Like AVTAK, the movie seems to have a rather middle-aged sensibility in its humour and nostalgia. This could be due to John Glen's sensibility... though more likely because it's built around a Bond in his mid 50s. (Glen's LTK had a fresher edge, with a younger Bond.)
Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
I think OP is the best film to introduce Bond to children.
While I don't think that scene would be OK for most, there are a couple of scenes of Bond womanizing or ogling women that would be akward for younger wievers. A couple of violent scenes like the death of Orlov and 009, bur it's less violent than otehr Bonds.
It isn't his farewell- he'd be back in the next two movies.
Thunderbird 2East of Cardiff, Wales.Posts: 2,816MI6 Agent
OCT - A transition point.......
Octopussy is a swan song in more ways than one. At the time, no one knew the next film AVTAK would be Sir Roger’s last go as 007, but in retrospect, the signs are present here in its predecessor.
The use of the Faberge egg the props themselves are breathtaking is the last real “we have this maguffin” echoing the Solex, the Sub tracker and the ATAK from the previous films. Like those earlier devices it is not the centre piece of the story. Like Solitaire Anya, Holly and later Mayday, the leading lady is staged as a a character of divided loyalty and makes the big decision to ally and support Bond. The key villain is working with military types and this too will be revisited in TLD and GE.
However, these aspects don’t spoil the film. Taken at face value, Octopussy is clever, dramatic and very entertaining. I must confess, had not seen this film in ages, and got caught up to the point I forgot to Machine Goes “Ping” a few times!
There are some things that don’t work. Orlov does destroy the real egg, and the writers seem to loose track of whether the casket of jewellery was the real stuff or duds. The Romanov star destroyed at the depository implies real, but Khan was going to let it vaporise with the US base and thousands of people? But then Oumerov has the casket in his car. If it is there, wasn’t the Star retrieved at that point?
A bit like the fake egg, it all makes less sense on closer inspection.
The blatant gags - Tarzan, Sit!! Hiss Off are poor, but not as bad as TMWTGG, before, the unfunny funnies in AVTAK. Except the backgammon and tuc tuc chase scenes. Moore’s Bond comes across as old school imperial Britannia here, and the Major character. (A visual reference to Dexter Smythe?)
Doesn’t help. A less Fleminglike moment that Bond balking at the “Sheep’s heid” I can’t remember right now.
The action scenes are great, and if you ignore the tropes stereotypes and repeated aspects, it’s damned good fun.
Between this and NSNA, this was def the better film, and the location work showcases that.
But, repetitive aspects were beginning to show. Perhaps Octopussy’s lasting legacy, is it was subtle enough where AVTAK just wouldn’t be allowed to be.
This is Thunderbird 2, how can I be of assistance?
Was it on here that someone managed to identify which movie set had been adapted to use as the Bavarian town square that Bond steals the Alfa Romeo from? I feel like it was a Notre Dame movie which had been shooting at Pinewood but it turned out to be something else maybe..?
It does seem to have been part of John Glen's strategy in OP to alternate between more serious dramatic conflict and cartoonish sequences. He tried to draw on different parts of the legacy, with films like FRWL and OHMSS on the one hand and broadly comic elements on the other - and in this case the Indian setting was an exoticised 'Boy's Own' world from an imaginary past rather than the stylised high-tech world of hyper modernity seen in other Bond film settings. Popular British television was in the background too. Concerning your points about the cartoonish raid by Octopussy's girls, it was only in 1980 that 'The Two Ronnies' had included in their phenomenally popular show a memorable mini serial 'The Worm That Turned', in which Diana Dors had headed up squads of sexy girls in bettering the male of the species in a 'role reversal' fantasy.
Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
I must say, that it was a feast for me.
The locations in India are incredibly beautiful - just like Moonraker, you can see that they where throwing with money.
In particular I have enjoyed Roger Moore's performance.
Very often, he's accused of being the geezer Bond, particularly in his last movies.
How wrong that is when you watch OP carefully. He certainly shows his age, he's witty as always, but there are many moments, where he plays it straight and serious! In a german 007 book, it's said that he can be funny at one moment and then be cold like a dog snout.
What a talented wonderful actor he was!
Louis Jordan is the perfect villain for him - just like Michael Londsdale was!
I very much enjoyed Maud Adams who plays a wonderful complex charcter and shows that she's certainly more than eye candy.
Negatives to me are the too long and less glamourous train scenes and you can see Moore's stuntdouble too often clearly (is that just an issue because we have HD now?) - in particular BJ Worth in the last action sequence.
All in all 2 hours well spent!
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I too enjoyed last night watching Octopussy. There is a lot of silliness in OP, but unlike MR I think the tone is fairly consistent. Roger Moore clearly enjoyed playing Bond in OP, and the actreses had good characters to play.
