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{{short description|1983 James Bond film by John Glen}}
{{short description|1983 James Bond film by John Glen}}
{{About|the James Bond film}}
{{hatgrp|{{About|the James Bond film}}
{{Redirect|Kamal Khan}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Kamal Khan|Kamala Khan}}
{{other uses|Kamal Khan (disambiguation)}}}}
{{Good article}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
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* [[Kristina Wayborn]]
* [[Kristina Wayborn]]
* [[Kabir Bedi]]
* [[Kabir Bedi]]
* [[Steven Berkoff]]
}}
}}
| based_on = {{Based on|[[James Bond (literary character)|James Bond]]|[[Ian Fleming]]}}
| based_on = {{Based on|[[James Bond (literary character)|James Bond]]|[[Ian Fleming]]}}
| screenplay = [[George MacDonald Fraser]]<br/>[[Richard Maibaum]]<br>[[Michael G. Wilson]]
| screenplay = {{plainlist|
* [[George MacDonald Fraser]]
* [[Richard Maibaum]]
* [[Michael G. Wilson]]}}
| director = [[John Glen (director)|John Glen]]
| director = [[John Glen (director)|John Glen]]
| producer = [[Albert R. Broccoli]]
| producer = [[Albert R. Broccoli]]
| editing = Peter Davies<br/>[[Henry Richardson (film editor)|Henry Richardson]]
| editing = Peter Davies<br>[[Henry Richardson (film editor)|Henry Richardson]]
| cinematography = [[Alan Hume]]
| cinematography = [[Alan Hume]]
| music = [[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]]
| music = [[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]]
| distributor = [[MGM/UA Entertainment Co.]] (U.S.)<br />[[United International Pictures]] (International)
| distributor = [[MGM/UA Entertainment Co.]] (U.S.)<br>[[United International Pictures]] (International)
| studio = [[Eon Productions]]<br />[[United Artists]]
| studio = [[Eon Productions]]<br>[[United Artists]]
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1983|6|6|United Kingdom|1983|6|10|United States}}
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1983|6|6|United Kingdom|1983|6|10|United States}}
| runtime = 131 minutes
| runtime = 131 minutes
| country = United Kingdom<ref>{{cite web|title=Octopussy|website=[[Lumiere (database)|Lumiere]]|publisher=[[European Audiovisual Observatory]]|url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=13606|access-date=9 October 2020|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011104659/http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=13606|url-status=live}}</ref><br />United States<ref>{{cite web |title=Octopussy |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58029 |publisher=AFI Catalog}}</ref>
| country = United Kingdom<ref>{{cite web|title=Octopussy|website=[[Lumiere (database)|Lumiere]]|publisher=[[European Audiovisual Observatory]]|url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=13606|access-date=9 October 2020|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011104659/http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=13606|url-status=live}}</ref><br />United States<ref>{{cite web |title=Octopussy |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58029 |publisher=AFI Catalog |access-date=29 November 2022 |archive-date=29 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129062333/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58029 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| language = English
| language = English
| budget = $27.5 million
| budget = $27.5 million
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In ''Octopussy'', Bond is assigned the task of following a megalomaniacal Soviet general ([[Steven Berkoff]]) who is stealing jewellery and art objects from the Kremlin art repository. This leads Bond to a wealthy exiled Afghan prince, Kamal Khan ([[Louis Jourdan]]), and his associate, Octopussy ([[Maud Adams]]), and the discovery of a plot to force disarmament in Western Europe with the use of a nuclear weapon.
In ''Octopussy'', Bond is assigned the task of following a megalomaniacal Soviet general ([[Steven Berkoff]]) who is stealing jewellery and art objects from the Kremlin art repository. This leads Bond to a wealthy exiled Afghan prince, Kamal Khan ([[Louis Jourdan]]), and his associate, Octopussy ([[Maud Adams]]), and the discovery of a plot to force disarmament in Western Europe with the use of a nuclear weapon.


''Octopussy'' was produced by [[Albert R. Broccoli]] and [[Michael G. Wilson]]; it was released four months before the non-[[Eon Productions|Eon]] Bond film ''[[Never Say Never Again]]''. The film earned $187.5 million against its $27.5 million budget and received mixed reviews. Praise was directed towards the action sequences and locations, with the plot and humour being targeted for criticism; [[Maud Adams]]'s portrayal of the title character also drew polarised responses.
''Octopussy'' was produced by [[Albert R. Broccoli]] and [[Michael G. Wilson]]; it was released four months before the non-[[Eon Productions|Eon]] Bond film ''[[Never Say Never Again]]''. The film earned $187.5 million against its $27.5 million budget and received mixed reviews. Praise was directed towards the action sequences and locations, with the plot and humour being targeted for criticism; Adams's portrayal of the titular character also drew polarised responses.


==Plot==
==Plot==
After fleeing knife-throwing twin assassins Mischka and Grishka in [[East Berlin]], mortally wounded British agent 009, dressed as a circus clown and carrying a counterfeit [[Fabergé egg]], crashes into the British ambassador's residence and dies. [[MI6]] immediately suspects [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] involvement and, after the genuine Fabergé egg is to be auctioned in London, sends James Bond to identify the seller.
After an encounter with knife-throwing twin assassins Mischka and Grishka in [[East Berlin]], mortally wounded British agent 009, dressed as a circus clown and carrying a counterfeit [[Fabergé egg]], stumbles into the British ambassador's residence and dies. [[MI6]] immediately suspects [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] involvement and, after the genuine Fabergé egg is to be auctioned in London, sends James Bond to identify the seller.


At the auction, Bond swaps the fake egg for the real one and subsequently engages in a bidding war with an exiled Afghan prince named Kamal Khan, forcing Khan to pay £500,000 for the counterfeit. Bond follows Khan to his palace in [[India]]. Bond defeats Khan in a game of [[backgammon]] using Khan's loaded dice. Bond and his MI6 contact, Vijay, escape Khan's bodyguard Gobinda. Later, Khan's associate Magda seduces Bond. Bond permits Magda to steal the real Fabergé egg, which is fitted with Q's listening and tracking device. Gobinda knocks Bond unconscious and takes him to Khan's palace. After Bond escapes, he listens in on the bug and discovers that Khan works with Orlov, a Soviet general seeking to expand Soviet domination to Western Europe.
At the auction, Bond swaps the fake egg for the real one and subsequently engages in a bidding war with an exiled Afghan prince named Kamal Khan, forcing Khan to pay £500,000 for the counterfeit. Bond follows Khan to his palace in [[India]]. Bond defeats Khan in a game of [[backgammon]] using Khan's loaded dice. Then Bond and his MI6 contact, Vijay, escape Khan's bodyguard Gobinda in a taxi chase through a marketplace. Later, Khan's associate Magda seduces Bond. Bond allows Magda to steal the real Fabergé egg, which is fitted with Q's listening and tracking device. Gobinda knocks Bond unconscious and takes him to Khan's palace. After Bond escapes, he listens in on the bug and discovers that Khan works with Orlov, a corrupt Soviet general seeking to defy his superiors and expand Soviet domination to Western Europe. Orlov has been supplying Khan with priceless Soviet treasures stolen from the Kremlin, replacing them with counterfeits while Khan has been smuggling the genuine objects into the West via Octopussy's circus troupe.


Bond infiltrates a floating palace in [[Udaipur]] and meets its owner, Octopussy, a wealthy businesswoman, smuggler and Khan's associate. She also leads the Octopus cult, of which Magda is a member. Octopussy has a personal connection with Bond: her father is the late Major Dexter-Smythe, whom Bond arrested for treason. Octopussy thanks Bond for allowing the Major to commit suicide rather than face trial, and invites Bond to be her guest.
Bond infiltrates a floating palace in [[Udaipur]] and meets its owner, Octopussy, a wealthy businesswoman, smuggler and Khan's associate. She also leads the Octopus cult, of which Magda is a member. Octopussy has a personal connection with Bond: her father is the late Major Dexter-Smythe, whom Bond arrested for treason. Octopussy thanks Bond for allowing the Major to commit suicide rather than face trial, and invites Bond to be her guest. Khan's assassins break into the palace to kill Bond, but Bond and Octopussy thwart them. Bond learns from Q that the assassins have killed Vijay.


Orlov is planning to meet Khan at [[Karl-Marx-Stadt]] in [[East Germany]], where the circus is scheduled to perform, whilst back in Moscow, [[General Gogol]] begins to pursue Orlov when the counterfeit jewels are discovered. Travelling to East Germany, Bond infiltrates the circus and discovers that Orlov has replaced the jewels with a nuclear warhead, primed to explode during the circus performance at a [[United States Air Force]] base in [[West Germany]]. The explosion would cause Europe to seek unilateral [[Nuclear disarmament|disarmament]] in the belief that the bomb belonged to the US and was detonated at the airbase accidentally, which would, in turn, leave the unprotected borders open to a Soviet invasion.
Earlier in Khan's palace and later in Octopussy's palace, Bond discovers that Orlov has been supplying Khan with priceless Soviet treasures, replacing them with replicas while Khan has been smuggling the genuine objects into the West via Octopussy's circus troupe. Orlov is planning to meet Khan at [[Chemnitz|Karl-Marx-Stadt]] in [[East Germany]], where the circus is scheduled to perform. Khan's assassins break into the palace to kill Bond, but Bond and Octopussy thwart them. Bond learns from Q that the assassins have killed Vijay.


Bond takes Orlov's car, drives it along the railway tracks and boards the moving circus train. Orlov gives chase, but is killed by [[Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic|border guards]] after he tries to rush a checkpoint. Bond kills Mischka and Grischka to avenge the murder of 009, and after falling from the train, hitch-hikes a lift from a passing motorist to reach the airbase, eventually stealing a car from a nearby town to complete his journey. Bond penetrates the base and disguises himself as a clown to evade the West German police. He convinces Octopussy that Khan has betrayed her, and realizing that she has been tricked, she assists Bond in deactivating the warhead.
Travelling to East Germany, Bond infiltrates the circus and discovers that Orlov has replaced the Soviet treasures with a nuclear warhead, primed to explode during the circus performance at a [[United States Air Force]] base in [[West Germany]]. The explosion would force Europe into seeking unilateral [[Nuclear disarmament|disarmament]] in the belief that the bomb belonged to the US and was detonated at the airbase accidentally, leaving the unprotected borders open to a Soviet invasion.


Some time later, with the plan foiled, Khan has returned to his palace and prepares to flee. Bond and Octopussy also return separately to India. Bond arrives at Khan's palace just as Octopussy and her troops launch an assault on the grounds.
Bond takes Orlov's car, drives it along the railroad tracks and boards the moving circus train. Orlov gives chase, but is killed by [[Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic|border guards]] after he tries to rush a checkpoint. Bond kills Mischka and Grischka, and after falling from the train, commandeers a car to get to the airbase. Bond penetrates the base and disguises himself as a clown to evade the West German police. He convinces Octopussy that Khan has betrayed her, and realizing that she has been tricked, she assists Bond in deactivating the warhead.


Octopussy attempts to kill Khan, but is captured by Gobinda. While Octopussy's team, led by Magda, overpowers Khan's guards, Khan and Gobinda abandon the palace, taking Octopussy as a hostage. As they attempt to escape in their airplane, Bond clings to the fuselage and disables an engine and the [[elevator (aeronautics)|elevator]] panel. Struggling with Bond, Gobinda falls to his death from the plane's roof, and Bond and Octopussy jump off the plane onto a nearby cliff only seconds before the plane crashes into a mountain, killing Khan instantly. While the Minister of Defence and Gogol discuss the return of the stolen jewels to the Kremlin, Bond recuperates with Octopussy aboard her private galley in India.
Some time later, with the plan foiled, Khan has returned to his palace and prepares to flee. Bond and Octopussy also return separately to India. Bond arrives at Khan's palace just as Octopussy and her troops launch an assault on the grounds.

Octopussy attempts to kill Khan, but is captured by Gobinda. While Octopussy's team, led by Magda, overpower Khan's guards, Khan and Gobinda abandon the palace, taking Octopussy as a hostage. As they attempt to escape in their airplane, Bond clings to the fuselage and disables an engine and the [[elevator (aeronautics)|elevator]] panel. Struggling with Bond, Gobinda plummets off the plane's roof to his death, and Bond and Octopussy jump off the plane onto a nearby cliff only seconds before Khan fatally crashes into a mountain. While the Minister of Defence and [[General Gogol]] discuss the transport of the jewelry, Bond recuperates with Octopussy aboard her private yacht in India.


