68 replies to this topic

[B5Erik]

I watched Octopussy with my daughter the other night, and I've got to say I now remember why I liked it so much as a teen and a young adult.  It's a solid, exciting, fun Bond movie.  It's not as good as For Your Eyes Only or The Spy Who Loved Me, but it is better than LALD, MR, and TMWTGG, and probably even with AVTAK.

 

There are some good action scenes, some good detective work by Bond, and some good humor.  Sure, it goes over the top with the whole Tarzan yell and the, "Siiiiit-t," and the clown costume/make-up, but other than those brief moments the movie is played straight.

 

I really enjoy John Glen's direction in the five Bond movies he did.  I don't think he gets enough credit for making big time movies on increasingly smaller budgets.  Exciting, fun, visually lavish big time movies.  Octopussy is one of them.

Edited by B5Erik, 22 December 2012 - 11:37 PM.

[xboy]

I totally agree, I don't understand all the hate which goes with Octopussy. It's a solid Bond film , and IMHO, better then AVTAK, TMWTGG, MR and LALD. I love the train scenes, nice homage in Skyfall.

[tdalton]

I watched Octopussy with my daughter the other night, and I've got to say I now remember why I liked it so much as a teen and a young adult.  It's a solid, exciting, fun Bond movie.  It's not as good as For Your Eyes Only or The Spy Who Loved Me, but it is better than LALD, MR, and TMWTGG, and probably even with AVTAK.

 

Agreed.  It's not as good as For Your Eyes Only, but I'd probably rank Octopussy as tied for second amongst Moore's films with Live and Let Die.  Despite having an overall comedic tone there are some great, serious moments in the film that really make it a highlight. 

[seawolfnyy]

OP is vastly underrated. I would probably rank it 4 out 7 for Moore behind TSWLM, FYEO and LALD. Fixing a few relatively minor things would've really elevated this one to a much higher status i.e. the tarzan yell, the gorilla/clown suit, the title song (although the clown suit is important even if it kind of stupid). It's got a great, if useless, PTS. It's got one of the more realistic plots of the Moore era, despite the relatively weak villains (Gobinda is great though). The train scenes are great as are most of the scenes in India. Moore even looks good for 56 (he visibly ages quite a bit between OP and AVTAK).

[thecasinoroyale]

It's my second favourite Moore Bond - as you say, it's great fun but very serious and solid in places. The final act is one of my favourites, with the search for the bomb at the circus and the action in and on the train.

 

Moore doesn't look too old in the role either, which obviously he was but he pulls it off ery well. Glorious locations, great characters and a good story, harkening back to the old days of espionage and the spy thriller of the early Connery films.

[Trevelyan 006]

I've had the oddest pull to watch that movie lately... Thank you, for the further inspiration to do so. 

 

I wish Moore would've bowed out after OP though, as it would've been a much more solid last outing.

[Nick Bone]

Drop the Tarzan yell, the "SIIII-T"-command and change the title song and you have a good Bond film on your hands. I´ve always enjoyed OP since it was the very first Bond film I saw back in 1989/1990 when my dad (being a huge Moore fan) bought it on VHS.

 

It really has a good tone between the serious and humorous stuff, the plot is realistic and the performances and locations are enjoyable. If you want pure entertainment, watch Octopussy. And Sir Roger Moore doesn´t look like that old fart in AVTAK at all... he really aged badly between OP and AVTAK!

 

OP is the fourth best Moore outing on my list, behind FYEO, TSWLM and LALD.

[Catching Bullets]

Someone should write a book about it....

[FOX MULDER]

Drop the Tarzan yell, the "SIIII-T"-command and change the title song and you have a good Bond film on your hands.

 

What's wrong with "All Time High"...?

 

I always liked that song. Very classy, very Bond.

[Guy Haines]

Overlook the Tarzan yell and the now very dated "sit!!!" gag (Nearly thirty years on, can you remember "Training Dogs The Woodhouse Way"?) and OP is an entertaining Bond film with an unusual storyline. I think what makes it entertaining is that the actors involved were enjoying themselves, and one can tell they were, but there are moments of seriousness - notably agent Vijay's death, Bond's confrontation with Orlov, and, yes, Bond, dressed as a clown, trying to disarm that bomb.

