A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Living Daylights -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

The 15th Bond production, and the first of two from Timothy Dalton, this Blu-ray, which is also a Target exclusive, is another very good looking release.

No problems here.

Image - 4.5

Audio - 5

Recommended.

RAH

 

[Robin9]

The Living Daylights is one of the few James Bond films I can watch repeatedly. I might buy this BRD.

 

[Brent Avery]

Finally watched it on a large 2:35 screen and it looked pretty darn good - for 10.00 at Best Buy up here cannot complain. I just love the John Barry score and the title/ end credit songs too.

 

[AKopola]

Very happy to hear The Living Daylights has turned out well on Blu Ray. Loved Dalton as Bond. Guaranteed buy for me. The first Bond I saw at the cinema and felt he was a nice change after 12 years of Roger Moore. But no denying Roger Moore was very funny.
Will not be buying the box set as the reviews have not been great especially Goldeneye. That is unacceptable for a 50th anniversary.

 

[theonemacduff]

Yeah but the best part, the absolute tops, is the cargo net stunt towards the end of the flick. DONE FOR REAL!!! No CGI!!! Amazing. For me, the best part of any of the Bond pictures was always the stunt work, the way in which they worked to constantly better themselves. Moonraker kind of sucks from a plot point of view, but the opening, with three guys jumping out of a plane and only two chutes between them .... astounding. Actually, I take that back. It's not so much that it sucks, plotwise, but rather that there is no plot, it's just pure constant motion. And speaking of people jumping out of planes, Gypsy Moths is one that really out to be out on BR, along with Blue Max, and The Great Waldo Pepper (which has a weak ending, but who cares?).

 

[Osato]

The full living daylights electronic press kit has been posted. Some of this was seen on the extras but not all.

http://www.the007dossier.com/007dossier/post/2015/09/01/The-Living-Daylights-Electronic-Press-Kit

This was the first bond film I recall really anticipating being released in theaters.

 

[Tony J Case]

A criminally underrated Bond, and a pretty solid movie all around.


Oooh, which reminds me - I'd better go find out when Specter is being released and back-time my 1-per-day viewing marathon. Gotta get my 007 on!

 

[davidmatychuk]

A criminally underrated Bond, and a pretty solid movie all around.

I agree. It was also a very impressive widescreen laserdisc in its day, and one I would play for people to impress them with the format. They'd usually be surprised how much they enjoyed that particular Bond movie, and that particular Bond. "Criminally underrated" almost seems too common; I'd go all the way to "SPECTRE-ly underrated"

 

[Joel Fontenot]

I've always had soft spot for this film too. Also, one of my favorite laserdiscs back in the day - the MGM widescreen version, of course.


Unfortunately, all I have now is the old DVD issue from when they issued those box sets with 6 or 7 other Bond movies that spanned the series. The one where the all important location names never showed up on-screen because they were subtitled in and weren't triggered to appear when they were supposed to.


I assume that has since been fixed and is shown properly on the Blu-ray. I never did send in for the replacement disc that supposedly fixed it back then.


Do they use the burned-in version on the BR, or is it still a triggered subtitle?

 

[Spencer Draper]

The Laser is indeed a great title-arguably the best of the MGM letterboxed scope Bonds from 1989-1993. The SE DVD was reissued with the correct missing subtitles and all are in their theatrical burned in state on the UE DVD and Blu-ray.


Note: this is one of the sourced from pre-existing video master titles, and sadly it loses some of the color and pop from the pre-Lowry editions. The detail is better, but it has an overall flat look to it that wouldn't be there is it had been a fresh non-tinkered with scan. Sad as this is a personal favorite of mine and IMHO the last great Bond film. (Despite adoring all of the original five actors, I rank Dalton here amongst the great performances-he's that GOOD.)


The SE DVD and LD are what I still prefer, and most colorful of all is the old CBS/Fox pan and scan LD. Audio is best on the letterboxed LD in its original 2 ch matrix via PCM. All the 5.1 Bond remixes are rather flat and lifeless-besides the awful remixing on the 60's era, all the 80's films lost a great deal of their punch and nuance. When people disbelieve me on this I like to throw on an action scene from FYEO or the airbase attack in TLD.

 

[andySu]

Finally watched it on a large 2:35 screen and it looked pretty darn good - for 10.00 at Best Buy up here cannot complain. I just love the John Barry score and the title/ end credit songs too.

