Octopussy James Bond movie nr 13

Bond returns for a sleeker, more entertaining film with Roger Moore at the helm for a sixth time. Threats of his resignation from the role had proved groundless as Moore signed on the dotted line. The usual production crew was back for another crack at Bond suggesting at some continuity. This would only partly be the case - the resultant cash was not far diminished from the previous film, the resultant film, however, would return to the mould of The Spy Who Loved Me and even Goldfinger. Decadence allied with competence - but was this James Bond's real all time high?

Consider the situation in the early 1980's -The Cold War is fizzling away leaving many to wonder what to do. Not so General Orlov, who wants to attack NATO in their apparently weak state due to easing tensions. Rejections from Moscow force Orlov to ally with Kamal Khan in a win-win partnership - on one side, through Khan's unsuspecting associate Octopussy (and her circus), a nuclear bomb can be brought into West Germany for Orlov whilst at the same time, Orlov can get jewels from the Russian archive to aide Khan's smuggling operation, also into Europe. The bomb is to be set off at the circus inside a US military base, the blame subsequently being pinned on the US as an accident, with US forces having to withdraw from Europe leaving the door open to Orlov's megalomaniac plans. Bond, who allies with Octopussy, discovers this plan and de-activates the bomb, just, at the performance and then jets off to India to rescue her from Khan which, of course, is done successfully but with the help of Octopussy's gymnasts.

After deploying a more profound interpretation of Bond in For Your Eyes Only, Roger Moore relaxes a little here and seems to enjoy the ride much better. With Maud Adams as they leading lady, there was no doubt that the Bond-Octopussy relationship would hit it off. There is a touch more class and panache to the performance this time too. It gels much as The Spy Who Loved Me did, despite Moore having a bug in India, and goes down as one of his most accomplished perfomances as 007.

Bond, the character, does some of the greatest continent hopping of the whole series. He starts in South America, lands home in London, then goes to India, heads for Germany, then back to India! As usual, he has up-to-date equipment such as the LCD watch and the Acrostar Jet (well, almost up-to-date - it was planned to be used in Moonraker, actually). He also like dressing up in this film, be it as a Banana Republic General or a clown. As a clown, the scene where Bond has to defuse the nuclear bomb, there is restraint where there

could have been overt humour - and the fuilm is much the better thanks to the control of the producers.

Like For Your Eyes Only, Bond is truly shocked when an ally, in this case Vijay, is lost on the mission. In this move away from action-man Bond and into a more human type, the Roger Moore Bond really comes into its element.

Conclusion: A suitable follow-on performance from the previous film, the balance is about right. This Bond is somewhere between Moonraker and For Your Eyes Only, equating humour with humanity for a polished Bond. Perhaps it was the threat of the rival film Never Say Never Again which focussed the producer's minds to make Bond as good as he gets? Whatever, no-one can argue with this wonderful outing

Vijay: Vijay makes his presence known to Bond, rather cleverly, by playing the "James Bond Theme" on his flute, which he using as part of his snake-charming cover. He works as a tennis pro, fittingly enough, at Kamal's club in town. He helps Bond to escape from this club later, after Bond humiliates Kamal Khan, by driving the Taxi. He is not spared thougfh, and is killed later in a vicious attack by one of Gobinda's henchmen, using the yo-yo buzz saw. Bond is deeply shocked by his death at the lakeside and uses this as a thrust for his revenge later.

Bianca: Seen helping Bond in the pre-credits sequence, Bianca sets Bond up as General Toro, then waits for him to make a getaway. Instead, Bond gets caught and instead of escaping, is driven out of the base under armed guard. Bianca follows with the horsebox Bond brought in and attracts the attention of the guards long enough for Bond to escape.

General Gogol: Instead of fighting for seemingly Soviet causes, Gogol pushes for a more positive agenda to address Russia's internal problems, which is against Orlov's megalomanial scheme to conquer Northern Europe. Gogol does not let it lie there. He keeps his eye on Orlov until the point where he can prove that he is the thief of jewellery from the Kremlin Art Repository - then the East German troops shoot Orlov, as he tries to catch the train going into West Germany.

