OK - The Clown outfit!

M 'n' M · June 2016

It seems fairly widely agreed that the clown outfit in Octopussy divides opinion. I'm one of those who thinks it works and Sir Rog pulls it off. My question is - could any of the other Bonds have managed this? My views would be:

- Connery: no. It wouldn't fit with the machismo
- Lazenby: no. a bit of the above and not enough acting chops to know how to work it (he struggled with Sir Hilary Bray)
- Dalton: YES. I think he would have emphasised the tragic nature of the clown and he REALLY could have managed it
- Brosnan: no. His interpretation of Bond was ONLY about being cool (unlike some of his non bond movies)
- Craig: no. Like Connery, the Craig Bond is built on machismo

so - thoughts? And are there any other moments in Bond that ONLY that actor could have managed

Matt S · June 2016

I agree. Dalton could have done the clown suit very well. And Moore does it brilliantly.

I think there was a thread about Bond actors in other Bond actors films and what they could pull off.

Higgins · June 2016

Dalton would have ruined the Clown makeup within a minutes with tears running down his cheek

MilleniumForce · June 2016

Moore is, to me, the only one who could pull it off, and he does it well. The fact is, despite the hate it gets, it's not really played for laughs in the film. The only gag in the entire scene is when the police arrest the other clown, whilst the rest of the scene is played seriously. It doesn't even take any tension away from the scene; its Bond thinking on his feet. Ok, it's not something Fleming's Bond would have done, but Moore isn't Fleming's Bond.

heartbroken_mr_drax · June 2016

"I'm deadly serious! For god sake, tell him who I am!"

IMO, it is one of the finest acted scenes in Bond because of how challenging it is for the actor to pull it off without it seeming like a major joke. The entire scene is incredibly tense.

I agree that Dalton would've been able to do it, perhaps because of the whole theatre angle. And you're right, none of the others could've.

But even then, Craig might be able to pull of a mime-type clown suit ala some sort of adult art-house Billy Elliot kind of thing??

Matt S · June 2016

heartbroken_mr_drax wrote:

IMO, it is one of the finest acted scenes in Bond because of how challenging it is for the actor to pull it off without it seeming like a major joke. The entire scene is incredibly tense.

Despite this, most people unfortunately think that Bond in a clown suit is the biggest joke of the series.

Loeffelholz · June 2016

I do think Craig could have done it...but am so glad the task was already done by his era

superado · June 2016

DC in a clown outfit:

Manxman · June 2016

The juxtaposition of the surreal, silly and deadly serious (coupled with Moore's superb acting) makes this the most intense and scary of all the "countdown" endings — compare it to similar scenes in Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice. The moment when Moore tries to convince the laughing American commander that there's a real bomb onsite has an almost nightmarish quality. It's just one of the things that makes me love Octopussy.

zaphod99 · June 2016

Matt S wrote:

heartbroken_mr_drax wrote:

IMO, it is one of the finest acted scenes in Bond because of how challenging it is for the actor to pull it off without it seeming like a major joke. The entire scene is incredibly tense.

Despite this, most people unfortunately think that Bond in a clown suit is the biggest joke of the series.

It is indeed tense,and for me as no fan of 'The-Jolly-Roger as Bond probably his finest hour. I think it does not get the widespread kudos it deserves because by this time the die had been cast and along with it Roger as the funny 'Bond.

heartbroken_mr_drax · June 2016

superado wrote:

DC in a clown outfit:

haha! Some nut in a clown suit.

M 'n' M · June 2016

So - moving from the ridiculous to the sublime what about THE definitive Bond moment - the introduction of Bond with Connery delivering the famous line.

To be honest I don't this anyone can touch sean on this one - lazenby too funny, Moore too humorous, Dalton too serious, brosnan too flippant and Craig too blunt

Napoleon Plural · June 2016

You have all forgotten David Niven.

He could have done it.

chrisisall · June 2016

M n M wrote:

Dalton too serious

I rather liked the way he tossed it off. No winky to the audience. -{

M 'n' M · June 2016

chrisisall wrote:

M n M wrote:

Dalton too serious

I rather liked the way he tossed it off. No winky to the audience. -{

I really meant that first scene in Dr no. Could anyone else have done that.

superado · June 2016

M n M wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

M n M wrote:

Dalton too serious

I rather liked the way he tossed it off. No winky to the audience. -{

I really meant that first scene in Dr no. Could anyone else have done that.

To what you're specifying, you are posing a question that is pratically a foregone conclusion. However, IMO, the successful execution of that scene is AT LEAST, 60% to Terence Young's credit. It would be interesting to hypothetically see what he could have done with the other Bond actors at the age when they debuted as Bond but in a 1961 production of DN; SC would likely still have the best Bond at Le Cercle intro among the bunch, having an edge with the combination of looks and his deep baritone voice, but who can truly know with the Svengali factor of Young?

Mcmadness · June 2016

The only thing that bugs me about the clown part is the make-up. I've had clown make-up put on my face before and that stuff takes time, something bond clearly doesn't have in that scene.

Firemass · June 2016

Mcmadness wrote:

The only thing that bugs me about the clown part is the make-up. I've had clown make-up put on my face before and that stuff takes time, something bond clearly doesn't have in that scene.

There is blatant disregard for that type of logic in Octopussy. Like how did Bond get out of the gorilla suit without Gobinda noticing? Or changing into the (much smaller) knife throwing outfit….

superado · June 2016

Firemass wrote:

Mcmadness wrote:

The only thing that bugs me about the clown part is the make-up. I've had clown make-up put on my face before and that stuff takes time, something bond clearly doesn't have in that scene.

There is blatant disregard for that type of logic in Octopussy. Like how did Bond get out of the gorilla suit without Gobinda noticing? Or changing into the (much smaller) knife throwing outfit….

Anyone capable of the switcheroo with the Faberge egg at the auction can easily pull off those other things!

heartbroken_mr_drax · June 2016

superado wrote:

Anyone capable of the switcheroo with the Faberge egg at the auction can easily pull off those other things!

Diabolik · July 2016

M n M wrote:

Brosnan: no. His interpretation of Bond was ONLY about being cool (unlike some of his non bond movies)

I disagree on this, in GE and TND you are right, he was all about being cool. But in TWINE his performance is more nuanced, and he has a sad, broken quality to his characterization. That look on his face when Elektra asks him if he's ever been in love...

That said, I don't think anyone other than Moore could have pulled it off, and even then just barely.

OK - The Clown outfit!

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