007 Contra Octopussy

Out of all the Bondfilms with Roger Moore as 007, Octopussy is the one with the most Cold War aspects, and yes, what a great atmosphere I experienced when I saw the scenes in East-Germany, truly magnificent. If you are talking about those Cold War aspects you should not forget to mention Steven Berkoff his performance of an insane Soviet general with a hunger for power. Wonderful. The other villains are memorable as well: Louis Jourdan with style and sophistication; Kabir Bedi as one of those invincible henchmen and David Meyer & Tony Meyer are deadly twin brothers with an advanced skill in the trowing of daggers. As for the girls this one features two Swedish ladies: Maud Adams and Kristina Wayborn. Both of them are very strong and they have both some lovely scenes. Vijay Amritraj is Bond his ally in India: worth watching. This is also the first of four films to feature Robert Brown as Bond his superior M. John Barry is once again present with a truly wonderful soundtrack. The film is really amusing and has a great atmosphere. Despite the claim of many critics, Roger Moore is still in good shape. The only scene that disappointed me was the one where 007 is disguised in a circus clown, that will be painful for Bondfans, but the rest of the film is great. Do not skip this one.

This was where my live for the James Bond franchise began. What a great character to follow for decades to come!

I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs.

Revisited it recently.

This is the thirteenth in the Bond series and the sixth to star Roger Moore as James Bond.

After the death of 009, Bond is assigned the task of following a general who is stealing jewels and relics from the Soviet government. The mission leads Bond to cross paths with an exiled prince n his associate, Octopussy and later Bond discovers a plot involving nuclear weapon.

The film has one of the best pre credits scene of an aerial chase.

For a change, Bond does a Tarzan stunt, dons a gorilla outfit n also of a clown.

There is a lovely train sequence and a lol scene of that of a car being run on tracks by Bond.

It has a jungle chase sequence involving elephants, tiger, leeches, spiders n crocodiles.

But the best is the climactic aeroplane sequence which is tension filled n well shot.

Bond's sliding on the rail of stairs n shooting villains is epic and he riding a horse n catching up an aeroplane is amazing. Both the scenes are copied by the Bollywood spy film Ek Tha Tiger but done in a good way by Salman Khan.

This film has some very weak villains but a mighty strong n loyal henchman known as Gobinda played by an Indian actor Kabir Bedi.

This time Bond faces knife throwing assassins, a deluded General Orlov, an exiled prince Khan, a strong henchman Gobinda with an intimidating glare that causes Bond to lose his appetite, lots of thugs, guards, hunters, Colonel Luis Toro n his soldiers n a very ruthless contract killer with a yo-yo saw.

This time Bond gets to cool off with a sultry Hispanic female agent played by Tina Hudson, another hottie Kristina Wayborn and once again Maud Adams.

This film is the only one with a Bond Girl whose name is used as the title of the film.

Also Maud Adams played Bond girl in two different films, The Man With the Golden Gun and this film.

Watch out for poor Q getting seduced by a bunch of females to which he replies, "later perhaps".

Octopussy is directed by John Glen and adapted to screenplay by George Macdonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson. It stars Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jordan, Kabir Bedi, Steven Berkoff, Vijay Amritraj and Robert Brown. Music is scored by John Barry and cinematography by Alan Hume.

Bond 13 and 007 is assigned to find the link between the murder of 009 and the Fabergé egg found in the slain agent's possession. His investigation leads him to uncover a fiendish plot by a rogue Soviet General to detonate a nuclear device that will leave Western Europe vulnerable to a Soviet attack.

Undeniably the film that should have been Roger Moore's last as James Bond, Octopussy contains both the best and worst of the James Bond franchise. On the plus side is a very good core story that encompasses intelligent political overtones that were prevalent of the time period. A nuclear crisis is in the air and the East and the West, who have until now been casting suspicious eyes over each other, must co-operate to avert disaster. This closing down of the Cold War is nicely etched into the plot structure by the makers. The cast assembled is mostly impressive, with Adams and Jordan doing great characterisations, the photography by Hume makes India look like a paradise, Glen orchestrates some excellent action set-pieces, including one of the best pre-credits scenes of the series, and Barry's score is a swirl of romanticism and invention. The title song, All Time High sung by Rita Coolidge, is magnificent and this writer's personal favourite of all the Bond theme songs. While there's a new man enviably following the much missed Bernard Lee by playing M (Robert Brown) and Q (Desmond Llewelyn) gets a bigger role to play in the story.

