The Many Disguises of James Bond in Octopussy

    James Bond, as a secret agent at the disposal of Her Majety’s Secret Service, holds probably the toughest job in the world – to stay unknown and in stealth mode while doing whatever task is at his hands (or lips, *wink*).

    With that, we saw Bond do different disguises and covers throughout the 24 Bond films up until    “Spectre” (2015), the latest as of writing. There was Mr. and Mrs. David Somerset in “From Russia with Love””, Peter Franks in “Diamonds are Forever”, and Sir Hillary Bray in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, among many other covers. Ironically though, these covers often get blown eventually.

    From all he 24 Bond films that we have as of writing, there is one film that boasts the greatest number of disguises and covers, and that is “Octopussy” with Sir Roger Moore as James Bond.

    “Octopussy” was released in 1983 and had the trouble of going up against another 007 movie in the form of Sir Sean Connery’s return to the role with “Never Say Never Again”. However, that would have to be a story for another time. Although it was still campy and there were cringe-worthy moments (*Tarzan yell*), “Octopussy” was one of the better Moore Bond films. From the seven, I would rank it in the middle for “Octopussy” had equal portions of the seriousness of “For Your Eyes Only” and the breathtaking, big-budget stuff that “The Spy Who Loved Me” had. It had neither Sir Paul McCartney nor Duran Duran though.

 

    With that, let’s get on with the list.

 1. Col. Luis Toro

Right from the start, we are graced with Bond’s first disguise – Col. Luis Toro. This was back when pre-title sequence had no significant relation to the actual film’s plot and the introduction had one of my favorite one-liners from the Moore era (even better than the “Fill her up please” moment later on in the pre-title sequence) – “Toro, sounds like a load of bull”.

Bond and Col. Toro, small world

2. Dead Body

While infiltrating Kamal Khan’s castle, Bond had to disguise as a lifeless human in a body bag to not get seen by Kamal’s henchman, Gobinda. During the transport, Bond escaped. Luckily, there were only low-level guards who were easily scared by Bond’s ghost-like scream.

Bond hidden in a body bag

3. Crocodile

Bond infiltrated Octopussy’s castle disguised in a Crocodile-like submarine. This was Moore’s version of the bird-like disguised used by Connery in the pre-title sequence of ‘Goldfinger” (1964).

Bond swimming his way to Octopussy's castle

4. Circus Worker

While in East Berlin, Bond put on a workers’ uniform for Octopussy’s Circus to investigate further on the anomalies between Kamal Khan, Octopussy and General Orlov (who delivered a SUPERB performance in this film as a secondary villain). 

Bond doing heavy lifting as a Circus worker

5. Mischka

Bond encountered one of the twin knife-throwing acts of the Circus, who were the murderers of 009 as seen in the opening sequence of the movie. After a brief fight, Bond took Mischka’s dress as his own to disguise which led him to his face off with General Orlov who then revealed the true plans of him and Kamal Khan.

Bond and General Orlov at gunpoint, with Bond dressed as the knife-throwing villain

6. Gorilla Suit

The Circus was indeed like a walk-in closet for Bond in this film. He had lots of choices for disguise, which made hiding very convenient for him. In another scene, Kamal, Gobinda, and Grischka were together in the same carriage with Bond and he had no time to move out of the carriage. Thanks to a Gorilla suit large enough to fit him, he had bought time before he could escape.

Promotional still of King Kong doing a cameo role in "Octopussy"

7. Circus Clown

This would have to be the most unexpected out of the bunch. Bond in a clown uniform, complete with makeup. But then again, Sir Roger Moore was able to pull it off without being cringe-worthy. Two notes though, why couldn’t Bond just told the authorities and even Octopussy about the bomb? And last, the more explosive question, how the hell could Bond have prepared the complete clown uniform and makeup within the time left before the bomb would go off? 

News reports placed Christopher Reeve with Sir Roger Moore in the same filming location in Pinewood Studios for Superman 3. Apparently, it was the Joker that had a meet-cute with Clark Kent.

