The Living Daylights (1987)

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.

Director:

John Glen

Writers:

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

Stars:

Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Walter Gotell	...	General Anatol Gogol
Caroline Bliss	...	Miss Moneypenny
John Terry	...	Felix Leiter
Virginia Hey	...	Rubavitch

Storyline

James Bond 007's mission is to firstly, organise the defection of a top Soviet general. When the general is re-captured, Bond heads off to find why an ally of General Koskov was sent to murder him. Bond's mission continues to take him to Afghanistan, where he must confront an arms dealer known as Brad Whitaker. Everything eventually reveals its self to Bond.

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Plot Keywords:

soviet general | defection | escape | kgb | british agent | 

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Taglines:

Licensed to thrill. [Advance teaser poster]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK

Language:

English Arabic French German Russian Czech Slovak Dari Pushto

Release Date:

31 July 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

James Bond 007: The Living Daylights

Filming Locations:

Antonigasse Tram terminus, Vienna, Austria

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$51,185,897 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An ending similar to the one that featured a parody of Margaret Thatcher and Denis Thatcher in For Your Eyes Only (1981) was originally intended for the movie. It was to include instead a parody of 'Prince Charles' and Princess Diana. However, the idea was scrapped.

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Goofs

When Bond is about to assassinate Pushkin, and his guard comes in, Bond pistol-whips him twice. The second hit misses very badly, but sound is played as if it connected.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

When A-HA is credited as the performers of the opening theme song in the opening credits, their band name is given in the actual "A-HA logo font." This is the only time this has been done in the series.

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Connections

Follows For Your Eyes Only (1981)

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Soundtracks

Concert for cello in Ut minor
(uncredited)
Music by Antonín Dvorák
Conducted by Gert Meditz
Performed by Austria Youth Symphony Orchestra with Stefan Kropfitsch (cello)

User Reviews

A Great Bond Film

Perhaps one of the most overlooked films in the James Bond series, this one brought things back down to Earth for the series. Though Roger Moore made a good James Bond, he had by now out-grown the series. Timothy Dalton is perhaps the most underrated actor to play James Bond, due to his rather brief stint as the character. He is terrific in both his films, and gives 007 a brooding that Bond has not had in any of his previous films. The movie is also good because the romance between Dalton and Mariam D'abo is there and is wonderful to see. Though Kara Milovy is not a tough Bond girl, she is one of the most sensitive and most romantic with Bond himself. The side love story is great to watch. The villains are not that good, for they are not given enough screen time, but the plot is great to try and figure out. Though it's not half as confusing as Mission: Impossible, it still took me a while to catch on at some parts. On a side note, John Rhys Daves once again proves what a great character actor he is as General Pushkin. This Bond movie stands out for it is basically the last to incorporate the USSR, the KGB, and any other Cold War element plots. Cheers to The Living Daylights, an unsung hero of the James Bond series.