Saw Living Daylights in the cinema, and have been addicted ever since. The score, the songs, the tougher but romantic Bond. You feel that romance. Anyone who mentions the film or Timothy Dalton to me as their least favourite Bond, I just smile politely...and quietly hate them. :D Thank you for the commentary - I enjoyed it very much in sync with the movie.
Best Motion Picture Analyst, I wish to express warm gratitude for your enjoyable, illuminating, informative and horizon expanding Bond-commentaries. They are quite impressive and I regard them as valuable additions to the films’ existing supplement materials. Being a cineast and Bond enthusiast I found your Living Daylights commentary particularly powerful as I have a thin but cherished connection to the picture. My gracious camera teacher was the second unit operator and he generously used his experiences on that picture as references because he knew how much of a fan I was. He taught me the Mitchell / Panavision system, front- and back projection, used concrete examples of his foreground miniature expertise from The Living Daylights as he went into that craft, gave tips on operating dynamic action based on the Gibraltar scenes, and trained me in the Moy geared head. His ultimate advice was how to save my back from injury doing these sorts of jobs. He had been put through the wringer more than once. Listening to your commentary brought it all back for me, as well as re-connecting me to the the heart of the film. A moving listen. Thank you very much.
"Glad I insisted you brought that cello." Love that line so much as he had to admit she was right in bringing the cello. This was the last out of the original 20 movies I saw. Glad I finish on a highnote.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader I am so bad for it. I just like his expression on what just got hit and him looking at it and then like Sorry. This is before he finds out how expensive it cost.
My gosh! I only just now discovered your channel and found this commentary. I'm only 45 minutes into it, but I can not wait to get back to this at a better time. What a fantastic speaker you are. I was immediately hooked and had a hard time stopping this video only for now. So nice to listen to another Bond fan who appreciates Dalton's two films.
This exquisite second episode of yours I’ve listened to now, I listen like you would a post cast I know the films well by sound but have learned a few bits from your commentary - I thank you and look forward to listening to others soon
Thank you!! I really tried to cram in as much information and analysis into these commentaries as I could so that means a lot to hear. I too listen to tracks on the go like podcasts.
In my opinion this is one of the best looking and sounding films in the series. The sets and locations are all incredible and the cinematography is beautiful. The original Dolby Stereo mix for this film honestly rivals many of the mixes of the later films in the discrete formats. Everything in this film came together so well it's definitely one of my favorites in the series
I am the same, I love both The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. But my favourite of the two is The Living Daylights by a hair. I think that the new direction they went with for The Living Daylights was very refreshing for the series, it worked nicely. I really liked Timothy Dalton's interpretation of James Bond. He was the most accurate to how Ian Fleming had written James Bond in the books.
This entry in the Bond series is the most obvious example of if it had been looked at with a very different context, it could have very well been considered one of the greatest films of the 80s. the fact that TLD is a brilliant attempt at making a true Fleming Bond on the big screen while still retaining some of the traditional elements of the film series is nothing short of being one of the top 5 best Bond movies ever made. Timothy Dalton's Bond is a truly fantastic portrayal that while his version of Bond has been getting a fair amount of respect in recent times, i think people in many ways really do underestimate Dalton's genius with what he was able to accomplish. The fact that both this film and Timothy Dalton were given a very difficult task of merging the styles of Book Bond and Film Bond and somehow managing to do it brilliantly without making the film tonally all over the place may in some ways be the greatest achievement that anybody has ever accomplished of making a James Bond movie and it is genuinely sad how overlooked that aspect is. Ironically enough, bringing up that aspect alone reminds me and makes me think about how modern films in general do a horrific job at merging tones and styles and in the end just makes the final product completely soulless and devoid of any real passion or meaning to them. This film is one of a thousand examples of a classic film that reminds me how important good storytelling and good aesthetics is, because while i absolutely love that we have so much variety like 4K, Blu Ray, DVD, Internet, Books etc etc, and that there are opportunities to explore the arts like never before, it is extremely apparent that the Motion Picture experience in the theaters has been such a astronomically undervalued and disrespected aspect of modern culture (if you can call it culture) that i would rather just prefer to watch films on Blu Ray back home to remind me what makes a great movie any day over going to the movies. And i can definitely tell you, that after i was asked by one of my friends to go see Godzilla vs Kong in the cinemas with the rest of the gang, i can tell you for sure that it did not change my mind in any way. In fact it encapsulated just how little nostalgia i had for the cinema. I may talk about that mess for a bit the next time we talk on Zoom. 😉
Adore your commentaries. Always informative, passionate and filled with tidbits that are new to me. It's so refreshing to hear from another Bond fan who has a genuine love and appreciation for all of Classic Bond and will defend even the so-called "weak" entries. I understand you are also a fan of the Harry Palmer series. Would you condsider recording commentaries or another format for those? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you so much!! It’s good to hear you’re enjoying these and nice to know I have fellow defenders of the lesser regarded films. I’m a total Harry Palmer nerd obsessed with Ipcress and the other two films. I definitely plan on doing something about the films, books and even the two 90’s tv films.
