The Living Daylights (1987)

Director:

John Glen

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay) and
Michael G. Wilson (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 July 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Music | Thriller

Tagline:

James Bond 007 at his most dangerous in The Living Daylights

Plot:

James Bond is living on the edge to stop an evil arms dealer from starting another world war. Bond crosses all seven continents in order to stop the evil Whitaker and General Koskov.

Plot Keywords:

James Bond | Afghanistan | Defection | Arms Dealer | Cello

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Timothy Dalton	...	James Bond
Maryam d'Abo	...	Kara Milovy
Jeroen Krabbé	...	General Georgi Koskov
Joe Don Baker	...	Brad Whitaker
John Rhys-Davies	...	General Leonid Pushkin
Art Malik	...	Kamran Shah
Andreas Wisniewski	...	Necros
Thomas Wheatley	...	Saunders
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Q
Robert Brown	...	M
Geoffrey Keen	...	Minister of Defence (Sir Frederick Gray)
Walter Gotell	...	General Anatol Gogol
Caroline Bliss	...	Miss Moneypenny
John Terry	...	Felix Leiter
Virginia Hey	...	Rubavitch

Also Known As:

James Bond 007: The Living Daylights (USA) (trailer title)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Arabic | French | German | Russian | Czech | Slovak

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-14 | Ireland:PG | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Company:

Danjaq

Trivia:

The name of the gas pipeline which crossed from Czechslovakia to Austria was the Trans Siberian Pipeline. The gas pipeline vehicle used for Koskov's defection escape is an actual piece of equipment known as a Scouring Pig. It is used to check and clean the natural gas pipeline between Western Europe and Russia. The apparatus was adapted though for the movie so as to be able to carry a person.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just after Bond crashes his Aston Martin in the snow, and he gets out, the wing mirror on the door is bent downwards. But a few seconds later, the same mirror is in the right position again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
M: Gentlemen, this may only be an exercise so far as the Ministry of Defence is concerned. But for me, it is a matter of pride that the 00 section has been chosen for this test. Your objective is to penetrate the radar installations of Gibralter. Now, the SAS has been placed on full alert to intercept you, but I know you won't let me down. Good luck, men.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in GoldenEye (1997) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Symphony no 40 in G minor, 1st Movement

One of the Best

I just spent the weekend watching nine Bond movies, many of which I hadn't seen in years. When you see that many back to back, it makes comparison easier and each movie's strengths and weaknesses stand out.. After finishing, I realized that The Living Daylights was much better than my memory had perceived it. (I also felt the same about OHMSS). The plot is great with many twists and turns. Tim Dalton brings a very intense Bond to the screen and in this movie it works. I thought MaryAnn D'abo was a very good female lead. We also see a new Moneypenny. The only drawback to the movie is that the villains were somewhat weak. Overall, I now feel The Living Daylights is in the very top tier of the Bond movies.