Octopussy (1983)

Octopussy (1983), directed by John Glen.

Bond #13, Roger Moore's sixth, has a busy plot and rich design, with lavish Indian locations. Action is only intermittent until the final third, when Moore actually bestirs himself and shows some concern when stopping a nuclear bomb from detonating at an air base in Germany.

We have distributed villains: Steven Berkoff as a rogue Soviet general trying to start WW3, Louis Jourdan as a refined and dapper Afghan prince (!) and Maud Adams as the title character, who turns out to be an ally.

Most impressive are those characters who speak her name with a straight face. She says it was a nickname from her father, who later committed suicide with a gun given to him by Bond. Could these facts be related?

Didn't James Coburn's "Flint" also encounter and island of deadly Amazons many years earlier? But that was a spoof on James Bond. These women are also trained circus performers who can storm a fortified castle.

We have several series low points: Bond in a crocodile infiltration craft, in a gorilla suit and clown makeup. Bond swinging through the trees yodeling like Tarzan, and his assault on the fortress in a Union Jack hot air balloon.

Screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser, whom I revere, although not for this. John Barry score. Bond girl survival rate: 100%. Maud Adams appeared earlier in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).

Available on Blu-ray, currently a Walmart exclusive. Fine image.