 

I think OP would have been a better swansong for Roger Moore's Bond than AVTAK turned out to be. Sailing  (sorry, rowing) off into the sunset aboard a boat full of nubile ladies would have been a nice send off.

[seawolfnyy]

I could agree with that point.

[Panavision]

I love it too. The plot makes no sense; something about jewel thieves and a mad Russian wanting to nuke Germany so Europe is covered in red.

[DavidJones]

I love it too. The plot makes no sense; something about jewel thieves and a mad Russian wanting to nuke Germany so Europe is covered in red.

 

I thought it made sense.

[sharpshooter]

I have grown to like Octopussy more and more over the years. It's my third favourite from Roger, after TSWLM and MR. Very entertaining movie. 

[Shaun Forever]

Best film Roger Moore did, love it, such good fun.

 

 

I love the score as well, beautiful soundtrack, I find 'All time high' to be the most underrated song in the series.

[Stubris]

'All time High' is so much soggy lettuce after the awesome PTS...This, along with the oft mentioned Tarzan/Woodehouse/Gorilla suit mis-steps are the only quibbles I have with this highly entertaining entry.
"Octopussy" is your archetypal 'Sunday afternoon' movie..in fact, I think it's due a re-watch this very weekend.
I'd personally place it third on Sir Rogers list..Just below FYEO & TSWLM but clearly better than the rest.

[Double-0-Seven]

Octopussy is my favorite Moore film. It's the perfect mix of serious and fun and perhaps one of the most enjoyable entires in the franchise.

 

All Time High is a bore though. I agree with Stubris - after the excellent, exciting pre-title sequence we are given the most boring title song in the franchise. Really kills the mood.

[Professor Pi]

The sequence from switching canisters on the train up through the circus finale is very well paced.  It's taut and tense with good use of the ticking time bomb.  The clown and gorilla bits don't distract that much because they show Bond being resourceful without gadgetry (assuming he can get in and out of a gorilla suit and clown makeup that quickly.)

 

The earlier attempts at humor were more off though (a fake alligator, rolling into the gas station saying "Fill 'er up."  Ugh.)  It slipped a bit in my rankings on this viewing, but still Moore's third best.   

[ViperSRT87]

Hmm funny I came across this topic. Before skyfall came out I was watching the other Craig movies with my father to prepare for skyfall. Well after we watched CR I decided to watch a random film I haven't seen in a very long time and didn't remember. (up until getting this blu-ray set I hadn't seen a Bond film other than watching CR and QOS when they were released in many many years.) Well I picked Octopussy because I didn't remember it at all and my first viewing of it, keep in mind I was in "Daniel Craig mode," thought it was totally goofy and didn't care for it. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when we got to Roger Moore's era in our watching. After going from Connery to Moore and watching Octopussy in context I found it extremely enjoyable! I guess because of the fact that I had not seen the older Bond's in so long and I watched it originally in the middle of watching Craig I had forgotten the charm and fun of Moore's Bonds. Overall Timothy Dalton is my favorite  but Moore's movies are fun and engaging...for the most part. I too would in the end rank Octopussy high on the Moore list. I also fully agree with some of the other posters that Octopussy would have been a better send off for Mr. Moore. When we watched AVTAK afterward I was shocked at the drop in quality. Poor Roger Moore :(   

Edited by ViperSRT87, 22 April 2013 - 05:17 PM.

[zencat]

The official James Bond 007 Facebook page is celebrating Octopussy all this month, because it rules!!!

 

https://www.facebook.com/JamesBond007

[jmarks4life]

Watched it this weekend.

[thecasinoroyale]

 

My second favourite Moore Bond film - so full of fun, great action and a decent story, it's one of the best!

[SecretAgentFan]

30 years... that makes me... oh, boy...

[jaguar007]

I remember being on vacation in Nassau on opening day and dragging my parents from the beach to the theater to go see it.