A friend of mine on a Bond forum did a few Bond commentaries of his own and one on Ipcress if you’re interested: ruclips.net/video/pUJBGxOKo2E/видео.html
Love Whitaker and Joe Don Baker. Yes underused and underrated his character did deserve more scenes. Tim wanted his villains toned down so we really overlook this and blame the actors for not presenting us with a typical Bond vs megalomaniac story. Thank God we have films like this, FRWL and FYEO. Every film has its independence and each villain is different and I think that makes the series more interesting to me anyway. We can't have a Goldfinger type character for each film? That would lead to fatigue perhaps? Whitaker certainly had a realistic approach and the chaos he created around him makes for an interesting story even if difficult to understand on first viewing. I do recommend you read The Making of The Living Daylights book.
I’ve been meaning to get both of Helfenstein’s books for too long. Really need to get them. You’re absolutely right that occasionally there must be a change of pace to keep things from getting stale.
While I love The Living Daylights I've always felt it wasn't all it could have been. I grew up with Sean Connery and he is my favorite Bond, but as any real Bond fan knows Timothy Dalton's actor's osmosis summons up Flemings Bond in moments that are really uncanny, I agree with your remarks about Richard Maibaum. He obviously brought a lot to the table as always. I'm sure you know he wrote the first filmed version of The Great Gatsby, the one with Alan Ladd. and to date still the best interpretation, but John Glen is a workmanlike director. A solid craftsman to be sure but not an actor's director. This is especially evident in the post title scenes where an emphasis on Bond being "Dangerous" was only half realized in the set ups. Timothy was there but the blocking felt rushed and at times pedestrian. I still like it better than License To Kill where Timothy's draped "Miami Vice" wardrobe in some scenes does him a disservice.
I prefer Living Daylights to License to Kill because it looks more like a Bond film. You could change the name of Bond to something else in License, and nobody would guess it was a Bond film. Also, while Dalton is a great actor, I never saw him as Bond. There is something gentle about him that goes against that character. He lacks the appeal and that seductive selfishness and cold-heartedness of Connery's Bond, and he lacks the delightful charm and ability to insert humour, which Moore managed to do. Even Connery could do humour at times, which is something that never worked with Dalton. And when he tries to play a gritty Bond, I am not buying it, because to me he always came across as a guy with a certain vulnerability that Bond shouldn't have. And indeed, he is a Bond that brings girls flowers. Connery and Moore never did that, at least not without a hint of irony. It just never worked for me. He is literally the kind of guy you would expect to ask a girl for permission to kiss her.
All of those are actually Bondian traits but more directly from Fleming than the cinematic Bond. Dalton brilliantly worked in both realms which no one else has ever really done before or since. I do agree there is less of the traditional Bond feel in LTK that is part of the point. It's supposed to be Bond gone rogue so the movie goes rogue from series tropes-the problem is MGM slashed their budget and it shows plus the WGA 1988 strike hurt the screenplay tremendously. I disagree with everyone always claiming Dalton couldn't do the humor. I think he did it beautifully and in the moment.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader I still like the Dalton films, though. I like them better than the ones with Brosnan or Craig. I probably like the ones with Brosnan the least, and there was some really weird stuff in some of those. Invisible cars, villains in caves and such. Felt almost like Batman. I guess there's an element of nostalgia. I am old enough to have seen Moonraker and subsequent movies at the cinema. I also watched the older ones on TV and later VHS. So I grew up with Connery and Moore as Bond, and when that establishes so firmly, change is never a good thing.
Then you DON’T actually know bond as much as you think you do. Something you need to understand is that dalton made it absolutely 100% clear that he did NOT want to do what Sean and Roger did because nobody can and instead played him how Fleming wrote him and not how Sean and Roger did it although as good as they were at it, they did something that Fleming would’ve NEVER done let allowed it to happen is that they made him cool (which he is 😂) and someone to aspire to be. Dalton plays him like he’s meant to be portrayed and as for the women, Bond’s relationship with the women was not schmoozing his way to her and seducing her into bed. The tenderness and vulnerability are actually what makes the character work but he knows that his job doesn’t allow it so he spends as much time as he can before having to leave and he doesn’t treat them as if they’re objects that he can sleep with and then move on as they don’t matter, he’s what I like to call a romantic with rough edges. This man is not a superhero this man is not cool he lives a very dangerous life and could be killed at any minute and for what? A job that doesn’t pay much? In the third novel moonraker it is mentioned that he earns £1500 a year and doesn’t actually go on his missions as often as you would think. It also shows him being stuck in the office on a Monday doing paperwork and reading files (you heard that correctly) so he does actually have a lot of things that make a bit more of a relatable person Plus dalton literally did a comedy a year later and was good at it plus hot fuzz is a must for anyone who thinks he can’t do humor (he just did not want to)
Saw Living Daylights in the cinema, and have been addicted ever since. The score, the songs, the tougher but romantic Bond. You feel that romance. Anyone who mentions the film or Timothy Dalton to me as their least favourite Bond, I just smile politely...and quietly hate them. :D
Thank you for the commentary - I enjoyed it very much in sync with the movie.