==Cast==
==Cast==
{{castlist|
{{castlist|
* [[Roger Moore]] as [[James Bond filmography|James Bond]], [[Secret Intelligence Service|MI6]] agent '007'.
* [[Roger Moore]] as [[James Bond filmography|James Bond]], [[Secret Intelligence Service|MI6]] agent 007.
* [[Maud Adams]] as [[Bond girl#Octopussy|Octopussy]], a jewel smuggler and wealthy businesswoman. Adams previously played a different character in ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man With the Golden Gun]]''.
* [[Maud Adams]] as [[Bond girl#Octopussy|Octopussy]], a jewel smuggler and wealthy businesswoman. Adams previously played a different character in ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man With the Golden Gun]]''.
* [[Louis Jourdan]] as [[List of James Bond villains#Octopussy|Kamal Khan]], an exiled Afghan prince.
* [[Louis Jourdan]] as [[List of James Bond villains#Octopussy|Kamal Khan]], an exiled Afghan prince.
* [[Kristina Wayborn]] as Magda, trusted subordinate and henchwoman to Octopussy and Khan.
* [[Kristina Wayborn]] as Magda, trusted subordinate and henchwoman to Octopussy and Khan.
* [[Kabir Bedi]] as Gobinda, Khan's powerful bodyguard.
* [[Kabir Bedi]] as Gobinda, Khan's powerful bodyguard.
* [[Steven Berkoff]] as [[List of James Bond villains#Octopussy|General Orlov]], a renegade Soviet general who works with Khan to bomb a US airbase.
* [[Steven Berkoff]] as [[List of James Bond villains#Octopussy|General Orlov]], a renegade Soviet general who works with Khan to bomb a US airbase, and destabilise NATO.
* [[Vijay Amritraj]] as Vijay, Bond's MI6 ally in India. This was Armitaj's acting debut after gaining prominence as a [[tennis]] player.
* [[Vijay Amritraj]] as Vijay, Bond's MI6 ally in India. This was Armitaj's acting debut after gaining prominence as a [[tennis]] player.
* [[David Meyer]] and Anthony Meyer as Mischka and Grischka (credited as Twin One and Twin Two): Orlov's knife-throwing henchmen who are performers in Octopussy's circus.
* [[David Meyer]] and Anthony Meyer as Mischka and Grischka (credited as Twin One and Twin Two): Orlov's knife-throwing henchmen who are performers in Octopussy's circus.
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* [[Desmond Llewelyn]] as [[Q (James Bond)|Q]], MI6's gadget designer. Llewelyn was disappointed that he was unable to travel to India since his scenes were filmed at Pinewood Studios.<ref name=h121>Hume, 121</ref>
* [[Desmond Llewelyn]] as [[Q (James Bond)|Q]], MI6's gadget designer. Llewelyn was disappointed that he was unable to travel to India since his scenes were filmed at Pinewood Studios.<ref name=h121>Hume, 121</ref>
* [[Lois Maxwell]] as [[Miss Moneypenny]], M's secretary.
* [[Lois Maxwell]] as [[Miss Moneypenny]], M's secretary.
* [[Geoffrey Keen]] as [[British Minister of Defence]] [[Sir Frederick Gray|Frederick Gray]] (credited as Minister of Defence).
* [[Geoffrey Keen]] as [[Secretary of State for Defence|British Minister of Defence]] [[Sir Frederick Gray|Frederick Gray]] (credited as Minister of Defence).
* [[Albert Moses]] as Sadruddin, head of MI6 station in India, assigned to assist Bond.
* [[Albert Moses]] as Sadruddin, head of MI6 station in India, assigned to assist Bond.
* [[Bruce Boa]] as [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] General Peterson, the American base commander in West Germany.
* [[Bruce Boa]] as [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] General Peterson, the American base commander in West Germany.
* Michaela Clavell as Penelope Smallbone, Moneypenny's assistant.
* Michaela Clavell as Penelope Smallbone, Moneypenny's assistant.
* [[Paul Hardwick]] as the [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Soviet Chairman]] who presides over meeting between Orlov and Gogol. Hardwick was cast due to his resemblance to Soviet premier [[Leonid Brezhnev]], but Brezhnev died during production in November 1982, making his presence an anachronism.<ref>{{cite web|title=MI6 :: The Home of James Bond|url=https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/movies/op_trivia|access-date=31 December 2021|website=MI6-HQ.COM}}</ref> This was Hardwick's final film role.
* [[Paul Hardwick]] as the [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Soviet Chairman]] who presides over meeting between Orlov and Gogol. Hardwick was cast due to his resemblance to Soviet premier [[Leonid Brezhnev]], but Brezhnev died during production in November 1982, making his presence an anachronism.<ref>{{cite web|title=MI6 :: The Home of James Bond|url=https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/movies/op_trivia|access-date=31 December 2021|website=MI6-HQ.COM|archive-date=3 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190303130313/https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/movies/op_trivia|url-status=live}}</ref> This was Hardwick's final film role, who himself died in October 1983, four months after the film's release.
}}
}}
Other actors in smaller roles include Andy Bradford as MI6 agent 009, [[Dermot Crowley]] as Lieutenant Kamp, Orlov's nuclear weapons expert; Peter Porteous as Lenkin, the Kremlin art expert; [[Eva Rueber-Staier]] as Rublevitch, Gogol's secretary; [[Jeremy Bulloch]] as Smithers, Q's assistant; [[Bruce Boa]] as Lieutenant General Peterson; and [[Richard LeParmentier]] as General Peterson's aide. [[Ingrid Pitt]] has an uncredited voice cameo as Octopussy's galley mistress.
Other actors in smaller roles include Andy Bradford as MI6 agent 009, [[Dermot Crowley]] as Lieutenant Kamp, Orlov's nuclear weapons expert; Peter Porteous as Lenkin, the Kremlin art expert; [[Eva Rueber-Staier]] as Rublevitch, Gogol's secretary; [[Jeremy Bulloch]] as Smithers, Q's assistant; [[Richard LeParmentier]] as General Peterson's aide; and [[Gabor Vernon]] as Borchoi. [[Ingrid Pitt]] has an uncredited voice cameo as Octopussy's galley mistress.


==Production==
==Production==
===Writing===
===Writing===
Despite financial problems at [[United Artists]] after the release of [[Michael Cimino]]'s ''[[Heaven's Gate (film)|Heaven's Gate]]'', the studio greenlit another James Bond film to be produced and released in 1982. In March 1983, one month after the announcement, UA was purchased and merged into [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]].<ref name=":1">{{cite book|last=Field|first=Matthew|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/930556527|title=Some kind of hero : 007 : the remarkable story of the James Bond films|date=2015|others=Ajay Chowdhury|isbn=978-0-7509-6421-0|location=Stroud, Gloucestershire|oclc=930556527}}</ref> [[Michael G. Wilson]], [[Richard Maibaum]], and [[George MacDonald Fraser]] were hired to write a film based on short stories from Ian Fleming's posthumous collection ''[[Octopussy and The Living Daylights]]''.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Octopussy|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58029-OCTOPUSSY?sid=be471d3b-6397-4d55-9bcf-e27c523c3422&sr=10.689891&cp=1&pos=0|access-date=11 June 2021|website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref> Little of the plot of the short story "Octopussy" is used, however, with its events simply related by Bond as the family backstory for one of the main characters. The scene at [[Sotheby's]] is, though, adapted from the short story "[[The Property of a Lady]]" (included in 1967 and later editions of the collection), while Kamal Khan's reaction following the backgammon game is taken from Fleming's novel ''[[Moonraker (novel)|Moonraker]]''.<ref name=kkbb/> After initially intending the film to be set in [[Japan]], Fraser chose [[India]] as the setting because of his extensive research on the country for his novel ''[[Flashman (novel)|Flashman]]''.<ref name=":0" />
Despite financial problems at [[United Artists]] after the release of [[Michael Cimino]]'s ''[[Heaven's Gate (film)|Heaven's Gate]]'', the studio greenlit another James Bond film to be produced and released in 1983. In May 1981, one month after the announcement, UA was purchased and merged into [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]].<ref name="Field">{{cite book|last1=Field|first1=Matthew|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/930556527|title=Some kind of hero : 007 : the remarkable story of the James Bond films|year=2015|first2=Ajay|last2=Chowdhury|pages=341–346|isbn=978-0-7509-6421-0|publisher=The History Press|location=Stroud, Gloucestershire|oclc=930556527|access-date=8 September 2021|archive-date=28 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128234516/https://www.worldcat.org/title/some-kind-of-hero-007-the-remarkable-story-of-the-james-bond-films/oclc/930556527|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Michael G. Wilson]], [[Richard Maibaum]], and [[George MacDonald Fraser]] were hired to write a film based on short stories from Ian Fleming's posthumous collection ''[[Octopussy and The Living Daylights]]''.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Octopussy|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58029-OCTOPUSSY?sid=be471d3b-6397-4d55-9bcf-e27c523c3422&sr=10.689891&cp=1&pos=0|access-date=11 June 2021|publisher=American Film Institute|archive-date=23 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523235433/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58029-OCTOPUSSY?sid=be471d3b-6397-4d55-9bcf-e27c523c3422&sr=10.689891&cp=1&pos=0|url-status=live}}</ref> Little of the plot of the short story "Octopussy" is used, however, with its events simply related by Bond as the family backstory for one of the main characters. The scene at [[Sotheby's]] is, though, adapted from the short story "[[The Property of a Lady]]" (included in 1967 and later editions of the collection), while Kamal Khan's reaction following the backgammon game is taken from Fleming's novel ''[[Moonraker (novel)|Moonraker]]''.<ref name=kkbb/> After initially intending the film to be set in [[Japan]], Fraser chose [[India]] as the setting because of his extensive research on the country for his novel ''[[Flashman (novel)|Flashman]]''.<ref name=":0" />


Fraser was hired to work on an early draft of the script and he proposed that the story be set in [[India]], as the series had not yet visited said country.<ref name="fraser">{{cite book|last=Fraser|first=George MacDonald|title=The Light's on at Signpost|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|year=2019|pages=234–46|chapter=Shooting Script 8 - You Want to Put Bond in a Gorilla Suit?|isbn=978-0008337285}}</ref> The first draft was delivered shortly after the release of ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'',<ref name=kkbb>{{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Alan|last2=Hearn|first2=Marcus|year=2001|title=Kiss Kiss Bang! Bang!: the Unofficial James Bond Film Companion|publisher=[[Batsford Books]]|isbn=978-0-7134-8182-2|page=149}}</ref> whose writers [[Michael G. Wilson]] and [[Richard Maibaum]] went on to rework the script. They discarded his idea for the opening sequence, featuring a motorbike chase set at the [[Isle of Man TT]], but still retained moments that producer [[Albert R. Broccoli]] had first criticized, where Bond dressed as a gorilla and later, a clown.<ref name="fraser"/> The film was rewritten to focus on jewelry smuggling after a scandal in the [[Soviet Union]] involving General Secretary [[Leonid Brezhnev|Leonid Brezhnev's]] son [[Yuri Brezhnev]] manipulating the [[Moscow State Circus]] to smuggle jewelry.<ref name=":1" />
Fraser was hired to work on an early draft of the script and he proposed that the story be set in [[India]], as the series had not yet visited said country.<ref name="fraser">{{cite book|last=Fraser|first=George MacDonald|title=The Light's on at Signpost|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|year=2019|pages=234–46|chapter=Shooting Script 8 You Want to Put Bond in a Gorilla Suit?|isbn=978-0008337285}}</ref> The first draft was delivered shortly after the release of ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'',<ref name=kkbb>{{cite book|last1=Barnes|first1=Alan|last2=Hearn|first2=Marcus|year=2001|title=Kiss Kiss Bang! Bang!: the Unofficial James Bond Film Companion|publisher=[[Batsford Books]]|isbn=978-0-7134-8182-2|page=149}}</ref> whose writers [[Michael G. Wilson]] and [[Richard Maibaum]] went on to rework the script. They discarded his idea for the opening sequence, featuring a motorbike chase set at the [[Isle of Man TT]], but still retained moments that producer [[Albert R. Broccoli]] had first criticized, where Bond dressed as a gorilla and later, a clown.<ref name="fraser"/> The film was rewritten to focus on jewellery smuggling after a scandal in the [[Soviet Union]] involving General Secretary [[Leonid Brezhnev]]'s son-in-law in which the [[Moscow State Circus]] was being used to smuggle jewellery.<ref name="Field" />