OP is a mix of silliness and a thriller, in my opinion. MR is all over the place: sci-fi, a bit of horror, straight action and a lot of silliness.
Thunderbird 2East of Cardiff, Wales.Posts: 2,816MI6 Agent
edited June 2020
I am another one who is a die hard Moonraker fan -because of its Sci Fi credentials.
Michael Lonsdale is the perfect Bond baddie as Drax, because the character has his poles reversed.
Ultra calm almost flat, he shows quirks of annoyance or amusement. It makes the character more of an enigma.
A sharp contrast to Flemings Goldfinger Mark II in the book. Having said that, I agree the film goes from Standard Bond
to wince painfully wiht the Gondola, and back to wow wee with the Space Shuttle fleet. Even his bonkers plan is not
devastate the world a'la Blofeld (Pleasance) or Stromberg, its save the World by eliminating its overiding problem - humanity.
That's thought provoking and horrific on several different levels.
Ocotopussy is the opposite. We have very focussed sharp actors, all of whom compliment the leading man, and the story is designed around that. Of course that is also why there are awkward annoying plot holes - which egg, which jewels, which Baddie? IN the end the Egg and the jewels are plot maguffins, and Orlov is the crackpot character - leaving Louis Jordan's Khan to be the quiet devious Dr No type. One who uses wit and menace in balanced measure.
The point about influences of the day is a noted one. As well as The Two Ronnies, Benny Hill, Little & Large, Kenny Everett Three Of A Kind and Morcombe & Wise were at the height of the entertainment ratings on UK tv. The cheeky verbal gags are more reflective of the latter, the more risque stuff belonging to the others. As I noted myself even the likes of Alien gets a nod. - Name dropping and cultural referencing is everywhere now. In those days it was very hit and miss. And of course there was the Falklands conflict, which the PTS bears more than a nod to, too.
However - none of these things have dated either OCT or MKR to the same extent as NSNA or AVTAK has sagged over the decades. In the end, The House Of Eon still knew how to present an entertaining film in very uncertain times.
This is Thunderbird 2, how can I be of assistance?
I rode in a Tuc Tuc once when I was in the Philippines. I thought I was going to die. Never again.
The Bride wants us to go to Thailand and ride in one together....
Don't.
Don't.
Really, don't.
Just...don't do it.
I think Gymkata must have had a really bad experience in the Philippines, because the tricycles as they are called here, (not Tuc Tuc’s), are an amazingly enjoyable experience as are the Jeepney’s, both pictured below.
I had no problems with tuk tuk’s when I was in Thailand on my Far East tour, although as Higgin’s commented, it is advisable not to hire mopeds because many are in dangerous condition.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Around 50 people on mopeds are dying in Thailand every day and significant number of those (and of those who are getting injured) are tourists.
When I am there, I never rent something and I make sure that if I hire a driver, he's on 4 wheels at least
Wow! That is a terrible number of daily deaths.
Here in Cebu/Mactan, we have an average of less than 50 motor related deaths per year with a population of 1.5 million. Probably because most of the time traffic is nose to tail
It’s been many years since I’ve been on a tricycle but always had a driver!
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Here we have slightly more than 100 killed in traffic every year in a population of 5.4 million. Don't mind me, I'm just being a braggart about something I can't take credit for again.
When you crash into a moose it will probably die, but in many cases the the two people sitting in front in the car die too. The moose can weigh 800 kilos and most of that weight is in windshield height. I don't know haow many moose get killed in traffic every year and we don't have them here at the west coast.
Comments
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Eva Rueber-Staier
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Like I've said before, you may not like his Bond but you have to like him
I agree. I'm sure the clown suit would hav ebeen wrong for any other Bond actor, but it just barely works for Moore. I'm on the fence about it …..
While I don't think that scene would be OK for most, there are a couple of scenes of Bond womanizing or ogling women that would be akward for younger wievers. A couple of violent scenes like the death of Orlov and 009, bur it's less violent than otehr Bonds.
It isn't his farewell- he'd be back in the next two movies.
Octopussy is a swan song in more ways than one. At the time, no one knew the next film AVTAK would be Sir Roger’s last go as 007, but in retrospect, the signs are present here in its predecessor.
The use of the Faberge egg the props themselves are breathtaking is the last real “we have this maguffin” echoing the Solex, the Sub tracker and the ATAK from the previous films. Like those earlier devices it is not the centre piece of the story. Like Solitaire Anya, Holly and later Mayday, the leading lady is staged as a a character of divided loyalty and makes the big decision to ally and support Bond. The key villain is working with military types and this too will be revisited in TLD and GE.
