Octopussy

Trivia: The "blink and you'll miss it" part of Smithers (Q's assistant, who triggers the powerful door-slam) is played by Jeremy Bulloch. Only worth noting because we see his face for once, as he's most famous for a part where he wears a mask - Boba Fett in the Star Wars sequels.

Jon Sandys

Trivia: The tiger who briefly appears during the tiger hunt sequence is actually a stuffed tiger pushed out on a wheelbarrow.

Trivia: The American Air Base in Germany where Bond disables the atomic bomb was actually an American base in England. Look closely and you'll see the painted stop signals on the left side of the road in some scenes.

Trivia: The title was a source of controversy and the film-makers were at one point unsure as to whether the MPAA would allow it. The fact that it was the title of one of Fleming's short stories allayed most people's fears.

Trivia: The name of Miss Moneypenny's assistant, Penelope Smallbone, was the real name of one of the performers in the title sequence of "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977).

Trivia: In the scene where Kamel Kahn is playing the dice game in the casino, it is a tribute to "Goldfinger" (1964). Kahn is cheating and is thrashing his opponent, who says "Your luck has to run out sometime," just like when Goldfinger is cheating at cards. Also Bond takes over, and beats Kahn at his own game by using the "lucky" dice, like when Bond wins the golf game with Goldfinger. When Bond wins, Kahn's henchman crushes the dice in anger, like Oddjob who crushes the golfball.

Trivia: When fleeing through the underbrush away from the beaters and hunters, Bond encounters a tiger. He gestures at it and tells it to "sit-t." This is a cinematic tip-of-the-hat to Barbara Woodhouse, England's premier dog trainer, who used the same gesture and inflection to teach the "sit" command to her clients' dogs.

Trivia: The sequence containing the Fabergé egg was taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "Property of a Lady." This story was actually commissioned by an art expert at Sotheby's and published in Sotheby's annual review, "Art At Auction." The director of Sotheby's for many years, Peter Wilson, was drafted into MI6 during World War II and his code number was "007." He was a friend and colleague Fleming and became part of his inspiration for the James Bond character.

Trivia: At the end of the pre-credits sequence, Bond says to the gas station attendant "Fill her up". Director John Glen initially removed the quip, but after he went to his local cinema and caught the trailer for "Octopussy", he realised it went down well with the audiences and decided to reinstate it.

Trivia: During the tuk tuk fight scene, the part where both vehicles narrowly avoid hitting a cyclist was unscripted. The cyclist was a bystander who accidentally wandered onto the set. The two scenes where he appears were left in the final film.

Trivia: Roger Moore almost quit the production after he was diagnosed with heart problems. However, a second doctor confirmed this was a misdiagnosis and the actor was healthy enough to continue.

Trivia: When Bond first visits the circus the scene opens with the knife-throwing act. If you slow the DVD/video down you can see the holes made by the knives before they hit the board, showing the scene was filmed by pulling the knives out of the board then reversing the film. Not a valid mistake as it requires slo-mo, but interesting nonetheless.

Edward Clegg

Trivia: During the chase scene in India, the man with the mace in the back of the jeep never attacks.

Trivia: Kristina Wayborn broke several of her toes in her foot whilst filming the attack on Monsoon Palace by Octopussy's Circus. The bazooka she was to kick out of a villain's arms was supposed to be replaced with a plastic model, but the stunt man was holding a metal one by accident.

Trivia: Actor, William Derek -who plays a villain who uses a deadly yo-yo, made from circular saw blades- broke his arm during a rehearsal, falling from the balcony above Octopussy's bed. Although the injury was disguised, a bandage on his left arm can be seen in some shots during the fight in Octopussy's palace.

Trivia: "All Time High" was the first James Bond opening credits theme song, aside from instrumentals, that does not contain the title of the film within its lyrics. Subsequently, the songs for Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace also didn't include the film's title in their lyrics.

Trivia: Executive producer Michael G. Wilson appears in the film as a member of the Soviet Security Council. He is also in the tour boat which picks up Bond after his escape from Khan's palace.

Factual error: In the balloon scene, it seems like Q can circle around and land on a spot where he flew past previously. A balloon can only fly in the direction of the wind.

Jacob La Cour

More mistakes in Octopussy

General Anatoly Gogol: My government categorically denies the incident ever occurred.

More quotes from Octopussy

Question: How did Bond win the game of backgammon, with Kamal Khan, when he didn't get all his chips off the board? Even the two sixes he rolled wouldn't have done it.

kh1616

Answer: Bond (taking over for the Major) had 1 piece on point 2, 1 piece on point 3, and 2 pieces on point 6. Rolling doubles in Backgammon means you get to make 4 moves instead of just 2, so he was able to remove all 4 pieces. If you have a piece on point 2, you don't have to roll a 2 to remove it. Anything higher than a 2 can be used to remove the piece. Kahn even says Bond has to roll a double 6 in order to win, which he does.

Bishop73

Answer: Not knowing anything about backgammon so this is perhaps wrong. But I thought that Bond didn't win. And the fact that he produced the Faberge egg is what ended the game. (I'm more than likely wrong tho).

Alan Keddie

More questions & answers from Octopussy

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