Raise the Titanic (1980) - full transcript

I don't like it.
I don't like anything about it.

Neither do I. But the president's right.
They need to be told.

We go public on
this thing, we're dead.

- Nobody's talking about going public.
- It's secret or it's not.

- We can trust these people.
- I don't trust anybody.

This Russian thing hits the papers,
the whole project could blow sky high.

Let's worry about that
when it happens.

Jesus, I can't
believe it, Jim!

Let me get this straight.
You're saying there's an American

on the island of Svardlov,
and now you can't locate him?

And where the hell
is Svardlov?



It's a small island
near the Arctic circle.

Every country who's ever done
an exploration there claims it for its own.

The Russians even put troops
there from time to time.

And now you're telling us
you've lost this man on Svardlov,

and you may have lost him
to some Russians?

I'm telling you we have
a deviation from plan.

Our man is four days overdue
at the pick-up point.

Why didn't you let us handle it?
We do that kind of stuff all the time.

- The man had to be a mining engineer.
- So why are you telling us now?

Because if there is an incident,
we'll need all the help we can get.

Gentlemen, if you'll
follow me.

How the hell did we get
ourselves into a crack like this?

I engineered this thing,
and I'll take the blame.

- What is this project, Jim?
- The Sicilian project.



We believe it could be
the ultimate defense system.

I know you're all familiar with laser technology.
That's what we're involved with.

Each one of those lights
will be a power station.

Each station,
when it's activated,

will project a beam
from ground to infinity.

These beams fan out and connect,
make an invisible screen.

Like a wall. No missile
can penetrate it.

Is this theory you're talking about,
or does it work?

Yes, it works.
There's only one catch:

In order to install the system,
to make it function,

we need a self-contained
power source, a large one.

The success of our project
is dependent upon our locating

a specific mineral,
byzanium.

Byzanium? I've never
even heard of it.

I'm not surprised.
Very few people have.

And you think there may be some on
Svardlov, is that it?

- That's what we think.
- So we send a man in.

Well, let's hope you get him out,
because if you don't,

if the Russians pick him up,
we're going to be kissing ass in the Kremlin

for the next five years.

Washington central,
this is unit 23.

Requesting tow service
at Jefferson memorial.

- Sicilian project, huh?
- Yes, captain, that's what K.B.G. Calls it.

Ah. Will you read me
that report again, please?

"Americans interested
in rare minerals."

May be related to
military operation.

- Uh-huh.
- Code name 'Sicilian project. ""

What could be so precious
that the Americans would risk

this kind of a venture, hmm?

Are you
a chess player?

I played a little when I was a student.
Why?

You know of the name
Issac Bolislavski?

Of course I know.
He was a great chess master.

Maybe the greatest
of them all.

Many of the significant
variations of the game

were conceived
by Bolislavski.

And one of them was called
the Sicilian defense.

All right, my darling,
let's leave it for now.

We'll talk again
tomorrow.

You know, if it wasn't
for Dirk Pitt,

we'd be back at square one,
and that mining engineer

- would be stretched out dead on a Russian island.
- Who's Dirk Pitt?

All of a sudden he's involved
in the Sicilian project, and I've never heard of him.

He used to be a Navy man.

Put his time in, retired early,
and since then,

he and I have tackled
quite a few things together.

- He works for you?
- Well, sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't.

Depends on the job.
If it looks like something that can't be done,

chances are he'll take
a crack at it.

Otherwise, thumbs down.

- You mean, he only works when he feels like it.
- Yeah, that's right.

Pardon my expression, admiral,
but he sounds like a pain in the ass.

Hey, there!
Welcome home!

- Glad to see you, Dirk.
- Hello, Jim. Hey! Bring a gurney over!

- Where are you going?
- To see the man you brought in.

- Later.
- How is he?

Lousy. He's got a hole
in him that big.

We patched him up
before we left Norway,

but he's lost a lot of blood
and he's doped to the gills.

He can still talk, can't he?
I have to ask him some questions.

Maybe you didn't understand me.
We have to get this guy to the hospital as fast as we can.

Hey, come on, Gene.
Come on.

The mine had been
stripped, he said,

but he was sure there was
byzanium there once.

They took out
500 pounds,

maybe half a ton
of the stuff.

That means
the Russians got it.

No, he said the mine was
worked by Americans.

He found tools and equipment
that had been shipped from Colorado,

and a copy of
"the rocky mountain news".

- Dated sometime in 1911.
- 1911?

And he found a corpse
frozen stiff.

Someone had burned his name
into a board

and left it with the body.

"Here lies sgt. Jake Hobart,
United States army.

Froze in the storm,
February 10, 1912."

Are you telling me the army sent
a guy up there 70 years ago

to get a half a ton
of byzanium?

I'm not telling you anything.
I'm just repeating what Koplin told me.

- Hi.
- Hi.

What happened to you?
I gave up on you three hours ago.

Oh, I got hung up.
I'm sorry.

I don't like the look
I see on your face.