'M': The character of 'M' returns here in the form of Robert Brown (who had played Admiral Hargreaves in The Spy Who Loved Me). Following on from his predecessor, this 'M' gives Bond a customary berating, this time for swapping the Fabergé eggs at Sotherby's. Despite this initial reception, 'M' does give a wry smile when Bond leaves, realising what he has done is for the best. Later 'M' joins Bond in East Berlin to discuss future plans.

Miss Moneypenny: The shortest of all her roles, Moneypenny is overshadowed by her new, but not long-lived, assistant, Miss Penelope Smallbone. Instead of the usual pleasantries, Moneypenny seems to get the brunt of Bond's teasing as he is more interested in the new office beauty - much to Moneypenny's chagrin.

Miss Penelope Smallbone: Moneypenny's new assistant gets all of Bond's attention as he embarks on a new mission. Smallbone gets her own desk and computer, but fails to appear again (I wonder if Bond was happy?). It is fairly obvious that she was meant as a Moneypenny replacement, but the producers must have thought better of it.

'Q': In his under-resourced Indian workshop, 'Q' prepares more new equipment for Bond, including a homer for Bond's Fabergé egg and a Liquid Crystal Display watch TV - which Bond uses to take close-ups of a secretary's bust, much to 'Q''s annoyance. Bond later gets a ride in 'Q''s Hot-Air Balloon to the Monsoon Palace. Bond fights his way to Octopussy while 'Q' lands the thing, thronged by a bevvy of Octopussy's beauties. They flirt with him but he is having none of it. He does suggest that his mind will return to them though, later.

Minister Of Defence, Frederick Gray: Fleeting this time, Gray is seen at the end of the film retuning to Gogol a treasure which Bond used to persuade Octopussy that Kamal's plans were not as he had suggested.

Jim Fanning: An art expert MI6 employs, Fanning is accompanied by Bond to Sotherby's where a real Fabergé egg is for sale, not one like that handed in, brutally, by 009 in West Germany. Bond nearly gives Fanning a coronary by outbidding Kamal for the egg, proceeding to swap the real egg for the fake in order to "smoke him out".

Agent 009: Seen just after the titles, 009 tries to escape the Octopussy circus with one of the fake Fabergé eggs. He is pursued eagerly by the knife-wielding Mischka and Grischka through a forest, in a very haunting scene. They catch up with him because he is hindered by his clown's outfit and the balloons on his back which keep popping. When they catch him up, they throw a knife at him, rendering him dead - or so they think. He has just enough time to get out of the river and crawl to the British Embassy and dispense of the egg.

Conclusion: Bond is helped in India by the fearless Vijay and in Europe by Gogol, an unlikely ally. The former is an interesting, if somewhat tongue-in-cheek ally, twhile the other is deadly serious in stopping Orlov. Poles apart yet both very good. Fanning is probably the only ally Bond has brough to near death on purpose, which makes for a rather amusing scene, while Smallbone acts to make Bond feel younger. The rest is as usual, except that 'M' is a mite softer now. This does not last for long though - The character would become tougher under Timothy Dalton's Bond.

Kamal Khan: A corrupt Afghan Prince who colludes with General Orlov to further both their ends, Kamal is an intelligent and sophisticated villain the likes of which has not been for a while in the series. He uses Octopussy's travelling circus as a means of smuggling jewellery from country to country, admittedly with her knowledge, but double crosses her by changing the jewels for a nuclear bomb when the circus visits a US Air Base in West Germany. The role of Khan is played brilliantly by Louis Jordan. His best scenes are when Bond betters him in both the auction room (by out-bidding him to an outrageous sum for the Fabergé Egg) and in the club (by cottoning-on to Kamal's technique for winning and turning the tables on the cheat). His demise is spectacular as he is sent to his death when his plane is forced to crash by Bond.

Gobinda: Kamal's main henchman is played well here by Kabir Bedi who has a lot of on-screen presence. He does everything his master commands, including fighting Bond on top of both a train and a plane, but also has a mind of his own and often takes the initiative himself to attack Bond. In another good chase, through an Indian marketplace, he has to chase Bond with a Tuk-Tuk taxi but Bond gets the upper hand as he has a 'company' Tuk-Tuk which has been given some not-so-standard Universal Export modifications.

