Clown defenders? - Octopussy (1983) Discussion

[–] matwsussx 11 years ago

I dont have a problem with it. They werent taking the piss out of Bond unlike some would have you believe, the comedy comes from Bond trying to stop a serious threat while all around are bewitched by the circus.

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[–] baheidstu-351-733122 11 years ago

I have no problem with the clown outfit other than the fact he managed to put it and the makeup on perfectly in a span of about 30 seconds, all while racing against time to stop a bomb.

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[–] genesisclimber7 11 years ago

That's EXACTLY why I hate that scene. Perfect makeup, little dots and all...there's a NUKE ABOUT TO GO OFF! IN 30 SECONDS!!! Ridiculous. That one scene just destroys the entire movie.

---
Aren't you relieved to know you're not a golem?

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[–] EgaBog 11 years ago

Yes, and him going in a tuxedo would fit sooo much better. He's James Bond, he can walk on crocodiles, why not be able to put on some makeup really fast?

And if he's putting some makeup, why not do it right?

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[–] go-yankees 11 years ago

It really was ridiculous. There are some really stupid things that you can ignore in old Bond films, especially Roger Moore ones. But this was the height of stupidity. A nuke is about to kill everyone and he has the time to apply clown makeup to his face. How did someone not see this as incredibly dumb during storyboarding?

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[–] tonycarr 11 years ago

I don't have a problem with the clown suit and it gives Roger a chance to act a little but I was a little concerned when Bond keeps saying that there a nuclear bomb in there and Octopussy promptly fires a gun at it.

The other thing that jarred is when Orlov says to Bond "Who are you" and I thought every concierge and barman in the world seems to know who Bond is but not a colonel in the KGB. No wonder Russia collapsed

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[–] wunderdunder 10 years ago

Bond keeps saying that there a nuclear bomb in there and Octopussy promptly fires a gun at it.

I thought the same thing, but in the movies you have to remember that bullets hit the first object they come across and disappear into thin air.

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[–] baheidstu-351-733122 9 years ago

Firing a gun at a nuclear bomb isn't going to cause it to detonate.

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[–] Chopperbubba 11 years ago

At the beginning of the film, 009 was stalked and murdered by the twins wearing exactly that same makeup and costume. In a way, I think the clown Bond paid homage to his fallen comrade while providing justice at the same time. I thought the entire sequence was brilliant.

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[–] DarthBill 11 years ago

Only Roger Moore could get away with Bond in a clown suit. Try to imagine Connery, Craig, Dalton, Brosnan or Lazenby in a clown suit and somehow it just doesn't work.

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[–] psychocosmic-1 11 years ago

I think Moore was great doing that make up "with dots and everything" during the intense seconds before the bombs threatening to blow up the whole place. But, better still, is Moore in a gorilla suit! Not even the great Connery would have the imagination to try something so unconventional!
Hahahaha! :)

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[–] DarthBill 11 years ago

^^Funny you should say that - http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4100/4887965799_63b316832d_z.jpg ;)

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[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Falconeer 11 years ago

I think showing the character James Bond in a clown suit was awful, vulgar and an insult to an iconic character. The clown suit was just another reminder of the depressing direction the franchise was taking at the time. After Moore's overlong run, Timothy Dalton came as a blessing, with his hard edged, serious Bond portrayal. The two Dalton films managed to wash out the bad taste that the final Roger Moore entries inflicted on the series; Dalton's films are among the best in the franchise. So obviously, I am NOT a defender of clowns, and I don't see how any real Bond fan can stomach such nonsense.. I'm not blaming the iconic Roger Moore of course; the blame lies entirely with the script writers of this awful movie.

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

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[–] EgaBog 11 years ago

Well, Octopussy ia a great movie, certainly better than Licence To Kill. And I can't see how Dalton in tuxedo walking around in a carnival is any less stupid than Bond in a clown suit. At least the clown suit is pertinent to the environment.

Miss Anders... I didn't recognize you with your clothes on.

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[–] Falconeer 11 years ago

"Octopussy is a great movie, certainly better than License to Kill..."

Congratulations; that is the single most ludicrous statement I have ever read on this site. YOU must be a clown.

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

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[–] EgaBog 11 years ago

I can assure you'll find at least ten people that agree with me on the James Bond message board.

Miss Anders... I didn't recognize you with your clothes on.

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[–] Falconeer 11 years ago

Really? I just can't imagine any real Bond fan praising a film like "Octopussy," a film that basically trashes the Bond character and turns him into a joke. I'm just glad the current Daniel Craig films are nothing like "Octopussy" and "Moonraker." You must love Austin Powers..

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

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[–] EgaBog 11 years ago

Well, I can assure you I cand find even more Quantum of Solace haters than Moonraker and Octopussy together.

QOS is 22 in my ranking.

Miss Anders... I didn't recognize you with your clothes on.

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[–] Falconeer 11 years ago

Wow.. I guess that just proves there is no accounting for taste. No offense! I'm wondering what your top 5 Bond faves are? Here are mine, #1 being the best:

1. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"
2. "Dr. No"
3. "From Russia With Love"
4. "Casino Royale" (Daniel Craig version)
5. "The Living Daylights"

This rating is based not just on the actor portraying Bond, but the general quality of the film itself. I'm not really a Roger Moore hater. In fact his first outing as Bond, "Live and Let Die" is also a great Bond film..I consider it one of the classics.

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

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[–] EgaBog 11 years ago

Indeed, ranking Bond movies and talking about it is very interesting because you will see A LOT of different opinions. In the boards there is a guy that thinks that "Die Another Day" is the greatest Bond film, and "Diamonds Are Forever" is among his top five along with "A View to a Kill". I also rank the Bonds by the movie overall quality, not because a particular actor.

1. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. From Russia With Love
3. Casino Royale 2006
4. For Your Eyes Only
5. Goldeneye

Do stop by if you're ever interested in talking more about Bond movies: http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000075/threads/

Miss Anders... I didn't recognize you with your clothes on.

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[–] oz_mant 9 years ago

What is a real Bond fan???
If you like the movies you are a Bond fan.
And dont give me that crap about being true to Fleming's novels because the movie series is phenomenon of its own.
It would never have survived to this day if they did stay faithful to the novels all these years.
As a matter of fact there wouldn't be any movies at all if they stayed 100% faithful to Flemings vision because it would never have worked in the 60s.
Fleming didnt even like dr.no and he wasnt convinced by Connery until he saw from russia with love.

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[–] Falconeer 9 years ago

I'm talking about film quality in general; "Dr. No," From Russia With Love," are excellent films, some consider them masterpieces. "Octopussy" is a piece of trash. Many fans might be entertained by it, but it is just a glitzy, super-tacky piece of crap. Personally I'm a film fan, before I'm a "Bond fan." I can't like an awful movie, just because it happens to be part of the Bond franchise. Seriously, watch "Dr. No" and "Octopussy" back to back, and compare the quality of the two films..

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

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[–] oz_mant 9 years ago

If you wanna be objective then there is only 3 movies in the entire series that are cinematic masterpieces and that is: from russia with love, o.h.m.s.s. and casino royale.
To call dr.no a masterpiece from an objective point of view is ridiculous. I agree that it is better than octopussy but it has way to many flaws to be a masterpiece. To call octopussy a piece of thrash and a awful movie as if that was facts and not your objective opinion makes me laugh. It got many flaws yes but it has alot of qualities to, and the plot of octopussy is rock solid.

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[–] franzkabuki 9 years ago

If you were even more "objective" (not easy, I know), you'd realize there really are no "cinematic masterpiece" in the entire Bond franchise at all.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

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[–] Critomaton 9 years ago

I'm one of the many more than 10 people who would agree with you that Octopussy is a much better film in just about every way than License to Kill. And I like Timothy Dalton and The Living Daylights, but would prefer to watch any Roger Moore film - except for A View to a Kill - over just about any of the other JB films any day of the week. Just replace AVtaK with Ffolkes...

As for the clown scene, apart from the absurdity of JB being able to (let alone wanting to) change into perfect clown makeup in the amount of time available, it shows that he will do whatever is necessary to blend into the environment and still engage in hand-to-hand combat. And it was a nice juxtaposition of humor and danger because that was one of the most suspenseful sequences ever - more people were in danger from that bomb than from the nuke at Fort Knox in Goldfinger.

The only thing that bothered me about that scene was after he defused the bomb and was getting his accolades, the clown nose was down around his neck like a big red growth - it was kind of disturbing.

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[–] PatrickS77 10 years ago

I think showing the character James Bond in a clown suit was awful, vulgar and an insult to an iconic character. The clown suit was just another reminder of the depressing direction the franchise was taking at the time. I can't believe that Moore lasted so long as Bond, and after his overlong run, Timothy Dalton came as a blessing from the Gods, with his hard edged, serious Bond portrayal. The 2 Dalton films managed to wash out the bad taste that Roger Moore inflicted on the series; Dalton's films are among the best in the franchise. So obviously, I am NOT a defender of clowns, and I don't see how any real Bond fan can stomach such nonsense..

Yes. Right. Because Roger Moore was the producer, director and script writer of the Bond movies he starred in.

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[–] thelastfaceyouwillsee 10 years ago

It works for me.

"Remember, you have to make it home to get paid" (The Dogs of War)

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[–] pawtrax67 10 years ago

Whoa...wait. There's clown defenders?

Seriously, Bond has killed countless thugs, invaded volcano bases, space stations, underwater lairs, and yet two guys with knives killed a OO agent and he had to hide in an ape suit, and put on perfect clown makeup????

That's worse than Bambi or Thumper, or Wint and Kidd.

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[–] thelastfaceyouwillsee 10 years ago

A knife in the back will kill even a 00. I have no problems with the twins killing 009 although it could have been set up where we don't know there are two of them. 009 evades one in the woods and suddenly turns and gets a belly stab from the second one and then it is revealed there are 2 of them (twins). Mortally wounded, 009 staggers off to the river and the second twin hits him with his knife as per the film. SORTED!

As for Moore dressed as a clown (on a mean day I might suggest this should have been his Bond costume from 1979-85!) - only the perfect face make up spoils it. Better to have white faced just to evade the guards.

I agree about the bear costume though - a dumb move.

"Remember, you have to make it home to get paid" (The Dogs of War)

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[–] nwa75 10 years ago

I agree with some of the other people who've posted that the clown outfit doesn't bother me, but it's the fact he's able to change into perfect clown wardrobe and makeup in about 3 minutes....that seemed nonsensical. The gorilla costume bothers me a lot more, how he would get into and out of that costume without no one noticing or making any noise in close quarters seems pretty preposterous.

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[–] PatrickS77 10 years ago

Any non-haters of the clown suit? I mean, Bond was beign chased in a CIRCUS. Given the place, a clown suit made perfect sense and worked just fine.

Exactly. I don't understand why people get so hung up on that part. It fits the story. If he would run around like a clown after he escaped in India, I could understand people taking offence, as a clown in the jungle is out of place, but in the circus?! Makes perfect sense to me.

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[–] christomacin (4527) 4 years ago

besides, circuses and clowns have a kind of disturbing and unsettling vibe anyway, and it gave the scene a kind of surreal quality. There are way stupider things in this movie to complain about than that... the car riding on the railroad tracks (cough, cough)

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