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How would you edit Octopussy?
Sark
Guangdong, PRC
For starters, this is purely a hypothetical. I was watching Octopussy last night with a mind toward how to turn what I think is a very good Bond adventure into a great one. So I was thinking of edits I would hypothetically make to the film. I'm only about halfway through, but so far I've come up with:
PTS-Cut the bit where the missle flies past Bond. It doesn't make any sense that Bond is able to outfly the missile but suddenly it flies right past him.
Cut out the plane flying through the hanger, just have it going in and out. This bit takes way too long. It'd take less than a second for the plane to fly through the hanger. It adds nothing to the scene.
Cut out the gas gauge reading empty. Cut out the “fill her up” gag. Go straight to credits instead.
Arriving in India-change the flute song Vijay plays as a signal. It can be just about any flute tune, viewers understand that Bond recognizes the tune as a code signal.
Cut out ‘keep you in curry’ line. Apparently a lot of people find this one offensive. Not being English or knowing many Indians I never saw the point.
Cut out the ‘tennis moment’ in the fight on the tuk-tuk. Very easy to cut.
Cut of Bond’s “ohh ohh ohh” as he’s walking across the coals-he’s wearing shoes dammit!
Cut out the “get off my bed!” line.
I'll add more after I finish watching today.
What would you change to take Octopussy from a good Bond film to a great one?
Note: if you don't think Octopussy is at least a pretty good film please don't comment. This isn't a thread to debate Moore's tenure.
PTS-Cut the bit where the missle flies past Bond. It doesn't make any sense that Bond is able to outfly the missile but suddenly it flies right past him.
Cut out the plane flying through the hanger, just have it going in and out. This bit takes way too long. It'd take less than a second for the plane to fly through the hanger. It adds nothing to the scene.
Cut out the gas gauge reading empty. Cut out the “fill her up” gag. Go straight to credits instead.
Arriving in India-change the flute song Vijay plays as a signal. It can be just about any flute tune, viewers understand that Bond recognizes the tune as a code signal.
Cut out ‘keep you in curry’ line. Apparently a lot of people find this one offensive. Not being English or knowing many Indians I never saw the point.
Cut out the ‘tennis moment’ in the fight on the tuk-tuk. Very easy to cut.
Cut of Bond’s “ohh ohh ohh” as he’s walking across the coals-he’s wearing shoes dammit!
Cut out the “get off my bed!” line.
I'll add more after I finish watching today.
What would you change to take Octopussy from a good Bond film to a great one?
Note: if you don't think Octopussy is at least a pretty good film please don't comment. This isn't a thread to debate Moore's tenure.
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Comments
RE: Pretitles - I actually love it just the way it is. It looks great on film, has no crappy CGI and is suitably modern for its time. The plane is great IMO so they should leave in as much of it as possible. I actually like the bit where Bond evades the missile, because the special effects are reasonably good (despite obvious green screen). I love the 'fill er' up line too, but that's me.
What I would cut out is nearly all the stupid stuff outdoors in India (although I realize that would mess up the story somewhat). It's just way too in your face and too much imo.
-I like your idea of not having the Bond tune played by Vijay. Great suggestion.
-I'd dump the bit with the people turning back and forth as Vijay uses the tennis racket. Him using it is ok....it's the turning back and forth to see the action with the fake crowd cheers that's stupid IMO
-I'd try to dump the obvious 'sit' and tarzan yell nonsense from the jungle scene. The snake they can leave in, but dump the 'hiss off'.
-yes, cut off the 'get off my bed' line
-agreed. 'keep you in the curry' is silly and should be removed.
-I'd even remove the 'rupiah' line but keep him throwing the money away and showing the people running for the cash.
So I would just try to cut out as much of the stupid stuff in India. That's the bit that grates me because it's a little tiresome and lazy.
I found the finale fight between the goons and OP's circus girls at the end a little silly too and would try to edit that down, perhaps using more footage of the plane sequence to fill in.
I'd keep Bond trying to save his nuts while sliding down the stairs. I love that bit.
I did not mind the clown suit, and I did not mind the gorilla disguise, at all.
Do you mean the 'rupiah' line where Bond throws all the cash in the air to get the people to chase it and hold up the thugs? Because I've always liked his quick thinking there.
I love love love the Backgammon scene. Probably my favorite gambling scene in the series.
A lot of folks don't like the pretitles, thinking it too playful, including the 'fill er up'. I do however, and actually prefer this pretitles to FYEO, although Barry's scoring during it is about 80% of the reason.
Agreed on the Backgrammon. Love that bit, along with the Auction scene. Both classics for the series. That's why OP is a bit of a disappointment. If they'd just kept it more serious, I truly believe this movie would have been one of the Bond greats.
But there are a couple of edits I'd like to be able to make. Octopussy's exposition regarding Bond's previous encounter with her dad is so crowbar'ed in; and worst of all ends so anticlimactically.
The other one is the boob-zoom video watch gag which was just seedy coming from a 55 year old.
I like everything else as it is though.
I forgot about this one. It was a little disturbing no doubt.
I agree, we need the jokes in a Rog bond. I just found all those gags one after the other in the chase sequence and the jungle sequence in India particularly bad - sort of cheesy and lacking in quality. They were, dare I say, almost DAD bad. The 'boob-zoom' is indicative of the problem. I would have preferred a little more mature humour throughout the India sequences, because OP is one of my favourite Bonds (entertainment wise) and I think a lot of people would appreciate the movie more if it was a little more mature in the joke dept. The aforementioned Backgammon and Auction scenes for example are up there with the best the series has offered, along with the much maligned clown circuis bomb defusal IMO.
I don't think the movie would benefit from a wholesale dumping of jokes. Would smack of revisionism in the face of the current vogue for more humourless Bond films.
I feel similarly about AVTAK. The plot is solid, the villain is great. Obviously Roger is too old and Stacy is annoying as hell, but there's a lot there to work with.
OP remains my favorite Moore Bond. I would not change anything.
Remove the Tarzan yell
Remove the "tennis match"
There. A perfect Moore-era film. ;-)
No, that was the series' lowest point for me. ;)
They're some good moments in the film, but the film as a whole just didn't work for me.
It always feels to me as though the film regresses when we have the perfunctory return to Khan's palace.
I respect this honest assessment of the picture.
-when Bond lets out an "oomph" when he's thrown in the jeep
-"sit" to the tiger
-Tarzan yell
-Bond looks at his watch-while wearing the gorilla suit!
-the "see something, look at alcohol bottle" gag with one of the guards
-Q mobbed by women
Interesting. I found MR went the most overboard to the point of being unwatchable. It's the one Bond film of which I'll only watch the first act.
But the Tarzan call in OP is the one that would have to go. The tennis scene and the Bond theme flute, too.
I'm okay with all the rest.
MR is definitely the most overboard. AVTAK next. The others are, for the most part, good films in my opinion, but they each are weakened by a bit too much humor.
Arguably juvenile from a writing and filmmaking standpoint, but to suggest there is some sort of statute of limitations on older men appreciating the physical attributes of women of any age is ageism.
True. That would be a shame. For all of us, and some sooner than others.