295 replies to this topic

[DaveBond21]

I was 9 when both movies came out in 1983.


My parents took me for my birthday to see NSNA rather than Octopussy, and so Connery in NSNA was the first Bond I saw in a cinema, with all my friends. I don't think my parents would have known that it was not an offical Bond movie, they just saw Bond, and Connery and thought that would be OK.

[Double-0-7]

I saw NSNA in the theater and was confused by the missing gun barrel and the lack of the Bond theme after the PTS. I enjoyed NSNA (and still do), but a couple weeks later went to Octopussy and back to the comfort of 'a real' Bond movie. That wasn't a bad Bond summer at all!

[Spurrier]

I did not recall that Octopussy and NSNA came out at approximately the same time. I thought they were many months apart. The EON folks must have had huge grins when Octopussy walloped NSNA at the box office.

[DaveBond21]

The figure in the background is one of the thugs who is about to attack Bond and Octopussy

OK, thanks!!!

[Qwerty]

I did not recall that Octopussy and NSNA came out at approximately the same time. I thought they were many months apart. The EON folks must have had huge grins when Octopussy walloped NSNA at the box office.

Well, there were a few months between them. Octopussy premiered on 6 June and Never Say Never Again on 6 October.

[Turn]

OP's advantage is that it has a nice balance between silly humor, exciting action and some serious moments. It doesn't try to be too over-the-top like TSWLM or MR, but it also doesn't try to be too serious or down-to-earth with forced humor like FYEO or AVTAK.

You can enjoy the fun of the Acrostar jet precredit sequence, then get the grim reality of 009's death at the beginning of the film proper. You get the sillieness of Bond in the gorilla suit and the serious confrontation of Bond and Orlov on the train. You get the yo-yo sawblade fight followed by the realism of Vijay's death. It seems like a real give-and-take between the situations when you think about it.

Moore has never been cooler than here. The backgammon game is one of my favorite gambling scenes in the series, while the Southeby's scene is another study in Moore cool. The dinner scene at the Monsoon Palace is also a classic.

[DaveBond21]

Yes, I love the gambling scene too, brilliant stuff!!

Does anyone know if Stephen King had started writing "It" before Octopussy came out? If not, does anyone know if he was inspired to create Pennywise the Clown from the scene of 009's death???

[Vanish]

Octopussy definitely does strike an odd balance - There's some remarkably silly stuff (pretty much everything in India), but once the flick heads to Germany, the deadly-serious tone actually works... before it reverts back to silly stuff during the finale.

The movie is a hell of a lot of fun though, much more so than the two Moore films that surround it. Moonraker was obviously too silly, FYEO lost its luster by trying to be too down-to-earth, and AVTAK had an even stranger balance of humor and seriousness to the point that it didn't quite click.

But OP remains quite a lot of fun, just by striking that intangible balance and feeling.

[DaveBond21]

Well, I actually prefer FYEO, love its down-to-earth nature, and it is my favourite along with FRWL. The spy movies. Although TSWLM is up there too.

[Double-Oh Agent]

I love Octopussy. It's my favorite Roger Moore film and my second favorite Bond film. Along with Licence To Kill, I find them to be two of the most underrated films of the entire series. Octopussy is a lot of fun with solid performances from Moore and Louis Jourdan, great stunts, and good suspense. And what can I say about Octopussy and all her girls?

[SecretAgentFan]

Yes, I love the gambling scene too, brilliant stuff!!

Does anyone know if Stephen King had started writing "It" before Octopussy came out? If not, does anyone know if he was inspired to create Pennywise the Clown from the scene of 009's death???

There is absolutely no connection between Stephen King

[streetjive]

For me Octopussy is somewhat of a guilty pleasure, but I do have one major gripe -- apart from those downright bizarre costumes Octopussy's guards swan around in, does anyone not find some of the acting skills displayed in the movie somewhat, er, lacking? Kristina Wayborn may be great to look at, but it's always an effort for me not to crack up whenever she's delivering her lines. Ditto Vijay ( -- granted, his primary career was as a tennis star). Maybe that's part of the whole "fun" vibe - it's not really meant to be taken seriously...

Either way, those quibbles of mine are outweighed by the excellent performance of Steven Berkoff as General Orlov. And unlike most, I actually find the final circus scene to be one of the most suspenseful in the (gulp) entire series. And the way ol' Rog yells "There's a bomb in the dammit!"...

Finally, I think they did a great job showcasing India as an exotic locale (something sorely lacking in the Brosnan-era films, although CR seems to be on the mark). Pretty damn atmospheric, even if street-fight scene (with the hot coals and the bed of nails etc) was shot in the backlot at Pinewood...

[dee-bee-five]

Another fan here. I love Octopussy. Perhaps I have very special memories of the film as I attended the London premiere in 1983 and it was the best Bond premiere I, personally, have been to; but I believe it's more to do with it being just such good fun. It's second only to TSWLM amongst old Rog's Bonds for me.

