This polarizing scene from Octopussy (1983) starts out lighthearted but ends with high tension as an undercover James Bond disguises himself as a circus clown to defuse a nuclear bomb. All in all, it is by far the dorkiest look of Roger Moore’s Bond, but looking past his costume and apparent masterful makeup artistry, I’m not sure there is a more defining “James Bond saves the world” scene in all of the movies.
Sure, Bond has defused many a bomb in his time, and even another nuclear one in Goldfinger (1964) albeit without a large audience like Bond has here. And yes, maybe they could’ve dressed Bond in something more flattering (a ringmaster with a top-hat, perhaps?), but the buildup for this scene and how an obstinate American general eventually tells everyone in the audience to shut up and let the absurdly dressed clown Bond defuse the bomb makes it all the more climactic. You can feel the tension! And I also think (to a degree) Bond’s look of desperation is made even more urgent because of his clownface makeup!
I won’t get over Bond’s look in this scene any time soon (and I wish at the end of the scene he would’ve just kept his red nose on for the full effect or took it off entirely, rather than having it hang awkwardly on his neck), but I also won’t let it take away from it significance amongst other times in the series when Bond heroically saves the world. Not many other scenes can top this one in that regard!
1. Roger Moore’s clown costume in Octopussy (1983) takes the cake…the ultimate dorkiest Bond moment!
RIP Louis Jourdan (Kamal Khan in Octopussy) 1921 – 2015 http://bit.ly/1zh1lS2
57 years ago today, the first James Bond movie, Dr. No premiered.
The below graphic is composed of letters from different James Bond movies. Can you name the movie for each letter?
Happy Global James Bond Day 2019!
Check the answers for each letter after the jump!
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“James Bond Will Return” is a signature phrase splashed at the end of (almost) every James Bond movie that promotes 007’s never-give-up/against-all-odds attitude and shows a sense of pride in the world’s longest running movie series.
Throughout the years, it has been used to reveal the movie title of the forthcoming James Bond movie, albeit sometimes in error. It has also not been used at all. Some quick facts:
- It does not appear at the end of any of the unofficial movies (Casino Royale (1954), Casino Royale (1967) and Never Say Never Again (1983)
- It does not appear in Dr. No or Thunderball
- It has been bland with just words (The World Is Not Enough), has had a fancy backdrop (The Living Daylights), and has had a custom image to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movies (Skyfall)
- The incorrect next movie is listed at the end of The Spy Who Loved Me as For Your Eyes Only – the next movie is in fact Moonraker (thanks, Star Wars)
- The title of A View To A Kill is incorrect at the end of Octopussy, adding “From” to the beginning of the title
Regardless, below are all of the instances where “James Bond Will Return” appears in the credits from all of the movies:
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of From Russia With Love (1963)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Goldfinger (1964)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of You Only Live Twice (1967)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Live And Let Die (1973)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Moonraker (1979)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of For Your Eyes Only (1981)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Octopussy (1983)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of A View To A Kill (1985)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of The Living Daylights (1987)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Licence To Kill (1989)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of GoldenEye (1995)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of The World Is Not Enough (1999)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Die Another Day (2002)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Casino Royale (2006)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Quantum Of Solace (2008)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Skyfall (2012)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Spectre (2015)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of No Time To Die (2021)
Which is your favorite?
Drake disapproves of Roger Moore’s clown suit in Octopussy (1983), but approves of his white tuxedo
The only two years in James Bond movie history to have two movies released in the same year: 1967 (the unofficial Casino Royale and You Only Live Twice) and 1983 (the unofficial Never Say Never Again and Octopussy)
Can you guess which movie poster each letter comes from in the above ‘ransom note’ collage? The answers after the jump!
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Jim Fanning (Douglas Wilmer) is surprised at James Bond’s (Roger Moore) unexpected bid of £425,000 for a Faberge egg at auction in Octopussy (1983)
Hilarious reaction!
The Roger Moore silhouette projected on a woman’s back in the title sequence of Octopussy (1983)
Iconic! So much so that they used it in the opening title sequence!
Well, there you have it. The character James Bond does, in fact, officially “know” the James Bond theme. 🙂
This short sequence from Octopussy (1983) is a good one, not only because Bond (Roger Moore) meets his cool India contact Vijay (Vijay Armitraj), but also because of the way they agree to identify each other. Obviously, when Bond meets a contact in a foreign country, they need to agree upon something to indicate the other that they are in fact who they say they are. Whether it be a handshake or a secret password – it really doesn’t matter. It just has to be something agreed upon during earlier communications.
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