In the 1990s, I worked in a Blockbuster Video store and I waited on a customer named Vijay Armitraj...the same Vijay from 'Octopussy'. He was shocked that I recognized him (I have always gone out of my way to know actors in movies I see and make connections to other movies), but we had some laughs as I helped him rent a video game system for his kids (probably a Playstation 1...it was the late 90s). Very nice guy. He got the job because he was an up and coming tennis star at the time looking to expand his horizons. This is not my favorite Bond film. I liked Steven Berkoff as General Orlov (Berkoff is amazing when he chews scenery). I actually really liked Gobinda (Kabir Bedi) as a quiet intense villain sidekick...years later when I started watching Hindi films, I was thrilled seeing him as a good guy in the Shahrukh Khan film 'Main Hoon Na'.My biggest disappointment in this is Louis Jourdan as Kamal Khan. Jourdan was the leading man in one of my top 10 favorite film musicals of all time, 'Gigi' (1958 - Best Picture winner) written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, directed by Vincente Minnelli. He went from this charming romantic leading man...to playing schlocky and mostly boring villains during the later part of his career. If you want to see Jourdan at the height of his charm watch 'Gigi' with Maurice Chevalier, Leslie Caron, Hermione Gingold and Eva Gabor. Some of it could be seen as triggering to an audience today...but its a fun and frothy musical set in Paris during the Belle Epoque (early years of the 20th century). If you recognized Maud Adams (Octopussy), she was Andrea Anders, Scaramanga's girlfriend in 'The Man With The Golden Gun'...the only two time Bond girl, pre-Daniel Craig era. 'A View To A Kill' is next, and the last Moore film. I have a lot of love for it...especially for the opening credits number performed by Duran Duran, and written by the band with John Barry.

I haven't seen this since I was a kid. My mom's cousin Vijay Amritraj played Bond's sidekick in the Indian scenes. He was a famous tennis player in the 70s and 80s. He and his brother both played Wimbledon. The next film, A View to a Kill, was the first Bond film I saw in a theater. And it has one of the best theme songs by Duran Duran.

Shan, very sorry you and and your family came down with Covid. I wish you all a speedy recovery. Your reviews of the Bond films are so fun and bring back my initial exposure to the films, that I started as a child and love to this day. The small jet plane at the beginning scene is the bede acrostar, it is a real genuine vehicle piloted by the actual pilot for the stunts. Both Octopussy and Property of a Lady are short stories by Fleming from the Octopussy short story anthology. Given the anti-nuclear sentiment at the time, General Orloff's plan to detonate the device on a US base in Germany makes a lot more sense. The public sentiment, not to mention the German government would assume it was a US nuclear accident and likely make them leave, opening things up for Orloff's scheme

Seriously these bond videos are the best part of the month for me. A view to a kill I did not like but I have a feeling you will absolutely love the extreme tonal shift to the dalton movies

Welcome back! I hope You doing well! ♥️

Ahhh, yes the 80s John Glen Bond films continue. My overall favorite run of the series. In this one you might notice Maude Adams is playing the title character of Octopussy. She appeared in another Roger Moore Bond film almost 10 years earlier. In The Man With The Golden Gun she played the lover of Francisco Scaramanga. The title is actually taken from an original short story collection of Ian Fleming (the Bond author). There certainly was a lot of debate among the filmmakers on whether or not they should actually go with that title.

Bond films have a rich history of Swedish actors appearing in them. Maude Adams enjoyed the distinction of being in two of them, the first being The Man with the Golden Gun and this one Octopussy. Other swedes include Britt Ekland (The Man with the Golden Gun), Kristina Waybourn (Octopussy), Mary Stävin (Octopussy & A View to a Kill), Dolph Lundgren (A View to a Kill), Isabella Scorupco (is Polish but grew up in Sweden, was in GoldenEye), Eva Green (one third Swedish, Casino Royale), Ola Rapace & Jens Hultgren (Skyfall) and most recently David Dencik (No Time to Die).