You look like somebody
stole your popsicle.

I wish I could tell you.

Give me the headlines.
Leave out the names and places.

I can't even do that.

I thought you were
a nice, solid guy,

a scholar
and a scientist.

Home at 6:00,
pipe and slippers.

Now all of a sudden you've
turned into Charlie Chan.

That's not funny.

Who said it was funny?
Did I say it was funny?

I think I just saw five years
of work down the drain.

Have you ever heard of
a guy named Dirk Pitt?

- Who?
- Dirk Pitt.

Ring a bell?

No, I don't think so.
Why do you ask?

Oh, I just met him.
It's not important.

Well, hallelujah.
There's a little life in the old guy after all.

- You got to put the worm on the hook.
- Ohh...

- No, I can't do that part.
- What kind of a Fisher person are you?

I'm a dynamite
Fisher person.

I just can't put
the wormy on the hooky.

Here.

That's a good one.

Very funny.

I've got a bad
conscience.

- I told a fib.
- What about?

About Dirk Pitt.

I do know him.
I met him when I first came to Washington.

He was with
naval intelligence then.

Why'd you tell me
you did know him?

I don't know.

I guess you took me
by surprise.

I haven't heard his name
in a long time.

Did you used to
date him?

No. No, nothing
like that.

No, he was too
high-powered for me.

Hmm. What does
that mean?

Just that... he takes up
all the air in the room.

Dirk Pitt.

What kind of a name
is that?

Sounds like a pirate.

Dr. Seagram.

Are you Dr. Seagram?

I'm supposed to bring you back to Washington.
Admiral Sandecker's orders.

I don't believe it!

You gotta be kidding.
How did he know we were here?

I told him.

Brilliant.
We'll bring him with us next time.

- The Hobart file mentioned.
- The name Brewster...

Arthur Brewster...
A con man

and a mining expert.

In 1910 he discovered
byzanium on the island of Svardlov,

and he took it right
to the U.S. army.

Even then they saw it might have military
possibilities,

so they gave him some money
and some army engineers to help.

Then he hires
a Norwegian whaler.

The ship delivers
Brewster, Jake Hobart,

and the rest of the Colorado miners
to the island,

makes a date to pick him up
after they've mined the byzanium.

What happened?

The ship picked him up
on schedule.

Only problem was,
two days out of Svardlov,

they spot a Russian cruiser
tailing them,

but Brewster sticks
to his plan,

and the whaler drops him off
on the coast of Scotland north of Aberdeen,

and they start
over land.

Plan was to get
the ore to Southampton

and send it home
by commercial ship.

- Did they make it?
- They gave it a pretty good shot.

They had Russian agents
coming out their ears.

They fought a running gun battle
all the way from Aberdeen to Southampton.

Somehow Brewster made it,
and he had the ore with him.

- What happened to the other men?
- All dead, except one...

A man called Southeby.

Matter of fact, the final report
Brewster sent home to the U.S. army,

all he wrote was,
"thank god for Southeby."

Then what?

He put the ore in a vault and
saw it lowered in the hold of a ship.

And on April 10,

1912, the ship sailed.

Southampton to New York?

Right.

Brewster started home
on the Titanic.

So, that's where we are.

Spent five years
on research and development.

We're a kiss away
from the end.

We need 200 ounces of a measly
mineral we can't find,

and when we do find it,
where is it?

It's at the bottom
of the Atlantic ocean.

But at least we know where it is now.
It's not just some place.

It's in one spot, waiting for us
to come and get it.

You're talking about
12,500 feet under water.

More than
two miles down.

We can't get divers
down that deep.

That's right, sir.
We can't get divers down to the Titanic,

which leaves us
with only one choice.

And what's that?

We don't go to the mountain,
the mountain comes to us.

Are you talking about
raising the Titanic?

Yeah.

Can it be done...
A ship that big, down that deep?

It's never been done before,
no question about that.

But we did raise that nuclear
sub a couple of years ago.

Nowhere near the same size,
and only a third as far down.

Admiral, I'm not saying
it's gonna be easy.

The odds are terrible.
It'll cost a ton of money.

But it's not impossible, sir,
if we get full cooperation from the Navy.

What if you did have Navy cooperation
and you could get the funding?

We'd have a chance.

Lots of problems
and lots of risk.

We have submersibles that can go
down that deep, but we don't know for how long.

We have others in development
that can go even deeper,

but they haven't
been tested.

So every trip
would be a gamble.

But, if we're lucky,

we could make
nuclear warfare obsolete.

What about it, Jim?

Well, it's a ball-breaker.

Biggest marine salvage operation
anybody's heard of.

Dirk says he can handle it,

I'm willing to go to the president and
do my best to push it through.

Seems we're back to you,
captain Pitt.

Well, like Jim said,

it's the biggest job with the highest
stakes anybody ever dreamt of.

How can you
turn it down?

Hey, Dana!

Have any time
for an old friend?

I don't believe it.

My god!
Where did you come from?