[jmarks4life]

Very much underrated. Its one of Moore's best Bond films.

[nickjb007]

Wife and I will be watching it this Friday night. I do have one question why is there so much hatred or dislike of Bond in the clown suit. I thought the scene was handle very well by John Glen and was a very suspensful scene. Is it because we just never view or think that Bond should be seen in a clown outfit.

[jmarks4life]

This was the first Bond film I saw as a 10 year old kid. From then on I've been a big Bond fan. I'm gonna watch it tonight so celebrate Octopussy's 30th anniversary.

Edited by jmarks4life, 04 June 2013 - 01:49 AM.

[Double Naught spy]

What a glorious year 1983 promised to be!  I still recall the 'pistols-drawn' images of Moore and Connery side-by-side on a Starlog magazine cover, promising an epic (this is one of the few times that word ("epic") has been used appropriately in the last decade!)  battle between the Bonds.  As a 14 year old - I couldn't wait!  Then, Never Say Never Again was released and I came to the conclusion that there was only "one Bond" for the 1980's - Roger Moore.  

 

When the powers-that-be hit the 'reset' button after the over-the-top Moonraker and gave us a no-frills/no-gadgets/action-packed For Your Eyes Only, the pendulum swung back into the balance of the "Goldfinger" territory with Octopussy.  Yes, it has its low-point "moments", but all-in-all, it (IMO) achieves a great  balance between (a) audience (not necessarily Fleming's 007 fans) expectations and ( gadgets vs. pure grit,  

 

Octopussy hits on all cylinders as a solid 007 film - the villains' plan are world-shaking without being the over-the-top "I want to rule the world"; there's an initial "take the measure of the man" initial confrontation between 007 and the villain at a gaming table (shades of Goldfinger or Thunderball); a villain's larger-than-life henchman (Gobinda and, to some degree the knife-throwing twins), a sacrificial lamb/ally (ala Kermin Bey) in the form of Vijay; a mid-film 'twist' on who's good vs. bad (Octopussy herself); and a solid climactic action scene.   Also, it has (relatively) realistic villains - an insane Soviet General and Kamal Kahn (whatever the heck he was - After all these years, I'm still not sure!  Wikipedia says he was an "exiled Afghan prince, but whatever the case may be, 'way to go' on capitalizing on the "Khan" name after the previous year's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan!)

 

As for Bond in the clown outfit - that scene, with him valiantly attempting to muscle his way past the Germany-stationed U.S. soldiers in desperately effort in trying to  defuse the bomb that will not only kill him and all of his assailants, but also trigger WWIII! -  was a highlight in the 007 series in regards to a tense scene (let's face it - walking into the theater, we known 007 will 'win the day' and anytime we feel (even for a second or two) that might not happen is a 'golden moment' of a rare treat!), Also, "Kudos" to Roger Moore and his acting talents in that scene.  Despite wearing a comical clown outfit, he does a excellent job in evoking the aforementioned tension.  Next time you watch this movie, pay close attention to Roger Moore's facial expressions, etc. 

 

Is Octopussy on the same level as the 'serious toned' Casino Royale or Skyfall? Is it among the 'classics' as Goldfinger?  Certainly not on either account.  But for it to be compared to any era beyond the one it falls into (anymore than  From Russia With Love should be compared to Casino or Skyfall or vice versa) would be a travesty of injustice.  Octopussy should ONLY be rated against its chronological contemporaries (specifically - For Your Eyes Only, Never Say Never Again, and A View To A Kill), and as such (again, IMO) finds itself comfortably among the top of the pack.

[Hansen]

My first Bond and I definitely agree : the clown scene is probably the Moore's best piece of acting of the whole serie

[Sir Godfrey]

Octopussy is the first Bond movie I saw. I was too young and I realized a few years laters that man dressed as a clown was James Bond.

I like this movie because there is an atmosphere, a dangerous thriller around a circus. The scene showing the death of 009 is probably my favourite. However I can difficult apologize John Glen who made a Tarzan scene during a very exciting chase. I think Octopussy could be excellent if there were not this kind of mess.