295 replies to this topic

[DaveBond21]

Just watched Octopussy again.

It is a very action-packed, but also fun Bond movie. It also has its silly moments! Does anyone else think it is one of the best Bond films to just make you smile?

It also has the most animals in a Bond movie - surely? It has a tiger, snake, leech, monkeys, crocodiles, elephants, spiders!!

It also has its silly moments - the Tarzan yell, the "tennis chase" on tuk-tuks, the scenes with Q, the "Sit: scene with the tiger, and the gorilla suit scene!!

But it also has great stunts - especially Bond on the side/top of the train, and also the slide down the balcony!!!

Great fun. Who else is a fan of Octopussy?? I think I have to be in the right mood for it, but it is a good laugh and a great Bond movie.

[Santa]

I'm a huge fan of Octopussy. It has some deplorable moments, that's for sure, but the cast and locations are excellent. It's glamourous, entertaining, Rog looked like he enjoyed himself. For every bad moment, there are 5 good ones.

[Bucky]

definitly one of my favorite roger bond films. it didnt take itself to seriously but it also didnt become too silly. its one of the films that is easier to watch at any time and does not require me to be in a certain mood to enjoy it.

[Nimsworth]

Octopussy remains a guilty pleasure of mine as it's my favourite of all the Moore's due to the fact that it's pretty much the "Comedy" film of the series.

Plus Kamal Khan saying "Octopussy" is my SMS tone.

[Diabolik]

Fun? More like just plain stupid! Bond as a clown battling circus performers. Tarzan yells, etc.

More like agonizing! It's one of 3 or 4 Bond flicks I just cannot bear to watch again.

Ian Fleming must be rolling over in his grave for that one.

[DLibrasnow]

Check these two threads:

Moore: The Fun 007

Octopussy - 21 years ago

[ComplimentsOfSharky]

Ian Fleming must be rolling over in his grave for that one.

Haven't heard someone say that in a while...


I'd probably say DAF is the most fun, though it's not my favorite by any stretch. Octopussy is definitely up there though, I love watching it.

[medrecess]

OP is overall an entertainer .But the thing is that it still is a well made film.It is silly at times surely. The positive thing is that the locations have been incorporated in the story in a proper way.Its not pushed into.It
still is one of the best Bond films.Only downside is the stupid Circus scenes.
All the characters are well sketched and authentic which makes it a very memorable film.

[Sunny_on_SM]

Maud Adams is my favourite Roger Bond girl. She and Roger Moore had great chemistry, more so, I think, than he had with any other actress in a Bond movie, maybe because they are good friends off screen?

I think that Octopussy and Live And Let Die are the most unusual of all Bond movies. They had interesting characters and locations, unusual gadgets and action. It was a fun movie for sure, but not my favourite Roger Bond. I can't quite figure this out, but for some reason, it just never really stuck with me like his other Bond movies.

[JimmyBond]

Some of the attempts at "fun" are cringe worthy, namely the things the original poster mentioned. However once Bond starts trailing Octopuussy's Circus train, the movie turns dead serious. Unfortanetely it becomes "fun" again once they begin the assault on Kamal Kahn's palace, but it's still a pretty good film.

Now Tomorrow Never Dies, that's the funnest Bond movie.

[Spurrier]

I agree with Sunny. The chemistry between Rog and Maude is very good and that's what makes it click for me. I am a little surprised that Maud's career didn't take off after her Bond stints. Oh well. I still think she is the most beautiful Bond girl ever.

It too is not my favorite Bond film. But it's a very good one.

Does anyone notice that Rog showed his emotional Bond side when he sees that Vijay has died?

It probably should have been Rog's last Bond film. But I guess Cubby hadn't yet settled on a replacement and needed Rog to stay on a little longer.

[Double-Oh-Zero]

'Tis indeed a big daft hoot of a fillum. A killer opening and climax, and the casino scene and ensuing chase are good stuff, despite the regrettable "curry thing."

Shame that the plot doesn't really bother to show up until the last third, but there are worse ways to spend ninety minutes.

I think.

[zencat]

I love OCTOPUSSY. It's in my top 5 favs to be sure.

[tonymascia1]

Octopussy has really grown on me over the years.

While the humor at times was over the top, the wit generally was a step up from most Bond films.

The scene with Agent 009 trying to escape, and (especially) Our Hero trying to get to the Air Base to stop the bomb, were "Hitchcock lite", in the best sense of the phrase.

OP is probably a good film to show non-Bond fans to entice them to explore other (better?) films in the series.

[DamnCoffee]

OP is a great Movie

[medrecess]

'Tis indeed a big daft hoot of a fillum. A killer opening and climax, and the casino scene and ensuing chase are good stuff, despite the regrettable "curry thing."

Shame that the plot doesn't really bother to show up until the last third, but there are worse ways to spend ninety minutes.

I think.

What does the " Curry thing " mean ? Please explain.What is regrettable ?

[Sunny_on_SM]

I know that some people criticised Roger for dressing up as a clown. But I thought this was a brave move. Can't picture Sean or Pierce disarming a bomb in a clown's getup. The idea might seem crazy, but it worked very well, he was believable, and the scene didn't lose its intensity for me personally simply because of his outfit.

[Qwerty]

It's a very entertaining Bond film. I love it (and rank it in my top five).

