Octopussy – James Bond (1983)

Octopussy - James Bond (1983)

Octopussy movie storyline. James Bond’s next mission sends him to the circus. A British agent was murdered and found holding onto a priceless Faberge egg. Kamal Kahn buys the egg at an auction, but Bond becomes suspicious when Kahn meets up with Russian General, Orlov. Bond soon finds out that Kahn’s and Orlov’s plan is to blow a nuclear device in an American Air Force Base. Bond teams up with a circus group, which are headed by the beautiful Octopussy, who is also close friend of Kahn. Will Bond be quick enough, before World War III begins?

Octopussy (1983) is the thirteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond film series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film’s title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming’s 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights, although the film’s plot is original. It does, however, include a scene inspired by the Fleming short story “The Property of a Lady” (included in 1967 and later editions of Octopussy and The Living Daylights), while the events of the short story “Octopussy” form a part of the title character’s background and are recounted by her.

Bond is assigned the task of following a general who is stealing jewels and relics from the Soviet government. This leads him to a wealthy Afghan prince, Kamal Khan, and his associate, Octopussy. Bond uncovers a plot to force disarmament in Europe with the use of a nuclear weapon. Octopussy was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, and was released in the same year as the non-Eon Bond film Never Say Never Again. The film was written by George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum, and Michael G. Wilson, and was directed by John Glen.

Octopussy - James Bond (1983)

About the Story

British agent 009 is found dead at the British embassy in East Berlin, dressed as a circus clown and carrying a fake Fabergé egg. MI6 immediately suspects Soviet involvement and, after seeing the real egg appear at an auction in London, sends James Bond to investigate and find out the identity of the seller. At the auction, Bond is able to swap the real egg with the fake and engages in a bidding war with exiled Afghan prince Kamal Khan, forcing Khan to pay £500,000 for the fake egg. Bond follows Khan back to his palace in Rajasthan, India, where Bond defeats Khan in a game of backgammon.

Bond escapes with his Indian colleague Vijay, evading Khan’s bodyguard Gobinda’s attempts to kill them both. Bond is seduced by one of Khan’s associates, Magda, and notices that she has a blue-ringed octopus tattoo. Bond permits Magda to steal the real Fabergé egg fitted with listening and tracking devices by Q, while Gobinda captures Bond and takes him to Khan’s palace. After Bond escapes from his cell he listens in on the bug in the Fabergé egg and discovers that Khan is working with Orlov, a Soviet general, who is seeking to expand Soviet control into West-Central Europe.

After escaping from Khan’s palace, Bond infiltrates a floating palace in Udaipur, India, and there finds its owner, Octopussy, a wealthy business woman and smuggler and an associate of Khan. She also leads the Octopus cult, of which Magda is a member. In Octopussy’s palace, Bond finds out that Orlov has been supplying Khan with priceless Soviet treasures, replacing them with replicas while Khan has been smuggling the real versions into the West via Octopussy’s circus troupe. Orlov is planning to meet Khan at Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz) in East Germany, where the circus is scheduled to perform. After evading Khan’s assassins, who killed Vijay, Bond goes to East Germany.

Octopussy - James Bond (1983)

Bond infiltrates the circus and finds that Orlov replaced the Soviet treasures with a nuclear warhead, primed to explode during the circus show at a US Air Force base in West Germany. The explosion would trigger Europe into seeking disarmament in the belief that the bomb was a US one that detonated by accident, leaving its borders open to a Soviet invasion. Bond takes Orlov’s car, drives it along the train tracks and boards the moving circus train.

Orlov is shot dead by East German guards while trying to follow the train across the border into West Germany, who assume that he is attempting to defect to the West. Bond kills the twin knife-throwers Mischka and Grischka in revenge for 009’s death, and, after falling from the train, commandeers a car to get to the Air Force base. At the base, Bond disguises himself as a clown to evade the West German police. He attempts to convince Octopussy that Khan has betrayed her by showing her one of the treasures found in Orlov’s car, which she was to smuggle for him. Octopussy realizes that she has been tricked and assists Bond in deactivating the warhead.

Bond and Octopussy return to India and launch an assault on Khan’s palace. Khan and Gobinda flee the palace, capturing Octopussy in the process. Bond follows them as they attempt to escape in an aeroplane, clinging to the fuselage and disabling one of its engines. Gobinda falls off the roof of the plane to his death and Bond rescues Octopussy from Khan, the pair jumping onto a nearby cliff moments before the plane crashes into a mountain, killing Khan. While M and General Gogol discuss the return of the jewelery, Bond recuperates with Octopussy aboard her private boat in India.

Octopussy - James Bond Movie Poster (1983)

Octopussy (1983)

Directed by: John Glen
Starring: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kristina Wayborn, Kabir Bedi, Steven Berkoff, David Meyer, Desmond Llewelyn, Robert Brown
Screenplay by: George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum
Production Design by: Peter Lamont
Cinematography by: Alan Hume
Film Editing by: Peter Davies, Henry Richardson
Costume Design by: Emma Porteous
Set Decoration by: Jack Stephens
Art Direction by: John Fenner
Music by: John Barry
Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United International Pictures
Release Date: June 6, 1983

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