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The Living Daylights Appreciation

X3MSonicXX3MSonicX https://www.behance.net/gallery/86760163/Fa-Posteres-de-007-No-Time-To-Die
edited March 2013 in Bond Movies Posts: 2,635
I think that the introduction of Timothy Dalton in TLD was so well done - the locations, the action, the story - that i don't know why did he did just one more film. The Living Daylights had a good mix of class with the violin scenes, and action, specially with the last 30 minutes which were far more entertaining than the whole DAD film.The best scene for me, was the snow chase. Also lovely how Bond and Kara escaped in the violin's case :-))
The soundtrack was another factor that i loved. Specially the theme song pleased me a lot, Maurice Binder always make a great job with the openings.
Can't understand why many people says that this film sucks, after i having watched LTK, and then this, i thought, 'Why didn't he made at least 1 more film?' TLD is so enjoyable, that turned out to be one of my favourite Bond films. Gotta agree with @thelivingroyale!

Mods, i've searched for any thread, but i've just found the "The Living Daylights vs Licence To Kill" one. I think that each Bond film deserves it's own thread. :)
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Comments

  • myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
    Posts: 1,143
    Definitely in my top 5. I love it. A true spy thriller worthy of Fleming's creation. Dalton and the TLD very much underrated but good to see much appreciation on here reading previous posts on other threads.
  • ultraboxultrabox
    Posts: 194
    I love TLD. After watching TLD and LTK back to back I can't believe that Dalton gets so little love. I really deserved a third movie. I do love that snow chase, but my favorite part had to be at the carnival. I felt that was the perfect mix of Bond being human and snapping into action seamlessly.

    It's among my favorite Bonds.
  • Baltimore_007Baltimore_007
    Posts: 5,634
    It's Daltons best, but it's not really saying much, as he only got to do the two appearances. Closest to the Fleming character since Connery in 1963 without question. d'Abo is a disappointment, as is Joe Don Baker and Krabbe, but there's some truly excellent sequences and Dalton puts in a superlative performance. Sadly it was to be Geoffrey Keen's last appearance in the franchise, and even Gogol makes a very brief appearance right at the end, but it's an excellent watch, as always. The A-HA theme is Ok, but nothing special. Lead singer Morten Harket decined the offer of a cameo appearance, but where would they have put him ?
  • forgotmyusernameforgotmyusername
    Posts: 2,782
    Love both of his films - a real heartbreak that he didn't make five as he should have.

    Love Tim, love his Bond films.

  • GetafixGetafix
    edited March 2013 Posts: 11,425
    Totally agree. But @X3MSonicX I think you will find that TLD is widely admired by people on this site. I don't think I've heard any one on here say it sucks. It was pretty successful at the box office at the time and well received by critics and fans as well. There was a period in the 90s when it was fashionable to slate Dalton and it seems incredible now that lots of people thought Brosnan was an improvement when GE came out. However, over the last few years and particularly since people have got used to Craig's more serious take on Bond, Dalton has experienced a bit of a renaissance amongst fans. I thought he was great from day one and was gutted when he stepped down in 94. It's nice to see so many people on here agreeing.
  • X3MSonicXX3MSonicX https://www.behance.net/gallery/86760163/Fa-Posteres-de-007-No-Time-To-Die
    Posts: 2,635
    Getafix wrote:
    Totally agree. But @X3MSonicX I think you will find that TLD is widely admired by people on this site. I don't think I've heard any one on here say it sucks.

    Really? Well i thought that many people here hated Dalton because of his LTK's film, and also for his rogue kind of Bond.

  • RENEGADE_GANGRENEGADE_GANG Banned
    edited March 2013 Posts: 11
    TLD had alot going for it, unfortunately EON did not give Dalton the total freedom he wanted for the role. I felt like the second half of the movie lost its way and the middle eastern environment became boring. The first half was great though, who can forget the laid back tan sports jacket that Dalton wore while making General Pushkin's girlfriend Rubavitch strip down naked to throw off guard the incoming general. Also who can forget the menacing Necros and his stealthy infiltration into MI6's alternative HQ. There were many great moments in TLD. Unfortunately though I think EON had one foot in the past and the other in the future. EON just couldn't let go of the humorous gimmicks and it upset Dalton. I could only imagine Dalton shaking his head while filming the cello case getaway scene lol.
  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    Posts: 12,837
    TLD will always hold a special place in my heart. My first Bond movie and it was my favourite for a good few years.