Just James Bond things, I guess.

How Die Another Day Paid Homage to Previous Bond Films

    The James Bond movie franchise is regarded as one of the longest movie franchises in history, dating back from Sir Sean Connery's first Bond film in 1962, "Dr. No."

    In 2002, the movie franchise held its 40th anniversary and to help celebrate it, EON Productions gave us Pierce Brosnan's 4th Bond film "Die Another Day", which is also the 20th in the series.

Bond surfing the tsunami in "Die Another Day" from operationgrandslam.wordpress.com

    The film was quite watchable in its own right even though the suspension of disbelief would have to be really stretched out when  watching. There was the tsunami surfing, "Your mama", and the invisible car to blame for that. However, there were still something that wasn't easily regarded as nuisances to the film, and that's because some viewers love what this things do to movies - and these are the references, or the callbacks to past movies in a references.

    Since the release of "Die Another Day" coincided with a big anniversary, I guess it couldn't be helped that there were a lot of callbacks, with at least one for each previous films.

    Here they are.

1. Dr. No

It was quite obvious what they did to tick off the "Dr. No" Callback Checklist. Bond was in Cuba, investigating the person that he thought betrayed him. All of a sudden, a woman in an orange bikini, Jinx, appeared from the sea as Bond was watching from a distance. The "underneath the mango tree..." was replaced with "now, there's a mouthful" though.

Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder from wikipedia.org

Halle Berry as Jinx from Pinterest.com

"Casino Royale", Daniel Craig's first Bond film, also did this homage but better.

2. From Russia With Love

In the hotel room, just as Bond was shedding the beard he grown when he was a prisoner of the Korean Army, there was some flirting going on with the hotel hostess, presumably as compliments of the hotel owner. It was revealed, however, that the hostess was working for an intelligence agency and their interaction was being filmed with a camera hidden by a one-way mirror. 

Bond and Tatiana Romanova with Rosa Klebb watching behind the mirror from cowbird.com

Bond and Mr. Chang's operative from operationgrandslam.wordpress.com

3. Goldfinger

A laser machine was used again as an aid for interrogation. Only this time, it wasn't Bond who was strapped but Jinx instead.

Another reference to Goldfinger was when Bond reveals a different type of clothing beneath his wet suit after emerging from a body of water, both in the pre-title sequences.

Bond revealing his white tux from bondsuits.com

Bond revealing his double-leather jacket from operationgrandslam.wordpress.com

4. Thunderball

John Cleese was the Q for this film and with him in his laboratory were the past gadgets used in past Bond films to serve not only as a major reference, but also as continuity to the character and purpose of the Quartermaster in a Bond film. Long-time Q tragically died in an accident after the release of "The World is Not Enough" in 1999. In the film, R portrayed by Cleese was introduced as some sort of intern . With this film, he rose to being Q.

Aside from the jetpack used in "Thunderball", there was also the rebreather which Bond used in underwater exploration.

Bond using the rebreather in Largo's shark-filled pool from Quora.com

Bond using the rebreather in Grave's ice palace from tvtropes.org

5. You Only Live Twice

In both films, Bond visited health clinics which were supposed covers of a bigger criminal operations. In "You Only Live Twice", Bond visited Mr. Osato, head of Osato Chemicals and Engineering while in "Die Another Day", Bond infiltrates a health clinic in Cuba which did the villain's gene therapy.

Bond in Osato's clinic from twitter.com

Bond visiting the gen therapy clinic from them0vieblog.com

6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

In both films, Bond had a heated conversation with M which ultimately led to Bond wanting to file resignation from Her Majesty's Secret Service in George Lazenby's Bond film. As for "Die Another Day", Bond was retrieved in a prisoner exchange and his license to kill was revoked to prevent leaking of sensitive information to his captors.

