Bond Remastered - The Living Daylights (1-disc) [DVD] [1987]

As with George Lazenby, the brevity of Timothy Dalton's tenure as Bond - due to years of legal problems and lawsuits between EON and MGM/UA - has led to history merrily being rewritten by the press that once hailed him. Dalton, not the lawyers, was lined up as the fall guy with Pierce Brosnan the man who saved the series from disaster (even though Dalton's first Bond saw a massive increase in takings over Moore's last film). Those who are quick to dismiss him would do well to check out The Living Daylights.

Much of the scapegoating of Dalton seemed to come from the confusion of actor and role. At the time Dalton's Bond was the closest to Fleming's creation - more so than Connery, even - and given the right script he proved outstanding in the role. After Roger Moore's 12-year, seven-film tenure as Bond finally came to an ignominious end with A View to a Kill, as with OHMSS, Live and Let Die and Casino Royale, the producers broke in their new Bond with a more low-key, low-gadget approach, resulting in the best Bond since the Sixties, with Dalton initially looking the first Bond to seriously rival Connery. Where Connery had the danger and Moore the class, Dalton managed to combine both, with Bond's self-assurance that verges on the arrogant down pat, reclaiming the character from the increasingly comic-strip approach of too many of the later Moore films.

The film isn't without its faults - Caroline Bliss isn't up to much as Moneypenny, Maryam D'Abo's a bit of a wet leading lady while Jeroen Krabbe lacks the menace he brought to No Mercy - but it looks and feels like a classic Bond film, has little truck with gadgets and is less in thrall to silly jokes. Best of all, it's got a plot (involving a dubious defection, Mujahadin opium smuggling in Afghanistan and a re-activated Stalinist spy assassination programme). The political background may have dated - this was filmed when the Communists still held the USSR together and when the Mujahadin were the good guys - but it still comes up remarkably fresh. This is Bond with all the stops pulled out but without the overkill. The production values are superb and visually it's a treat, especially in widescreen, with John Barry making his final Bond score his best in years. The action scenes are often outstandingly good, with a return to the kind of good old vicious punchups that vanished in the latter Moore years and as well as some amazing stunt work involving a Russian troop plane and it has one of the series' best pre-title sequences, with a security exercise in Gibraltar turning into the real thing. The makers even have the confidence to remove Bond from one of the key setpieces - a superbly staged kidnapping from a safehouse, which runs nearly a full reel. John Glen's direction is so spot-on here it's hard to see why it would go so horribly wrong on Licence To Kill.

The extras package is excellent, including audio commentary, an extended scene and the infamous deleted `magic carpet' sequence, a bad idea that feels like a holdover from the Roger Moore era that was thankfully dropped due to the stunt looking distinctly unimpressive. There are enough new features on the two-disc Ultimate edition to make an upgrade worthwhile for the more ardent Bond fans - several promo featurettes from the original release, a press conference held in Vienna and 47-minute TV special `Happy Anniversary 007.' All the features from the original DVD release have also been included.

This was Timothy Dalton's first film as James Bond and after watching it the first thing that came to my mind is why do people criticise him so much. I feel he did a fantastic job of playing 007 and he is easily the best actor to have played Bond.
The film is action packed from beginning to end and Bond has to travel all over the world from England to Afghanistan. This movie has some very good scenes specially the car scene and the cello scene. The plot is a bit confusing but it is understandable and the other actors are good as well. The bond girl is different for a change and is innocent compared to previous bond girls. Koskov is cunning and manipulative. The villians are ruthless and efficient(Necros).
As for Dalton there are a few scenes where we see what a truly great actor he is.There is scene where Bond goes to kill General Puskin in his hotel room and although we know he is not going to Dalton makes you feel that he would.
I would suggest people to buy this movie if you want proper entertainment with excellent acting.

1987. Roger Moore had finally hung up his Walther PPK and tuxedo after `A View To A Kill', and a replacement Bond was needed for this the fifteenth big screen outing for the superspy. This is Timothy Dalton's first film in role, and he acquits himself well.

I have always enjoyed Dalton's portrayal of Bnd. Not quite as suave and sophisticate as Moore and with less of a predilection for corny one liners, his was a harder character - utterly ruthless in his determination to get the job done but not without his compassionate side. It was a portrayal (and I await the critics to shoot me down for this comment) that strongly echoed Sean Connery's early take on the character. I feel strongly that it was just what the series needed.

In this entertaining romp, Bond helps a Russian General to defect. Pretty soon the defector is snatched by a third party, and Bond is off on a hunt across Eastern Europe and Afghanistan to track him down and foil a plot involving a drugs trade and huge arms deal. It starts off feeling like another cold war drama then slowly morphs into a more sophisticated story about attempts to make huge amounts of money. It's a well constructed script, and pacily directed, jumping from one situation to the next and dishing out the thrills and spills on a regular basis. For sheer entertainment value it has to be one of the best in the series.

This digitally restored edition really is the best version of the film I have owned. The picture has been lovingly restored and cleaned up, and looks amazing. Really, I am not just saying that. It looks superb. The sound has been similarly treated and there is an option to listen to it in 5.1 DTS surround, which is truly exceptional.