The Living Daylights
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
John Glen
Timothy Dalton
Maryam D'abo
Joe Don Baker
Jeroen Krabbe
Antony Carrick
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After James Bond (Agent 007) helps Russian officer Georgi Koskov make a daring defection to the West, the intelligence community is shocked when Koskov is abducted from his remote hiding place. Bond leaps into action, following a trail that leads to the gorgeous Kara, who plays Bond as easily as she plays her Stradivari cello. As they unravel a complex weapons scheme with global implications, they are forced into soaring chases, a dangerous jailbreak, and an epic battle in the Afghanistan desert with tanks, airplanes, and a legion of freedom fighters on horseback.
Director
John Glen
Cast
Timothy Dalton
Maryam D'abo
Joe Don Baker
Jeroen Krabbe
Antony Carrick
Catherine Rabett
Derek Hoxby
Desmond Llewelyn
Dulice Liecier
Mayte Sanchez
Andreas Wisniewski
Richard Cubison
Tony Cyrus
Walter Gotell
John Bowe
Geoffrey Keen
Art Malik
Bill Weston
Waris Walsch
Leslie French
Femi Gardiner
Atik Mohamed
Ruddy Rodriguez
Sumar Khan
Ken Sharrock
Kell Tyler
Carl Rigg
Patricia Keefer
Odette Benatar
Peter Porteous
Karen Williams
Karen Seeberg
Alan Talbot
John Terry
Frederick Warder
Heinz Winter
Dianna Casale
Thomas Wheatley
Caroline Bliss
Glyn Baker
Robert Brown
Virginia Hey
Nadim Sawalha
John Rhys-davies
Sharon Devlin
Julie T Wallace
Michael Moor
Cela Savannah
Crew
Terry Ackland-snow
Ross Adams
Zakaria Alaoui
Eric Allwright
Roy Alon
Ted Ambrose
Michael Anderson
Kenny Atherfold
Simon Atherton
Del Baker
Derek Ball
Tina Banta
Reginald A Barkshire
Bill Barringer
John Barry
John Barry
Horst Becker
John Bernard
Sonja Beutura
Maurice Binder
Terry Blyther
Arie Bohrer
Christian Bonnichon
Dennis Bosher
Jean Bourne
Brian Bowes
Jake Brake
Albert R. Broccoli
Barbara Broccoli
Jillie Brown
Joanna Brown
May Capsaskis
Garry Carter
Jorge Casares
Chris Corbould
Jo Cote
Ken Court
Simon Crane
Graeme Crowther
Nick Daubeny
Bert Davey
Allan Davies
Peter Davies
Leslie Dear
Roger Deer
Steve Dent
Alfred Dobsak
Naomi Donne
Dawn Eeverdia
Urs Egger
Frank Elliott
Edwin Erfmann
Arno Esterez
Fred Evans
Michael Evans
John Falkiner
Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Elaine Ford
Michael Ford
Sandra Frieze
Mike Frift
George Frost
Driss Gaidi
Gerry Gavigan
Robert Gavin
Nick Gillard
Matthew Glen
Leonhard Gmur
Ramon Gow
Tony Graysmark
Sparky Greene
Andreas Grosch
John Grover
Roby Guever
Keith Hamshere
Hind Hanif
Graham V Hartstone
Mohamed Hassini
Ahmed Hatimi
Richard Haw
John Hayward
Bert Hearn
Nick Heckstall-smith
Richard Hewitt
Derek Holding
Fred Hole
Jean-claude Houbart
Ida Huber
Walter Huse
Chrissie Hynde
B D Johnson
Dominique Julienne
Michel Julienne
Remy Julienne
Jean Claude Justice
Christoph Kanter
Ihsanne Khalafaoui
Alan Killick
Christl Kirchner
Sophie Koekenhoff
Philip Kohler
Michael Lamont
Peter Lamont
Jean-pierre Lelong
Helen Lennox
Dick Lewzey
Jake Lombard
Hamish Macinnis
Malcolm Macintosh
Terry Madden
Brigitte Magnin
Richard Maibaum
Peter Manhardt
Brian Marshall
Callum Mcdougall
Dan Mckinny
Debbie Mcwilliams
Jane Meagher
Vernon Messenger
Colin Miller
Alec Mills
Alec Mills
Janine Modder
Roy Moores
Ken Morris
Mark Mostyn
Don Mothersill
Peter Musgrave
Willy Neuner
Tiny Nicholls
Ken Nightingall
Douglas Noakes
John Nuth
Daniel T O'brien
Denise O'dell
Joaquin Olias
Arno Ortmair
Peter Palmer
Sid Palmer
Pam Parker
Phil Pastuhov
Ken Pattenden
Miguel Pedregosa
Tom Pevsner
Emma Porteous
Greg Powell
Nic Raine
Brenda Ramos
June Randall
Crispin Reece
Thomas Riccabona
John Richardson
Doug Robinson
Peter Rohe
Iris Rose
Amanda Schofield
Rene Seiler
Jose Maria Serrano
David Shilling
Wayne Smith
Brian Smithies
Herman Sporer
Jacqueline Stears
Mary Stellar
Daniela Stibitz
Barbara Sutton
Joseph Viale
Jean-jacques Villain
Fred Waugh
Anthony Waye
Paul Weston
Jason White
George Whitear
Nick Wilkinson
Joss Williams
Michael G. Wilson
Michael G. Wilson
Nicholas Wilson
Mark Wolff
Arthur Wooster
Arthur Wooster
Stefan Zurcher
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The Living Daylights