[Santa]

I see Octopussy as heels compared to flats. You know you should wear the flats, it makes sense, but sometimes you just cannot resist the sexy, strappy heels. They make you feel good, even when you're wincing in pain.

[Tarl_Cabot]

I saw a hilarious Youtube video the other day. Someone turned a scene from Vanne Damn's Blood Sport into a mentos commercial:



I could see that done with Octopussy...*giggles*

[Disco Volante]

Having read this thread, I had to watch OP last night and thought I'd throw in my comments.

I agree with a lot of comments in that it does have some silly moments, and some of the suporting actors are pretty awful (Kristina Wayborn & Vijay), but the film does move along quite nicely. I remember seeing it at the cinema (I was 12) and laughing but not as much as my parents (obviously not understanding some of the jokes).

The relationship beween Bond and Q is great in this film, and I don't think we see it like that again until LTK. The comment in the hot air balloon about Q being full of hot air is inspired! There is a chemistry between Roger and Maud also and she remains one of the most beautiful bond girls (having met her in July this year, at 60 she still looks great!). Kamal is agood villain and I love it when he tells Bond he "has a nasty habit of surviving". Also the play between Bond and Moneypenny (whatever did happen to her assistant Penelope Smallbone???) is also a good one!

Overall, I think it rates at Roger's most humourous, and the 2nd best he did, after TSWLM.

[DaveBond21]

[quote]There is absolutely no connection between Stephen King

[Double-0-7]

I did not recall that Octopussy and NSNA came out at approximately the same time. I thought they were many months apart. The EON folks must have had huge grins when Octopussy walloped NSNA at the box office.

Well, there were a few months between them. Octopussy premiered on 6 June and Never Say Never Again on 6 October.

When you're old and decrepit like me, a couple of months seems like a couple of weeks looking back 20+ years ago. I know I took the same date to both movies, and my wife is the only woman I dated longer than a couple months, so it must have been her.

I'm not about to ask if she remembers going to both though on the off chance it was someone else! No reason to get in a fight over something that long ago when we have plenty of fresh material!

[DaveBond21]

I'm not about to ask if she remembers going to both though on the off chance it was someone else!

???


Surely you can ask your wife this???


She knows about your exes. I can tell my wife with whom she was with if she tells me a date and I think she can with me.

[Double-0-7]

Not from that timeframe DaveBond! About 2 women before my wife was another member of her clique. We ended up married, but dating one of her friends is a real sore spot.

This is getting way off topic anyway!

[DaveBond21]

LOL. Oh I see.

Sorry. I didn't meant to pry.

[DLibrasnow]

I did not recall that Octopussy and NSNA came out at approximately the same time. I thought they were many months apart. The EON folks must have had huge grins when Octopussy walloped NSNA at the box office.

Well, there were a few months between them. Octopussy premiered on 6 June and Never Say Never Again on 6 October.

And even more time in the UK. Never Say Never Again was a Christmas release in the UK.

That was a great year to be a Bond fan, the media was abuzz over the Battle of the Bonds.

[DaveBond21]

Ah, well that explains why my parents took me to see NSNA, because my birthday is in December.

I was turning 9 that year.

[subkulture]

Octopussy worked on many levels

1 - The cast was perfect....Maud Adams, Steven Berkhoff, Kabir Berdi and Louis Jourdan delivered what was asked and more.

2 - Beautifully shot.....although India was made to look more colourful and glamorous than what it is, its certainly made for easy viewing on the eye.

3 - Good plot....sometimes a little confusing but certainly not boring. A simple assignment to investigate a suspicious auction leading to a interwoven plot about an attempt to blow up a US naval base.

4 - Brilliant pre-title sequence.......by far one of the best

And yes, out of all his Bonds, this is the one where Roger is clearly having the most fun and is most at ease playing. Although FYEO is my fav Moore Bond, Octopussy is the one that clearly defines what Roger Moores Bonds were all about.......having fun, not taking it too seriously, just giving an audience 2 hours of enjoyment without disappoitment.

[moorebond82]

Great movie my second favorite bond film,second only to For Your Eyes Only.

[DamnCoffee]

One of Rogers best behind TSWLM and FYEO though

[Spurrier]

I recently read where Roger said that the Octopussy production was a fun and happy one to be involved with. It shows in the movie.

[Publius]

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

But of course.

As for Octopussy, I like it. Off the top of my head (I saw it very recently, yet some of it is still a blur, don't know why), the only things I really don't like are the title song, the Q scene, the "si-it!" nonsense, and the Tarzan yell.

Everything else makes for a solid Bond epic with a good mix of lightheartedness and seriousness (a lot like Spy). I think this would have made for a better swan song than Rog got, and than Sean or Pierce could have had even a movie earlier.

[DaveBond21]

Yes, maybe it should have been Roger's last movie.

[4 Ur Eyez Only]

I think it would have been perfect if Octopussy was his last, with the ship floating in the sunset

Octopussy is the best 007 film. He was the best movie going experience I personally ever had. The movie just is fun! It is action, romance, class, just straight fun!!

This is why you go to the movie theater.

To be entertained