===Casting===
===Casting===
[[File:Brolin.JPG|right|thumb|James Brolin's screen test as James Bond, with Vijay Amritraj]]
[[File:Brolin.JPG|right|thumb|James Brolin's screen test as James Bond, with Vijay Amritraj]]
Following ''For Your Eyes Only'', Roger Moore had expressed a desire to retire from the role of James Bond. His original contract had been for three films (''[[Live and Let Die (film)|Live and Let Die]]'' in 1973, ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]'' in 1974 and ''[[The Spy Who Loved Me (film)|The Spy Who Loved Me]]'' in 1977) which was fulfilled. Moore's following two films (''[[Moonraker (film)|Moonraker]]'' in 1979 and ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'' in 1981) were negotiated on a film-by-film basis. Given his reluctance to return for ''Octopussy'', the producers engaged in a semi-public quest for the next Bond, with [[Timothy Dalton]] and [[Lewis Collins]]<ref name=":1" /> being suggested as a replacement and screen tests carried out with [[Michael Billington (actor)|Michael Billington]], [[Oliver Tobias]], and American actor [[James Brolin]].<ref name=":0" /> However, when rival Bond production ''[[Never Say Never Again]]'' was announced, the producers persuaded Moore to continue in the role as it was thought the established actor would fare better against former Bond [[Sean Connery]].<ref name=inside>{{cite video|title=Inside Octopussy: An Original Documentary |location= Octopussy (Ultimate Edition)|publisher=MGM Home Entertainment}}</ref> It has been reported that Brolin had been hired and was actually on the point of moving to London to begin work on ''Octopussy'' at the time, while Broccoli refused to dispute Tobias's public statements that he was about to be cast as Bond.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jacks|first=Kelso|date=7 April 2020|title=Roger Moore Was Almost Replaced As James Bond: Watch James Brolin's Audition|url=https://www.screenrant.com/james-bond-roger-moore-replaced-james-brolin-audition/|website=ScreenRant|access-date=9 April 2020|archive-date=11 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411090652/https://screenrant.com/james-bond-roger-moore-replaced-james-brolin-audition/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
Following ''For Your Eyes Only'', Roger Moore had expressed a desire to retire from the role of James Bond. His original contract had been for three films (''[[Live and Let Die (film)|Live and Let Die]]'' in 1973, ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]'' in 1974 and ''[[The Spy Who Loved Me (film)|The Spy Who Loved Me]]'' in 1977) which was fulfilled. Moore's following two films (''[[Moonraker (film)|Moonraker]]'' in 1979 and ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'' in 1981) were negotiated on a film-by-film basis. Given his reluctance to return for ''Octopussy'', the producers engaged in a semi-public quest for the next Bond, with [[Timothy Dalton]] and [[Lewis Collins]]<ref name="Field" /> being suggested as a replacement and screen tests carried out with [[Michael Billington (actor)|Michael Billington]], [[Oliver Tobias]], and American actor [[James Brolin]].<ref name=":0" /> However, when rival Bond production ''[[Never Say Never Again]]'' was announced with former Bond [[Sean Connery]] playing Bond, the producers persuaded Moore to continue in the role as it was thought the established actor would fare better against Connery.<ref name=inside>{{cite video|chapter=Inside Octopussy: An Original Documentary |title= Octopussy (Ultimate Edition)|publisher=MGM Home Entertainment}}</ref> It has been reported that Brolin had actually been hired and was on the point of moving to London to begin work on ''Octopussy'', while Broccoli refused to dispute Tobias's public statements that he was about to be cast as Bond.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jacks|first=Kelso|date=7 April 2020|title=Roger Moore Was Almost Replaced As James Bond: Watch James Brolin's Audition|url=https://www.screenrant.com/james-bond-roger-moore-replaced-james-brolin-audition/|website=ScreenRant|access-date=9 April 2020|archive-date=11 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411090652/https://screenrant.com/james-bond-roger-moore-replaced-james-brolin-audition/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" />


[[Sybil Danning]] was announced in ''Prevue'' magazine in 1982 as being Octopussy, but was never actually cast, later explaining that Albert R. Broccoli felt "her personality was too strong".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://battleroyalewithcheese.com/2012/05/11-questions-with-sybil-danning/|title=11 Questions With Sybil Danning|date=7 May 2012|publisher=Battle Royale With Cheese|access-date=7 May 2017|archive-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515043537/https://battleroyalewithcheese.com/2012/05/11-questions-with-sybil-danning/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Faye Dunaway]] was deemed too expensive. [[Barbara Carrera]] said she turned down the role in order to play [[Fatima Blush]] in the competing Bond film ''[[Never Say Never Again]]''. Casting director [[Jane Jenkins]] revealed that the Bond producers told her that they wanted a [[South Asia]]n actress to play Octopussy, so she looked at the only two Indians in predominantly white Hollywood, [[Persis Khambatta]] and [[Susie Coelho]]. Afterward, she auditioned white actresses, like [[Barbara Parkins]] and [[Kathleen Turner]],<ref name=":1" /> who she felt could pass for Indian. Finally, Broccoli announced to her that they would cast Swedish-born Maud Adams, who had been a Bond girl in ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]'', and had been recently used by Eon to screen test the potential Bonds. To acknowledge the nationality, Adams had her hair darkened, and a few lines were added about how she was raised by an Indian family. A different plotline, with Adams's British father exposed as a traitor, was used instead.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Star is Found: Our Adventures Casting Some of Hollywood's Biggest Movies|first1=Janet|last1=Hirshenson|first2=Jane|last2=Jenkins|pages=35–7|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2007|isbn=978-0547545264}}</ref> The role of Magda went to another Swedish actress, [[Kristina Wayborn]], who the producers first noticed playing [[Greta Garbo]] in the miniseries ''The Silent Lovers''.<ref name=inside/> [[Pam Grier]] turned down an offer to play a Bond girl in the film.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/movies/pam-grier-turned-down-role-in-octopussy-bond-girl-is-an-afterthought/ | title=Pam Grier turned down a role in 'Octopussy:' 'A Bond girl is an afterthought' | magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] }}</ref>
[[Sybil Danning]] was announced in ''Prevue'' magazine in 1982 as being Octopussy, but was never actually cast, later explaining that Albert R. Broccoli felt "her personality was too strong".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://battleroyalewithcheese.com/2012/05/11-questions-with-sybil-danning/|title=11 Questions With Sybil Danning|date=7 May 2012|publisher=Battle Royale With Cheese|access-date=7 May 2017|archive-date=15 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515043537/https://battleroyalewithcheese.com/2012/05/11-questions-with-sybil-danning/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Faye Dunaway]] was deemed too expensive. [[Barbara Carrera]] said she turned down the role in order to appear as [[Fatima Blush]] in the competing Bond film ''[[Never Say Never Again]]''. ''Octopussy'' casting director [[Jane Jenkins]] revealed that the Bond producers told her that they wanted a [[South Asia]]n actress to play Octopussy, so she considered the only two Indians in predominantly white Hollywood, [[Persis Khambatta]] and [[Susie Coelho]]. Afterward, she auditioned white actresses, like [[Barbara Parkins]] and [[Kathleen Turner]],<ref name="Field" /> who she felt could pass for Indian. Finally, Broccoli announced to her that Octopussy would be portrayed by Swedish-born Maud Adams, who had been a Bond girl in ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]'' (1974), and had been recently used by Eon to screen test the potential Bonds. To acknowledge the nationality, Adams had her hair darkened, and a few lines were added about how she was raised by an Indian family. A different plotline, with Adams's British father exposed as a traitor, was used instead.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Star is Found: Our Adventures Casting Some of Hollywood's Biggest Movies|first1=Janet|last1=Hirshenson|first2=Jane|last2=Jenkins|pages=35–37|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2007|isbn=978-0547545264}}</ref> The role of Magda went to another Swedish actress, [[Kristina Wayborn]], who gained the attention of producers with her portrayal of [[Greta Garbo]] in the TV miniseries ''The Silent Lovers''.<ref name=inside/> [[Pam Grier]] turned down an offer to play a Bond girl in the film.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/movies/pam-grier-turned-down-role-in-octopussy-bond-girl-is-an-afterthought/ | title=Pam Grier turned down a role in 'Octopussy': 'A Bond girl is an afterthought' | magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] | access-date=15 February 2023 | archive-date=15 February 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215030027/https://ew.com/movies/pam-grier-turned-down-role-in-octopussy-bond-girl-is-an-afterthought/ | url-status=live }}</ref>


''Octopussy'' is also the first film to feature Robert Brown as M, following the death of [[Bernard Lee]] in 1981. Brown was recommended by Moore, who had known him since both worked in the series ''[[Ivanhoe (1958 TV series)|Ivanhoe]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bond on Bond: The Ultimate Book on 50 Years of Bond Movies|page=278|author=Moore, Roger|publisher=Lyons Press|year=2012|isbn=978-1843178859}}</ref> Brown had previously played Admiral Hargreaves in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'', six years earlier.<ref>{{cite web|title=Robert Brown, 82; Actor Played Spy Boss M in 4 Bond Films|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-21-me-passings21.6-story.html?_amp=true|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=21 March 2020 |date=21 November 2003|archive-date=2 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502175022/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-21-me-passings21.6-story.html?_amp=true|url-status=live}}</ref>
''Octopussy'' is also the first film to feature Robert Brown as M, following the death of [[Bernard Lee]] in 1981. Brown was recommended by Moore, who had known him since both worked in the series ''[[Ivanhoe (1958 TV series)|Ivanhoe]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bond on Bond: The Ultimate Book on 50 Years of Bond Movies|page=278|last=Moore|first=Roger|publisher=Lyons Press|year=2012|isbn=978-1843178859}}</ref> Brown had previously played Admiral Hargreaves in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'', six years earlier.<ref>{{cite web|title=Robert Brown, 82; Actor Played Spy Boss M in 4 Bond Films|type=obituary|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-21-me-passings21.6-story.html|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=21 March 2020 |date=21 November 2003|archive-date=2 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502175022/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-21-me-passings21.6-story.html?_amp=true|url-status=live}}</ref>


The first actor to be cast in the film was [[Vijay Amritraj]], a popular professional tennis player whom Broccoli met watching [[The Championships, Wimbledon|The Championships in Wimbledon]]. His character of Bond's ally in India was also named Vijay and used a tennis racket as a weapon. For the villains, Broccoli brought in his friend Louis Jourdan as Kamal Khan, while his daughter Barbara suggested Steven Berkoff for Orlov after having seen him perform his own play, ''[[Greek (play)|Greek]]'', in Los Angeles.<ref name=inside/>
The first actor to be cast in the film was [[Vijay Amritraj]], a popular Indian professional tennis player whom Broccoli met while watching [[The Championships, Wimbledon|The Championships in Wimbledon]]. His character of Bond's ally in India was also named Vijay and used a tennis racket as a weapon. For the villains, Broccoli brought in his friend [[Louis Jourdan]] as Kamal Khan, while his daughter Barbara suggested [[Steven Berkoff]] for Orlov after having seen him perform his own play, ''[[Greek (play)|Greek]]'', in Los Angeles.<ref name=inside/>