    The best Bond, the best score, the best stunt (cargo net), the best PTS, a great cold war story, terrific action mixed with some real tension, great script filled with some brilliant lines, cool locations, a catchy 80's theme song, a good Bond girl that Bond actually seems to care about, Necros, etc.

    There's tons to love in TLD. I think it knocks nearly all the other Bond movies out of the park, a real classic.

    If LTK didn't have Sanchez then TLD would still be my favourite Bond film.
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    thelivingroyale wrote:
    TLD will always hold a special place in my heart. My first Bond movie and it was my favourite for a good few years.

    The best Bond, the best score, the best stunt (cargo net), the best PTS, a great cold war story, terrific action mixed with some real tension, great script filled with some brilliant lines, cool locations, a catchy 80's theme song, a good Bond girl that Bond actually seems to care about, Necros, etc.

    There's tons to love in TLD. I think it knocks nearly all the other Bond movies out of the park, a real classic.

    If LTK didn't have Sanchez then TLD would still be my favourite Bond film.

    Ahhh - Bond like Bond used to be. They knew how to make 'em properly when I were young.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    TLD just about beats LTK for me for, simply not looking as obviously a product of it's time unlike LTK. TLD just has that classic look and feel to it.
  • GetafixGetafix
    edited March 2013 Posts: 11,425
    The last part of TLD is definitely not quite as good as the start, but it's all relative. I'd say that compared to most Bonds the second half is actually quite strong. Whitaker is lame and Koskov is no great shakes, and yet TLD remains one of my favourites. It's all down to Dalts, Barry, Maibaum, Cubby and Glen.

    I suppose if truth be told most Bond movies have something wrong with them. What counts for me is if overall the film just 'works' for me and TLD most definitely does.
  • AgentJamesBond007AgentJamesBond007 Vesper’s grave
    Posts: 2,634
    Utterly fantastic film. When people talk about Bond, I think of Dalton. Great score by John Barry and great Bondian feel to it. He shows Fleming's Bond unlike any other (perhaps Connery in FRWL). I like Ms. D'Abo as Kara but villains were weak, as well as Felix Leiter.
  • FromCanadaWithLoveFromCanadaWithLove Canada
    Posts: 612
    The Living Daylights is the quintessential Bond film. If someone says, "hey, I want a classic film that gives a good feel for the franchise" - TLD is what I recommend.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,829
    Dalton's two are the pinnacle of the series so far IMO. TLD being my favourite.
  • GetafixGetafix
    edited March 2013 Posts: 11,425
    TLD is always amongst my top 5 favourites. As much as I like Dalts however, I have never been quite so keen on LTK. For me it hits a slightly off note. I do appreciate it more than I used to (seeing how bad Bond could actually be during the Brosnan era helped) but it will never be one of my personal favourites. For me TLD strikes the right balance in terms of what I want from a Bond movie. Dalton totally owns the role right from the get go. Brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable with barely a duff scene in the whole movie. Those who criticise Glen really don't know what they're talking about.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,829
    Getafix wrote:
    As much as I like Dalts however, I have never been quite so keen on LTK. For me it hits a slightly off note.
    Mainly because of the lack of a proper Barry score, methinks.
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    chrisisall wrote:
    Getafix wrote:
    As much as I like Dalts however, I have never been quite so keen on LTK. For me it hits a slightly off note.
    Mainly because of the lack of a proper Barry score, methinks.

    May be. I think I never really liked the story very much. The 'this time it's personal' twist always struck me as a bit naff and unconvincing. Since then it seems to have become the basis for every single Bond plot.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,829
    Getafix wrote:
    Since then it seems to have become the basis for every single Bond plot.

    Jaws movies too.
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    Yes, it's one plot that I don't feel Maibaum got quite right. He did die soon after though, so he probably wasn't on top form by then.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Just to say TLD is one of my favorite Bond films, and I fell in love with Timothy right from the first close up when he turns his face to the camera, in the PTS, while climbing the cliff. I enjoyed D'Abo a lot as the Bond girl, the whole story was sweeping and very exciting, fun, and lovely to watch. Only the Afghan "freedom fighters" seem a bit jarring now, due to our more recent terrorist history. I just love this film and always recommend it.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    TLD feels more like a vehicle for Brosnan or Moore, it fits TD's qualities far less.