I don't know.

Well, as you can see,
nothing surprises me.

I'm perfectly calm
and under control.

- Come on. Let's go have a cup of coffee.
- I... I can't.

I'm late. I was just
dropping somebody off.

Gene Seagram.

- Yes, yes.
- He's not good enough for you.

You never thought anybody was
good enough for me, including yourself.

I was right.

- You look terrific.
- Thank you, thank you.

So do you.

I thought you left
Washington.

- So what are you doing?
- Fooling around.

Don't give me that.
You were gonna fix the world.

Yeah. That was
five years ago.

I discovered
they had me outnumbered.

- Not you. I don't believe that.
- You can believe it.

Well, I... I gotta go.
It's good to see you.

- Goodbye.
- Take care.

Goodbye.

Funny, you don't look
like a scientist.

What's a scientist
supposed to look like?

I don't know, but if I saw you
walking down the street,

I might take you for
a country club tennis pro.

I'd never take you
for a scientist.

Well, that makes us even.
I wouldn't take you for a pirate.

Here he comes.
That didn't take long.

No.

It never takes long
to say no.

No, and it doesn't take long
to say yes either.

Yeah, well, we'll see.

Good afternoon, admiral.

We're in business.

Dirk! Dirk Pitt!

Hey, good to see you again.
How you doin'?

Fine. Don't try to hide behind that fuzz.
I'd know you any place.

- I'm just keeping warm.
- They warned me you were the boss of this operation.

- Has he told you what we're after this time?
- Not yet. Silent Sam.

Well, that's all right.
I like that.

I'll get us there,
I'll keep the coffee hot,

and you two can handle
the tricky stuff.

What makes you think there's
gonna be some tricky stuff?

Well, there has to be.
Nobody hires you for your good looks.

Oh, sorry.
This is Dr. Seagram.

Captain Joe Burk
and master chief Walker.

- Doctor.
- Good to meet ya.

- Hi, doctor.
- Quite an operation here.

Well, we got
some nice toys.

I was thinking, I may be able to
speed things up

by feeding all the Navy's navigational
and meteorological data

into my computer banks.

- Well, now, that sounds very interesting.
- Good.

You can reach me through
admiral Sandecker's office.

Fine, fine.
Well, if you'll excuse me,

I've got three days'
work to do before lunch.

- See you later, Dirk.
- I'll see ya.

So long.
Take it easy.

Uh, let's get a couple
of things straight.

This is captain Burk's
operation.

And he's an extremely
competent Navy officer.

I don't think
he needs your help.

As for me, I took this job
on two conditions...

One, that I handle the
salvage end of it my way,

and two, that you
stay out of my hair.

- Will you remember that?
- If you're trying to make me sore, Pitt, it won't work.

This project is
too important.

Good. Let's keep
that in mind.

- The royal
- Mail ship Titanic...

Where is she now
and how do we get her up?

That's our problem.

This was her course,
this orange line.

A southwesterly
track from Southampton

to her final
radioed position:

41 degrees,
46 minutes north,

50 degrees,
15 minutes west.

That's where she sank.

Didn't the two rescue ships
report conflicting positions?

That's right.
You can see it

more clearly here
in this enlargement.

The Titanic thought
she was here, Carpathia had her here,

and mount temple here.

So this will be our starting point, right
in the middle of this triangle.

So, one way or another,
we're in the ball park.

The trouble is, sir, could wind up
being a damn big ball park.

We're talking about two miles
underwater, maybe more.

Everything at that depth
is a mystery.

That hull could've wound up a couple of
miles from where she disappeared.

- Or ten.
- Let's hope not.

Dr. Silverstein's group will be
handling the location problems.

Our submersibles will work
in concentric circles

around that point,
as targeted.

Let me emphasize again
the importance of security.

Only those who need to know have
been briefed on this operation.

You will be operating under the direct
control of the C.N.O., here.

Through sync land fleet.

Any further questions?
Admiral?

All right.
Thank you very much, gentlemen. That's all.

We got all that stuff
through the White Star line...

Engineering drawings and a complete
structural design for the Titanic.

Good. How about
a crew list?

Yeah, we got that too,
and I think maybe we lucked out.

One of the survivors
is a man named Bigelow.

He was a junior
third officer in charge of cargo,

and he's living
in England,

some place
in Cornwall.

It's an odd thing, you know.

I've had a few ships shot out from
under me, more than my share:

Three in the
1914-18 fracas

and two in '39-'45.

But all anybody
ever asked me about

is the Titanic.

- And now I'm doing the same.
- And you're lucky you came to the right man.

As I said, it was

cargo hold
number nine.

D-day, on the port side.

- You're sure of that location?
- No question about it.

We all saw that vault
when it was loaded aboard.

And we saw the passenger
who owned it.

Not likely
to forget him.

Bushy beard
and eyes like a fox.

Even if he hadn't put a
gun at me the way he did,

I'd remember him,
all right.

The gun business... you say that happened when
the Titanic was already gone down?