===Filming===
===Filming===
[[File:RAF Northolt hangar.JPG|thumb|right|The 311 hangar at RAF Northolt used for filming the jet stunt scene]]
[[File:RAF Northolt hangar.JPG|thumb|right|The 311 hangar at RAF Northolt used for filming the jet stunt scene]]
The filming of ''Octopussy'' began in [[West Berlin]] on 10 August 1982 with the scene in which Bond arrives at [[Checkpoint Charlie]].<ref>{{cite web|title=August: This Month in Bond History|access-date=18 August 2007|url=http://commanderbond.net/article/2865|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080805143808/http://commanderbond.net/article/2865|archive-date=5 August 2008}}</ref> Other locations from the city included [[Spandau Prison]], the [[Brandenburg Gate]], and [[Potsdamer Platz]].<ref name=":0" /> Principal photography was done by Arthur Wooster and his second unit, who later filmed the knife-throwing scenes.<ref name=Hume/> Filming in India began on 12 September 1982 in [[Udaipur]], [[Rajasthan]].<ref name=":0" /> The [[Monsoon Palace]] served as the exterior of Kamal Khan's palace, while scenes set at Octopussy's palace were filmed at the [[Lake Palace]] and [[Jag Mandir]], and Bond's hotel was the [[Shiv Niwas Palace]].<ref name="inside" /> In England [[RAF Northolt]], [[RAF Upper Heyford]] and [[RAF Oakley]] were the main locations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/James-Bond-film-locations-around-Britain-part-two/bond-northolt/|work=The Telegraph|date=29 October 2015|title=19 more top secret Bond locations around Britain|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-date=10 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510060215/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/James-Bond-film-locations-around-Britain-part-two/bond-northolt/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Chemnitz|Karl-Marx-Stadt]] railways scenes were shot at the [[Nene Valley Railway]] in [[Peterborough]], while studio work was performed at [[Pinewood Studios]] and the [[Albert R. Broccoli's 007 Stage|007 Stage]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/James-Bond-film-locations-around-Britain/nene-valley/|work=The Telegraph|date=28 October 2015|title=19 top secret Bond locations around Britain|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018004418/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/James-Bond-film-locations-around-Britain/nene-valley/|url-status=live}}</ref> Parts of the film were also shot in [[Hurricane Mesa]], [[Hurricane-LaVerkin Bridge]], and [[New Harmony, Utah|New Harmony]] in [[Utah]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=D'Arc|first1=James V.|title=When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah|date=2010|publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, Utah|isbn=9781423605874|edition=1st}}</ref> Most of the crew as well as Roger Moore had diet problems while shooting in India.<ref name=h121/>
The filming of ''Octopussy'' began in [[West Berlin]] on 10 August 1982 with the scene in which Bond arrives at [[Checkpoint Charlie]].<ref>{{cite web|title=August: This Month in Bond History|work=CommanderBond.com|access-date=18 August 2007|url=http://commanderbond.net/article/2865|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080805143808/http://commanderbond.net/article/2865|archive-date=5 August 2008}}</ref> Other locations from the city included [[Spandau Prison]], the [[Brandenburg Gate]], and [[Potsdamer Platz]].<ref name=":0" /> Principal photography was done by Arthur Wooster and his second unit, who later filmed the knife-throwing scenes.<ref name=Hume/> Filming in India began on 12 September 1982 in [[Udaipur]], [[Rajasthan]].<ref name=":0" /> The [[Monsoon Palace]] served as the exterior of Kamal Khan's palace, while scenes set at Octopussy's palace were filmed at the [[Lake Palace]] and [[Jag Mandir]], and Bond's hotel was the [[Shiv Niwas Palace]].<ref name="inside" /> In England [[RAF Northolt]], [[RAF Upper Heyford]] and [[RAF Oakley]] were the main locations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/James-Bond-film-locations-around-Britain-part-two/|work=The Telegraph|date=29 October 2015|title=19 more top secret Bond locations around Britain|access-date=19 July 2023|archive-date=10 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510060215/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/James-Bond-film-locations-around-Britain-part-two/bond-northolt/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Karl-Marx-Stadt]] railways scenes were shot at the [[Nene Valley Railway]] in [[Peterborough]], while studio work was performed at [[Pinewood Studios]] and the [[Albert R. Broccoli's 007 Stage|007 Stage]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/James-Bond-film-locations-around-Britain/|work=The Telegraph|date=28 October 2015|title=19 top secret Bond locations around Britain|access-date=19 July 2023|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018004418/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/James-Bond-film-locations-around-Britain/nene-valley/|url-status=live}}</ref> Parts of the film were also shot in [[Hurricane Mesa]], [[Hurricane-LaVerkin Bridge]], and [[New Harmony, Utah|New Harmony]] in [[Utah]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=D'Arc|first1=James V.|title=When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah|date=2010|publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, Utah|isbn=9781423605874|edition=1st}}</ref> Most of the crew as well as Roger Moore had diet problems while shooting in India.<ref name=h121/>


[[File:Sajjan garh.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Monsoon Palace]]]]
[[File:Sajjan garh.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Monsoon Palace]]]]
The pre-title sequence has a scene where Bond flies a nimble [[Homebuilt aircraft|homebuilt]] [[Bede BD-5J]] aircraft through an open hangar.<ref name=Hume>{{cite book|last=Hume|first=Alan|author-link=Alan Hume|author2=Gareth Owen|title=A Life Through the Lens: Memoirs of a Film Cameraman|date=May 2004|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=0-7864-1803-6|page=122|chapter=Potted Palms}}</ref> Hollywood stunt pilot and aerial co-ordinator J.W. "Corkey" Fornof, who piloted the aircraft at more than {{convert|150|mph}}, has said, "Today, few directors would consider such a stunt. They'd just whip it up in a computer lab."<ref>{{cite news|title=Filming air combat is as risky as a dogfight|access-date=12 August 2007|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06265/724163-254.stm|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=22 September 2006|first=J. Lynn|last=Lunsford|archive-date=29 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929115951/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06265/724163-254.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Having collapsible wings, the plane was shown hidden in a horse trailer; however, a dummy was used for this shot.<ref name="MHB">{{cite episode|title=Episode 2|series=Main Hoon Bond|network=Star Gold|location=Mumbai|season=1|number=2|minutes=54}}</ref> Filming inside the hangar was achieved by attaching the aircraft to an old [[Jaguar Cars|Jaguar]] car with a steel pole, driving with the roof removed.<ref name=Hume/> The second unit were able to add enough obstacles including people and objects inside the hangar to hide the car and the pole and make it look as though Moore was flying inside the base. For the explosion after the mini jet escapes, however, a miniature of the hangar was constructed and filmed up close. The exploding pieces of the hangar were in reality only {{convert|4|in|cm|spell=in}} long.<ref name=inside/>
The pre-title sequence has a scene where Bond flies a nimble [[Homebuilt aircraft|homebuilt]] [[Bede BD-5J]] aircraft through an open hangar.<ref name=Hume>{{cite book|last=Hume|first=Alan|author-link=Alan Hume|author2=Gareth Owen|title=A Life Through the Lens: Memoirs of a Film Cameraman|date=May 2004|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=0-7864-1803-6|page=122|chapter=Potted Palms}}</ref> Hollywood stunt pilot and aerial co-ordinator J. W. "Corkey" Fornof, who piloted the aircraft at more than {{convert|150|mph}}, has said, "Today, few directors would consider such a stunt. They'd just whip it up in a computer lab."<ref>{{cite news|title=Filming air combat is as risky as a dogfight|access-date=12 August 2007|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06265/724163-254.stm|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=22 September 2006|first=J. Lynn|last=Lunsford|archive-date=29 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929115951/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06265/724163-254.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Having collapsible wings, the plane was shown hidden in a horse trailer; however, a dummy was used for this shot.<ref name="MHB">{{cite episode|title=Episode 2|series=Main Hoon Bond|network=Star Gold|location=Mumbai|season=1|number=2|minutes=54}}</ref> Filming inside the hangar was achieved by attaching the aircraft to an old [[Jaguar Cars|Jaguar]] car with a steel pole, driving with the roof removed.<ref name=Hume/> The second unit were able to add enough obstacles including people and objects inside the hangar to hide the car and the pole and make it look as though Moore was flying inside the base. For the explosion after the mini jet escapes, however, a miniature of the hangar was constructed and filmed up close. The exploding pieces of the hangar were in reality only {{convert|4|in|cm|spell=in}} long.<ref name=inside/>


Much later in the film, Bond steals a [[Mercedes-Benz W108|Mercedes-Benz saloon]] car at a depot defended by antagonist soldiers; as he tries to escape, he drives over barrier spikes which shred the vehicle's tyres and then manoeuvres his vehicle's bare wheels onto the rails to pursue Octopussy's circus train. During filming, the car had intact tyres in one scene so as to avoid any mishap.<ref name="MHB"/>
Much later in the film, Bond steals Orlov's [[Mercedes-Benz W108|Mercedes-Benz]] at a depot defended by antagonist soldiers; as he tries to escape, he drives over barrier spikes shredding the tyres and then manoeuvres the car's bare wheels onto the rails to pursue Octopussy's circus train. During filming, the car had intact tyres in one scene so as to avoid any mishap.<ref name="MHB"/>


[[File:Acrostar.jpg|thumb|right|Acrostar from ''Octopussy'' seen at a convention]]
[[File:Acrostar.jpg|thumb|right|Acrostar from ''Octopussy'' seen at a convention]]
Stunt coordinator Martin Grace suffered an injury while shooting the scene where Bond climbs down the train to catch Octopussy's attention.<ref name=h124>Hume, 124</ref> During the second day of filming, Grace – who was Roger Moore's stunt double for the scene – carried on doing the scene longer than he should have, due to a miscommunication with the second unit director, and the train entered a section of the track which the team had not properly surveyed. Shortly afterwards, a concrete pole fractured Grace's left leg. The cyclist seen passing in the middle of a sword fight during the [[auto rickshaw|baby taxi]] chase sequence was in fact a bystander who passed through the shot, oblivious to the filming; his intrusion was captured by two cameras and left in the final film.<ref name=inside/> Cameraman Alan Hume's last scene was that of Octopussy's followers rowing. That day, little time was left and it was decided to film the sunset at the eleventh hour.<ref>Hume, 125</ref>
Stunt coordinator [[Martin Grace]] suffered an injury while shooting the scene where Bond climbs down the train to catch Octopussy's attention.<ref name=h124>Hume, 124</ref> During the second day of filming, Grace – who was Roger Moore's stunt double for the scene – carried on doing the scene longer than he should have, due to a miscommunication with the second unit director, and the train entered a section of the track which the team had not properly surveyed. Shortly afterwards, a concrete pole fractured Grace's left leg. The cyclist seen passing in the middle of a sword fight during the [[auto rickshaw|baby taxi]] chase sequence was in fact a bystander who passed through the shot, oblivious to the filming; his intrusion was captured by two cameras and left in the final film.<ref name=inside/> Cameraman Alan Hume's last scene was that of Octopussy's followers rowing. That day, little time was left and it was decided to film the sunset at the eleventh hour.<ref>Hume, 125</ref>


The [[Fabergé egg]] in the film is based on a real one; made in 1897 and which was called the ''[[Imperial Coronation (Fabergé egg)|Coronation Egg]]''. The egg in the film is listed in the auction catalogue as being "[[The Property of a Lady]]", which is the name of one of Ian Fleming's short stories released in more recent editions of the collection ''Octopussy and The Living Daylights''.
The [[Fabergé egg]] in the film is based on a real one, made in 1897 and which was called the ''[[Imperial Coronation (Fabergé egg)|Coronation Egg]]''. The egg in the film is listed in the auction catalogue as being "[[The Property of a Lady]]", which is the name of one of Ian Fleming's short stories released in more recent editions of the collection ''Octopussy and The Living Daylights''.


In a bit of [[diegesis]] that "breaks the [[fourth wall]]", Vijay signals his affiliation to MI6 by playing the "[[James Bond Theme]]" on a [[Recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]] while Bond is disembarking from a boat in the harbour near the City Palace.<ref name="The Music of James Bond"/> Like his fictional counterpart, the real Vijay had a distinct fear of snakes and found it difficult to hold the basket during filming.<ref name=inside/>
In a bit of [[diegesis]] that "breaks the [[fourth wall]]", Vijay signals his affiliation to MI6 by playing the "[[James Bond Theme]]" on a [[Recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]] while Bond is disembarking from a boat in the harbour near the City Palace.<ref name="The Music of James Bond"/> Like his fictional counterpart, the real Vijay had a distinct fear of snakes and found it difficult to hold the basket during filming.<ref name=inside/>
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After being absent in ''For Your Eyes Only'' due to tax problems, [[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]] returned to do his ninth Bond score.<ref>{{cite book|title=John Barry: A Sixties Theme: From James Bond to Midnight Cowboy|author=Fiegel, Eddi|page=207|publisher=Faber & Faber|year=2012|isbn=978-0571299119}}</ref> Barry made frequent references to the "James Bond Theme" to reinforce ''Octopussy'' as the official Bond film, given that the motif could not be featured in ''Never Say Never Again'', and opted to include only subtle references to the [[music of India]], avoiding instruments such as the sitar for feeling that authentic music "didn't work dramatically". He also wrote opening theme "[[All Time High]]" with lyricist [[Tim Rice]]. "All Time High", sung by [[Rita Coolidge]], is one of seven [[James Bond music#Title themes|musical themes in the James Bond series]] whose song titles do not refer to the film's title. "All Time High" spent four weeks at number one on the United States' [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] singles chart and reached number 36 on the [[Billboard Hot 100]].<ref name="The Music of James Bond">{{cite book|first=Jon|last=Burlingame|year=2012|title=The Music of James Bond|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|pages=156–163|isbn=978-019-986330-3}}</ref>
After being absent in ''For Your Eyes Only'' due to tax problems, [[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]] returned to do his ninth Bond score.<ref>{{cite book|title=John Barry: A Sixties Theme: From James Bond to Midnight Cowboy|author=Fiegel, Eddi|page=207|publisher=Faber & Faber|year=2012|isbn=978-0571299119}}</ref> Barry made frequent references to the "James Bond Theme" to reinforce ''Octopussy'' as the official Bond film, given that the motif could not be featured in ''Never Say Never Again'', and opted to include only subtle references to the [[music of India]], avoiding instruments such as the sitar for feeling that authentic music "didn't work dramatically". He also wrote opening theme "[[All Time High]]" with lyricist [[Tim Rice]]. "All Time High", sung by [[Rita Coolidge]], is one of seven [[James Bond music#Title themes|musical themes in the James Bond series]] whose song titles do not refer to the film's title. "All Time High" spent four weeks at number one on the United States' [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] singles chart and reached number 36 on the [[Billboard Hot 100]].<ref name="The Music of James Bond">{{cite book|first=Jon|last=Burlingame|year=2012|title=The Music of James Bond|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|pages=156–163|isbn=978-019-986330-3}}</ref>