General Orlov: Détente and Orlov are like chalk and cheese. He seizes the opportunity to cause trouble, with the assistance of Kamal Khan, buy offering the Afghan jewellery in trade for getting the nuclear bomb into West Germany. This character is only memorable due to his importance in the plot, not by the performance given by Steven Berkoff. Our first encounter with Orlov is when he addresses the Russian 'Committee' with his megalomaniac plans against NATO. He loses out to General Gogol in the battle of words as Gogol displays much more composure and honesty.

Mischka and Grischka: Identical twins, identical target - Bond. They are a knife-throwing act in Octopussy's circus but use their skill to more devastating effect when they kill 009 in East Berlin whilst trying to retreive the fake Fabergé Egg. 007 on the other hand is not overcome by these murderers as he kills both in separate confrontations; one aboard the train, the other after they have jumped off it.

Conclusion: No real crackpots or crazed perverts here, just a criminal element trying to get on with its business. There's nothing wrong (or is that right?) with that, but it's all done with a touch of stoidness. Kamal is a corrupt businessman, who is really a bit-part to Orlov's megalomania. Admittedly, Orlov is not the most clear-headed of folks, and that makes him much better for the film, but we have met more worthy candidates for the loony title. On the other hand, Mischka, Grischka and Gobinda are much better - simple yet effective.

Octopussy: An exotic lady to say the least. Octopussy owns a travelling circus with India as its base. Her palace there is guarded by an all-female band of gymnasts which belong to her revived Octopus cult. The circus is used as a cover, with her partner Kamal Khan, for jewellery smuggling. Upon meeting Bond Octopussy she reveals that she is the daughter of the disgraced British agent Dexter Smythe. Years before Bond had been sent to look for Smythe in the Far East and had given him the option of suicide rather than a court martial back home. As the film progresses Octopussy and Bond become lovers. When she is kidnapped by Kamal, after Bond prevents the nuclear bomb from exploding, 007 chases them to get her back.

There is a lot of chemistry between Roger Moore and Maud Adams and thus is a well remembered leading lady. Adams is the only woman to have played two major Bond film roles, having appeared as Andrea Anders in The Man With The Golden Gun. Octopussy (the film) allowed her to present her considerable skills as an actress, much more than her other role.

Magda: A beautiful sidekick for Octopussy's operations (and assistant to Kamal Khan), Magda is sent to get back the real Fabergé Egg from Bond, in what ever way possible, whilst he is at the hotel. She inadvertantly helps Bond by explaining her Octopus tattoo which identifies her as one of the cult's members. Kristina Wayborn makes a splendid job of Magda's character, with the script even letting her show off her athletic skills in the battle at the Monsoon Palace.

Conclusion: Not quite the numbers Bond usually comes across on a mission, but his eventual relationship with Octopussy makes up for that. Magda is a much different proposition - acting as Kamal's mole, she has to take it by order, not that that seems to bother her! Both are beautiful, charismatic to some degree and have a great on-screen presence with Moore's Bond. Very accomplished.

Demolition Briefcase: Seen in the pre-credits sequence, this briefcase houses a bomb beneath its false bottom. It is used unsuccessfully by Bond when he infiltrates the banana republic air base.

Mont Blanc Fountain Pen: This innocent piece of stationery actually has a dual purpose. It's barrel contains some acid which will dissolve through metal - highly useful when Bond tries to escape from the Monsoon Palace. Also, the lid contains an earpiece which Bond uses to listen in on the bug placed inside the Fabergé Egg.

Seiko Watches: The first watch seen in the film contains a radio directional finder which he uses to track down the Fabergé Egg after it is stolen by Magda. The second is, in fact, a LCD television. Bond uses this when he is chasing Kamal and Gobinda who had kidnapped Octopussy. Q's hot air balloon has a video camera mounted on it which beamed the proceedings to Bond.

Yo-Yo Buzz Saw: This is a circular saw which, as its name suggests, runs up and down a wire like a yo-yo. It is a horrific weapon used by one of the men employed by Gobinda to assassinate Bond. Just before this terrific fight sequence Vijay is killed using it but, luckily, we don't get to see its results on-screen. Nevertheless a children's toy replica was made!

