Octopussy (1983)

Director:

John Glen

Writers:

George MacDonald Fraser (screen story and screenplay) and
Richard Maibaum (screen story and screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 June 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Nobody does it better...thirteen times.

Plot:

A fake Fabergé egg and a fellow agent's death leads James Bond to uncovering an international jewel smuggling operation, headed by the mysterious Octopussy, being used to disguise a nuclear attack on NATO forces.

Plot Keywords:

Egg | Agent | Circus | British | James Bond

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Roger Moore	...	James Bond
Maud Adams	...	Octopussy
Louis Jourdan	...	Kamal
Kristina Wayborn	...	Magda
Kabir Bedi	...	Gobinda
Steven Berkoff	...	Orlov
David Meyer	...	Twin One
Tony Meyer	...	Twin Two (in closing credits) (as Anthony Meyer)
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Q
Robert Brown	...	M
Lois Maxwell	...	Miss Moneypenny
Michaela Clavell	...	Penelope Smallbone
Walter Gotell	...	Gogol
Vijay Amritraj	...	Vijay
Albert Moses	...	Sadruddin

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Russian | German | Spanish

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints) (as Dolby Stereo)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Ireland:PG | South Korea:15 | UK:PG (tv rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Iceland:12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1983) | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG (Certificate #27025) | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

Cameo: [Michael G. Wilson]a passenger on the riverboat / a Soviet Security Council Member.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Bond runs the gate at the circus, the officer draws his pistol, presumably to shoot Bond or the vehicle, but instead shoots several warning shots. This is highly illegal.

Quotes:

[first lines]
James Bond: You didn't tell me there was going to be this much security.
Bianca: They moved the flight up to this afternoon.
James Bond: Well, we're going to have to go ahead as planned anyway.
[Bianca hands an ID badge with the name 'Luis Toro' to Bond]
James Bond: Toro. Sounds like a load of bull.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Starz Inside: Fashion in Film (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

All Time High

Roger Moore's Best Bond Film

This is by far the best of the Roger Moore Bond films in my opinion. I may be prejudiced since "Octopussy" was the first Bond film I saw theatrically, but I absolutely loved it back then and it still holds up today. The plot is a fine blend of the serious stories of the early Connery films and the humorous touches of the Moore era. Add to that a smooth villain in Louis Jourdan, delicious over-the-top counterpoint from Steven Berkoff, a formidable henchman in Kabir Bedi, two exotic Bond girls in Maud Adams and Kristina Wayborn, beautiful location photography in the rich "travelogue" style (did India ever look as good as it does here?) and a great John Barry score and you can't go wrong with it at all. The tense buildup in the bomb countdown which has Bond donning clown makeup at one point is probably one of the most exciting in any Bond film.

Roger Moore hit his peak playing Bond in this film and the proof is how he seems so much better than Sean Connery does in the inferior "Never Say Never Again" that came out that same year. It's a pity that Moore didn't go out with this one, since "A View To A Kill" was so poor by comparison.

By all means rent this, watch it and have fun!