[DaveBond21]

Also - I get the feeling it has more women in it, than any other Bond movie.


Just see how many women there are at the hotel, casino and of course Octopussy's place.


Does anyone know about the mysterious person walking in the background, when Bond is looking out of Octopussy's window, after his "feeling" that something has happened? In the top right hand corner of the screen (after 1 hour 20 minutes on my VHS), there is a figure walking very briefly by, and just wondered if this was meant to be one of the girls, or a goof?

Plus when Bond gets his "feeling" that something is wrong, is this some sort of sixth sense that he has developed?? Because when he got this feeling was when Vijay was killed.

????

[Head of S]

Also - I get the feeling it has more women in it, than any other Bond movie.


Just see how many women there are at the hotel, casino and of course Octopussy's place.


Does anyone know about the mysterious person walking in the background, when Bond is looking out of Octopussy's window, after his "feeling" that something has happened? In the top right hand corner of the screen (after 1 hour 20 minutes on my VHS), there is a figure walking very briefly by, and just wondered if this was meant to be one of the girls, or a goof?

Plus when Bond gets his "feeling" that something is wrong, is this some sort of sixth sense that he has developed?? Because when he got this feeling was when Vijay was killed.

????

The figure in the background is one of the thugs who is about to attack Bond and Octopussy. If you read Ian Fleming then you'll understand Bond's 'sixth sense'.

[AgentPB]

Yeah it was the most fun but other moore movies come in close behind. I know this is off topic but when Bond goes to the Skateing rink to say goodbye he fights three goons. Why? and why does it make the scoring sound ewach time he beats one?

[Andrew]

I've never really seen what's so great about OP. I've always found it's pacing to be horrible and Moore's performance to be nothing special (especially after his performance in FYEO). It also can't decide whether it wants to be a FYEO or TSWLM type film.

[Double-O Eleven]

I rank For Your Eyes Only and The Spy Who Loved Me above Octopussy in the Moore canon, but still think it is a fairly enjoyable film. The film is often silly and a bit stilted in the India sequences, but once it gets to Germany for the train and bomb scenes, it's superb stuff. I love Moore's confrontation with Orlov ("No, let's stay...") and his dead-serious attempt to difuse the bomb while wearing a clown outfit. What I love about the clown outfit is there is no attempt to make anything funny about it. The 70s films would have had Bond do some comic pratfalls while in the suit, but there's none of that here. It also helps that Octopussy was up against Never Say Never Again in 1983, which made it seem even better.

Edited by Double-O Eleven, 18 September 2006 - 09:39 PM.

[Tiin007]

Octopussy is definitely one of my top 5.

[Loomis]

They don't make 'em like that any more.

For a long time, I'd have stuck a "thankfully" on the end of that sentence, but in recent years I've come to appreciate OCTOPUSSY for what it is: fun escapist nonsense and nothing but. And as the series becomes more and more "serious" (selfconsciously, and with decidedly mixed results), the film's breezy charm is more welcome than ever.

On paper, something like THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH may seem far more faithful to Fleming, far more worthy of a proper Bond fan's time, and so on, but give me good old OCTOPUSSY any day. Will we ever see its like again?

[dinovelvet]

Yeah it was the most fun but other moore movies come in close behind. I know this is off topic but when Bond goes to the Skateing rink to say goodbye he fights three goons. Why? and why does it make the scoring sound ewach time he beats one?

That scene is from For Your Eyes Only - the three goons were the men who killed Ferrara, who was waiting for Bond in the car outside. It makes the scoring sound because it is "funny", see

[Loomis]

Thinking about it, OCTOPUSSY was the last Bond film that was never supposed to be anything other than silly fun (and therefore the last truly unpretentious Bond film). Sure, A VIEW TO A KILL has its silly side, but compared to OCTOPUSSY it's LICENCE TO KILL.

If the relative "grittiness" of FOR YOUR EYES ONLY was in some ways an overreaction to the full-on lunacy of MOONRAKER, is it possible that OCTOPUSSY was fashioned to be as zany (and, consequently, as "audience-pleasing") as possible in an attempt to get back to MOONRAKER-style grosses after FYEO's slight box office dip?

[Harmsway]

If the relative "grittiness" of FOR YOUR EYES ONLY was in some ways an overreaction to the full-on lunacy of MOONRAKER, is it possible that OCTOPUSSY was fashioned to be as zany (and, consequently, as "audience-pleasing") as possible in an attempt to get back to MOONRAKER-style grosses after FYEO's slight box office dip?

Well, yeah, I think so.

But to answer the main question - I think MOONRAKER, as well as a number of other Bond films, are considerably more fun to watch than OCTOPUSSY.

[DaveBond21]

Yes, I didn't say it was my favourite, but maybe it is the one that makes me smile the most (and groan!!)....


However, out of Moore's movies, I prefer TSWLM and FYEO, but then I think OP is next.

[Double-0-7]

Remember that EON had a huge competitor to take into account when deciding how closely they should follow the Bond formula. NSNA starring the original Bond came out about the same time.

Thanks to Renard's excellent fan trailer for OP, I watched it the other night and other than not liking the clown scenes much found it to be a thoroughly Bond movie that was quite fun.

Like some others here, my opinion of OP has grown over the years. Not sure where I would rank it, but it sure gets considered when looking for the right movie on Friday nights!