M (left) and Bond (right) from jamesbond007.se

Bond escaping M's custody from bplusmovieblog.com

7. Die Another Day

The villains of both films underwent changing of their physical appearance with Blofeld changing his facial features and having a clone and Col. Moon transforming into Gustav Graves.

Blofeld's clones from puzzledpagan.com

8. Live and Let Die

The only times when Bond used a revolver were in this films. Bond used a .44 Magnum at the end of the film, similar to Dirty Harry's, While in "Die Another Day', Bond used a .38 revolver which he borrowed from his contact in Cuba.

Bond using a .44 Magnum from imfdb.org

Bond using a revolver from bamfstyle.com

"Mind if I borrow these?"

9. The Man with the Golden Gun

Bond faced an obstruction in the health clinic similar to the mirror set up in Scaramanga's fun house.

Bond in Scaramanga's fun house from secretagentlair.blogspot.com

Bond infiltrating the health clinic in Cuba from operationgrandslam.wordpress.com

10. The Spy who Loved Me

In both films, Bond got to be paired with his female counterpart from another country's Secret Service, Agent Triple XXX Anya Amasova in "The Spy who Loved Me" and Agent Jacintha Johnson in "Die Another Day".

Bond and Anya from bondvsbond.wordpress.com

Bond and Jinx from Hollywood.com

11. Moonraker

The best scene in "Die Another Day" was probably the fencing fight scene with Bond and Gustav Graves, minus the cringey double-entendre with Madonna. This fencing fight scene served as the scene wherein Bond would have the chance to provoke the villain (e.g., Bond and Goldfinger's golf match, Bond and Largo's shooting exhibition, also with Drax').

Additionally, the breaking of glasses and the swordfight was similar to the fight in "Moonraker" with Drax' henchman. "Play it again, Sam."

Bond versus Chang in "Moonraker" from musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blog

Bond and Graves' swordfight from warpedfactor.com

12. For Your Eyes Only

Both films featured the singer of the theme song in the actual film. Sheena Easton appeared in the title sequence of "For Your Eyes Only" while Madonna made a cameo appearance as the fencing trainer of Rosamund Pike's double agent character.

Sheena Easton in the film's pre-title sequence from imdb.com

Madonna in "Die Another Day" from popsugar.com

13. Octopussy

One of the interesting side of "Octopussy" was the many disguises Bond did, especially the one in the pre-title sequences Col. Toro. Also in the pre-title sequence, Bond hijacks a merchandise exchange between a thug and the gang of Col. Moon. However, Bond's disguise was made and he was eventually captured.

Bond and Col. Toro from 007museum.com

Bond intercepting and disguising from bondsuits.com

14. A View to A Kill

During the pre-title sequence of "Die Another Day", Bond's cover is blown when his face was scanned on a facial recognition device. A similar equipment was used in Zorin's office as Bond was having small talk with Zorin in "A View to A Kill".

Max Zorin's facial recognition device from spywhothrills.com

Bond getting his cover blown in "Die Another Day" from operationgrandslam.wordpress.com

15. The Living Daylights

At the climax of both films, cargo planes were instrumental to the plot of the film. In "The Living Daylights", Bond placed a bomb to the location of the smuggled items which he and Kara Milovy would hijack. Due to the impending crash of the film, the pair escaped through a jeep located on the back exit of the plane. They drove off as the plane went plummeting.

Kara Milovy (left) and Bond (right) escaping from the crashing cargo plane from tgemm.home.blog

 

It was the same escape scenario with Bond and Jinx. Only for this film, a chopper was used.

The chopper escaping from the cargo plane from whatculture.com

16. License to Kill

In both these films, Bond had his license to kill revoked by M, portrayed by Robert Lee, and Dame Judi Dench.

Additionally, Bond aimed a sniper rifle but never actually fired them in these films.

Bond setting up his personalized sniper rifle from imdb.com

Bond aiming at Grave's plane from ballisticmag.com

17. Goldenye

With the Pierce Brosnan era embracing the BMW Bond cars, the few times that an Aston Martin was used in a car chase scene were in "Goldeneye" and "Die Another Day".