In keeping with the previous three Moore outings, which also included For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Octopussy (1983), the screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson takes inspiration from a short story by 007 creator Ian Fleming. The series had exhausted Fleming's full-length novels with Moonraker (1979), and in this case both the title and the opening defection/attempted assassination sequence came from his 1962 short story, "The Living Daylights." Also carried over from Fleming was the nefarious organization SMERSH, which had been changed into the later SPECTRE in earlier Bond adaptations.
Returning to the fold was director John Glen, who had helmed the last three Bond titles and would repeat again for Dalton's next and final 007 film, Licence to Kill (1989). The recent conflicts in Afghanistan at the time fueled the storyline with multiple double crosses involving arms trading and insurrections in the area involving the Soviets, with Bond helping the local rebellious Taliban-- which, of course, comes off quite a bit different today compared to when the film opened as with the similar Rambo III (1988).
Dalton's intention to go back to the more hard-edged, serious tone of the literary Bond character was met with some resistance at the time among audience members accustomed to the suave and jokey persona of Roger Moore for the past 14 years. The similar approach of Daniel Craig many years later would be met with critical acclaim, but this film still fared well at the box office with much buzz about its production, including an on-set visit from Prince Charles (whose off-camera participation pulled off the "ghetto blaster" scene). Dalton's debut was also the subject of considerable press coverage over his monogamy, a stark contrast to the bed-hopping antics of his predecessors who bedded at least two or three women per film. Apart from an implied liaison at the close of the pre-titles sequence, he's completely chaste through the film and develops a burgeoning romance with his leading lady unseen since the glory days of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). The push towards gender equality was mirrored by the fact that--to accompany the then-obligatory Playboy feature for the film (including star Maryam d'Abo)--actor Andreas Wisniewski was prominently showcased in the official movie magazine wearing nothing but a skimpy speedo. Finally, press photographers and reporters also covered an ambitious "flying carpet" scene during the Tangier chase, which was absent from the final cut but has since been included as an extra on home video releases.
This film holds a special place in the hearts of many Bond fans as the final entry scored by John Barry, whose bold, brassy sound had defined the series since its inception. In fact, Barry was musically involved in all but three of the films to that point with hands-on involvement in the title songs as well. Here, he brought a sparing but dramatic electronic presence to the score, which comes to the forefront during action scenes including the rousing "Ice Chase" track. Originally the British duo Pet Shop Boys were rumored to be in the running for the title song, which inspired them to record a demo that ultimately transformed into the track "This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave" on their 1990 album, Behaviour. Instead the song was performed and co-written by Norwegian trio a-Ha, whose creative friction with Barry led to two different studio versions: the string-heavy version heard in the film and a rock variation on their album Stay on These Roads. Despite the bumps in its creation, the song has, like the film itself, gone on to become a fond fan favorite and is often cited as a highlight among one of the screen's most enduring and successful series.
By Nathaniel Thompson
The Living Daylights
Quotes
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Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States on Video March 1988
Released in United States Summer July 31, 1987
Formerly distributed by CBS/Fox Video.
Released in United States on Video March 1988
Released in United States Summer July 31, 1987