This is one of the few Bond films where Bond doesn't carry his signature PPK, in this film he uses a Walther P5 which coincidently Sean Connery used in the non Eon Bond film Never Say Never Again

Something that was incredible to us was when we learned that back then is that the micro jet was real. A good and quick recovery to you and yours.

Glad you're back Shan and doing okay! I love Octopussy. So many great elements throughout. The plot is notorious for being really confusing so no worries there. I love how good of an actor Roger Moore is here when he defuses the bomb in the clown suit. I also love John Barry's score and John Glen's directing it all feels like a legit Cold War thriller at times. Stephen Berkoff hamming it up as Orlov is fun too. I'm a fan of these 80s Cold War era Bonds and this, A View to a Kill, and Living Daylights are all favorites, hope you can enjoy them too, looking forward to your reactions!

You should check out the unofficial rival Sean Connery Bond film ‘never say never again’ that came out around the same time before you move on.

Yup, you recognize Maud Adams because she was Scaramanga's mistress in The Man With the Golden Gun.

This was the first Bond film I remember seeing. Roger Moore just had charisma. TY for viewing!

Fun fact...Both *Octopussy* , played by Maud Adams & Kamal Khans lady, Magda, played by Kristina Wayborn are from Sweden, Maud Adams was a former Photo model before she became a actress, she was also in the Bondfilm *The Man With The Golden Gun* also appeared as a statist role in *A View To a Kill*.. Kristina Wayborn was a Pageant girl & was selected to be *Miss Sweden* & a Semi Finalist in the *Miss Universe* Pageant 1970, same year she was voted as *Miss Scandinavia* she portrayed as the Legendary Greta Garbo in the Movie *Silent Lovers* 1980 before the Bond producers discovered her to play the role as Magda.

Sadly, Bernard Lee passed away from stomach cancer on January 16, 1981. Lee died after filming began on "For Your Eyes Only," but before he could film his scenes as M. Maud Adams was also in "The Man With The Golden Gun," Scaramanga's woman who he killed.

My favorite Bond movie - mainly for the amazing performance by Louis Jourdan. His accent and delivery are AMAZING. "Mister Bond is a very rare breed... soon to be made EXTINCT."

That cold intro was a real jet and that fly-through-the-hangar stunt was real. That pilot had balls of steel!

Octopussy played by Maud Adams, who also played Scaramanga's mistress in MWTGG (you mentioned she looked familiar)

Dear Shawn, it gives me joy to know that you have overcome this terrible disease, every time someone manages to survive it is another triumph for life, just today January 14, which is my birthday, I am also one year of surviving the disease, positive mind as always , I love your expression in the Octopussy teaser, it shows that you enjoyed it a lot.

Fun Fact: James Brolin was considered to play Bond, as Roger Moore didn't want to come back to the role. Luckily, he changed his mind and starred in one more Bond film, A View To A Kill.

Glad to hear you and your family are feeling better. This is my favorite Roger Moore Bond film.

If Maude Adams/Octopussy looks familiar, it's because she previously appeared in another James Bond movie. She was Scaramanga's lover in The Man With The Golden Gun. Adams is the only actress to have made more than one appearance in a Bond film as more than one character.

I love Octopussy. It was one of two Bond movies my local library had on VHS (the other was Moonraker). It has always been a favorite of mine as a result, but as an adult I think the thing I love most about it is the chemistry between Bond and Octopussy- which John Barry's score helps immensely. The "we are two of a kind" scene is probably my favorite 'moment' of the Bond series, but I guess I'm just a big softy in my old age.

Before you get to A VIEW TO A KILL, there is the unofficial entry NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, which features the return of Sean Connery as Bond. 1983 was known as The Battle of the Bonds.

I'm 46 years old now and still to this day, I have no idea why this was the just about the only Bond movie that I watched over and over when I was a kid. I watched a few of the others at the time and liked them all. But I must've seen Octopussy 15 times back then. Just a fun movie, I guess.