In the latter, the car chase was between Bond and Xenia Onattop's Ferrari while on the former, it was Bond versus Zao's Jaguar.

The Aston Martin versus Ferrari car chase in "Goldeneye" from Pinterest.com

The gadget-filled car chase in "Die Another Day" from theguardian.com

18. Tomorrow Never Dies

Bond was introduced to the remote controlled BMW Bond car in "Tomorrow Never Dies" and it was featured in a fun, and gadget-filled car chase in the film.

Bond controlling the remote-controlled BMW from imcdb.org

In "Die Another Day", the remote control feature of the Aston Martin was used when Bond infiltrated and investigated Gustav Graves actions after the presentation of the Icarus.

Bond controlling his Aston Martin to infiltrate Grave's ice palace from mi6-hq.com

19. The World is Not Enough

In both these films, viewers were reminded of the cover that the MI:6 had been using, the Universal Exports. Bond used this cover for the I.D. he needed as he infiltrated the pipeline station in 'The World is Not Enough" while in "Die Another Day", it was used to locate his contact in Cuba.

Bond using his "Universal Exports" I.D. as cover from bondmovies.com

Bond in Cuba, using the "Universal Exports" cover from bondmovies.com

    Unfortunately for the film, despite the numerous callbacks to past glorious Bond moments, the 20th James Bond film is still remembered for the CGI Tsunami surfing, and the invisible Aston Martin.

#JamesBond    #007    #NoTimeToDie #DieAnotherDay #SeanConnery    #RogerMoore    #PierceBrosnan    #DanielCraig    #TimothyDalton    #GeorgeLazenby #MovieReview

James Bond 30-Day Challenge: Most Obnoxious Male Character (Day 7)

For a movie series that is dominated by male characters, there will always be that one guy that annoys you the most. That guy can make you cringe more than any of Roger Moore's obvious stunt doubles can possibly do.

For this entry, I'm going to pick Truman-Lodge from my favorite Bond film, "Licence to Kill".

Truman-Lodge was Franz Sanchez's chief accountant. He was in-charge of Sanchez's finances which was a tall order considering that Sanchez is a drug kingpin a la Gustavo Fring of "Breaking Bad". However, this film was made in 1989 so the inspiration from Sanchez was most likely Pablo Escobar.

What made Truman-Lodge so obnoxious was the fact that there was no proper introduction for the character.  By the time Bond.went to the Casino, we started seeing Truman-Lodge talking about some business/financial matters with Sanchez in the office. No other new information about him was presented. It wasn't even revealed why a young accountant would be handling the finances of a drug kingpin (It was revealed actually but the scene was cut from the final output.)

Like Truman-Lodge, Heller who was Sanchez chief security was also introduced to us. However, unlike Truman-Lodge, Heller was given the spotlight for us to know the character.

By the film's end, Truman-Lodge was killed by Sanchez after giving off a sarcastic remark to the drug kingpin about the spoiled finances because of Bond's interference in the lab.

Much better handling of a character similar to Truman-Lodge would be seen in "Goldeneye" through Boris Grishenko. He had a proper introduction and we got to know his motives and intentions leading to his exit. 

However, it would not be the same case for a similar character (Gustav Graves' technical assistant?) in "Die Another Day". As of today, I still have no recalling of that character even though I have watched that film multiple times.

James Bond 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Daniel Craig Scene (Day 6)

"Spectre" was the first film I watched in the theater. Other Bond films were watched only on TV presentations or released copies. And how I loved watching "Spectre", especially when the white dots appeared for the gun barrel sequence, the first proper one for a Craig film!

However, my favorite Bond film wouldn't be from that scene. It would have to be from the scene that led to the events of that film, the very last scene of "Skyfall"!