I like the John Barrym bass mid kick on the opening title score, it sets the film up nicely.





I liked the scene were General Georgi Koskov, is put in that tube thing and fired though the pipes it circled around and overhead at the odeon screen 2, that had me looking around and above.


The Hercules plane, is a cool sounding exciting scene. That was an RC model plane on the long wide shot when it takes off if you believe that? Think about it? No pilot is gonna be crazy enough to fly a plane head-on with another plane. I have the Cinefex, the practical models looked great on the film.




I like the end credits it sounded very fitting at the local odoen with Dolby Stereo matrix overhead surrounds in screen 2 what was then a very large true cinema before it was gutted into 5 shoe-boxes in 1989.




Is the Dolby film mix same identral to the DVD editions are you Bond, Q-listener?

 

[andySu]

The Laser is indeed a great title-arguably the best of the MGM letterboxed scope Bonds from 1989-1993. The SE DVD was reissued with the correct missing subtitles and all are in their theatrical burned in state on the UE DVD and Blu-ray.


Note: this is one of the sourced from pre-existing video master titles, and sadly it loses some of the color and pop from the pre-Lowry editions. The detail is better, but it has an overall flat look to it that wouldn't be there is it had been a fresh non-tinkered with scan. Sad as this is a personal favorite of mine and IMHO the last great Bond film. (Despite adoring all of the original five actors, I rank Dalton here amongst the great performances-he's that GOOD.)


The SE DVD and LD are what I still prefer, and most colorful of all is the old CBS/Fox pan and scan LD. Audio is best on the letterboxed LD in its original 2 ch matrix via PCM. All the 5.1 Bond remixes are rather flat and lifeless-besides the awful remixing on the 60's era, all the 80's films lost a great deal of their punch and nuance. When people disbelieve me on this I like to throw on an action scene from FYEO or the airbase attack in TLD.

Early morning showing of The Living Daylights (1987) R2 DVD

Dolby Stereo digital 5.1 with overhead/below surrounds / Lucasfilm Ltd THX Sound System / JBL professional x73 speakers.

0:06:46 Bond lands on boat canopy on the overhead surrounds, makes me look upwards.

Is this video fringing artifact present on the bluray that is common issue with VHS Laserdisc DVD but I guess it can been sorted out?


Chapter 6, the phones ringing around the LCR sounds like a real phone ringing. The "Ghetto-blaster" scene that makes me laugh.


The recorded ambient outdoor scenes at the safe-house sounds like a traditional British, atmosphere of the countryside.


Its been a few years since I last played The Living Daylights, since I installed THX a few years ago. It had nice sonic clear sharpness with sound effects such as weapons machine-guns, during the desert battle and the end sequence shootout at Brad Whitaker, home, some levels was peaking a shy over 85dbA that allowed for as it wasn't bending my ears.


The depth of tank cannon fire and other explosions of desert battle, I could feel the impact occasional in my chest.

End credits plays off on LR front channels only. In Dolby matrix they'll play on all channels. If I wanted all channels playing its not hard for me to set-up and take the difference form LR though an additional Dolby matrix decoder to take the phantom such as the vocals and put them though centre and blend a matrix ambiance into the surrounds with a mixer and set the pan-pots so that Ls-Rs each gets an equal level.


Additionally I can switch to from digital on the SDDS processor to the Dolby CP500 with smooth untouchable change.


Played the end credits at least over 10 times as it sounds too good.

 

[Keith Cobby]

My favourite Bond and favourite Bond film. Great score and closing song over the end credits. Seeing this at the cinema was a big event, the more recent films have lost their way for me, and I prefer the MI series much better.

 

[Osato]

My favourite Bond and favourite Bond film. Great score and closing song over the end credits. Seeing this at the cinema was a big event, the more recent films have lost their way for me, and I prefer the MI series much better.

Agreed! First bond film that I really anticipated being released!!
Loved the happy anniversary 007 feature that was hosted by roger Moore and promoted the film!

I have wonderful memories of seeing daylights at the river hills cinema in Des Moines, iowa. It was that great theater that showed all the big films. I saw empire and Jedi there too.
They tore it down years ago and the last film I recall seeing there was Star Trek first contact.

Still love daylights. Great action, dalton is great as bond and the John Barry soundtrack is amazing!!

