"Octopussy" was born into a time of uncertainty for the James Bond franchise. Roger Moore was uncommitted as to whether he'd return as Bond, and the rival (and despicably awful) "Never Say Never Again" had been announced with Sean Connery. These problems and many more are explored in a 'making of' documentary on the excellent "Octopussy" DVD.

While this is another superb entry in a beautiful collection of discs, it is not as exciting in terms of transfer quality as the immaculate "For Your Eyes Only" DVD. While that disc boasted a 5.1 sound mix, "Octopussy" comes only with a 2.0 Dolby Surround track. It has some fine moments but is not nearly as effective.

The picture transfer also suffers in comparison. Many scenes are pristine, but there is the odd shot that disappoints with grain or digital distortion, though it would be wrong to suggest that this was a major problem.

In terms of menu design, this disc is as beautifully put together as the startling designs on the "Moonraker" DVD. The special features option contains two fascinating documentaries. The first, "Inside Octopussy", examines the difficulties the film encountered, including a near tragic accident and the doubts over Roger Moore returning. Indeed a screen test for James Brolin as a potential replacement is on show and is truly strange to see.

The second documentary, "Designing Bond", explores the design skills of Peter Lamont who has been working on the series since "Goldfinger". His recognition came in the form of an Oscar for his work on "Titanic".

A music video and four trailers are also on the disc as is an informative audio commentary from director John Glen. Worth a look too is the storyboard section which wraps up another fine entry into the Bond DVD collection.

Chapters: 32
Ratio: 2.45:1 (Anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
Extra Features: Scene selection, audio commentary featuring director John Glen, 'Inside Octopussy' documentary, 'Designing Bond - Peter Lamont' documentary, animated storyboard sequences, three teaser trailers, one release trailer, 'All Time High' music video, collectable 'making of' booklet, animated menus, subtitles, English for the hearing impaired.