Great commentary, thanks. TLD is one of the best Bond movies, with a high rewatch worth.
Best Motion Picture Analyst,
I wish to express warm gratitude for your enjoyable, illuminating, informative and horizon expanding Bond-commentaries. They are quite impressive and I regard them as valuable additions to the films’ existing supplement materials.
Being a cineast and Bond enthusiast I found your Living Daylights commentary particularly powerful as I have a thin but cherished connection to the picture. My gracious camera teacher was the second unit operator and he generously used his experiences on that picture as references because he knew how much of a fan I was. He taught me the Mitchell / Panavision system, front- and back projection, used concrete examples of his foreground miniature expertise from The Living Daylights as he went into that craft, gave tips on operating dynamic action based on the Gibraltar scenes, and trained me in the Moy geared head. His ultimate advice was how to save my back from injury doing these sorts of jobs. He had been put through the wringer more than once.
Listening to your commentary brought it all back for me, as well as re-connecting me to the the heart of the film. A moving listen. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much!!
That sounds like it was an incredible learning experience! I would have been geeking out and asking so many nerdy questions…😂😂
I finally just now listened to this commentary proper and completely along with the Blu-ray. A fantastic commentary. I even learned a few things.
Awesome films
"Glad I insisted you brought that cello." Love that line so much as he had to admit she was right in bringing the cello. This was the last out of the original 20 movies I saw. Glad I finish on a highnote.
I wind up quoting that scene all the time. Especially Dalton's "Sorry!"
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader I am so bad for it. I just like his expression on what just got hit and him looking at it and then like Sorry. This is before he finds out how expensive it cost.
My gosh! I only just now discovered your channel and found this commentary. I'm only 45 minutes into it, but I can not wait to get back to this at a better time. What a fantastic speaker you are. I was immediately hooked and had a hard time stopping this video only for now. So nice to listen to another Bond fan who appreciates Dalton's two films.
Thank you!!
This exquisite second episode of yours I’ve listened to now, I listen like you would a post cast I know the films well by sound but have learned a few bits from your commentary - I thank you and look forward to listening to others soon
Thank you!! I really tried to cram in as much information and analysis into these commentaries as I could so that means a lot to hear. I too listen to tracks on the go like podcasts.
This is my personal favourite film I shall enjoy more if you’re work once again I thank you!
In my opinion this is one of the best looking and sounding films in the series. The sets and locations are all incredible and the cinematography is beautiful. The original Dolby Stereo mix for this film honestly rivals many of the mixes of the later films in the discrete formats. Everything in this film came together so well it's definitely one of my favorites in the series
I am the same, I love both The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. But my favourite of the two is The Living Daylights by a hair.
I think that the new direction they went with for The Living Daylights was very refreshing for the series, it worked nicely.
I really liked Timothy Dalton's interpretation of James Bond. He was the most accurate to how Ian Fleming had written James Bond in the books.
The living daylights, my #1 Bond film
This entry in the Bond series is the most obvious example of if it had been looked at with a very different context, it could have very well been considered one of the greatest films of the 80s. the fact that TLD is a brilliant attempt at making a true Fleming Bond on the big screen while still retaining some of the traditional elements of the film series is nothing short of being one of the top 5 best Bond movies ever made.
Timothy Dalton's Bond is a truly fantastic portrayal that while his version of Bond has been getting a fair amount of respect in recent times, i think people in many ways really do underestimate Dalton's genius with what he was able to accomplish. The fact that both this film and Timothy Dalton were given a very difficult task of merging the styles of Book Bond and Film Bond and somehow managing to do it brilliantly without making the film tonally all over the place may in some ways be the greatest achievement that anybody has ever accomplished of making a James Bond movie and it is genuinely sad how overlooked that aspect is.