The scene was just perfectly built up. From the reveal of Eve as Moneypenny and Mallory as the new M to the reveal of Bond meeting M in his office. Although it was a kind of a fan service moment, it was subtle and very much not like the fan service moments sprayed all over "Die Another Day" and "Spectre" through the countless references to previous Bond films.

What made it so memorable was the fact that it was the first time we saw Bond and M talking in the traditional office since "The Living Daylights" in 1987.

In "License to Kill", only Moneypenny's office was shown, while in the Brosnan films and Craig's first two, M's office was always redecorated and changed into something new.

This scene helped build up the interaction between Bond and the new M for the coming films, what's left of Craig's contract, at least. They even have the naval painting in the wall above M to match the details making it easy to accept Mallory as the new M.

This scene was the best scene to close for a great Bond film, "Skyfall", while also transitioning it to the next entry in the series, "Spectre" which would have the established MI-6 regulars - Bill Tanner, Moneypenny, Q, and M.

James Bond 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Pierce Brosnan Scene (Day 5)

Excuse the delay, here's the entry for the fifth day!

I really find the Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan eras very much alike. For the films in these eras, you suspend your disbelief high enough so that there's won't be frequent eyebrow raises. 

There was Sir Roger's "Moonraker". while there was Pierce's "Die Another Day". In terms of the action, there were "Octopussy" and "Tomorrow Never Dies". In terms of villains who were equal to Bond, there was Francisco Scaramanga for Sir Roger while there was Alec Trevelyan for Pierce. 

With that, we should go to my favorite Pierce Brosnan Bond moment and this would definitely be an action scene since the action, gunfights, brawls, and machine guns were commonly seen in this era of movies. 

My favorite would be Bond going up against Gustav Graves in a fencing match. This happened in the film "Die Another Day". Investigating what really happened in the mission in the pre-title sequence, Bond was led to Graves who was dealing counterfeited diamonds. 

Although this scene gave the Madonna cameo, I had to pick this one as my favorite since it was one of the most memorable and watchable moments of the film. "Die Another Day" was not a very good outing but it was very entertaining while having the potential of a good one. One of the reasons for the film having some rare praises would be due to this fight scene. 

Watching the fight, you would be reminded of Bond and Goldfinger's golf match and also the swordfight scene in Moonraker. Very fitting since it was a 40th-anniversary offering. 

The fight choreography was also done superbly. The actors were believable and not suspicious at all with all the stunts. It was really great to see Pierce Brosnan kicking the butt of a much younger villain who was very athletic and as tough as a Robocop. 

Gustav Graves was also good as a villain. Having a villain that could match up Bond physically every once in a while could be really great for the sake of the action scenes. 

James Bond 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Timothy Dalton Scene (Day 4)

Timothy Dalton is my favorite Bond actor. His two Bond films are easily in my Top 5. Needless to say, this pick is going to be an easy one. 

Of his two Bond outings, I liked License to Kill better. During its time, it was the one among the other previous Bonds. It was the first one not to have an Ian Fleming title. There were no megalomaniac villains, humorous reactions, and ultimately, there wasn't any mission at hand. 

"The Man with the Golden Gun" had the chance of having Bond go out on something that was not a mission. He was out to go after Scaramanga whom he thought was paid to kill him. However, there was also the conflict concerning the Solex Agitator and guess what, the man behind that conflict was also Scaramanga. 

As for "License to Kill", this film had no sub-plots. Bond was out to seek the killing of Felix Leiter's wife and Leiter's own casualty. Plain and simple. No missions, for now, M. Not until I avenge my best buddy, Felix Leiter. 

That made it stand out among the other entries. 

During the middle part of the film, Bond was in the fictional location, Isthmus City, in Franz Sanchez's casino. He posed as a very able player to catch Sanchez's attention and he was right. He was then about to meet Sanchez.

And this next scene would definitely be my favorite. Bond and Sanchez having a conversation. They even threw a very subtle "Bond. James Bond." introduction, although it was left unattended b Sanchez. 