The soundtrack album was released in 1985 by [[A&M Records]]; the compact disc version of this release was recalled due to a colour printing error which omitted the credits from the album cover, making it a rare collector's item. In 1997, the soundtrack was re-issued by [[Rykodisc]], with the original soundtrack music and some film dialogue, on an [[Enhanced CD]] version. The 2003 release, by [[EMI]], restored the original soundtrack music without dialogue.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/octopussy.html|title=Filmtrack's editorial on the Octopussy soundtrack|website=[[Filmtracks.com]]|access-date=13 August 2007|archive-date=17 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217082525/http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/octopussy.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
The soundtrack album was released in 1985 by [[A&M Records]]; the compact disc version of this release was recalled due to a colour printing error which omitted the credits from the album cover, making it a rare collector's item. In 1997, the soundtrack was re-issued by [[Rykodisc]], with the original soundtrack music and some film dialogue, on an [[Enhanced CD]] version. The 2003 release, by [[EMI]], restored the original soundtrack music without dialogue.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/octopussy.html|title=Octopussy (John Barry)|website=[[Filmtracks.com|Filmtracks]]|access-date=13 August 2007|archive-date=17 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217082525/http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/octopussy.html|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Release and reception==
==Release and reception==
''Octopussy'' was the first Bond film released by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], which had absorbed [[United Artists]], the previous distributor of Eon Bond films. ''Octopussy'' premiered at the [[Odeon Leicester Square]] on 6 June 1983, with [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince Charles]] and [[Diana, Princess of Wales]] in attendance.<ref>Moore, p. 210</ref> The film earned slightly less than ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'', but still grossed $187.5 million, with $67.8 million in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web|title=Octopussy|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Octopussy#tab=summary|work=The Numbers|publisher=Nash Information Services, LLC.|access-date=8 August 2011|archive-date=7 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307094429/http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Octopussy#tab=summary|url-status=live}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, the film grossed £8.3 million ($14.9 million).<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Strong Bond|magazine=[[Screen International]]|date=19 December 1997|page=31}}</ref><ref name=international>{{cite magazine|title=Estimated gross of the last five Bond films in 15 selected international territories|magazine=[[Screen International]]|date=5 December 1997|page=22}}</ref> Other large international grosses include $15.7 million in Germany, $15.1 million in Japan and $9.1 million in France.<ref name=international/> The film also performed better than ''[[Never Say Never Again]]'', the non-Eon Bond remake of ''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]'' which was released a few months later and grossed $55 million in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=jamesbond.htm|title=James Bond Movies at the Box Office|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=8 August 2011|archive-date=25 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425021541/http://boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=jamesbond.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> At the [[11th Saturn Awards]], Maud Adams was nominated for [[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000004/1984/1/|title=1984 Saturn Awards|publisher=IMDb|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=18 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818024329/https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000004/1984/1|url-status=live}}</ref> The film won the Golden Reel Award for [[Motion Picture Sound Editors|Best Sound Editing]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000452/1984/1/?ref_=evov_eh|title=1984 Golden Reel Awards|publisher=IMDb|access-date=9 May 2018|archive-date=2 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502175129/https://cdn4.arttoframe.com/images_2014/favicons/favicon-32x32.png|url-status=live}}</ref> In Germany, it won the [[Goldene Leinwand|Golden Screen Award]] for selling over 3 million tickets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldene-leinwand.de/filme/octopussy/|title=Octopussy (1984)|work=Goldene Leinwand|language=de|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416200434/https://www.goldene-leinwand.de/filme/octopussy/|url-status=live}}</ref>
''Octopussy'' was the first Bond film released by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], which had absorbed [[United Artists]], the previous distributor of Eon Bond films. ''Octopussy'' premiered at the [[Odeon Leicester Square]] on 6 June 1983, with [[Charles III|the Prince]] and [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Princess of Wales]] in attendance.<ref>Moore, p. 210</ref> The film earned slightly less than ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'', but still grossed $187.5 million, with $67.8 million in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web|title=Octopussy|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Octopussy#tab=summary|work=The Numbers|publisher=Nash Information Services, LLC.|access-date=8 August 2011|archive-date=7 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307094429/http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Octopussy#tab=summary|url-status=live}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, the film grossed £8.3 million ($14.9 million).<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Strong Bond|magazine=[[Screen International]]|date=19 December 1997|page=31}}</ref><ref name=international>{{cite magazine|title=Estimated gross of the last five Bond films in 15 selected international territories|magazine=[[Screen International]]|date=5 December 1997|page=22}}</ref> Other large international grosses include $15.7 million in Germany, $15.1 million in Japan and $9.1 million in France.<ref name=international/> The film also performed better than ''[[Never Say Never Again]]'', the non-Eon Bond remake of ''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]'' which was released a few months later and grossed $55 million in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=jamesbond.htm|title=James Bond Movies at the Box Office|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=8 August 2011|archive-date=25 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425021541/http://boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=jamesbond.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> At the [[11th Saturn Awards]], Maud Adams was nominated for [[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000004/1984/1/|title=1984 Saturn Awards|publisher=IMDb|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=18 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818024329/https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000004/1984/1|url-status=live}}</ref> The film won the Golden Reel Award for [[Motion Picture Sound Editors|Best Sound Editing]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000452/1984/1/?ref_=evov_eh|title=1984 Golden Reel Awards|publisher=IMDb|access-date=9 May 2018|archive-date=2 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502175129/https://cdn4.arttoframe.com/images_2014/favicons/favicon-32x32.png|url-status=live}}</ref> In Germany, it won the [[Goldene Leinwand|Golden Screen Award]] for selling over 3 million tickets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldene-leinwand.de/filme/octopussy/|title=Octopussy (1984)|work=Goldene Leinwand|language=de|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-date=16 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416200434/https://www.goldene-leinwand.de/filme/octopussy/|url-status=live}}</ref>


===Contemporary reviews===
===Contemporary reviews===
Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' felt ''Octopussy'' was "one of the snazziest, wittiest productions" of the film series, in which he praised John Glen's direction, Louis Jourdan's performance, and the screenplay.<ref>{{cite news|last=Arnold|first=Gary |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/06/10/octopussy/70699171-17ed-4a81-83f7-7180f555d46d/|title=Octopussy|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=10 June 1983|access-date=14 May 2020|archive-date=22 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622181112/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/06/10/octopussy/70699171-17ed-4a81-83f7-7180f555d46d/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Vincent Canby]] praised the film, but noted how "much of the story is incomprehensible".<ref>{{cite news|last=Canby|first=Vincent|title=Film: James Bond Meets 'Octopussy'|access-date=21 August 2007|work=The New York Times|page=C17|date=10 June 1983|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/10/movies/james-bond-meets-octopussy.html/|archive-date=24 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524135631/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/10/movies/james-bond-meets-octopussy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]], reviewing for ''[[The Chicago Tribune]]'', awarded the film three stars out of four, stating the film was "surprisingly entertaining—surprising because in his previous five Bond appearances Roger Moore has always come off as a smug stiff. In ''Octopussy'' Moore relaxes a bit and, just as important, his role is subordinated to the film's many and extremely exciting action scenes. ''Octopussy'' has the most sustained excitement in a Bond film since ''[[You Only Live Twice (film)|You Only Live Twice]]''." However, he felt that the character Octopussy was detrimental to the film and that the action "blunts a script that is weak on characterization and long on male chauvinism".<ref>Siskel, Gene. (10 June 1983). "[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/388028163/ Action galore saves weak 'Octopussy' script] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502175023/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/388028163/|date=2 May 2021}}". ''The Chicago Tribune''. Section 3, pg. 1 – via [[Newspapers.com]].</ref>
Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' felt ''Octopussy'' was "one of the snazziest, wittiest productions" of the film series, in which he praised John Glen's direction, Louis Jourdan's performance, and the screenplay.<ref>{{cite news|last=Arnold|first=Gary |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/06/10/octopussy/70699171-17ed-4a81-83f7-7180f555d46d/|title=Octopussy|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=10 June 1983|access-date=14 May 2020|archive-date=22 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622181112/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/06/10/octopussy/70699171-17ed-4a81-83f7-7180f555d46d/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Vincent Canby]] praised the film, but noted how "much of the story is incomprehensible".<ref>{{cite news|last=Canby|first=Vincent|title=Film: James Bond Meets 'Octopussy'|access-date=21 August 2007|work=The New York Times|page=C17|date=10 June 1983|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/10/movies/james-bond-meets-octopussy.html/|archive-date=24 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524135631/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/10/movies/james-bond-meets-octopussy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]], reviewing for ''[[The Chicago Tribune]]'', awarded the film three stars out of four, stating it is "surprisingly entertaining—surprising because in his previous five Bond appearances Roger Moore has always come off as a smug stiff. In ''Octopussy'' Moore relaxes a bit and, just as important, his role is subordinated to the film's many and extremely exciting action scenes. ''Octopussy'' has the most sustained excitement in a Bond film since ''[[You Only Live Twice (film)|You Only Live Twice]]''." However, he felt that the character Octopussy was detrimental to the film and the action "blunts a script that is weak on characterization and long on male chauvinism".<ref>{{cite news |last=Siskel |first=Gene |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-gene-siskel-reviews-the/73359963/ |title=Action galore saves weak 'Octopussy' script |work=Chicago Tribune |at=Section 3, p. 1 |date=10 June 1983 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704022020/https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-gene-siskel-reviews-the/73359963/ |archive-date=4 July 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}</ref>


''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' felt the film's strong points were "the spectacular aerial stuntwork marking both the pre-credits teaser and extremely dangerous-looking climax. The rest of the action scenes are well-executed but suffer from a sense of deja vu, as in a speeding train that recalls Sean Connery's derring-do in ''[[The First Great Train Robbery|The Great Train Robbery]]''".<ref>{{cite news|title=Film Reviews: Octopussy|work=Variety|access-date=13 August 2007|date=8 June 1983|url=https://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/octopussy-1200425472/|archive-date=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217131616/http://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/octopussy-1200425472/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' felt the film proved "to be business as usual, no better or worse than most of its predecessors. After all this time, it's amazing that the same old formula still plays: the gadgetry, gorgeous girls, travelogue locales and the shameless double-entendres—in this instance, octo-entendres." He complimented Glen's direction, but further remarked that the screenwriters had "given him too much to unravel. At 2 hours and 10 minutes, ''Octopussy'' seems a good 20 to 30 minutes too long for light escapist fare. The familiar chases and old-time serial-type cliff-hanging crises come fast but a mite too thick."<ref>Thomas, Kevin. (10 June 1983). "[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/633665598 'Octopussy' Fulfills The 007 Formula] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502175027/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/633665598/|date=2 May 2021}}". ''Los Angeles Times''. Part IV, pp. 9, 15 – via Newspapers.com.</ref>
''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' felt the film's strong points were "the spectacular aerial stuntwork marking both the pre-credits teaser and extremely dangerous-looking climax. The rest of the action scenes are well-executed but suffer from a sense of deja vu, as in a speeding train that recalls Sean Connery's derring-do in ''[[The First Great Train Robbery|The Great Train Robbery]]''".<ref>{{cite news|title=Film Reviews: Octopussy|work=Variety|access-date=13 August 2007|date=8 June 1983|url=https://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/octopussy-1200425472/|archive-date=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217131616/http://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/octopussy-1200425472/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' felt the film proved "to be business as usual, no better or worse than most of its predecessors. After all this time, it's amazing that the same old formula still plays: the gadgetry, gorgeous girls, travelogue locales and the shameless double-entendres—in this instance, octo-entendres."<ref>{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Kevin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/633665598 |title='Octopussy' Fulfills The 007 Formula |work=Los Angeles Times |at=Part IV, pp. 9, 15 |date=10 June 1983 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502175027/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/633665598/ |archive-date=2 May 2021 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Richard Corliss]] of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine negatively reviewed Moore's performance, writing he has "degenerated [Bond] into a male model, and something of a genial anachronism."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Corliss |first=Richard |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,953973-1,00.html |title=Cinema: The Bond Wagon Crawls Along |magazine=Time |date=27 June 1983 |access-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704023355/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,953973-1,00.html |archive-date=4 July 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Derek Malcolm]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'' wrote the film "doesn't treat itself seriously for a moment ...Bond has now become almost totally absurdist, a parody of a parody. The film effectively disarms criticism, except that one might wish for the public to flock to something other than the technically ambitious."<ref>{{cite news |last=Malcolm |first=Derek |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-derek-malcolms-review-for/127580000/ |title=A spy for all seasons |work=The Guardian |page=15 |date=9 June 1983 |access-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704024615/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-derek-malcolms-review-for/127580000/ |archive-date=4 July 2023 |url-status=live |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref>