I am glad you are venturing through the entire Bond odyssey. You almost the only other channel that's watching the Roger Moore era, while everyone else only sticks to the Daniel Craig era and MAYBE watch a single Sean Connery one.

Love the Bond series! Look forward to each episode. I think A View to a Kill is up next. I've seen that one. Can't wait till we get to Pierce Brosnan. Glad you're feeling better. If you like Sir Roger Moore, a couple of movies he did during his stint as James Bond worth checking out are: 1976 Shout At The Devil (with Lee Marvin) and 1980 The Sea Wolves (with Gregory Peck, David Niven).

"Are you with our group?!" "No ma'am. I'm with the economy tour." My favorite Roger Moore Bond line.

The snake charmer playing the Bond Theme is both amusing and a tip of the hat to his previous famous role: The Saint. When the episode would open, someone would recognize "...the famous Simon Templar" and he would look up as the halo appeared above his head & the musical theme would play, leading immediately into the opening credits.

Hope your entire familiy has a speedy recovery. Octopussy was my first Bond movie to see. I was 9 years old when it came out

Louis Jourdan, who plays Khan, isn't the best Bond villain in the franchise but he's so damn smooth. He was also a killer in an episode of Columbo, same thing there: not the best episode but damn smooth.

Hi Shan. Yes, Octopussy(Maud Addams) was Sacaramanga's girl, Miss Anders in "The Man with the Golden Gun."

Saw this one in the theaters when I was a kid. Been a Bond fan ever since!!

That Tarzan scream was made by Johnny Weissmuller, the Olympic swimmer and actor who played Tarzan in the old black/white movies.

First Bond film I watched so it has a nostalgic place in my heart. While I recognize it's shortcomings I can't help but to love Octopussy.

It's interesting that you think this one was poorly written. The script this time around came from guest screenwriter George MacDonald Fraser. They occasionally introduce a guest scriptwriter whenever the regulars such as Richard Maibaum aren't available. Fraser is best known as the author of The Flashman novels, period pieces revolving around the adventures of the bully from the novel Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes. Fraser wrote the screenplay to the movie adaptation of his first Flashman novel just called Flashman (1975) starring Malcolm Mcdowell and Oliver Reed. He also wrote the screenplays to Richard Lester's Musketeer trilogy, The Three Musketeers,(1973), The Four Musketeers (1974) and Return of the Musketeers (1989), starring Oliver Reed, Michael York and Christopher Lee. These were the most faithful adaptations of Alexander Dumas' novels The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After ever filmed. He also wrote the screenplay for a 1977 adaptation of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper again starring Oliver Reed. These are all great ground-breaking swashbuckling movies that introduced a very different way of choreographing sword fights. Instead of the gentlemanly tip-tapping of blades. The sword fights were vicious and entertaining brawls. You should check them out. They're really fun period swashbucklers. Sadly not quite as many explosions but really impressive stunt work with the likes of Oliver Reed and Christopher Lee doing much of their own stunts and fight scenes. Octopussy was hugely popular when it first came out. I've always loved it but new people viewing it for the first time always point out its silly aspects as a turn off, like the Tarzan yell and Bond dressed as a clown. I can actually defend the choice of the clown makeup by stating it was the perfect disguise to sneak into the Big Top and past the guards without arousing too much interest. Also, the reason he is wearing the exact same clown suit as 009 is because with Bond's encyclopedic knowledge of everything, he would realise that clowns have their own signature makeup and he would be spotted as not being part of the show if he looked in anyway out of place. It would stand to reason he would copy 009's make up and costume from memorising the photograph of the dead 009 he saw in M's office. Unfortunately I can't defend the Tarzan yell. Happy to see you're feeling better and that you and your family are on the mend. Can't wait for your next video.

I’m glad to hear you’re recovering from Covid and I hope your family continues to recover as well.👍

The same summer that this Bond film was released, Sean Connery reprised his role as Bond in a rival movie, Never Say Never Again.

I love this one. It's my second-favorite Moore entry. It's almost as silly as Moonraker, but it stops just short of going that far. I also appreciate that this film features a pair of main villains rather than a single one. (We will get that again in The Living Daylights and The World Is Not Enough, but it works best here.)

I've been watching this film for nearly 40 years and I still don't fully understand the plot 😄 Will you be reacting to Never Say Never Again, Shan?

Always love these Bond reactions! Just started rewatching the Bond movies with the family, next one up for us is Thunderball

Tehy asked Richard Kiel that will he return as Jaws in this Bond movie, but he didn't wanted to play villain anymore, because he became a Christian.

Another great John Barry soundtrack is for 1971ish "Follow Me!" AKA "The Public Eye" with Michael Jayston, Mia Farrow, and Topal. Fun movie with great views of 1970s London and Picadilly. Worth checking out. I thought the movie "Lost in Translation" took a bite out of it. Young woman in a new marriage, foreign country, meets a stranger who helps her move on to next part of life. From the very opening, John Barry's music will have you in love.

Another great reaction. Personally, I dont see the plot as confusing at all, perhaps a little more complex than some others, but I enjoyed following the trail of clues that took us from 009's death at the beginning through to the reveal of Orlov's plan. Looking forward to more reactions :-)

I call this the brainstorming Bond movie, as they just threw literally everything from their brainstorming session into this thing: mini jet, circus, taj mahal, faberge egg, bengal tiger, crocodile disguise, cult of beautiful women, twin knife throwers, bladed buzzsaw guy, Q in a hot air balloon, clown disguise, Soviet bad guy, a roll of the dice etc. Are you gonna watch Never Say Never Again next or continue on with the official series?

Octopussy is the one I grew up with. Still love it

Sir Roger Moore is the most entertaining and fun Bond! I love this Bond movie!

I've had a long busy day at work, I cant tell you how happy I was to find this waiting for me when I got home.

Glad you are back and best wishes for full and speedy recoveries all around. This is a decent and plausible Moore film, and he does not go over the top with anything silly like in the other movies (the taxi chase wasn't too much). I never found the plot particularly difficult to follow, although its revelation was spread out a bit. The notion of creating what looks like an accident to swing things your way and the ability to weave it into and hide it behind other facilitating activities provided a real shot of layered imagination. The casual double cross of leaving Octopussy and her circus to perish sealed the villain's fate as it should have. Bond wasn't up against the likes of Goldfinger, Largo, or Blofeld, but these baddies were playing for high stakes and playing for keeps. Back in the 80's this shit was real. Anyway, great reaction as usual, on to the next!

Just so you know, it's ironic that the Bond theme was first played in-film in India. Because the 007 theme was adapted from a musical about the Indian communities of Trinidad--"Good Sign, Bad Sign," by Monty Norman from _A House for Mr. Biswas._ kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e9J2hbt3sM2riqM.html

I think this is the only James Bond film I actually watched in a theater. I was 11, it was very exciting. 😆

Shan, I hope that you and your family are feeling better. This brings back such good memories for me, as it was the very first movie I saw in the theater. I was 8, and my brother was home on leave from the army, and it was the first time he had been home in five years. Ironically, although it wasn't filmed there, it's setting at the end of the film was very close to the base in Bavaria my brother had been stationed at.

I can see why the plot confused you, especially on a first viewing, but I really like that Octopussy is a cold war thriller at its. I also gotta disagree on the villains and henchmen. I love both Kamal Khan as the sleazy and Orlov as the insane bad guy.