However, these aspects don’t spoil the film. Taken at face value, Octopussy is clever, dramatic and very entertaining. I must confess, had not seen this film in ages, and got caught up to the point I forgot to Machine Goes “Ping” a few times!
There are some things that don’t work. Orlov does destroy the real egg, and the writers seem to loose track of whether the casket of jewellery was the real stuff or duds. The Romanov star destroyed at the depository implies real, but Khan was going to let it vaporise with the US base and thousands of people? But then Oumerov has the casket in his car. If it is there, wasn’t the Star retrieved at that point?
A bit like the fake egg, it all makes less sense on closer inspection.
The blatant gags - Tarzan, Sit!! Hiss Off are poor, but not as bad as TMWTGG, before, the unfunny funnies in AVTAK. Except the backgammon and tuc tuc chase scenes. Moore’s Bond comes across as old school imperial Britannia here, and the Major character. (A visual reference to Dexter Smythe?)
Doesn’t help. A less Fleminglike moment that Bond balking at the “Sheep’s heid” I can’t remember right now.
The action scenes are great, and if you ignore the tropes stereotypes and repeated aspects, it’s damned good fun.
Between this and NSNA, this was def the better film, and the location work showcases that.
But, repetitive aspects were beginning to show. Perhaps Octopussy’s lasting legacy, is it was subtle enough where AVTAK just wouldn’t be allowed to be.
Yes, far better than certain others.
I must say, that it was a feast for me.
The locations in India are incredibly beautiful - just like Moonraker, you can see that they where throwing with money.
In particular I have enjoyed Roger Moore's performance.
Very often, he's accused of being the geezer Bond, particularly in his last movies.
How wrong that is when you watch OP carefully. He certainly shows his age, he's witty as always, but there are many moments, where he plays it straight and serious! In a german 007 book, it's said that he can be funny at one moment and then be cold like a dog snout.
What a talented wonderful actor he was!
Louis Jordan is the perfect villain for him - just like Michael Londsdale was!
I very much enjoyed Maud Adams who plays a wonderful complex charcter and shows that she's certainly more than eye candy.
Negatives to me are the too long and less glamourous train scenes and you can see Moore's stuntdouble too often clearly (is that just an issue because we have HD now?) - in particular BJ Worth in the last action sequence.
All in all 2 hours well spent!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Michael Lonsdale is the perfect Bond baddie as Drax, because the character has his poles reversed.
Ultra calm almost flat, he shows quirks of annoyance or amusement. It makes the character more of an enigma.
A sharp contrast to Flemings Goldfinger Mark II in the book. Having said that, I agree the film goes from Standard Bond
to wince painfully wiht the Gondola, and back to wow wee with the Space Shuttle fleet. Even his bonkers plan is not
devastate the world a'la Blofeld (Pleasance) or Stromberg, its save the World by eliminating its overiding problem - humanity.
That's thought provoking and horrific on several different levels.
Ocotopussy is the opposite. We have very focussed sharp actors, all of whom compliment the leading man, and the story is designed around that. Of course that is also why there are awkward annoying plot holes - which egg, which jewels, which Baddie? IN the end the Egg and the jewels are plot maguffins, and Orlov is the crackpot character - leaving Louis Jordan's Khan to be the quiet devious Dr No type. One who uses wit and menace in balanced measure.
The point about influences of the day is a noted one. As well as The Two Ronnies, Benny Hill, Little & Large, Kenny Everett Three Of A Kind and Morcombe & Wise were at the height of the entertainment ratings on UK tv. The cheeky verbal gags are more reflective of the latter, the more risque stuff belonging to the others. As I noted myself even the likes of Alien gets a nod. - Name dropping and cultural referencing is everywhere now. In those days it was very hit and miss. And of course there was the Falklands conflict, which the PTS bears more than a nod to, too.
However - none of these things have dated either OCT or MKR to the same extent as NSNA or AVTAK has sagged over the decades. In the end, The House Of Eon still knew how to present an entertaining film in very uncertain times.
I think Gymkata must have had a really bad experience in the Philippines, because the tricycles as they are called here, (not Tuc Tuc’s), are an amazingly enjoyable experience as are the Jeepney’s, both pictured below.
I had no problems with tuk tuk’s when I was in Thailand on my Far East tour, although as Higgin’s commented, it is advisable not to hire mopeds because many are in dangerous condition.
When I am there, I never rent something and I make sure that if I hire a driver, he's on 4 wheels at least
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Wow! That is a terrible number of daily deaths.
Here in Cebu/Mactan, we have an average of less than 50 motor related deaths per year with a population of 1.5 million. Probably because most of the time traffic is nose to tail
It’s been many years since I’ve been on a tricycle but always had a driver!
Is that for real though, or just Fake Moose?
“I can speak English”
(Only some Brits will get this!)