Conclusion: A much better Seiko watch here to For Your Eyes Only. Indeeds, better watches - we witness two in operation. The fountain pen is a useful tool and although its a shame that we don't see the demolition case being used, the explosion thereafter is more than enough! Just as fatal is the buzz saw, which, mercifully, is not shown in action too much in the film.

Acrostar Mini-Jet: An amazing one-seater jet which was built and flown by its designer, 'Corkey' Fornof. With its wings folded up it was hidden behind a false horse's backside inside a horse trailer, being pulled by a Range Rover. It is used to escape from his pursuers once Bond has tricked his way from being guarded as he is escorted from the air base. The response to this is to send up a heat-seeking missile to destroy Bond. This is reversed when Bond flies through an aeroplane hangar. The Mini-Jet makes it, but the missile does not and it blows the whole thing sky high leaving Bond to finally escape. That whole sequence is brilliant as it involved very detailed mock-ups and replicas which are indistinguishable to the real thing onscreen. The only glitch is that if you look closely when the jet flies through the hangar you can just see the prop which holds the plane at an angle, obviously being towed through the hangar. Never mind, I didn't know about it until I really looked.

Tuk-Tuk Company Taxi: Once again Q's workshop at Universal Exports has been working overtime to change this seemingly ordinary Tuk-Tuk three-wheeled taxi into a supercharged vehicle! Vijay drives this machine and Bond clings on in the rear whilst they are being chased by Gobinda and Co. in their ordinary taxi. It is made to ride on two wheels and even flies through the air over a camel in a very funny chase.

Q's Hot Air Balloon: An idiotic yet amusing mode of transport for a sophisticated secret agent, this balloon is used by Bond and Q to get to the Monsson Palace whilst the battle between Octopussy's troupe and Kamal Khan's men ensues below. It is decorated in the Union flag and contains CCTV and a video camera which aides Bond in his search for the kidnapped Octopussy.

Crocodile Submarine: Bond uses this one-man submarine to get onto Octopussy's floating palace without being noticed. It is also used to flee from the palace when Bond and a thug together fall into the lake from the balcony of the palace. Access was made through the mouth!

Conclusion: No Bond car this time, as such. Instead we are given the Acrostar Jet - a plane which Bond brings into the base without anyone noticing, then leaves with about everybody noticing! The Tuk-Tuk taxi is equally impressive in the stunts department, even if the tennis crack is a bit misguided. Q's Hot air balloon obviously has something to do with the ski-parachute jump from The Spy Who Loved Me - the Union Jack - but does not live up to its predecessor.

1983) – James Bond may have met his match in Octopussy, an entrancing beauty involved in a devastating military plot to destroy détente. From the palaces of India to a speeding circus train in Germany and a mid-air battle on the wing of a high-flying aircraft, only Agent 007 can stop the nightmarish scheme!

The standard Indian Tuk-Tuk taxi, a simple three-wheeled rickshaw of types, is modified by Q-Branch and driven by Vijay. Bond becomes worried when Gobinda advances on them shooting big holes out of the Tuk-Tuks seats during a chase through Indian streets.

This AUTO-RICKSHAW – TUK-TUK was used by the henchman Gobinda in Octopussy to chase down and try to kill James Bond. It was built on the new frame of a standard Honda three-wheeler. The motor, however, was significantly beefed up by legendary stunt man Remy Julienne.

