state of film making back then. t:

My first post as well... I've read all of the Pitt series, except for Trojan Odyssey... I got it for Christmas last year, but just haven't had the chance to read it yet... although I've been REALLY getting the itch in the last few days...
ANYWAY...I saw RTT many many year ago, before I started reading CC's books... I actually really enjoyed it... I also keep it completely separated from CC's work... I think it's an excellent movie if you take it for it's entertainment value, and don't compare it to the book, or reality for that matter... I was pretty surprised they completely ignored the fact that the Titanic was in two pieces!

Ron

Welcome AZ_Ron! w:

I guess because it was based on the book and the book was written before they found the Titanic in two pieces, that they wanted to keep some aspects of the book therefore kept the ship whole! Plus I'm not sure when they actually found the Titanic wasn't the movie made before that happen?

Enjoy the site! :)

Your right Kel, Robert Ballard didn't find Titanic until 1986. If I'm mistaken Liz please let me know :)

yike: Quick break out the party gear.......not often this happens ;)

Happens more often than you think young lady th:

Yes Kelly, you are correct, the movie was made long before it was discovered by Bob Ballard he found it on September 1, 1985 to be exact. Close Julie!
t:

I too saw it during its initial theatrical run and hated it at the time. While I now have mellowed (age will do that to you!), I have it on both VHS and laserdisc, and would buy a DVD of it if offered. At least they picked the right man (Mr James Bond - John Barry) to score the film. The musical score is the sole saving grace of RTT (very haunting and evocative) and I agree it's likely John Barry's best work. For years it was the most requested score of his when it wasn't available and score collectors celebrated when they finally rerecorded and released it. Another panned film that features a haunting Barry score is Disney's "The Black Hole". The film itself is flawed, but the score makes up for it.

Actually I enjoyed the Black Hole. Kind of remember the music in the film but not the music in RTT. w: