All Time High: Octopussy, A Thread

The film's, what, thirty-seven years old so it's not the anniversary. But I felt the need in a way. A serious post but not entirely serious. I decided to a commentary for it as almost a fortnight ago my grandfather passed.

As I've said before, but will again, when I was 7 I was on holiday with my parents, brothers and grandparents. I got heat-stroke one day, left on a sofa in the flat to recover and couldn't go out that night to the arcades or whatever. My grandad sat there with me, reading his paper (always the Telegraph) as I watched TV. But what I remember is Octopussy. Until then I had seen Bond's, I know I saw OHMSS around this time and remember snatches of Thunderball (chiefly the street chase and earlier plane crash) but OP was the one I remember as a whole, as it were.

So I revisited it, in spite of the Bondathon earlier this year (I saw earlier, May but May feels a lifetime ago). It's funny how I started to remember seeing certain parts that night. From what I remember my grandad was not a Bond fan as such, I don't ever remember seeing any other films with him unlike my other grandparents when we had the family round. However, that last moment at Octopussy's "OH!" I laughed, family had come home at this point and my mum said, don't laugh, you're too young to understand...

Anyway. I know this film isn't the best but I've always had a liking for it, sentimentality swayed along the way by an appreciation for it being the second best attempt of a Moore film after FYEO to be serious-ish. I say serious-ish, as it's like they felt that FYEO was too light on gags that OP had to make up for it. Most of which seemed crammed into the safari (the spiders, the hiss off, the siiiiiit!?, the tarzan yell). However, it is has this fantastic Cold War feel and the way it looks, typical 80s Bond I guess, but the film helps this Cold War appearance.

My focus partially has lay on Octopussy herself, he says. She might not be the strongest character but long intrigued by her. I was saying to myself that if she runs this organisation of Charlie's Angels like women, she should handle herself and if it had been a different actress I wonder. Indeed, a spin off film of her, rebooted or whatever would be interesting to me. Forget Jinx, Octopussy could smack a few people about I'm sure.

Berkoff is in classic mode as Orlov, a proper actor in my opinion and Gotell has the most I think to do in any of his Gogol turns. Until now he's usually in bed with some blonde (TSWLM he went to Egypt but that was pretty much it).

Gobinda on the quiet is a good henchman. Physically intimidating, a little nuts and very dedicated to his boss, well until he's told to climb outside a plane. Sadly, PKK is...lacking. Neither has menace or whatever, that's left to others.

In all, I like it. And without it, I probably wouldn't have stuck out watching Bond films until now. Weird how things work out.

Think we all form an attachment (for want of a better word) to a particular Bond film whether it's the best or not, indeed whether it's good at all. Mine is Diamonds are forever which again is far from the best film but which takes me back to a time and place and this can be enough to make a lasting impression, i still vividly remember it after 49 years, it was my first Bond film, sitting in the cinema and being immediately drawn in by Connery " where is he?...i shan't ask you politely next time...where is Blofeld?"....superb!