James Bond U.S. Poster Rankings: No. 5

We enter the top five of my favorite posters found in United States theaters for the James Bond film series, and although I was only two years old when the movie was made and have no recollection of what really took place, I imagine it was quite a brouhaha when the marketing material was released for this 007 adventure.

 

 

5. Octopussy

The artwork for Roger Moore's sixth outing as James Bond does an excellent job of filling up the frame with the necessary action sequences that would be found in the film, without going too far overboard.  The only criticism I really have with the artistry on the Octopussy poster is the group in the bottom left that features the title character's minions taking on a bevy of henchmen.  The center character, who we would find out during the movie is named Magda, looks like she is lazily holding one man in a chokehold while stretching for ballet as another guy runs into her foot.  Maybe it's me, but she just doesn't come across as menacing or dangerous, which is quite opposite of everything else going on across the glossy page.

 

But enough about the bad.  Looking at what is done well, the picture of Bond in a jet being chased by a missile and the small artwork at the top left showing Bond and a henchman on top of a plane are quite thrilling.  Yet, it is Bond girl Maud Adams hiding behind Roger Moore in his debonair gun pose that really sells me on this poster.  There is something that I can't quite put words to that has me enthralled by her eight arms wrapping around Roger.  Some hands have a deadly purpose while others are being used to titillate our hero.  It is a captivating image that requires multiple viewings to make sure that nothing is being missed the first time.

 

The image of Octopussy and Bond together was used in most of the posters around the globe, so there isn't anything better, or worse really.  I scoured the Internet to try and find some sort of better artwork, but Octopussy seems to have not really inspired anyone to be at their creative best.  There is a lot of themes set around the octopus, obviously.  What I was really surprised by was that someone didn't come up with something based around a Faberge egg, as that is a crucial plot device used in the film.