The life boats in the water
were only half filled.

People scrambling all over.
It was pathetic.

I was on my way up to the
boat deck to give a hand,

when this crazy
little fellow

shoves a gun
in my face.

Wanted to go to
cargo hold number nine.

And if I wouldn't
take him,

he'd shoot me
in my tracks.

That's what he said.

Well, I was
a young fellow then,

wanted to live
as long as I could,

so I took him.

As it turned out, number
nine was the only hold

not already flooded.

Once he got in there and
spotted what he was looking for,

he was happy.

When I have nightmares about
that lovely ship going down,

I always see that crazy
old man with the gun.

That was the last time you saw him
down there in the hold?

That's right.
He wouldn't leave.

He went up to
that vault of his...

Oh, a huge thing,
eight-foot square...

And patted it as if
it was a dog,

muttering to himself.

Can you remember
what it was he said?

The same thing
over and over...

"Thank god for..."

"Salisbury.
Thank god for Salisbury."

This must be a pretty quiet life
for a man like you.

God help a man who
can't liveby himself.

We all end up
in a single bed

sooner or later.

- Oh, here he is, then...
- The proprietor himself.

I'd almost given you up.
What'll you have,

a whiskey of a nice
pint of bitter?

Just a moment, Sarah.
This is Sarah Martindale.

A woman of substance,

a beauty,
and a warm heart.

And this is captain Pitt
of the United States Navy.

Retired, like myself.

Retired mighty early,
if I might say so.

Keep your hands
off him, Sarah,

and give us two
large pink gins,

full measure, and don't
skimp the Angostura.

- All right.
- Sarah talks big,

but the fact is,

she's frightened
silly of men.

Oh-ho-ho!

Those of us
who know her best

suspect she's
still a maiden.

Oh, my god!
The man's gone off!

Come onto the quarterdeck.

This is my
Titanic collection.

All that's left of her
except memories.

What a lovely
thing she was.

Standing as high in the water
as one of your skyscrapers,

longer than two
rugby fields,

and furnishings to match the
finest mansions in England.

She was one of a kind,

no question about it.

And god himself, they said,
couldn't sink her.

Then in two hours,
she was gone,

and 1,500 souls with her.

I took the pennant off her
before she went down.

If you manage to
bring her up again,

maybe you'd put it back
where it belongs.

Control, this is Deep Quest
at 8,000 feet,

searching section 22.

Visibility fair.
Negative contacts. Out.

- This is Turtle.
- 9,200 feet.

No contacts.
Out.

This is Starfish
at 10,000 feet,

conducting sonar search,
section 24.

No contacts.

- Depth?
- 11,420.

- Six thousand pounds.
- Per square inch.

One of these days this water's
gonna squash us like a bug.

- What are you bitching about?
- I got plenty of reason to bitch.

Cruising around down here
in this tin can, looking for what?

We're looking for
whatever's down here.

Hey, guys, I hate to spoil your fun.
We're going up.

- Pitts is coming in.
- Good. Maybe we can find out what we're looking for.

Three, wind is coming
from 220 degrees at 18 knots.

- Roger.
- 220 at 18 knots.

Hilo three,
you're clear.

Anything happening
down there?

No, nothing yet,
which brings up a point:

I think the sub crews should be told
what they're looking for.

Help morale.

That sounds like
a good idea to me.

Uh, why don't we hold
a briefing this afternoon?

We have a visitor.
Did you notice?

Yeah. I spotted the Russian flag
as we were coming in.

Looks like a marine
research vessel.

That means they only got maybe
half a dozen gun crews aboard.

Ah, they're just
nosing around.

They don't know
what we're looking for.

Not yet, anyway.

Deep Quest,
this is Starfish.

Have sonar contact
in section 26

at depth 12,700 feet.

Request permission
to investigate.

This is Deep Quest.
Negative. Maintain present depth.

You are only certified
to 12,000 feet.

We'll check it out.

- This is Turtle.
- 11,400 feet.

Search of section 36
complete.

This is Deep Quest.
Request you conduct sonar search

section 33 at maximum depth
of 12,000 feet.

This is Starfish.
Roger. Out.

This is Starfish
approaching 12,000 feet.

Continuing sonar search.
Over.

This is control.

Do not exceed
12,000-foot depth limit.

Out.

Lieutenant!

Control, this is Starfish.

Bridge, control.

- Bridge, aye.
- The Starfish reports she's flooding.

We're trying to get
more information.

- Release the battery pods!
- Battery pods away.

Control, this is Starfish.
We're flooding. Time is urgent.

This is Starfish.
We're flooding. Time is urgent. Over.

- Starfish...
- control, this is Starfish!

It's gone dead!

Starfish...

Starfish, this is control.

Damn it.
We lost contact.

- Where's the Turtle?
- In the water, 11,000 feet, heading for the Starfish.

This is Turtle.
We have Starfish in visual contact.

She's going down fast.
They've got to lose some weight.

We've taken on
too much water.

