Search - The Living Daylights on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1987 DVD Release: 10/17/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 11 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 4 Genres: Spy Film, Action, Action Thriller, Romantic Adventure, Glamorized Spy Film See Also: The Living Daylights, The Living Daylights [Widescreen] [Ultimate Edition]

The Living Daylights represents the first appearance by Timothy Dalton as "Bond...James Bond." Based very, very loosely on an obscure Ian Fleming short story, the film finds Bond assigned to aid in the defection of KGB agent Jeroen Krabbe. 007 must prevent an unknown sniper from killing Krabbe before he can reach the West. The mysterious assailant turns out to be the luscious Maryam d'Abo, who like practically everyone in the film except Bond is Not All That She Seems. The plot wends its way through a scheme to trade several million dollars' worth of diamonds for weapons, which will be shipped off to mercenaries worldwide. The climax takes place high above the clouds in a cargo plane loaded with opium. Dalton would play Bond one more time in License to Kill (1989) before handing the franchise over to Pierce Brosnan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Timothy Dalton - James Bond
Maryam D'Abo - Kara Malovy
Jeroen Krabbé - Gen. Georgi Koskov
Joe Don Baker - Brad Whitaker
John Rhys-Davies - Gen. Leonid Pushkin

One of the more recent Bond outings, =The Living Daylights benefits from a brilliant 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and a powerful Dolby Surround track. The only flaw in the new master is that MGM neglected the subtitles from the original print. The first pressing lacks these titles altogether, while later pressings have awkward digital subtitles underneath the image. Director John Glen is the primary contributor to the commentary and a majority of Glen's remarks seem to be screen-specific, which benefits the normally flat Bond commentaries. The behind-the-scenes featurette includes some early screen tests (including a priceless Sam Neill audition for the role of Bond), and focuses on the film's search for a new 007 as well as the change in tone to a more serious Bond. In addition to the Bond DVD standards, the disc is also one of the few in the series to feature a deleted scene. The scene is fluff and was thankfully removed, but since Bond outtakes are few and far between, it is an interesting find. A second featurette about the life of Ian Fleming, an a-ha music video, and original theatrical trailers round out the list of features. Even though Timothy Dalton's career as James Bond was short-lived, this DVD gives The Living Daylights its due as the Bond adventure that brought the character back to serious spy thrillers. ~ Oliver Thornton, All Movie Guide