===Retrospective reviews===
===Retrospective reviews===
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 42% based on 50 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "Despite a couple of electrifying action sequences, ''Octopussy'' is a formulaic, [[anachronistic]] Bond outing."<ref>{{cite web|title=Octopussy|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/octopussy/|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=29 April 2023|archive-date=31 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531232043/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/octopussy|url-status=live}}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose |score=63|count=14|ref=yes|access-date=July 3, 2023}}


[[James Berardinelli]] said that the movie was long and confusing, and strongly criticised [[Steven Berkoff]]'s performance, describing it as "offensively bad" and the worst performance of any Bond villain.<ref>{{cite web|title=Octopussy: Review on Reelviews|access-date=13 August 2007|publisher=James Berardinelli|url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/o/octopussy.html|archive-date=21 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221023647/http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/o/octopussy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A particular point of contention are comedic scenes where Bond is dressed in a clown costume, a gorilla outfit and doing a [[Tarzan yell]] during a jungle chase.<ref>{{cite web|title=23 BEST (AND WORST) JAMES BOND MOVIES|publisher=E!|access-date=13 August 2007|url=https://www.eonline.com/photos/5837/23-best-and-worst-james-bond-movies/208602|archive-date=13 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113055314/http://www.eonline.com/photos/5837/23-best-and-worst-james-bond-movies/208602|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, it frequently ranks low in rankings of James Bond films, such as the ones by ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/12/01/countdown-ranking-bond-films/|title=Countdown: Ranking the Bond Films|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|first1=Benjamin|last1=Svetkey|first2=Joshua|last2=Rich|date=1 December 2006|access-date=19 June 2022|archive-date=19 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619010856/https://ew.com/article/2006/12/01/countdown-ranking-bond-films/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[MSN]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ovas.ca/index.php?topic=22784.0;wap2|title=Rating the Spy Game|first=Norman|last=Wilner|publisher=[[MSN]]|access-date=27 June 2009|archive-date=5 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205134836/http://ovas.ca/index.php?topic=22784.0;wap2|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[IGN]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/746/746573p1.html|title=James Bond's Top 20|website=[[IGN]]|access-date=27 July 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305105945/http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/746/746573p1.html|archive-date=5 March 2009}}</ref> C. J. Henderson reviewed ''Octopussy'' in ''[[The Space Gamer]]'' magazine, writing "there isn't a moment in the movie when we worry for the slightest instant that anything could happen to suave ol' James. Predictably, it doesn't. To kill Bond would be to lose the most bankable genre character ever brought to the movies."<ref name="SG">{{cite magazine|last=Henderson|first=C. J.|date=September–October 1983|title=Capsule Reviews|magazine=[[The Space Gamer]]|publisher=[[Steve Jackson Games]]|issue=65|pages=38–39}}</ref>
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 42% based on 50 reviews with an average rating of 5.20/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Despite a couple of electrifying action sequences, ''Octopussy'' is a formulaic, [[anachronistic]] Bond outing."<ref>{{cite web|title=Octopussy|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/octopussy/|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=25 September 2021|archive-date=31 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531232043/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/octopussy|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[[James Berardinelli]] said that the movie was long and confusing, and strongly criticised [[Steven Berkoff]]'s performance, describing it as "offensively bad" and the worst performance of any Bond villain.<ref>{{cite web|title=Octopussy: Review on Reelviews|access-date=13 August 2007|publisher=James Berardinelli|url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/o/octopussy.html|archive-date=21 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221023647/http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/o/octopussy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A particular point of contention are comedic scenes where Bond is dressed in a clown costume, a gorilla outfit and doing a [[Tarzan yell]] during a jungle chase.<ref>{{cite web|title=23 BEST (AND WORST) JAMES BOND MOVIES|publisher=E!|access-date=13 August 2007|url=https://www.eonline.com/photos/5837/23-best-and-worst-james-bond-movies/208602|archive-date=13 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113055314/http://www.eonline.com/photos/5837/23-best-and-worst-james-bond-movies/208602|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, it frequently ranks low in rankings of James Bond films, such as the ones by ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/12/01/countdown-ranking-bond-films/|title=Countdown: Ranking the Bond Films|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|first1=Benjamin|last1=Svetkey|first2=Joshua|last2=Rich|date=1 December 2006|access-date=19 June 2022|archive-date=19 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619010856/https://ew.com/article/2006/12/01/countdown-ranking-bond-films/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[MSN]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ovas.ca/index.php?topic=22784.0;wap2|title=Rating the Spy Game|first=Norman|last=Wilner|publisher=[[MSN]]|access-date=27 June 2009|archive-date=5 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205134836/http://ovas.ca/index.php?topic=22784.0;wap2|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[IGN]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/746/746573p1.html|title=James Bond's Top 20|website=[[IGN]]|access-date=27 July 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305105945/http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/746/746573p1.html|archive-date=5 March 2009}}</ref> C.J. Henderson reviewed ''Octopussy'' in ''[[The Space Gamer]]'' No. 65.<ref name="SG">{{cite journal|last=Henderson|first=C.J.|date=September–October 1983|title=Capsule Reviews|journal=[[The Space Gamer]]|publisher=[[Steve Jackson Games]]|issue=65|pages=38–39}}</ref> Henderson commented that "there isn't a moment in the movie when we worry for the slightest instant that anything could happen to suave ol' James. Predictably, it doesn't. To kill Bond would be to lose the most bankable genre character ever brought to the movies."<ref name="SG"/>


By contrast, the elegance of the film locations in India, and the stunts on the aircraft and train were appreciated.<ref>{{cite web|last=Berham|first=Debbie|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/08/30/octopussy_1983_review.shtml|title=Octopussy: Review|publisher=BBC|access-date=13 August 2007|date=30 August 2001|archive-date=5 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305142319/http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/08/30/octopussy_1983_review.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[GQ (magazine)|GQ]]'' writer David Williams said ''Octopussy'' was "one of the best 'Bad Films' of the franchise", praising the entertaining characters but finding the silliness and Moore's advanced age problematic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why Octopussy is the best (and possibly worst) James Bond film|author=David Williams|access-date=13 August 2017|date=16 February 2015|work=GQ|url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/louis-jourdan-octopussy-james-bond-007-kamal-khan-roger-moore|archive-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727224324/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/louis-jourdan-octopussy-james-bond-007-kamal-khan-roger-moore|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Danny Peary]] wrote that ''Octopussy'' "has slow spots, little humour, and villains who aren't nearly of the calibre of [[Julius No|Dr. No]], [[Auric Goldfinger|Goldfinger]], or [[Ernst Stavro Blofeld|Blofeld]]. Also, the filmmakers make the mistake of demeaning Bond by having him swing through the trees and emitting a Tarzan cry and having him hide in a gorilla suit and later disguise himself as a clown (who all the kids at the circus laugh at). It's as if they're trying to remind us that everything is tongue-in-cheek, but that makes little sense, for the film is much more serious than typical Bond outings – in fact, it recalls the tone of ''[[From Russia with Love (film)|From Russia with Love]]''."<ref>{{cite book|last=Peary|first=Danny|title=Guide for the Film Fanatic|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1986|pages=306–7}}</ref>
By contrast, the elegance of the film locations in India, and the stunts on the aircraft and train were appreciated.<ref>{{cite web|last=Berham|first=Debbie|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/08/30/octopussy_1983_review.shtml|title=Octopussy: Review|publisher=BBC|access-date=13 August 2007|date=30 August 2001|archive-date=5 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305142319/http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/08/30/octopussy_1983_review.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[GQ (magazine)|GQ]]'' writer David Williams said ''Octopussy'' was "one of the best 'Bad Films' of the franchise", praising the entertaining characters but finding the silliness and Moore's advanced age problematic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why Octopussy is the best (and possibly worst) James Bond film|author=David Williams|access-date=13 August 2017|date=16 February 2015|work=GQ|url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/louis-jourdan-octopussy-james-bond-007-kamal-khan-roger-moore|archive-date=27 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727224324/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/louis-jourdan-octopussy-james-bond-007-kamal-khan-roger-moore|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Danny Peary]] wrote that ''Octopussy'' "has slow spots, little humour, and villains who aren't nearly of the calibre of [[Julius No|Dr. No]], [[Auric Goldfinger|Goldfinger]], or [[Ernst Stavro Blofeld|Blofeld]]. Also, the filmmakers make the mistake of demeaning Bond by having him swing through the trees and emitting a Tarzan cry and having him hide in a gorilla suit and later disguise himself as a clown (who all the kids at the circus laugh at). It's as if they're trying to remind us that everything is tongue-in-cheek, but that makes little sense, for the film is much more serious than typical Bond outings – in fact, it recalls the tone of ''[[From Russia with Love (film)|From Russia with Love]]''."<ref>{{cite book|last=Peary|first=Danny|title=Guide for the Film Fanatic|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1986|pages=306–7}}</ref>


===Character reviews===
===Character reviews===
In 2006, [[Fandango (ticket service)|Fandango]] ranked the character Octopussy as one of the top-10 [[Bond girl]]s, and described her as "a powerful, impressive woman".<ref>{{cite web|last=Morgan|first=Kim|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319033203/http://www.fandango.com/commentator_thetop10bondgirls_79?source=ca_title|url=http://www.fandango.com/commentator_thetop10bondgirls_79?source=ca_title|title=The Top 10 Bond Girls|url-status=dead|website=Fandango|date=12 November 2006|archive-date=19 March 2008}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', however, ranked her as the 10th-worst Bond girl in one list in 2006<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Rich|first=Joshua|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/11/13/countdown-10-worst-bond-girls/|title=Countdown: The 10 Worst Bond Girls|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=13 November 2006|access-date=19 June 2022|archive-date=19 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619011151/https://ew.com/article/2006/11/13/countdown-10-worst-bond-girls/|url-status=live}}</ref> but as the best "babe" of the Roger Moore ''James Bond'' films in another list in 2008.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Nashawaty|first=Chris|title=Moore&nbsp;... and Sometimes Less|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=12 December 2008|issue=1025|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20244432,00.html|access-date=9 August 2011|archive-date=22 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022021753/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20244432,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A poll by Bond fans in 2008 elected Octopussy as the tenth-worst Bond Girl.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/zap-deniserichardsworstbondgirl-story.html|title=Denise Richards Voted Worst Bond Girl Ever|publisher=Zap2it|access-date=12 September 2010|archive-date=2 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602134648/http://www.latimes.com/zap-deniserichardsworstbondgirl-story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Yahoo! Movies]] included the character in a 2012 list of the best Bond girl names, commenting: "This Bond girl moniker was so good, they named the film after her!"<ref>{{cite web|last=Parfitt|first=Orlando|url=http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-editors/james-bond-50-best-bond-girl-names-152850798.html|title=James Bond at 50: the best Bond Girl names|website=Yahoo! Movies UK|date=24 September 2012|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-date=3 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203143009/http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-editors/james-bond-50-best-bond-girl-names-152850798.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2006, [[Fandango (ticket service)|Fandango]] ranked the character Octopussy as one of the top-10 [[Bond girl]]s, and described her as "a powerful, impressive woman".<ref>{{cite web|last=Morgan|first=Kim|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319033203/http://www.fandango.com/commentator_thetop10bondgirls_79?source=ca_title|url=http://www.fandango.com/commentator_thetop10bondgirls_79?source=ca_title|title=The Top 10 Bond Girls|url-status=dead|website=Fandango|date=12 November 2006|archive-date=19 March 2008}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', however, ranked her as the 10th-worst Bond girl in one list in 2006<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Rich|first=Joshua|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/11/13/countdown-10-worst-bond-girls/|title=Countdown: The 10 Worst Bond Girls|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=13 November 2006|access-date=19 June 2022|archive-date=19 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619011151/https://ew.com/article/2006/11/13/countdown-10-worst-bond-girls/|url-status=live}}</ref> but as the best "babe" of the Roger Moore ''James Bond'' films in another list in 2008.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Nashawaty|first=Chris|title=Moore&nbsp;... and Sometimes Less|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=12 December 2008|issue=1025|url=https://ew.com/article/2008/12/05/roger-moores-james-bond-best-and-worst/|access-date=9 August 2011|archive-date=22 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022021753/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20244432,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A poll by Bond fans in 2008 elected Octopussy as the tenth-worst Bond Girl.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/zap-deniserichardsworstbondgirl-story.html|title=Denise Richards Voted Worst Bond Girl Ever|publisher=Zap2it|access-date=12 September 2010|archive-date=2 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602134648/http://www.latimes.com/zap-deniserichardsworstbondgirl-story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Yahoo! Movies]] included the character in a 2012 list of the best Bond girl names, commenting: "This Bond girl moniker was so good, they named the film after her!"<ref>{{cite web|last=Parfitt|first=Orlando|url=http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-editors/james-bond-50-best-bond-girl-names-152850798.html|title=James Bond at 50: the best Bond Girl names|website=Yahoo! Movies UK|date=24 September 2012|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-date=3 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203143009/http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-editors/james-bond-50-best-bond-girl-names-152850798.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Television ===
''Octopussy'' premiered in [[North America]] on [[The ABC Sunday Night Movie]] on February 2, 1986. It placed third in its time period with a [[Nielsen Media Research]] household rating of 17.4, a 29% audience share, and approximately 25 million viewers. The movie started 18 minutes late due to an overrun earlier in the day of [[Wide World of Sports (American TV program)|Wide World of Sports]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ryan |first=Ratings |title=Nielsen Pocketpiece: February 1986 - 1st Report |website=Ratings Ryan |url=http://www.ratingsryan.com/2023/12/nielsen-pocketpiece-february-1986-1st.html |access-date=2023-12-27 |language=en |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227192206/http://www.ratingsryan.com/2023/12/nielsen-pocketpiece-february-1986-1st.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which may have negatively impacted its performance slightly (a key action sequence near the end of the film<ref>{{Citation |title=Octopussy (10/10) Movie CLIP - Fight on the Plane (1983) HD | date=28 October 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzuBG7VmIlk |access-date=2023-12-27 |language=en |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227192206/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzuBG7VmIlk |url-status=live }}</ref> did not air until after 11:30pm in the [[Eastern Time Zone]]).