    And of course role the Mujahedin is quite amusing when one looks at the current wars on the same guys, now called taliban. A political choice in a 007 movie that was debatable even then.

    But the soundtrack of the movie is the swansong of John Barry for the franchise. Not since then have we had such a coherent soundtrack or even the quality of the work. This soundtrack shows the stupid decision of EON not to get the man back at any cost.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,829
    SaintMark wrote:
    And of course role the Mujahedin is quite amusing when one looks at the current wars on the same guys, now called taliban. A political choice in a 007 movie that was debatable even then.
    Bond working with the Mujahideen, whilst troubling to me back in the day, works well as pure espionage when you realise that they were not yet taken over by Taliban warlords, and that some good people there were still fighting the good fight, as it were.
    Or so I'd like to believe in the context of the movie.
    :-?
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    chrisisall wrote:
    SaintMark wrote:
    And of course role the Mujahedin is quite amusing when one looks at the current wars on the same guys, now called taliban. A political choice in a 007 movie that was debatable even then.
    Bond working with the Mujahideen, whilst troubling to me back in the day, works well as pure espionage when you realise that they were not yet taken over by Taliban warlords, and that some good people there were still fighting the good fight, as it were.
    Or so I'd like to believe in the context of the movie.
    :-?

    I remember my dad saying back in 87 that the mujahadin were a bad lot.

    It works in the movie though I guess. Art Malik milks the role for all it's worth. A nice bit of 'of the moment' casting.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited March 2013 Posts: 11,189
    I like TLD. Its not among my favourites but its a solid Bond flick with some great scenes. The villains are rather mediocre and the plot is a little too convoluted for my case, I'm also not a fan of the MP sequences which I don't find particularly convincing (Bliss is appauling and Dalton looks like he wants to get the hell away from her), but overall I think its a decent film.I really like the PTS too
  • bondbat007bondbat007
    Posts: 1,407
    Time for me to get in on this thread. TLD is a fantastic film and remains one of my personal favorites. It was this film that made me want to start reading the Fleming novels as I had only read Benson to that point. I love this and LTK very much the same but for very different reasons. They keep switching in my rankings and I feel they will never be permanently put in any one spot. Dalton is in top form and the story keeps you interested. The action is some of John Glen's finest and it has a great final Barry score
  • Matt_HelmMatt_Helm
    Posts: 908
    Getafix wrote:
    chrisisall wrote:
    SaintMark wrote:
    And of course role the Mujahedin is quite amusing when one looks at the current wars on the same guys, now called taliban. A political choice in a 007 movie that was debatable even then.
    Bond working with the Mujahideen, whilst troubling to me back in the day, works well as pure espionage when you realise that they were not yet taken over by Taliban warlords, and that some good people there were still fighting the good fight, as it were.
    Or so I'd like to believe in the context of the movie.
    :-?

    I remember my dad saying back in 87 that the mujahadin were a bad lot.

    It works in the movie though I guess. Art Malik milks the role for all it's worth. A nice bit of 'of the moment' casting.

    I'm quite Sure that just about everybody saw them as Freedom Fighters in those Times. Remember,that was before religious inspired terrorism came in Fashion.
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    I don't think everyone saw them as a benign force. Like many Western proxies all over the world, they were transparently pretty unpleasant even back then. Same goes for Saddam, the Contras, Pol Pot... the list is endless.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,829
    Getafix wrote:
    I don't think everyone saw them as a benign force. Like many Western proxies all over the world, they were transparently pretty unpleasant even back then. Same goes for Saddam, the Contras, Pol Pot... the list is endless.
    The enemy of my enemy is my......


    ....future enemy.....
    b-(
  • forgotmyusernameforgotmyusername
    Posts: 2,782
    Getafix wrote:
    I don't think everyone saw them as a benign force. Like many Western proxies all over the world, they were transparently pretty unpleasant even back then. Same goes for Saddam, the Contras, Pol Pot... the list is endless.


    ....Bush....Blair....Putin....any white Australian...the midget from France....the tanned pimp from Italy....any Austrian....Posh Spice...
  • YouknowMynameYouknowMyname
    Posts: 4
    Great film, I remember watching both Dalton films over and over again when i was young on VHS and I still find myself doing the same on Blu-ray, so they are both classic Bond's in my eyes!
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