Hit the panic switch!
Release the Spears!

Jesus.

Control, the Starfish
just imploded.

Request permission
to surface.

Yeah, Clint.

Yeah.

Come on up.

Dr. Silverstein and I have
completely reworked the nav.

Oh, bullshit.
I've heard that story a dozen times.

While you're busy here screwing
around with your computers,

we've been out there five weeks,
we have found nothing.

- Meanwhile, I lost three men.
- They think they've found the answer now, Dirk.

Go on.

The new projection's based on the theory that
all the reported positions were slightly off,

and most important,

we failed to take into
account the smokestack

that cracked off as the Titanic went down.

We built a scale model
of the Titanic,

perfectly weighted and balanced
in exact proportion.

In 200 experiments,
the trajectory of the descent

didn't vary by more than
one tenth of one degree,

and it landed exactly where your
submersibles have been looking.

Then we did it
without the smokestack,

and we hit a completely
different position.

400 times we repeated
this process,

and every time it landed within
inches of the same spot.

Every single time.

Bingo. As we read it,
the Titanic's almost ten miles southeast...

- Ten miles?
- That's right. We've got to move

the entire salvage operation
to this new location.

Ah, it's not gonna be easy, Gene.
You just can't leap-frog

over ten miles of ocean.

For all we know, the Titanic could
be dead center in the area we're bypassing.

If it is, we'll find it
as we work our way back.

- "Find it as we work our"...
- We got to take the gamble.

We can't do any worse
than we're doing.

I know I'm right
about this new position.

I'm sure of it.

I hope so.

Another couple of weeks under water,
and those submersible crews

will come after you
with a harpoon.

Looks like we passed over
something metallic.

Metal detector
picked it up.

- Okay, stay on it.
- Give us a fix.

There. It's just below us.

- Roger. We'll hover here.
- Let's stay on the magnetometer.

Sing out if you see
anything.

- Wait a minute.
- What, do you spot something?

Yeah, I think so.
It's about 3:00.

See that funny shape there?
That's something wedged between two rocks.

- Okay. Stand by.
- The manipulator.

Here we come.

Got it!

What is it?

Looks like
some kind of a horn.

- May I, Dr. Vogel?
- Oh, yes, yes.

There you are.

"Presented to Graham Farley
by the grateful management"

"of the White Star line."

The Wite Star...
I did some checking through the records,

and it turns out that Graham Farley
was a musician for three years

on a ship called the Olympic,
then he was transferred.

Graham Farley was the coronet player
in the Titanic's orchestra.

- Are you sure of that?
- No question, no question. It's all documented.

That means we're looking in the right place.
At least we're getting close.

It also means the Titanic
must be in excellent condition.

Wait a minute.
Don't break out the champagne yet.

It's a step in the right direction,
but we're not looking for coronets.

We're looking for a ship
900-feet long.

We still can't find her.
Where the hell is she?

She disappear?

It's very
disturbing.

Are these sources
totally reliable?

- Absolutely.
- Is such a defense system possible?

We put that question to our
military scientists in Moscow.

They say it is feasible,

but it would take
a very strong power source.

And you say that power source
lies in the cargo hold of the Titanic?

All signs point to that.
I believe it.

Bridge radio.

- Bridge, aye.
- Yes, sir, captain.

We're bringing up that interference
again on VHF.

- Roger. You taping it?
- Yes, sir. There's not much pattern to it.

Sounds like static.
It's only on one frequency.

Keep on it.
Call me back when it stops.

- Aye, aye, sir.
- What the hell was that all about?

We're picking up some kind of
strange interference at night.

Schenectady and Carpenter hear it too,
but not as loud as we do.

They're going crazy on the Seacliff.
They found something.

- What?
- I don't know, but we're getting a bounce in the sonar.

Seacliff, this is Pitt.
What's up?

This is Seacliff.
I think we're smelling something.

Our metal detector
is going bananas.

Good... stay on it.
We're coming over.

Seacliff, this is Deep Quest.
We have you in sight at 9:00.

This is Seacliff. Roger.
Do you have sonar contact with the target?

Roger. Comin' in strong
and gettin' stronger.

- There it is.
- Something dead ahead.

Bohanan, can you
make it out?

- Well, whatever it is,
- it's got about ten layers

of sea critters on it.

It's a smokestack,
for Christ sake!

Yes, indeed.

Bull's-eye.
Looks like Seagram was right for once.

Control, this is Deep Quest.

We just spotted a smokestack.
Mark our position.

This is control. Roger.
Position marked. Out.

What do you think?

I think maybe
we're gonna get lucky.

Seacliff,
anything over there?

- Negative.
- keep your eyes open.

Let's stay on this course.

- What do you got now on the metal detector?
- Nothing ahead.

- Wait a minute.
- What the hell is that?

- It's a straight drop.
- To nowhere.

Control,
this is Deep Quest.

The ocean floor
just disappeared.

We're going down
till we can find it again.

Are you gentlemen thinking
what I'm thinking?

