Plot: What’s it about?
When a British special agent is found dead with a small egg in his hand, this leads the intelligence forces to look into just what this egg is. It turns to be a fake of a priceless Faberge collectible piece, which makes a certain British agent wonder about the real one and if it has some special hidden value. In an effort to find out, the British agency sends the best man they have, Agent 007 himself, James Bond (Roger Moore). Bond soon finds out he isn’t the only one who wants the egg, when it is purchase at an eye popping auction price by Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan), a rich Indian prince. This could mean nothing, but Bond becomes even more interested when he sees Khan meeting with General Orlov (Steven Berkoff), an insane Russian with global domination plans. As he uncovers more and more about their partnership, Bond soon discovers a plot to detonate nuclear weapons on American soil, which could spark a whole of trouble for the entire globe. As if this wasn’t enough, Bond also has to deal with Octopussy (Maud Adams), a beautiful woman who seems to be too much for Agent 007 to handle.
I know a lot of folks didn’t care for this entry the series, but I have to say that Octopussy is my favorite Bond adventure in the end. Yes, Roger Moore is a little too old by this time and some wild and insane things happen, but I still love this movie and always have fun when I watch it. I do think this is also the most self referential of the Bonds, which means if you take the series too seriously, you probably won’t like the small bits of humor included. The normal Bond elements are all present of course with classic one liners, cool action sequences, beautiful women, and a madman, but come on, how cool is this movie’s title? That alone is enough to win me over, but all the unusual events within the movie also have me picking this one as my personal favorite. I will admit that the story is sometimes a little confusing, but who pays attention to the storylines in these movies by this point? There is a strong basic premise and the rest is decent enough to measure up in the series, which is all that counts. This is the freshest and most surprising of all the Bond movies, loaded with adventure and some downright bizarre happenings. I give this film and disc my highest recommendations…but let’s hope we never hear Pierce Brosnan yelling like Tarzan…
As if Roger Moore’s turns as James Bond weren’t strange enough as it was, his antics reach a new level with Octopussy. So many unusual things happen within this film, I sometimes wondered how this was allowed to reach the screen. But to be honest, I love the offbeat nature of this one and I am glad it did find the path to the silver screen in the end. If this film featured any other Bond actor, I am sure it would have been a disaster, but Moore seems right at home within this strange and unpredictable storyline. I like Moore a lot in this role and here he really goes to town on the humor, though sometimes a little too much it seems. Other films which feature Moore as James Bond include A View To A Kill, Moonraker, Live And Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, and The Man With The Golden Gun. This film also sports an impressive supporting cast, which includes Steven Berkoff (Legionnaire), Kristina Wayborn (Little Ghost), Louis Jourdan (Swamp Thing), Lois Maxwell (Live And Let Die), Desmond Llewelyn (Tomorrow Never Dies), and Maud Adams (Rollerball) as the luscious Octopussy. This film was helmed by John Glen, who also directed such films as The Sea Wolves, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Moonraker, A Doll’s House, and The Spy Who Loved Me.
Video: How does it look?
Octopussy is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This is a solid transfer in all respects, though a few smaller flaws keep the score a little lower than it should be. The source print shows little grain, but some debris is evident at times and though infrequent, this can be a little bothersome. But the colors look bright, never bleeding at all and flesh tones seem natural and consistent too. The contrast is accurate for the most part, but a few scenes look a little too light and that causes some minor issues. As I said though, these are infrequent and most scenes display well balanced black levels. This transfer is also free from compression problems, another top notch treatment for a title in The James Bond Collection.
Audio: How does it sound?
The include stereo surround track is a little flat at times, but is still much better than I expected in the end. The main problems arise in the action driven sequences, which need dynamic sound and get only a moderate amount of punch here. But this flaw rests on the source and not this transfer, so no real complaints there. The musical score (by John Barry) is excellent and sounds better than I anticipated, which is more than good enough for me. I do wish this would have gotten a new remix, but this stereo surround track is still adequate. No dialogue issues arise in the least, as vocals sound clean and volume level is always proper. This disc also includes English captions, French & Spanish subtitles, and a Spanish stereo surround track.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc is packed with bonus materials and such, but isn’t that what we’ve come to expect from this series? I have liked all the animated storyboards included on these discs and as such, I also found the ones included here to be cool. Two sequences have been chosen for this treatment and I loved every second of it. Here’s to hoping more studios include storyboards on their discs from now on. You also get three teasers and the film’s theatrical trailer, all of which are a lot of fun to watch. I miss the radio and television ads found on some Bond discs, but these are still nice to see. A music video for Rita Coolidge’s All Time High is also found here, which should please fans of the song. Next is Inside Octopussy, which runs over thirty minutes and contains a wealth of behind the scenes information and interviews. Since this is my favorite Bond movie I liked this one a lot, but even casual fans should appreciate this peek behind the curtain. Another featurette is also found on this disc, Designing Bond: Peter Lamont and this one deals with the production design behind the movies. A very interesting piece and one that certainly has a place in this collection. The final supplement is an audio commentary with director John Glen and other cast & crew members, which is chock of information and all, but is non screen specific and a little dull at times.