Personally, I like the fact we don't know what the villain's plan is upfront. We're working it out as the film unfolds just like Bond. Its deliberately set up as a mystery from the beginning when 009 is killed but nonetheless successfully delivers the fake Faberge Egg to the English Ambassador. The egg is an old-fashioned MacGuffin that leads Bond to a greater threat: a nuclear bomb. In fact, it's a similar plot to Goldfinger, which Richard Maibaum admitted. Bond's investigation of Goldfinger's gold smuggling operation leads him to the real plan, Operation Grandslam, a plan to smuggle a nuclear device into Fort Knox and irradiate the US's gold supply. Goldfinger's gold smuggling operation just like Octopussy's jewel smuggling operation is a front to smuggle in a nuclear device. Octopussy is not as good as Goldfinger, of course. There are some really silly moments in Octopussy, but it was also the Bond producers' fun take on the exotic adventure films made popular by Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Just glad you're feeling better. I hope the rest of your family is also improving.

Sorry to hear about your family getting sick. I'm glad you're feeling better. I hope you're able to do this FT soon, as you're my favorite movie reactor.

I’m not sure if you’ve gotten this yet but the opening sequence with the mini jet pulling into a gas station was a reference to an actual incident involving a BD5-J making a forced landing and doing almost the same thing.

There's also an Sean Connery bond from 1983. Never say never again.

Find a soulmate who looks at you with the same utter joy that Shan shows when he sees a really humungous explosion... so he'll definitely have to watch Action USA (1989) next.

We love ya Shan, take your time and tend to what you need to! Keep up the great work when life doesn’t get in the way.. I would love if you devoted a day, a single week or whatever to classic movies (before 1974) Best wishes and have a great 2022!

"I wonder what they've been feeding this man.." LOLOLOL!

Wow, so many familiar actors in this one! So far I recognize folks from "Beverly Hills Cop," "The Return of Swamp Thing," and "Willow."

They definitely stepped it up a notch in regards to depth of plot/ story for Octopussy.

A comedy from right around the time this came out that you should watch is "The Cannonball Run" (1981). Kind of like "Blazing Saddles," it's the sort of comedy they couldn't really make today. It's a very silly comedy with a lot of all-star actors and comedians from that era being goofy and having a good time. I mean it's an incredibly star-studded cast. The reason I mention it, is that it also features Sir Roger Moore playing a caricature of himself, which is just hilarious. He really knows how to laugh at himself. It's one of my favorite early 80's comedies, I highly recommend that you check it out.

You'd be interested to know that the tiny jet in the beginning is absolutely real. It's the Bede BD-5.

John Barry has one of the most overlooked scores in a ridiculous movie called Raise the Titanic from 1980

The one I was expecting for... my all time favorite.

This is one of my favorite non-Sean Connery Bond films. Peak Roger Moore camp with peak Cold-War drama

Glad to hear you are feeling better. My whole family has it right now. I'm just glad it was this variant abs bit the others

Hi Shan, have been enjoying all your film reviews, especially the Bond ones. Had wondered what part of the world you are in, it's nice to get a view point from somewhere less usual. Sorry you & your family have got Covid but pleased you have not had serious cases & that you are on the mend now. Best wishes to you & yours from a subscriber in Scotland.✌💐

"Seven Days to the River Rhine" (wikipedia) was a real, and indeed mad, Soviet plan

Hoping you will check out THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS (1997) starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas. It's based on a true story about two killer lions. Thank you

A View to a Kill is the last Moore film, then finally you get to my favorite Bond, Timothy Dalton.

Glad you’re okay and hope your family is as well friend. Take care of yourself and your family!

Interesting to see a time when tiny pocket cameras and full colour LED video watches were fanciful gadgets that only 00 class spies had access to!

Haha--Shan and his explosions!

Sorry your family was sick, I hope you and your family recover fully and quickly.

So glad you're feeling better. And also that you're gonna be doing this full-time. I know you will absolutely kill it, bud

Very glad to hear that you and your family have come through infection well. Wish everyone could be so fortunate. Don't worry about taking the time off. You had more important things to focus on.

While I'm never going to be mistaken for the leader of the Roger Moore as James Bond Fan Club, this movie at least uses him correctly. He's not hitting on recent high school grads. Octopussy (Maud Adams) actually seems like an age appropriate Bond girl for Roger Moore at this time. But trust me, they go in the opposite directly in the next one. LOL.