If she's down in this hole,
no wonder we couldn't find her.

Hey, we've got something.

- Deep Quest, this is the Seacliff.
- Look at that!

We're getting strong signals
on all our equipment.

Roger, so are we.
Ease over this way.

The metal detector's
jumped off its track!

Deep Quest, this is the Seacliff.
I think we're onto something dead ahead.

Roger, you sure are.
Hang in there.

- I think we hit the jackpot.
- Holy "chee-rist."

Are you absolutely
certain?

No question.
A direct report to our ship standing by there.

All right, here is
what we'll do.

See that the press gets the story...
Only one paper...

And make sure that
admiral Sandecker's name

is prominent in the list of facts.

Just the Titanic story?

No.
The byzanium too.

Let's see what kind of explanation
they come up with, huh?

Yes, sir.

This story from
today's Washington star...

The Titanic, which sank
on her maiden voyage.

April 14, 1912,
has been found

over two miles down
at the bottom of the Atlantic.

No official announcements yet,
but one thing is certain...

The imaginations of millions of
people will be stimulated.

In world history,
there is only one Titanic.

Rumours persist that the
Navy plans to raise her.

Why are they doing this?
We don't know.

But we understand there is a
defense plan called the Sicilian project

and a little-known mineral
more powerful than uranium

with the unusual name
of byzanium.

This is sander Van ochre
in Washington.

Of course I wrote that story.
Why shouldn't I?

The information came in, and I wrote it up.
That's my job.

What about my job?
It looks like I gave you the information.

- Everybody in here's gonna think that.
- Who cares what anybody thinks?

You know you didn't tell me anything,
and so do I.

I didn't even connect it with you.
I still don't know what you're up to.

You trying to tell me that this story
just flew in through the window?

No, I am not telling you that.
I have lots of sources.

- That's what I mean. Who told you?
- I can't tell you that.

- I won't tell you that, and you know it.
- You have to... it's critical.

- If there's a leak, we have to stop it.
- What do you mean by a leak?

- I don't even know what you're talking about.
- The hell you don't.

It was a secret.
That's what I'm telling you.

Nobody knew about it.
Hardly anybody knew about it.

It has to be somebody on the inside
who told you. Busby?

Huh?
Nicholson?

How about your
old friend, Pitt?

Did he tell you?

So that's what this
is all about.

That's what this is really about.
It's about Pitt.

- Oh, for Christ sake.
- It is, and you know it.

You have been looking for an excuse
to unload on me ever since you met him.

- I don't give a damn about him.
- The hell you don't.

- You can't get him out of your head.
- What?

So let's just get it straight
once and for all.

I lived with him for two years,
and I was crazy about him.

That's terrific.
That's just terrific.

If you were so damn crazy about him,
why didn't you stay with him?

Because
I was stupid!

Oh...

I'm sorry!

I'm sorry!
I didn't mean it.

Yes, sir.

Sir, after all this time, won't
the Titanic be rusted away to nothing?

We don't think so.
At a depth of

more than two miles,
there's less oxygen,

water is much colder, and there are
fewer destructive marine organisms.

She may be
surprisingly sound.

Yes.

The Titanic...
She sank because

the ice ripped a huge
hole in her hull.

Now, how is she supposed to float
with the hole still there?

Well, she can't,

so we're going to patch it
with special metal plates.

And to make her
buoyant,

we're going to fill
her lower compartments

with synthetic foam.

Right here.
Pumped in through hoses

placed in position
by our submersible crews.

As the foam goes in,
the water in the hull is forced out,

giving us 22,000
tons of lift.

- Sir...
- Will all this foam bring the Titanic to the surface?

No, we're going to need
additional lift.

Now, this will be supplied
by these tanks

filled with hydrazine gas
under high pressure

and anchored to
the Titanic's hull,

thusly.

Then explosive charges will be
placed on the sea bottom around the hull,

and when they are
detonated,

the hull will be jarred loose
from the bottom section,

and the Titanic will
come to the surface.

If and when you raise it, then what?

Then we will hold
another press conference.

Thank you all very much.
Goodbye.

Are you sure you can't tell us
something about this mineral, byzanium?

I mean, how does it fit
into this whole operation?

Well, I've given you all the
information I have on that.

Sir, they say it's more powerful than plutonium.
Is that true?

- I have no further comment.
- What about the Sicilian project?

Is it really a code name for
a defense system,

- Or a super bomb with the biggest warhead yet?
- No comment.

Is it true that byzanium could fuel
a bomb a thousand times

more powerful than
the bomb of Hiroshima?

Look, that's it, gentlemen.
I've given you everything I can for now.

What do you think, Vinnie?

- Doesn't sound like any code.
- I ever heard.

You know, the tapes we made
have a much higher intensity

than the ones they recorded
on Schenectady and Carpenter.

Yeah, makes you think that the signal, whatever it is,
originates here on the Denver.

Damn sure does.

Any word from
naval intelligence?