Sanchez wanted to know what Bond does for a living, and asked if he was a "problem solver". Bond, gathering his wits, replied that he was a "problem eliminator". Timothy Dalton's delivery of that scene really caught my attention because it seemed that every aspect needed to make that scene perfectly aligned. The grit was present, the dedication to play the part too, but most of all, the hair was so overly done, it made the scene shine brightly. 

It was also during this meeting that Bond displayed some good spy stuff when he took a glimpse at Sanchez's window to gauge how much of a trouble it would be for him. 

James Bond 30 Day Challenge: Favorite Roger Moore Moment (Day 3)

My favorite Roger Moore moment as 007 would have to be the final showdown with Francisco Scaramanga in "The Man with the Golden Gun".

Although there were lots of massive Bond moments during the Roger Moore era, which gave seven films, this has to be the one for me. 

Options included the Crocodile Jump in "Live and Let Die", the meeting with Lazar in "Golden Gun", and the Union Jack moment in "The Spy Who Loved Me." Amazingly, those were just from Roger Moore's first  three Bond films. 

Ever since the Bond movies blew up big time during the Sean Connery era, fans had toyed with the idea 9f Bond being matched up with someone who could be his equal. After numerous extravagant villains from Dr. No to Blofeld, and Dr. Kana nga, it was time for Bond to face Scaramanga.

Scaramanga was Bond's equal in the sense that they were both the best in their field (an assassin versus a secret agent), their towering physique, and their ability to fight for what they'd think would be the best for them. 

Roger Moore inside Scaramanga's fun house in "The Man with the Golden Gun" from onenewspage.com

Scaramanga tried to trick Bond by giving him the advantage of having the Walther's six bullets against his Golden Gun's one. With the help of his fun house, Bond was down to his last possible shot. Thankfully, he thought of making the environment work to his advantage.

I won't spoil that for you anymore. You'd be doing yourself a favor watching that final battle between the two assassins. 

James Bond 30 Day Challenge: Favorite George Lazenby Moment (Day 2)

George Lazenby was Bond for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" after Sean Connery chose not to star as the secret agent.

My favorite moment on that film was when Bond called Draco, Tracy's father, after having some disagreements with M for the rescue of Tracy.

The conversation was set in Bond's office which was already shown earlier in the film when he has packed his spy stuff memento from previous missions. Once again, the setting was used as a place for Bond to cool down and clear his mind after a heated conversation with his boss.

George Lazenby as James Bond in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"

Bond dropped the line "Bond. James Bond." in this scene as he was talking to Draco. It was such a cool macho moment for Lazenby's Bond because, for the second time in the film, he has shown that he can go rogue and be against M's orders.

Not that going rogue is highly recommended for subordinates, however, this proves that having a license to kill is also having the license not to kill, as M would say In Spectre. With that, it sends the message that we can still stay true to our duties and responsibilities while being discerning of which things are of high importance.

James Bond 30 Day Challenge: Favorite Sean Connery Bond Moment (Day 1)

While everybody is in quarantine and on lockdown, I thought of giving this challenge a go.

First up is Favorite Sean Connery Scene. With 7 films to choose from, there's definitely a lot to choose from.

Among all the explosive action scenes and pun-filled remarks, my favorite had to be the Moneypenny scene in From Russia With Love.

From Russia With Love started with the new threat from SPECTRE and the defector, Tatiana Romanova, that had been known to M. M.asked for 007's presence through Moneypenny.

Unaware of the tension due to the situation and of M's presence, Bond enters the room playfully.

Moneypenny (left), M (center), and Bond (right) in From Russia with Love from bamfstyle.com

"Now for my next miracle...".as he tossed his hat to the hat stand, completely shocked and quite embarassed seeing M witness his mischievous side.

The scene had nothing more than that fun entry of Bond into the mission. It showed the personality of Bond when he has not yet been handed his mission. I think I like that because it gave us a chance of humanizing Bond and not think of him as an emotionless blunt instrument for MI6.