==See also==
==See also==
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==External links==
==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{official website|https://www.007.com/the-films/octopussy/}}
* {{IMDb title|0086034}}
* {{IMDb title|0086034}}
* {{tcmdb title|2930|Octopussy}}
* {{TCMDb title|2930|Octopussy}}
* {{Amg movie|35940}}
* {{AllMovie title|35940}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|octopussy}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|octopussy}}
* {{mojo title|octopussy}}
* {{mojo title|octopussy}}
* [https://www.mgm.com/#/our-titles/1394/Octopussy MGM's official ''Octopussy'' website]


{{James Bond films}}
{{James Bond films}}
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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:Rail transport films]]
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Latest revision as of 19:57, 21 September 2024

Octopussy
Theatrical release poster by Dan Goozee and Renato Casaro
Directed byJohn Glen
Screenplay by
Based onJames Bond
by Ian Fleming
Produced byAlbert R. Broccoli
Starring
CinematographyAlan Hume
Edited byPeter Davies
Henry Richardson
Music byJohn Barry
Production
companies
Distributed byMGM/UA Entertainment Co. (U.S.)
United International Pictures (International)
Release dates
  • 6 June 1983 (1983-06-06) (United Kingdom)
  • 10 June 1983 (1983-06-10) (United States)
Running time
131 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom[1]
United States[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$27.5 million
Box office$187.5 million

Octopussy is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson.

The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights, although the film's plot is mostly original. It does, however, contain a scene adapted from the Fleming short story "The Property of a Lady" (included in 1967 and later editions of Octopussy and The Living Daylights). The events of the short story "Octopussy" form part of the title character's background and are recounted by her in the film.

In Octopussy, Bond is assigned the task of following a megalomaniacal Soviet general (Steven Berkoff) who is stealing jewellery and art objects from the Kremlin art repository. This leads Bond to a wealthy exiled Afghan prince, Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan), and his associate, Octopussy (Maud Adams), and the discovery of a plot to force disarmament in Western Europe with the use of a nuclear weapon.

Octopussy was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson; it was released four months before the non-Eon Bond film Never Say Never Again. The film earned $187.5 million against its $27.5 million budget and received mixed reviews. Praise was directed towards the action sequences and locations, with the plot and humour being targeted for criticism; Adams's portrayal of the titular character also drew polarised responses.

Plot

[edit]

After an encounter with knife-throwing twin assassins Mischka and Grishka in East Berlin, mortally wounded British agent 009, dressed as a circus clown and carrying a counterfeit Fabergé egg, stumbles into the British ambassador's residence and dies. MI6 immediately suspects Soviet involvement and, after the genuine Fabergé egg is to be auctioned in London, sends James Bond to identify the seller.

At the auction, Bond swaps the fake egg for the real one and subsequently engages in a bidding war with an exiled Afghan prince named Kamal Khan, forcing Khan to pay £500,000 for the counterfeit. Bond follows Khan to his palace in India. Bond defeats Khan in a game of backgammon using Khan's loaded dice. Then Bond and his MI6 contact, Vijay, escape Khan's bodyguard Gobinda in a taxi chase through a marketplace. Later, Khan's associate Magda seduces Bond. Bond allows Magda to steal the real Fabergé egg, which is fitted with Q's listening and tracking device. Gobinda knocks Bond unconscious and takes him to Khan's palace. After Bond escapes, he listens in on the bug and discovers that Khan works with Orlov, a corrupt Soviet general seeking to defy his superiors and expand Soviet domination to Western Europe. Orlov has been supplying Khan with priceless Soviet treasures stolen from the Kremlin, replacing them with counterfeits while Khan has been smuggling the genuine objects into the West via Octopussy's circus troupe.

Bond infiltrates a floating palace in Udaipur and meets its owner, Octopussy, a wealthy businesswoman, smuggler and Khan's associate. She also leads the Octopus cult, of which Magda is a member. Octopussy has a personal connection with Bond: her father is the late Major Dexter-Smythe, whom Bond arrested for treason. Octopussy thanks Bond for allowing the Major to commit suicide rather than face trial, and invites Bond to be her guest. Khan's assassins break into the palace to kill Bond, but Bond and Octopussy thwart them. Bond learns from Q that the assassins have killed Vijay.

Orlov is planning to meet Khan at Karl-Marx-Stadt in East Germany, where the circus is scheduled to perform, whilst back in Moscow, General Gogol begins to pursue Orlov when the counterfeit jewels are discovered. Travelling to East Germany, Bond infiltrates the circus and discovers that Orlov has replaced the jewels with a nuclear warhead, primed to explode during the circus performance at a United States Air Force base in West Germany. The explosion would cause Europe to seek unilateral disarmament in the belief that the bomb belonged to the US and was detonated at the airbase accidentally, which would, in turn, leave the unprotected borders open to a Soviet invasion.

Bond takes Orlov's car, drives it along the railway tracks and boards the moving circus train. Orlov gives chase, but is killed by border guards after he tries to rush a checkpoint. Bond kills Mischka and Grischka to avenge the murder of 009, and after falling from the train, hitch-hikes a lift from a passing motorist to reach the airbase, eventually stealing a car from a nearby town to complete his journey. Bond penetrates the base and disguises himself as a clown to evade the West German police. He convinces Octopussy that Khan has betrayed her, and realizing that she has been tricked, she assists Bond in deactivating the warhead.

Some time later, with the plan foiled, Khan has returned to his palace and prepares to flee. Bond and Octopussy also return separately to India. Bond arrives at Khan's palace just as Octopussy and her troops launch an assault on the grounds.

Octopussy attempts to kill Khan, but is captured by Gobinda. While Octopussy's team, led by Magda, overpowers Khan's guards, Khan and Gobinda abandon the palace, taking Octopussy as a hostage. As they attempt to escape in their airplane, Bond clings to the fuselage and disables an engine and the elevator panel. Struggling with Bond, Gobinda falls to his death from the plane's roof, and Bond and Octopussy jump off the plane onto a nearby cliff only seconds before the plane crashes into a mountain, killing Khan instantly. While the Minister of Defence and Gogol discuss the return of the stolen jewels to the Kremlin, Bond recuperates with Octopussy aboard her private galley in India.

Cast

[edit]

Other actors in smaller roles include Andy Bradford as MI6 agent 009, Dermot Crowley as Lieutenant Kamp, Orlov's nuclear weapons expert; Peter Porteous as Lenkin, the Kremlin art expert; Eva Rueber-Staier as Rublevitch, Gogol's secretary; Jeremy Bulloch as Smithers, Q's assistant; Richard LeParmentier as General Peterson's aide; and Gabor Vernon as Borchoi. Ingrid Pitt has an uncredited voice cameo as Octopussy's galley mistress.

Production

[edit]

Writing

[edit]

Despite financial problems at United Artists after the release of Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, the studio greenlit another James Bond film to be produced and released in 1983. In May 1981, one month after the announcement, UA was purchased and merged into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[5] Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum, and George MacDonald Fraser were hired to write a film based on short stories from Ian Fleming's posthumous collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights.[6] Little of the plot of the short story "Octopussy" is used, however, with its events simply related by Bond as the family backstory for one of the main characters. The scene at Sotheby's is, though, adapted from the short story "The Property of a Lady" (included in 1967 and later editions of the collection), while Kamal Khan's reaction following the backgammon game is taken from Fleming's novel Moonraker.[7] After initially intending the film to be set in Japan, Fraser chose India as the setting because of his extensive research on the country for his novel Flashman.[6]

Fraser was hired to work on an early draft of the script and he proposed that the story be set in India, as the series had not yet visited said country.[8] The first draft was delivered shortly after the release of For Your Eyes Only,[7] whose writers Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum went on to rework the script. They discarded his idea for the opening sequence, featuring a motorbike chase set at the Isle of Man TT, but still retained moments that producer Albert R. Broccoli had first criticized, where Bond dressed as a gorilla and later, a clown.[8] The film was rewritten to focus on jewellery smuggling after a scandal in the Soviet Union involving General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev's son-in-law in which the Moscow State Circus was being used to smuggle jewellery.[5]

Casting

[edit]
James Brolin's screen test as James Bond, with Vijay Amritraj

Following For Your Eyes Only, Roger Moore had expressed a desire to retire from the role of James Bond. His original contract had been for three films (Live and Let Die in 1973, The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974 and The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977) which was fulfilled. Moore's following two films (Moonraker in 1979 and For Your Eyes Only in 1981) were negotiated on a film-by-film basis. Given his reluctance to return for Octopussy, the producers engaged in a semi-public quest for the next Bond, with Timothy Dalton and Lewis Collins[5] being suggested as a replacement and screen tests carried out with Michael Billington, Oliver Tobias, and American actor James Brolin.[6] However, when rival Bond production Never Say Never Again was announced with former Bond Sean Connery playing Bond, the producers persuaded Moore to continue in the role as it was thought the established actor would fare better against Connery.[9] It has been reported that Brolin had actually been hired and was on the point of moving to London to begin work on Octopussy, while Broccoli refused to dispute Tobias's public statements that he was about to be cast as Bond.[10][6]

Sybil Danning was announced in Prevue magazine in 1982 as being Octopussy, but was never actually cast, later explaining that Albert R. Broccoli felt "her personality was too strong".[11] Faye Dunaway was deemed too expensive. Barbara Carrera said she turned down the role in order to appear as Fatima Blush in the competing Bond film Never Say Never Again. Octopussy casting director Jane Jenkins revealed that the Bond producers told her that they wanted a South Asian actress to play Octopussy, so she considered the only two Indians in predominantly white Hollywood, Persis Khambatta and Susie Coelho. Afterward, she auditioned white actresses, like Barbara Parkins and Kathleen Turner,[5] who she felt could pass for Indian. Finally, Broccoli announced to her that Octopussy would be portrayed by Swedish-born Maud Adams, who had been a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), and had been recently used by Eon to screen test the potential Bonds. To acknowledge the nationality, Adams had her hair darkened, and a few lines were added about how she was raised by an Indian family. A different plotline, with Adams's British father exposed as a traitor, was used instead.[12] The role of Magda went to another Swedish actress, Kristina Wayborn, who gained the attention of producers with her portrayal of Greta Garbo in the TV miniseries The Silent Lovers.[9] Pam Grier turned down an offer to play a Bond girl in the film.[13]

