MovieChat Forums > Raise the Titanic (1980) Discussion > One question I had with the film and boo...

One question I had with the film and book.

posted 17 years ago by Joshf84
4 replies | jump to latest

Didn't the Titanic split in half before it sank? Even though the Titanic's wreckage was not discovered until a few years after this film was made wasn't this widely known before from eyewitness reports from survivors? I know its a fiction adventure story but being based on something that is real and so famous it just doesn't make sense. I love Clive Cussler novels and have read most of them and I did enjoy the film but this just made me wonder whether or not this was taken into consideration when writing the novel and making the film. Does anyone have any information to help me out with this?

[–] nebka23 17 years ago

The book came out around 1975 and at that time many thought that the ship sank in one piece so when Clive did the book he went on what was known at the time.

The best place to go for info on the titanic s the Titanic Historical Society at
http://www.titanic1.org/ they have been around since 1963

[–] G-dog67 16 years ago

Also, Clive Cussler bases a lot of his novels on "alternate history" events and viewpoints, especially politically. In one novel, Dirk Pitt saves Cuba from disaster and the embargo is subsequently removed. In another, Canada and America join to become the US of Canada. Cussler also for years wrote that the US "finally" adapted the metric system in his novels. His hero Pitt also discovers Atlantis, the grave of Kublai Khan, and the last resting place of Abraham Lincoln.
So, in the fictional world of Dirk Pitt, the Titanic was raised in one piece.

"Remember: no matter where you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Banzai

[–] radloffr 16 years ago

Then, after it was discovered that the Titanic broke in half, the famous ship is mentioned in "Valhalla Rising". The NUMA team, lead by Dirk Pitt, discuss how the ship broke in half, and pretend that their own historical efforts never took place.

[–] G-dog67 16 years ago

True, and that's even worse. Cussler should have maintained continuity with the Dirk Pitt universe and maintained that the Titanic was restored and anchored somewhere after they raised it. Of course, he used to put his novels in the future until it started getting out of control and he had to quit timeframing them.
I just wish he would give up on using the metric system. The US will never embrace a conversion of measurements.

"Remember: no matter where you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Banzai