Well, Sandecker says he'll
have a report by tomorrow.

- Admiral.

Howard Merker.
What's it say about him?

Merker, he's all right.

Got a good record.

He served as a civilian technician
in Vietnam, got captured.

Spent two years
in a prison camp

and another year in Japan to get over that.
Married a Japanese girl.

Yeah, that's what it says, only she wasn't Japanese.
She grew up in Nam Deinh.

Her family's still living
in Hai Fung

and her brother's in the
north Vietnam army intelligence.

How the hell did
we miss that one?

It was painted over.
We were supposed to miss it.

They finally let you
come down with us.

- Thought you'd never make it.
- Neither did I.

Well, there's no time
like the first time.

How does it
look to you?

Nothing like
I expected.

We're gonna have a problem with that one.
Let's take a look.

It's hung up on the stack.
We're gonna need help.

Try Deep Quest.

Deep Quest,
this is Turtle.

We need some help with this hydrozene tank.
It's hung up on the stack.

This is Deep Quest.
Can do. Be right there.

- All right, let's do it. Get the manipulators ready.
- All right.

This is Deep Quest.
We're hooked up.

This is Turtle.
You pull, we'll push.

It's moving.

It feels like
it's stuck on something.

It's gonna crush
the Deep Quest!

All right, stow
the manipulator!

Son of a bitch!
They got themselves hooked into that skylight.

Come on, baby.

Come on, you pretty little thing.
Get your daddy out of this.

Indicates electrical
fire on the left!

Battery acid.
Put your masks on.

We're on too steep of an angle.

Acid's running out
of the emergency batteries.

We've lost half the power
on the panel!

Power, power.
Help me break out these battery lights.

All right.
Knock off the power.

We're goin' up.

Bohanan, move on over here
and stand by Deep Quest.

Roger. We're on our way.

- How's it look down there?
- No good.

Seagram picked a lousy day
to go sightseeing.

He's a scientist!
Who the hell authorized him for submersible duty?

- I did.
- How bad is it?

Oh, they got themselves jammed into
that skylight like a cork in a bottle.

We're fighting time.
They lost almost all battery power,

and they're gonna be
running out of air.

- Lucky if they got six hours left.
- What are the choices?

No choices.

If we can't cut loose that submersible,
we gotta bring up the Titanic.

- Six hours? How do we do that?
- Target date's two weeks away.

Our target date just got changed.
Here's what we gotta do.

Eighty charges, each one containing
a hundred pounds of explosives

at these key points
under the hull.

- Why are you shaking your head?
- I'm not shaking my head, I'm shaking all over.

- Those charges are double.
- If anything goes wrong, we lose four men,

but if we don't bring 'em up,
we lose 'em anyway.

They got two chances to die
and one to live.

All right. Now, we're gonna detonate
the starboard charge first.

Eight seconds later,
first one on the port side.

Another eight seconds,
we're back to starboard.

We alternate the explosions
all the way down the hull

so we set up a rocking motion like you do
with a car that's stuck in the mud.

Wait a minute, wouldn't it be better to put
an extra-large charge right under the bow?

- That way we could jolt it loose.
- Too dangerous.

This way we start the right movement
with less risk for the men.

Carbon dioxide's
building up.

Can we get
some more air?

No, we cannot. When we get down
so we can conserve on energy.

Gentlemen, the less we talk,
the longer we've got.

Exactly.

Everybody just
sit down and relax.

Okay, arm it.

Control, this is Seacliff.
Explosives secure.

- All clear.
- Roger.

Control, this is Turtle.
All charges secured.

Seacliff, Turtle, this is control.
Get the hell out of there.

Movin' out.

This is Turtle.
E.T.A. 13:05.

We're leaving the Titanic.

- Start the countdown.
- Start the countdown?

All stations,
"t" minus 50.

Activating
hydrazine generators.

12, 11, 10, 9...

8, 7, 6, 5...

4, 3, 2, 1.

Mark.

- Christ, what was that?
- They're trying to blast us loose.

- Can they do it?
- If they don't blow the hell out of this sub.

It's just way in there!
Move, you bastard! Move!

What the hell's
goin' on?

Late hits.
The last two charges just went off.

Something's happening.
Something's moving down there.

Isn't that a beautiful
son of a bitch?

It's incredible.

There she is.

Yeah.

But where the hell's
the Deep Quest?

Explosive must have
jarred her loose.

There she is!

We can't put this into service.
Half of this is jammed as the other.

You're gonna need dynamite
to get down to that mess.

- Yeah.
- Just forget it. Keep the pumps running.

We got to wait till we're towed to
New York for the right equipment.

What's happening?
Where's the Carpenter going?

A distress call.
There's a freighter in trouble.

- We're in trouble, for Christ.
- Sakes. We need that ship.

- We can't ignore.
- A distress call.

You want to talk about distress?
We got Navy weather forecasting a force-12 storm.

The Russians are looking down our throats.
We're on a ship

that never learned how
to do anything but sink.