Octopussy is also the first film to feature Robert Brown as M, following the death of Bernard Lee in 1981. Brown was recommended by Moore, who had known him since both worked in the series Ivanhoe.[14] Brown had previously played Admiral Hargreaves in The Spy Who Loved Me, six years earlier.[15]

The first actor to be cast in the film was Vijay Amritraj, a popular Indian professional tennis player whom Broccoli met while watching The Championships in Wimbledon. His character of Bond's ally in India was also named Vijay and used a tennis racket as a weapon. For the villains, Broccoli brought in his friend Louis Jourdan as Kamal Khan, while his daughter Barbara suggested Steven Berkoff for Orlov after having seen him perform his own play, Greek, in Los Angeles.[9]

Filming

[edit]
The 311 hangar at RAF Northolt used for filming the jet stunt scene

The filming of Octopussy began in West Berlin on 10 August 1982 with the scene in which Bond arrives at Checkpoint Charlie.[16] Other locations from the city included Spandau Prison, the Brandenburg Gate, and Potsdamer Platz.[6] Principal photography was done by Arthur Wooster and his second unit, who later filmed the knife-throwing scenes.[17] Filming in India began on 12 September 1982 in Udaipur, Rajasthan.[6] The Monsoon Palace served as the exterior of Kamal Khan's palace, while scenes set at Octopussy's palace were filmed at the Lake Palace and Jag Mandir, and Bond's hotel was the Shiv Niwas Palace.[9] In England RAF Northolt, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Oakley were the main locations.[18] The Karl-Marx-Stadt railways scenes were shot at the Nene Valley Railway in Peterborough, while studio work was performed at Pinewood Studios and the 007 Stage.[19] Parts of the film were also shot in Hurricane Mesa, Hurricane-LaVerkin Bridge, and New Harmony in Utah.[20] Most of the crew as well as Roger Moore had diet problems while shooting in India.[3]

The Monsoon Palace

The pre-title sequence has a scene where Bond flies a nimble homebuilt Bede BD-5J aircraft through an open hangar.[17] Hollywood stunt pilot and aerial co-ordinator J. W. "Corkey" Fornof, who piloted the aircraft at more than 150 miles per hour (240 km/h), has said, "Today, few directors would consider such a stunt. They'd just whip it up in a computer lab."[21] Having collapsible wings, the plane was shown hidden in a horse trailer; however, a dummy was used for this shot.[22] Filming inside the hangar was achieved by attaching the aircraft to an old Jaguar car with a steel pole, driving with the roof removed.[17] The second unit were able to add enough obstacles including people and objects inside the hangar to hide the car and the pole and make it look as though Moore was flying inside the base. For the explosion after the mini jet escapes, however, a miniature of the hangar was constructed and filmed up close. The exploding pieces of the hangar were in reality only four inches (10 cm) long.[9]

Much later in the film, Bond steals Orlov's Mercedes-Benz at a depot defended by antagonist soldiers; as he tries to escape, he drives over barrier spikes shredding the tyres and then manoeuvres the car's bare wheels onto the rails to pursue Octopussy's circus train. During filming, the car had intact tyres in one scene so as to avoid any mishap.[22]

Acrostar from Octopussy seen at a convention

Stunt coordinator Martin Grace suffered an injury while shooting the scene where Bond climbs down the train to catch Octopussy's attention.[23] During the second day of filming, Grace – who was Roger Moore's stunt double for the scene – carried on doing the scene longer than he should have, due to a miscommunication with the second unit director, and the train entered a section of the track which the team had not properly surveyed. Shortly afterwards, a concrete pole fractured Grace's left leg. The cyclist seen passing in the middle of a sword fight during the baby taxi chase sequence was in fact a bystander who passed through the shot, oblivious to the filming; his intrusion was captured by two cameras and left in the final film.[9] Cameraman Alan Hume's last scene was that of Octopussy's followers rowing. That day, little time was left and it was decided to film the sunset at the eleventh hour.[24]

The Fabergé egg in the film is based on a real one, made in 1897 and which was called the Coronation Egg. The egg in the film is listed in the auction catalogue as being "The Property of a Lady", which is the name of one of Ian Fleming's short stories released in more recent editions of the collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights.

In a bit of diegesis that "breaks the fourth wall", Vijay signals his affiliation to MI6 by playing the "James Bond Theme" on a recorder while Bond is disembarking from a boat in the harbour near the City Palace.[25] Like his fictional counterpart, the real Vijay had a distinct fear of snakes and found it difficult to hold the basket during filming.[9]

Music

[edit]

After being absent in For Your Eyes Only due to tax problems, John Barry returned to do his ninth Bond score.[26] Barry made frequent references to the "James Bond Theme" to reinforce Octopussy as the official Bond film, given that the motif could not be featured in Never Say Never Again, and opted to include only subtle references to the music of India, avoiding instruments such as the sitar for feeling that authentic music "didn't work dramatically". He also wrote opening theme "All Time High" with lyricist Tim Rice. "All Time High", sung by Rita Coolidge, is one of seven musical themes in the James Bond series whose song titles do not refer to the film's title. "All Time High" spent four weeks at number one on the United States' Adult Contemporary singles chart and reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.[25]

The soundtrack album was released in 1985 by A&M Records; the compact disc version of this release was recalled due to a colour printing error which omitted the credits from the album cover, making it a rare collector's item. In 1997, the soundtrack was re-issued by Rykodisc, with the original soundtrack music and some film dialogue, on an Enhanced CD version. The 2003 release, by EMI, restored the original soundtrack music without dialogue.[27]

Release and reception

[edit]

Octopussy was the first Bond film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which had absorbed United Artists, the previous distributor of Eon Bond films. Octopussy premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on 6 June 1983, with the Prince and Princess of Wales in attendance.[28] The film earned slightly less than For Your Eyes Only, but still grossed $187.5 million, with $67.8 million in the United States and Canada.[29] In the United Kingdom, the film grossed £8.3 million ($14.9 million).[30][31] Other large international grosses include $15.7 million in Germany, $15.1 million in Japan and $9.1 million in France.[31] The film also performed better than Never Say Never Again, the non-Eon Bond remake of Thunderball which was released a few months later and grossed $55 million in the United States and Canada.[32] At the 11th Saturn Awards, Maud Adams was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.[33] The film won the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing.[34] In Germany, it won the Golden Screen Award for selling over 3 million tickets.[35]

Contemporary reviews

[edit]

Gary Arnold of The Washington Post felt Octopussy was "one of the snazziest, wittiest productions" of the film series, in which he praised John Glen's direction, Louis Jourdan's performance, and the screenplay.[36] Writing for The New York Times, Vincent Canby praised the film, but noted how "much of the story is incomprehensible".[37] Gene Siskel, reviewing for The Chicago Tribune, awarded the film three stars out of four, stating it is "surprisingly entertaining—surprising because in his previous five Bond appearances Roger Moore has always come off as a smug stiff. In Octopussy Moore relaxes a bit and, just as important, his role is subordinated to the film's many and extremely exciting action scenes. Octopussy has the most sustained excitement in a Bond film since You Only Live Twice." However, he felt that the character Octopussy was detrimental to the film and the action "blunts a script that is weak on characterization and long on male chauvinism".[38]

Variety felt the film's strong points were "the spectacular aerial stuntwork marking both the pre-credits teaser and extremely dangerous-looking climax. The rest of the action scenes are well-executed but suffer from a sense of deja vu, as in a speeding train that recalls Sean Connery's derring-do in The Great Train Robbery".[39] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times felt the film proved "to be business as usual, no better or worse than most of its predecessors. After all this time, it's amazing that the same old formula still plays: the gadgetry, gorgeous girls, travelogue locales and the shameless double-entendres—in this instance, octo-entendres."[40] Richard Corliss of Time magazine negatively reviewed Moore's performance, writing he has "degenerated [Bond] into a male model, and something of a genial anachronism."[41] Derek Malcolm of The Guardian wrote the film "doesn't treat itself seriously for a moment ...Bond has now become almost totally absurdist, a parody of a parody. The film effectively disarms criticism, except that one might wish for the public to flock to something other than the technically ambitious."[42]

Retrospective reviews

[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 42% based on 50 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "Despite a couple of electrifying action sequences, Octopussy is a formulaic, anachronistic Bond outing."[43] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[44]

James Berardinelli said that the movie was long and confusing, and strongly criticised Steven Berkoff's performance, describing it as "offensively bad" and the worst performance of any Bond villain.[45] A particular point of contention are comedic scenes where Bond is dressed in a clown costume, a gorilla outfit and doing a Tarzan yell during a jungle chase.[46] As a result, it frequently ranks low in rankings of James Bond films, such as the ones by Entertainment Weekly,[47] MSN,[48] and IGN.[49] C. J. Henderson reviewed Octopussy in The Space Gamer magazine, writing "there isn't a moment in the movie when we worry for the slightest instant that anything could happen to suave ol' James. Predictably, it doesn't. To kill Bond would be to lose the most bankable genre character ever brought to the movies."[50]

By contrast, the elegance of the film locations in India, and the stunts on the aircraft and train were appreciated.[51] GQ writer David Williams said Octopussy was "one of the best 'Bad Films' of the franchise", praising the entertaining characters but finding the silliness and Moore's advanced age problematic.[52] Danny Peary wrote that Octopussy "has slow spots, little humour, and villains who aren't nearly of the calibre of Dr. No, Goldfinger, or Blofeld. Also, the filmmakers make the mistake of demeaning Bond by having him swing through the trees and emitting a Tarzan cry and having him hide in a gorilla suit and later disguise himself as a clown (who all the kids at the circus laugh at). It's as if they're trying to remind us that everything is tongue-in-cheek, but that makes little sense, for the film is much more serious than typical Bond outings – in fact, it recalls the tone of From Russia with Love."[53]

Character reviews

[edit]

In 2006, Fandango ranked the character Octopussy as one of the top-10 Bond girls, and described her as "a powerful, impressive woman".[54] Entertainment Weekly, however, ranked her as the 10th-worst Bond girl in one list in 2006[55] but as the best "babe" of the Roger Moore James Bond films in another list in 2008.[56] A poll by Bond fans in 2008 elected Octopussy as the tenth-worst Bond Girl.[57] Yahoo! Movies included the character in a 2012 list of the best Bond girl names, commenting: "This Bond girl moniker was so good, they named the film after her!"[58]

Television

[edit]

Octopussy premiered in North America on The ABC Sunday Night Movie on February 2, 1986. It placed third in its time period with a Nielsen Media Research household rating of 17.4, a 29% audience share, and approximately 25 million viewers. The movie started 18 minutes late due to an overrun earlier in the day of Wide World of Sports,[59] which may have negatively impacted its performance slightly (a key action sequence near the end of the film[60] did not air until after 11:30pm in the Eastern Time Zone).

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Octopussy". Lumiere. European Audiovisual Observatory. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Octopussy". AFI Catalog. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b Hume, 121
  4. ^ "MI6 :: The Home of James Bond". MI6-HQ.COM. Archived from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Field, Matthew; Chowdhury, Ajay (2015). Some kind of hero : 007 : the remarkable story of the James Bond films. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. pp. 341–346. ISBN 978-0-7509-6421-0. OCLC 930556527. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Octopussy". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b Barnes, Alan; Hearn, Marcus (2001). Kiss Kiss Bang! Bang!: the Unofficial James Bond Film Companion. Batsford Books. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-7134-8182-2.
  8. ^ a b Fraser, George MacDonald (2019). "Shooting Script 8 – You Want to Put Bond in a Gorilla Suit?". The Light's on at Signpost. HarperCollins. pp. 234–46. ISBN 978-0008337285.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "Inside Octopussy: An Original Documentary". Octopussy (Ultimate Edition). MGM Home Entertainment.
  10. ^ Jacks, Kelso (7 April 2020). "Roger Moore Was Almost Replaced As James Bond: Watch James Brolin's Audition". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  11. ^ "11 Questions With Sybil Danning". Battle Royale With Cheese. 7 May 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
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  26. ^ Fiegel, Eddi (2012). John Barry: A Sixties Theme: From James Bond to Midnight Cowboy. Faber & Faber. p. 207. ISBN 978-0571299119.
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  56. ^ Nashawaty, Chris (12 December 2008). "Moore ... and Sometimes Less". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1025. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
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