When Bond bends metal bars surrounding a window after weakening them with acid, a brief musical quote of the theme from Superman (1978) can be heard.
Maud Adams (Octopussy) previously appeared (and was killed) in another James Bond film (The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)). Faye Dunaway and Sybil Danning were considered for the role.
The elephant hunt sequence had its origins in the The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). Producer Harry Saltzman had wanted an elephant stampede in the film so Bond and Scaramanga could chase each other on elephant back. The rest of the creative team balked at the idea, but Saltzman went to see an elephant trainer. It turns out that elephants need a special shoe on their feet to protect them from rough surfaces when they work. A few months later, while filming in Thailand, Albert R. Broccoli got a call saying his elephant shoes were ready. Harry Saltzman had apparently ordered about 2,600 pairs of them. The sequence did not end up being in “The Man with the Golden Gun” and the man who made the shoes did not get paid. As of 1990, EON Productions allegedly still owed him.
During casting, James Brolin was almost given the role of James Bond when at the last minute, Roger Moore agreed to play Bond again. Brolin’s screen tests can be seen on the DVD. Moore had gone out of contract after For Your Eyes Only (1981). The production went with safe-bet and popular Moore because the film would be competing with Never Say Never Again (1983) starring original and former James Bond actor and legend Sean Connery. The uncertainty in using an American actor in the role and having to introduce a new actor in going-up against Connery were the reasons.
James Brolin, Oliver Tobias and Michael Billington were screen-tested for the role of James Bond.
Vehicles featured included an Acrostar Mini Jet aka a Bede Jet; yellow and black three-wheeled Indian Auto Rickshaw Tuk-Tuk Company Taxis; a dark gray metallic Alfa Romeo GTV 6 Quadrifoglio; a white Volkswagen Beetle or VW bug; various Mercedes makes including a black Mercedes-Benz 250 SE, Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman and Mercedes-Benz 240D; Kamal Khan’s black Rolls Royce Phantom III car and private Beechcraft C-45 ‘Twin Beech’ plane; Q’s Hot Air Balloon; an Alligator Boat; five BMW 5 series sedans and a BMW motorcycle for the West German police vehicles; a Range Rover convertible; Army Truck and Willys jeep; and an Aerospatiale Alouette 316B helicopter.
The backgammon game was originally intended to take place in Max Kalba’s club in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
The Acrostar Jet was 12 feet long with a single micro-turbo jet engine TRS-18. It could fly at 160 mph and soar at 310 mph and reach 30,000 feet with a climbing rate of 2500 feet per minute. It was piloted and owned by J.W. ‘Corkey’ Fornof of Louisiana who had been an uncredited aviation consultant on Moonraker (1979) and also worked on Licence to Kill (1989) as a pilot.
First James Bond film to be released with the MGM Lion logo at the beginning. MGM merged with United Artists in 1982, the year before the release of Octopussy and this is the first Bond film distributed by the new company, MGM/UA Distribution Co.
The Octopussy character was originally intended to be a villainess and in the media at the time it was reported that Faye Dunaway was being considered for this part.
Cameo: [Michael G. Wilson] a passenger on the riverboat / a Soviet Security Council Member.
When Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny introduces her new assistant Penelope Smallbone (Michaela Clavell) to James Bond (Roger Moore), during one take, she accidentally called her Penelope Smallbush instead.
It was not a planned part of the Indian cabbie chase sequence when a cyclist rode between the two battling vehicles, providing added suspense.
Footage of Roger Moore and Kristina Wayborn in bed shown in one of the film’s trailers is not included in the film itself.
Another actor was hired in addition to Vijay Amritraj when there was a dispute with Actor’s Equity because Armitraj was not a member of the actor’s union.
Stuntman Martin Grace had a serious accident while filming on the train. Hanging on the side of it, the train went into a non-assessed area of the track and he rammed into a pilon, seriously damaging his leg and hip and hospitalizing him for six months. He made a full recovery.
In the train-flying car stunt, when the car landed, one of the stunt men dressed as a fisherman only just made it out of the row boat in the lake where the car was landing. This footage can be seen in the finished film.
The crocodile water vessel that James Bond travels in is a reference / homage to the diving suit with a pigeon-on-the-head sequence from Goldfinger (1964).
Ken Burns, an extra working on the film at the Nene Valley train location was allowed to film a Super-8 six minute film of the filming at the Peterborough, England location. This is now available to view on the Ultimate Edition DVD of the film. The short includes footage of Roger Moore and Michael G. Wilson and focuses on machinery and filmmaking mechanics. The sixteen year old extra was playing an East German Border Guard and lived near to the location. He was affectionately known on the set as the “3rd Unit”.
Vijay Amritraj is a professional tennis player in real life.
The “company” taxi used to pick up 007 was specially constructed at Pinewood Studios, and capable of speeds in excess of 70mph.
Robert Brown appears as “M” for the first time.
The end credits identity the next film as, “From A View to a Kill.” In fact the title wound up being A View to a Kill (1985).
Bond meets up with Vijay when he hears Vijay play a few bars of “The James Bond Theme.”
Q appears as an active participant in a mission for the first time, as opposed to being behind the scenes.
The other source material, the short story “Property of a Lady,” was originally published in a special edition of an auction house catalog. It was not part of the original short story collection Octopussy, but was added later when the book was published in paperback.
The pre-title sequence with the Acrostar plane was originally intended to be a You Only Live Twice (1967) Little Nelly type battle sequence in Moonraker (1979) and was to take place above the Angel Falls in Venezuela. It had to be scrapped when the fall’s river bed dried up.
The Acrostar plane used in the pre-title sequence is now hanging from the ceiling of a restaurant in Clearwater Florida, USA.
Octopussy’s island was located in Udaipur, India. It was also known as the “City of Sunrise”.
According to press reports prior to production, Persis Khambatta was a front-runner for the title role.
The character of Penelope Smallbone was named for one of the models who appeared in the opening credits to The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
Director Trademark: [John Glen] [[pigeon]: As Bond creeps on the ledge after breaking out of his room at Kamal’s mansion.]
Octopussy is said to be the daughter of an Major Dexter Smythe who had a pet octopus and was involved with a murder relating to an illegal cache of Nazi gold. James Bond allowed him to commit suicide rather than be captured. This is the only reference to Ian Fleming’s original short story “Octopussy” in the film. The Maud Adams Octopussy character does not appear in the short story as there it is the name of the pet octopus. Technically therefore, in the film, Octopussy’s real name would be or would have been Ms. Smythe.
“The Living Daylights”, the third short story in Ian Fleming’s Octopussy collection, is briefly referenced at the start of the film: a British agent trying to escape from East Germany.
At one point during Bond’s escape from Khan’s palace, we hear the famous Tarzan yell from the Johnny Weissmuller films of the 1930s.
The knife-throwing twin assassins were originally conceived for Moonraker (1979), but when that film’s story developed into a different direction they were put aside for this one.
Roger Moore uses the Walther P-5 throughout much of the film.
A large portrait of clown Lou Jacobs of Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus can be seen during the circus performance sequence.
The last film of Patrick Barr.
The license plate number of Kamal Khan’s (Louis Jourdan) brown sedan Mercedes car in West Germany was SR 4785.
The license plate number of General Orlov’s West German Mercededss was BT-36-72. The license plate number of the red West German Kharmann Ghia full of party-goers who do not help a desperate 007 was BT RS 1730.