Sadly, even though Moore is continuing the good acting of Bond he achieved in For Your Eyes Only, he is looking his age and not physically suited to the action. He is also saddled with having to do moronic things like swinging on a vine whilst doing the Tarzan jungle yell. It's pretty painful to watch and you have to wonder who on earth thought it was a good idea? There's moments when a silly bit of humour undermines the good plotting, while Berkoff and Amritraj are in turn over the top villainy and scarcely believable as a field agent. The film looks cheap, a rarity for a Bond film, and the smartness of the story often gets buried beneath the weight of convolutions. Most galling is that we should have had a classic Bond movie, a gargantuan feast of sets and tough secret agent shenanigans, for this was the year when Bond as we know it was facing off against the Kevin McClory rival Bond movie, Never Say Never Again, and that had Sean Connery in it; though he was also like Moore in his early 50s and too old for the suit.

The two films never met head to head at the box office, because McClory's was delayed. Both films made monster cash, with Octopussy grossing $184 million and Never Say Never Again copping $160 million, Bond, and the two actors playing the role were enough to ensure the cash tills rang loud and proud. But both films were solid rather than special, the profit margins were high but the quality wasn't. Octopussy has a bit of something for all types of Bond fans, but they just can't make a successful whole. From the Eon side of things there surely had to be a new direction, some decision making assertiveness instead of fluctuating between earthy Bond and ridiculous button pushing Bond, it needed some vim and vigour brought back into the fray. Moore planned to retire, and rightly so, was we about to see the dawn of a new Bond era? 7/10

Bond again in an electrifying movie that scored a new hit in the action genre . The immortal agent 007 , whose deadly precision , sourness , irony and irresistible attractive is perfectly portrayed by Roger Moore. This time he investigates the killing one his colleagues who appeared dead with a Russian egg Faberge of incalculable price . He undergoes an incredible adventure with spectacular pursuits until a chilling countdown , leading to a possible nuclear holocaust . This time OO7 taking off an elegant villainnamed Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan) living in India, as Bond tries to stop him but the maniacal nasty wreak all sorts of havoc until Bond steps in and the heinous mastermind schemes to put a nuclear bomb at a circus whose owner is Octopussy (Maud Adams ,the only Bond girl who repeated acting , she previously played ¨The man with the golden gun¨) . Nobody does it better...thirteen times. James Bond's all time action high. Roger Moore. James Bond 007 . Nobody does him better. James Bond's all time high

The film contains excitement, emotion , lots of action , suspense , gorgeous women (a beautiful Kristina Wayborn) and extreme nasties (Jourdan , Steven Berkoff , Kabir Bedi) . The plot tosses in every cliché including the obligatory intervention from MonneyPenny (Lois Maxwell), M (Robert Brown) , and Q (Desmond Llewelyn) . Before essaying the role Bond , Roger Moore honed his suavity in the series as ¨The Saint¨, hence he adds a humorous-tongue-in-cheek dimension to Ian Fleming's famed creation as the connoisseur (women and wine especially) spy hero , starting his role Bond with ¨Live and let die¨. Film displays gimmicks and silly set pieces that usually marred the best Moore outings . In spite of a moving opening sequence and some thrilling scenes along the way the Bond-Moore series is starting to look a little bit tired , just as its main star . John Barry's music is unforgettable ,as always , and including a colorful cinematography by cameraman Alan Hume. An agreeable screenplay and more believable excitement with cliff-hangers situations come to mind ; still, this solid outing isn't a bad Bond and it does star the most sympathetic OO7 . This is one of the more watchable entries based on a short book by Fleming with the same title ¨Octopussy¨ and stars Roger Moore in top form as 007 and adding an assured direction by John Glen .