“This is another Roger Moore outing as James Bond. This was also the year that other studios competed with series producer Cubby Broccoli with the same character. A handful of studios and distributors, including Warner Bros. released "Never Say Never" with Sean Connery returning as Bond with an offer he couldn't refuse."Octopussy" is the nickname for an international smuggler (Maud Adams) who lives on an exotic island with nothing but other women. A situation that might have a different connotation today. She also has other "legitimate" businesses including a travelling circus. Why not? Her manager is Kamal Khan (Louis Jordan, out of his element). He's outwardly loyal but also has a side gig going on with a wacko Soviet general named Orlov (Seven Berkoff). He's one of those throwbacks who wants the Soviets to rise to great power and not by "talking" with the U. S. and its allies. His plan is to detonate a bomb loaded onto circus train that will be travelling from East Berlin to West Berlin to entertain U. S. military troops and their families at an Air Force base.Khan doesn't care about the casualties, he just wants the chest of Russian jewelry originally being smuggled. Bond of course has bedded a couple of beauties along the way to get to Octopussy who naturally, caves under Bond's romantic spell. Moore looks the role but this film is pretty boring for most of the time. And I don't think I can ever get past seeing 007 in a clown outfit. Sorry. Still, there are a couple very good stunt sequences. One at the beginning but especially at the end when Bond jumps onto a plane about to take off. He has to fight off a hulking Khan bodyguard (Kabir Bedi) outside the plane and survive with Octopussy in tow before the plane decends with Khan at the controls.Long time tennis fans might recognize former Indian great, Vijay Amritraj as a MI:6 agent who helps Bond. The usual Bond regulars are also out in full force. Overall this is a marginally acceptable Bond outing. Not the worst but well short of the best.The new Blu ray restoration, however, is one of the best in the series. I was trying this film out in a smaller room using some new equipment including a new display. My teenage kid walked in and said, "That looks pretty good." Yes it does. Using a 1080p resolution and the original 2.40:1 aspect ratio, the visuals are exemplary. Colors and hue really sparkle. Everything is clear and accurate as near as I could discern. An appropriate amount of film grain remains. The transfer is free of dirt, specs and other artifacts. Well done. Likewise the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is clear and properly handled. Dialog is clear and centered. I was looking for a bit more out of the surrounds but maybe I just need to tweak my system a bit. This is a vast improvement over the DVD in all technical aspects. Subtitles include: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. The disc is also flush with extras including:*Commentary featuring Sir Roger Moore*Commentary featuring director John Glen*Shooting Stunts Part I: Crashing the Jeeps (SD, 3:46)*Shooting Stunts Part II: The Airplane Crash (SD, 3:26)*Ken Burns On-Set Movie (SD, 6:40): Not that Ken Burns.*On Location with Peter Lamont (SD, 4:43)*Testing the Limits - The Aerial Team (SD, 4:31)*James Brolin Original Screentests (SD): Yep, Brolin was a possible Bond.*James Bond in India - Original 1983 Featurette (SD, 29:26)*Inside Octopussy - An Original Documentary (SD, 33:06)*Designing Bond - Peter Lamont (SD, 20:57)*"All Time High" Music Video (SD, 3:03)*Storyboard Sequences (SD): Includes the Taxi Chase (3:33) and Bond Rescues Octopussy (3:21).*Exotic Locations (SD, 4:37)*Theatrical Archive (1080p, 8:09)Image Database: A series of promo and still photo galleries.”
“I always thought that Sean Connery was "the James Bond" but when I see a flick like this I about half believe that Roger Moore beats him out. Love the opening and the airplane scene. "Fill it up please." One of the best.”
“WOULD NOT PLAY ON ANY OF MY DVD PLAYER IS THIS AN ORIGINAL COPY? VERY ANGRY THIS IS 2ND DVD NOT PLAYING NOT HAPPY WASTING MONEY WITH THIS PLACE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“I give the movie 4 stars as its Roger Moore arseing around and not taking the role as serious as 'For Your Eyes Only' and the girls look like his Grandchildren! Still entertaining though.Dvd arrived promptly and in excellent condition so highly recommended supplier.”