The Fabergé Egg as seen in the film was actually the Imperial Coronation Egg designed by Peter Carl Fabergé. It was made 1897 to commemorate the 1894 Coronation of Czar Nicholas II. The jeweled egg contains a model of a Coronation Coach; a guilloché field of starbursts with a translucent lime yellow enameling on the exterior surface; trellised greenish gold laurel leave bands have mounted at each intersection point an opaque black enamelled Imperial gold double-headed eagle with a rose diamond on their chest; on the top is a large portrait diamond with a cluster of ten smaller diamonds; and a smaller portrait diamond is set within a cluster of rose diamonds at the reverse end. Almost twenty years later the egg would re-appear in the film Ocean’s Twelve (2004).

Ian Fleming's Octopussy James Bond Movie 1983

1980 Alfa Romeo GTV 6

1974 Austin FX4

Bajaj RE

Bedford TK	1982 BMW 518 [E28]	1981 BMW 633 CSi [E24]
1977 BMW 733i [E23]	BMW R 80 S	1975 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu
Daimler Ferret Scout Car	Daimler Fleetline	Dodge M-37
1974 Fiat 128	GAZ 24 Volga	GAZ BA-64
1941 GMC CCKW 353	1961 IFA P3	1946 International Harvester K1
International Harvester M4 A1	Jeep M38 A1	1980 Land-Rover Range Rover Convertible

1976 Mercedes-Benz 240 D [W123]	1968 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE [W108]	1973 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE [W116]
Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman [W100]	1980 Opel Kadett [D]	1975 Renault 4 F4

1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II	Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I	unknown
1971 Volkswagen 1302 [Typ 1]	1977 Volkswagen Golf I [Typ 17]	1964 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Convertible [Typ 14]
1979 Volkswagen Polo I [Typ 86]	1983 Volvo 240	Willys MB 'Jeep'