The Living Daylights - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition | 
| Studio: MGM/UA
Category: DVD
Buy New: $4.20
New (7) Used (2) Collectible (1) from $4.20
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 45476
Format: Ntsc, Widescreen, Closed-captioned
Languages: English (Unknown), French (Unknown), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Running Time: 131
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.4
ASIN: B000LY4NP8
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
2 Disc Collectors Edition
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 An explosive debut for Dalton October 16, 2008
Watch the pre-credits sequence to see what screen presence Dalton possesses. He doesn't utter a single word until almost the end when heparachutes onto a yacht ("If only I could find a real man"). The first close-up has the same impact that Sean Connery had in DR NO when he comes out of the phone booth. It is a look of total ruthlessness. Fairly solid plot, interesting performance by Joe Don Baker. Minus, weak leading lady, a replacement for Lois Maxwell who is totally lacking. John Barry's last score for the series.
Licence Renewed February 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
Breath of fresh air November 21, 2007
After Moore had brought Bond almost to a pension, it is a breath of fresh air to have a younger actor playing the role - and one with the acting chops to make the role closer to the Fleming vision of a conflicted and independent man.
Bond helps a Russian general defect, only to have him turn out to have his own agenda, teaming with an arms dealer to swindle the Russians out of money and use the British to cover his tracks. The plot hinges round the general's girlfriend, played by Maryam D'abo, who Bond befriends to uncover the truth.
The series gets an injection of energy from having someone new in the role, with the tired feel of a rehash seen in the previous Moore movies evaporating as we see the actor do the stunts and get his teeth into the new role. In particular, John Barry has delivered a new, fresh sound to his familiar themes and his final Bond score is arguably one of his best. Another Bond veteran, director John Glen, is clearly enjoying the change of pace and has put together some terrific set pieces - the pre-titles sequence in Gibraltar is one of the best, the aerial stunts hanging off the plane are standout, and it's a joy to see the Aston Martin back, loaded with gadgets.
On the down side, this was a movie written before a decision was made on who would fill Bond's shoes, and too much silliness has been held over. Dalton plays the action man with conviction, but his attempts to deliver quips are so flagged and forced that there are moments when you wish Moore was there to show him how it should be done. Crucially, if a Bond movie is as good as its villains, then this one fails dismally, with few acting worse as a Bond villain than Jeroen Krabbe. Joe Don Baker as an arms dealer is also a woefully bad idea, giving the core of the movie an unconvincing tone. Only the killer Necros, played by the dancer Andreas Wisniewski feels worthy of a Bond villain, in a role which is otherwise an underwritten rehash of Robert Shaw's character in From Russia with Love.
Timothy Dalton may not have rocked the world as Bond, the film is too long, and feels oddly neutered as political correctness police start to influence Bonds course just a bit (ironic, given the highly embarrassingly anachronistic Afghan politics portrayed!) but this is a great fresh start and stands above much of what has gone before in the previous decade.
Sound is clear and well mixed in dts mode, and picture is as clear as ever showing the occasionally quite impressive photography to good effect. Extras are overflowing, with the Special Edition's generous features all present, as well as more deleted scenes (the flying carpet scene is fascinating to watch but thank goodness they cut it!), vintage features celebrating 25 years of Bond, and interviews with D'abo and Dalton. Deleted footage comes with John Glen's ever informative comments.
All in all a terrific package which lifts an otherwise already above average Bond film which is starting to show a little age.
 Alright, hold on tight now. It's down, down to the wire! April 24, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The first of Dalton's double-bill as 007 is a merely above-average affair. The one thing that really stops TLD from being a better film is the fact that it's just too tame. This was the last Bond film to be given a PG rating as it was clear that they couldn't appeal to the family audience any longer. With a new Bond should have come a new approach. Yes, it does feel more modern and realistic but since the script was originally designed for Moore they missed a chance at taking advantage of Bond's dark side. Thankfully, they did exactly that in Licence to Kill.
Ian Fleming's story had Bond on a sniping mission, detailing every characteristic and moment of his assignment. Upon spotting the person he's been ordered to kill he discovers it's a beautiful woman and chooses to wound her instead of killing her. Wishing M to fire him for disobeying orders he comments that he must have 'scared the living daylights out of her'. The story ended on this note. The film expands this premise and has Bond escort a defecting Soviet agent from Russia only to disbelieve his story of a Russian General going berserk. Upon investigating further he discovers a plot involving the Mujhadeen and an American Arms dealer. Despite these complications and developments, there's just not enough killing! Without meaning to sound bloodthirsty, I just think that Bond should have laid waste to more bad guys. The script doesn't really give him a chance to. And, as a result, the film seems watered-down and too broad.
Director John Glen stages and frames the action very well, as always but it's John Barry's score (his last involvement with the series) that gives it that extra punch. The Bond theme, so incredibly worn-out and done-to-death, is given a new spin, a faster tempo and more modern feel. Despite being about nine when I first saw it, this is the first thing I realized. They ruined a lot of potential by not taking this renewing further and not giving us a tougher film.
Of Dalton's reign as 007, Licence to Kill is definitely the superior film, but don't rule-out Living Daylights. Average it may be, but still far from being anywhere near bad.
The new ultimate edition DVD features a gorgeous 2.35:1 anamorphic picture (this is SD DVD?) and a great Dolby/DTS 5.1 sound design. Extras are plentiful.
A cool, calm, no nonsense Bond April 24, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've known the theme tune for ages now, and can even spot the intro now when the Aha video has been shown on TV, before "Living Daylights" comes up. Although the first time I heard it, I didn't think it was the lead singer from Aha, I thought it was David Bowie! Whoops.
My Dad always says the first Bond you see, is normally the one you like the best. So far, I've seen two Bond films both with Timothy Dalton. I do think I would like Sean Connery (he is Scottish, I have to say that!), but I have to say, out of the two films I've seen, I do like Timothy Dalton! He's the fourth actor to portray the suave Bond.
For a soppy romantic like myself, it's nice to see a little bit of romance in this, with Maryam d'Abo playing the cellist Kara. It's a very gradual relationship too, so that makes the difference too.
I took four years of history at school, but really it should have been renamed "Second World War Class", as I knew nothing about the Cold War, and has to be embarrassed into asking what it was, cos I feared I wouldn't understand the film.
The action scenes in this are absolutely top notch from the start to the end. There's a car chase, a chase down a mountain riding on a cello case, the rooftop chase in Morocco and the cargo net fight at the end of the film.
The only problem I have with Living Daylights is the bad guys. For me, they were instantly forgettable, and there was really no reason why they were doing what they were doing. Bad guys should light up the screen and be memorable. And Art Malik didn't have enough screen time in my opinion.
It's still only my second Bond film, and it looks like I have a lot of catching up to do with the amount of Bond films. But they do seem to have a very formulaic plot, which could end up being disappointing. But I do like Timothy Dalton though.
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