James Bond radio just did a podcast review of the film too:
http://jamesbondradio.com/living-daylights-review-part-1-podcast-120/

I think it's time for a blu ray viewing!
I miss the bond films coming out in the summer!

I've loved the last 2 mission impossible films. I think they have stolen a lot of the thunder and spirit of what the James Bond films used to be!!

 

[Rick Thompson]

Agreed! First bond film that I really anticipated being released!!
Loved the happy anniversary 007 feature that was hosted by roger Moore and promoted the film!

I have wonderful memories of seeing daylights at the river hills cinema in Des Moines, iowa. It was that great theater that showed all the big films. I saw empire and Jedi there too.
They tore it down years ago and the last film I recall seeing there was Star Trek first contact.

Still love daylights. Great action, dalton is great as bond and the John Barry soundtrack is amazing!!

James Bond radio just did a podcast review of the film too:
http://jamesbondradio.com/living-daylights-review-part-1-podcast-120/

I think it's time for a blu ray viewing!
I miss the bond films coming out in the summer!

I've loved the last 2 mission impossible films. I think they have stolen a lot of the thunder and spirit of what the James Bond films used to be!!

Of course they have. James Bond is now a pale Jason Bourne imitation, stomping out fun wherever it is found.

 

[Nick*Z]

Of course they have. James Bond is now a pale Jason Bourne imitation, stomping out fun wherever it is found.

How sad...and how very, very true. No fun in a Bond movie any more. No joy, great gadgets or babes either, except if they're a proto-feminist appendage capable of doing as much 'stomping' as Mr. Bond. Dalton's debut was so great, I really could not figure out why his follow-up was such a disaster; though it undeniably killed his chances for doing more. Feeding Felix Leiter to a shark and then having him survive with both legs bandaged and preserved was just idiotic! Ditto for Wayne Newton as the charlatan guru - "Bless his heart!" The only salvation to Licence to Kill was Carey Lowell as Pam Bouvier. But having Bond go from intercepting super spies to hunting down a drug cartel overlord was a real step down in MI6 sleuthing.

Of the Bonds that have followed, personally, I think Goldeneye will stand the test of time. I also really like the opener to The World Is Not Enough, which brought back the exhilaration of the Bond franchise, but then killed it off by introducing an utterly idiot plot after the main titles. Casino Royale is the only Craig movie I would consider a classic. It'll be around for a while. Favorite Bonds...I'm biased. In order: Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Octopussy, The Spy Who Loved Me, Live and Let Die, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Moonraker (biggest Bond ever!!!) A View To A Kill (still think it has some of the best SFX of all the Bonds), The Living Daylights, The Man With the Golden Gun (campy, but fun). The rest I can take or leave depending on my mood and how bored and starved I am for entertainment. Bottom line: Bond is forever.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I think we tend to look at some of the older Bond films through rose-colored glasses. IMO, each Bond era had its stinkers. Sean Connery seemed to be mailing it in for his last two installments (does any out there really think Diamonds are Forever is good?), Roger Moore had some bad ones (the title song was the only good thing about A View to a Kill), the 2nd Dalton film was pretty bad, the last two Brosnan films were awful, and Craig's Quantam of Solace was a terrible remake of Goldfinger.

 

[Jason_V]

I think we tend to look at some of the older Bond films through rose-colored glasses. IMO, each Bond era had its stinkers. Sean Connery seemed to be mailing it in for his last two installments (does any out there really think Diamonds are Forever is good?), Roger Moore had some bad ones (the title song was the only good thing about A View to a Kill), the 2nd Dalton film was pretty bad, the last two Brosnan films were awful, and Craig's Quantam of Solace was a terrible remake of Goldfinger.

I think that's natural, actually, when we're talking about anything "older." How many times have we heard that life was better/easier in the 60s or the 80s or whatever decade you want to use? Was it really? Probably not; the "big events" we remember from those time periods are the only things we remember. We don't recall the "small" stuff that seemed so big at the time.

And really...the smallest thing wrong with QoS was it being a remake of Goldfinger. QoS is awful all around.

 

[Keith Cobby]

The later Bonds look like they have been put together by a committee. Time to give it to a real film-maker, time for Chris Nolan to have a go.

 

[Allansfirebird]

No joy, great gadgets or babes either, except if they're a proto-feminist appendage capable of doing as much 'stomping' as Mr. Bond.

Oh yes, how dare women have agency and can be as capable at their jobs as Bond?