Thank you for your input, it's always interesting to hear someone else's perspective and benefit from their experience. Basically what I am trying to say is that you obviously know significantly more about India than many other of us watching your video, so it's interesting to hear what you are able to teach us.

I was surprised you didn't seem to recognize Vijay Amritraj. Is he not famous in India and Bangladesh? The movie didn't even change his first name and Bond called out "Vijay" distinctly. Anyone who followed tennis in the 70s and 80s would know him immediately. He was more popular for his great personality than his tennis prowess although he did get into the top 20 in singles.

Came for the Bond reactions .. sticking around for all the others now too! Yaaay, I'm in the current year finally

Shan, glad you over-came the Covid. Now looking onward to watching your video reaction and post follow-up!

Good to see you're feeling better, Shan! Octopussy may be even sillier than Moonraker, but it's also one of the most epic Bond films to date. And I love tennis pro Vijay Amritraj's character.

In the movie they say nobody knows Octopussy's real name, it's actually Octavia Charlotte Smythe.

This is one of my favorite Bond movies. I recognize that it's not up to par with the better ones, but its just so darn fun.

This is the first Bond movie that I saw in the theaters. I saw Return of the Jedi in the morning with one friend and Octopussy in the evening with another friend. (I was 11.)

“What I liked about FYEO was it’s grounded approach” Brace yourself for them going another 180🤣 Moore really does look too old by this point but I think he gets away with it because of his charm and charisma, and as ridiculous as this film is at times I do have a soft spot for it. The next one is a pile of shit though, I won’t even sugarcoat it.

Glad you’re on the up & up!

Glad to hear your ok after covid i tested + about 15 days ago and i felt nothing but a little stuffy nose thats it. Glad your back Shan!!!

Glad ur feeling better hope 2022 brings u success happiness and health thanks for all your hard work I live your bond reactions

I hope you and your family are doing better, Shan. Sorry to hear it. Be well.

I went to see this in the theater when it came out. My mother took me and (as usual) we got there late. The first scene I saw was when Bond put the egg down as collateral in the backgammon scene. After it was over they let us stay for the next showing, when it got to that scene again we left. When my mother was young that was normal but when I was young it wasn't. We were late for _Star Wars_ too but the theater didn't let us stay that time. The first scene I saw was Leia's recording on a loop "help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope...help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope...help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope..."

My favorite Bond film of all time and the best song of all Bond films.

13:05 - oh God, is that what inspired the Crocodile Cap in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater?

21:01 First is A View to a Kill, then The Living Daylights and then Licence to Kill.

Late Oscar Winning production designer Peter Lamont (Titanic) done the sets for the film, was the late Ken Adam’s art director since Goldfinger, most of the Stunts were done by late Bob Simmons & late Irish Stuntman Martin Grace who broke his hip during the train sequence spent 6ths recovering in hospital was back working on the next film A View To A Kill Cubby Broccoli contacted Paul Weston to take over as Stunt supervisor, the finally aeroplane stunts were done by Jake Lombard & BJ Worth and photographed by late Randy DeLuca who worked on opening of moonraker & passed away from cancer after Octopussy he was 37yrs old

Besides Roger Moore returning as Bond in Octopussy, Sean Connery goes head to head against Moore in an unofficial James Bond movie, Never Say Never Again just in case you didn't know before A View To A Kill. Hope you include this in your James Bond movies. Then it's Dalton and his The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill. I'm patiently waiting for the Craig movie I hope you haven't seen, of course, No Time To Die. I'm glad you and your family are ok. Post: Oh, I thought you've seen all of Brosnan movie, bummer, got to wait a little longer for No Time To Die.

Shan, despite the fact that having been made as a concession for the lawsuit Kevin McClurey had against Eon Productions for his part in creating the story for Ian Fleming's "Thunderball" and therefore it isn't canon, I would really like to see your reaction to "Never Say Never Again" as it also stars Sir Sean Connery plus I feel it is superior to the movie it is a remake of but many disagree.