It was when I read the excellent novel, my mind changed. I used to think this was a wonderful film, when I read the book however, it was clear that so much excellent plotline and dialogue had been missed out that the film story was ruined. Plot lines about the Russians, spies, espionage, tracing the history of the miners and their efforts, what happened after the Titanic was raised but before it reached New York, all this would have made for a more in depth and excellent adaptation, instead the producers went for the big bucks spectacle and just concentrated on the Titanic itself which really is only a small part of the original novel.
It would have been better being properly done as a three part mini series or similar instead of this badly edited rushed nonsense.
There are good points about the film, some of the model work for the wrecked Titanic is excellent, especially when you consider when it was made but then again considering how much they spent on it, it should have been, however the seemingly cardboard cut out super imposed on the New York skyline at the end is terrible beyond description and oddly seems to be worse in the DVD version over the VHS version.
Thankfully saving this film from sinking completely was probably one of John Barry's finest non-Bond soundtracks, without that, this really would have become unbearable.
Sadly fact (the discovery of the Titanic for real) precludes any possibility of a decent remake which with good CGI could have been spectacular.