That's distress.

From the Russian ship.
They're asking for permission

to send a man over here,
a captain Prevlov.

- What's that all about?
- Well...

They're offering to give us a hand
in case the weather gets bad.

- Permission granted. Captain Prevlov can come aboard.
- Yes, sir.

- Admiral, are you sure we want to do this?
- Why not?

We might as well listen
to what he's got to say.

Welcome to
the Titanic, captain.

Our time is precious,
so I will come straight to the point.

We are offering you
the safety of our ship.

My helicopter can carry
ten men at a time.

Gee, that's very
nice of you.

What happens to the Titanic
if we accept your offer?

An empty ship
on an open sea?

What's the Russian word
for "piracy"?

No, it's not
a question of piracy.

It is the international law
of marine salvage.

The hell it is.

We know about
the byzanium.

Stolen from a mine
on Russian territory.

You must trust me, gentlemen,
when I tell you that we are determined

to take back what is
morally and legally ours.

Michel Kurkov
is a torpedo ship.

If her captain has
no signal from me

eight minutes
from now,

he will sink this ship
that we are standing on.

What if you do get the byzanium.
Then what?

- It's worthless if you don't...
- Sicilian defense system?

No, it's not
worthless at all.

If this byzanium will
produce a superior weapon,

then Russia must have it to
guarantee the security of her people.

We arm
ourselves only

as a deterrent
to war.

Clock keeps on ticking, and...

All right, Prevlov,
I'll make it fast.

We knew you were
coming aboard here today,

and we knew what your pitch
would be exactly.

Dirk?

This is Pitt.
Bring on the surprise package.

Come on.
I'll prove it to you.

Like I said, you don't have
much choice, captain.

I see.

Gentlemen.

There.
That's got it.

- No water.
- Sealed tightly.

Watch it!

And here lies
Arthur Brewster,

sunk with the Titanic.

All right, let's get those boxes out
of there and get 'em opened up.

Just like the others.

Gravel.

It doesn't make sense.

A dead man and
seven boxes of gravel.

Arthur Brewster's papers.

Well, listen, we know
the byzanium existed.

We know Brewster had it.
It's gotta be some place.

Well, we work till sweat
and come up with nothing.

Three men dead, the whole
Sicilian project tossed on the junk pile.

How the hell
did we blow this thing?

Must be some kind of an answer,
but I'll be damned if I know what it is.

I'm just as disappointed
as you are, Gene.

I hate to quit on anything,
but sometimes

you have no choice.

Look...

If it'll make you
feel any better,

I'll tell you something I didn't want to admit,
even to myself.

If we found
the byzanium,

I'm not sure we
could've hung on to it.

I don't think we could have tagged it
for defense only and made it stick.

- We got the president's assurance of that.
- Yeah, that's right,

but presidents don't
stay in office forever,

- and even if they did, circumstances change.
- What does that mean?

Well, it means
that...

If a government falls in the
middle east or somewhere,

if they start bombing Pakistan
or somewhere else,

it affects
all of us.

What does that got to do
with the Sicilian project?

Nothing... maybe.

I'm just saying that
somewhere in the world,

in some think tank,
right now,

they're figuring out a way
to build a byzanium bomb.

Ah, Jesus.

Why, if you knew that,
in god's name

why did you go along
with this whole operation?

Because I believed
in what we were trying to do.

And if it didn't
work defensively,

if somebody was going
to make a byzanium bomb,

I wanted it to be us.

Jesus Christ!

He thinks just like you do.
I don't understand that kind of thinking.

You're both a couple of cynics.
You think this is some kind of lousy game.

If I felt the way Sandecker does,
I wouldn't have started

the damn project
in the first place!

I'm glad we didn't
find the stuff.

Are you?

Okay.

But I'm not gonna let you wriggle off
the hook so easy, Seagram.

Not now.
Take a look at this.

It's a postcard.
I saw it.

That's right.
An English postcard.

We all saw it.

Brewster must've bought it, stuck it
in his briefcase, and never mailed it.

Take a look at
the fine print on the back.

Come on, read it!

Uh, "typical country
church and graveyard"

in county of Hampshire,
near the village of Southeby."

Southeby.

Twenty miles
from Southampton.

We were wrong.

We thought it was a man,
but it's a place.

Thank god for southeby.

Uh, this is the one.

Jake Hobart.
I'll go and get the shovels.

Excuse me.

- Jackpot.
- Yeah.

Gene.

- Don't you want us to dig it up?
- I don't know.

You'll have to ask
Dr. Seagram that question.

It's your decision, Gene,
whether you like it or not.

Don't you want us
to dig it up?

No.

What's so funny?

Eh, I knew
a girl once.

I'll bet you did.

Years later, I ran into her again.
She says, "what happened to you?"

- I thought you were gonna change the world.
- What'd you say?

I said they had me
outnumbered.

Is that my lesson
for the day?

No more lessons.
No more lectures.

You mean school's out?

Yeah. You just
graduated, professor.