Ironically enough, bringing up that aspect alone reminds me and makes me think about how modern films in general do a horrific job at merging tones and styles and in the end just makes the final product completely soulless and devoid of any real passion or meaning to them. This film is one of a thousand examples of a classic film that reminds me how important good storytelling and good aesthetics is, because while i absolutely love that we have so much variety like 4K, Blu Ray, DVD, Internet, Books etc etc, and that there are opportunities to explore the arts like never before,
it is extremely apparent that the Motion Picture experience in the theaters has been such a astronomically undervalued and disrespected aspect of modern culture (if you can call it culture) that i would rather just prefer to watch films on Blu Ray back home to remind me what makes a great movie any day over going to the movies. And i can definitely tell you, that after i was asked by one of my friends to go see Godzilla vs Kong in the cinemas with the rest of the gang, i can tell you for sure that it did not change my mind in any way. In fact it encapsulated just how little nostalgia i had for the cinema. I may talk about that mess for a bit the next time we talk on Zoom. 😉
Adore your commentaries. Always informative, passionate and filled with tidbits that are new to me. It's so refreshing to hear from another Bond fan who has a genuine love and appreciation for all of Classic Bond and will defend even the so-called "weak" entries. I understand you are also a fan of the Harry Palmer series. Would you condsider recording commentaries or another format for those? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you so much!! It’s good to hear you’re enjoying these and nice to know I have fellow defenders of the lesser regarded films.
I’m a total Harry Palmer nerd obsessed with Ipcress and the other two films. I definitely plan on doing something about the films, books and even the two 90’s tv films.
A friend of mine on a Bond forum did a few Bond commentaries of his own and one on Ipcress if you’re interested: ruclips.net/video/pUJBGxOKo2E/видео.html
Love Whitaker and Joe Don Baker.
Yes underused and underrated his character did deserve more scenes.
Tim wanted his villains toned down so we really overlook this and blame the actors for not presenting us with a typical Bond vs megalomaniac story.
Thank God we have films like this, FRWL and FYEO.
Every film has its independence and each villain is different and I think that makes the series more interesting to me anyway.
We can't have a Goldfinger type character for each film? That would lead to fatigue perhaps?
Whitaker certainly had a realistic approach and the chaos he created around him makes for an interesting story even if difficult to understand on first viewing.
I do recommend you read The Making of The Living Daylights book.
I’ve been meaning to get both of Helfenstein’s books for too long. Really need to get them.
You’re absolutely right that occasionally there must be a change of pace to keep things from getting stale.
Underrated bond film IMO and one my favorites. Timothy dalton deserve more credit for his portrayal James Bond.
Yes spencer it is one of the best bonds made always liked it I have it on letterbox laserdisc so I can here it the way I heard it in the theater
While I love The Living Daylights I've always felt it wasn't all it could have been. I grew up with Sean Connery and he is my favorite Bond, but as any real Bond fan knows Timothy Dalton's actor's osmosis summons up Flemings Bond in moments that are really uncanny, I agree with your remarks about Richard Maibaum. He obviously brought a lot to the table as always. I'm sure you know he wrote the first filmed version of The Great Gatsby, the one with Alan Ladd. and to date still the best interpretation, but John Glen is a workmanlike director. A solid craftsman to be sure but not an actor's director. This is especially evident in the post title scenes where an emphasis on Bond being "Dangerous" was only half realized in the set ups. Timothy was there but the blocking felt rushed and at times pedestrian. I still like it better than License To Kill where Timothy's draped "Miami Vice" wardrobe in some scenes does him a disservice.
I prefer Living Daylights to License to Kill because it looks more like a Bond film. You could change the name of Bond to something else in License, and nobody would guess it was a Bond film. Also, while Dalton is a great actor, I never saw him as Bond. There is something gentle about him that goes against that character. He lacks the appeal and that seductive selfishness and cold-heartedness of Connery's Bond, and he lacks the delightful charm and ability to insert humour, which Moore managed to do. Even Connery could do humour at times, which is something that never worked with Dalton. And when he tries to play a gritty Bond, I am not buying it, because to me he always came across as a guy with a certain vulnerability that Bond shouldn't have. And indeed, he is a Bond that brings girls flowers. Connery and Moore never did that, at least not without a hint of irony. It just never worked for me. He is literally the kind of guy you would expect to ask a girl for permission to kiss her.
All of those are actually Bondian traits but more directly from Fleming than the cinematic Bond. Dalton brilliantly worked in both realms which no one else has ever really done before or since. I do agree there is less of the traditional Bond feel in LTK that is part of the point. It's supposed to be Bond gone rogue so the movie goes rogue from series tropes-the problem is MGM slashed their budget and it shows plus the WGA 1988 strike hurt the screenplay tremendously.
I disagree with everyone always claiming Dalton couldn't do the humor. I think he did it beautifully and in the moment.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader I still like the Dalton films, though. I like them better than the ones with Brosnan or Craig. I probably like the ones with Brosnan the least, and there was some really weird stuff in some of those. Invisible cars, villains in caves and such. Felt almost like Batman. I guess there's an element of nostalgia. I am old enough to have seen Moonraker and subsequent movies at the cinema. I also watched the older ones on TV and later VHS. So I grew up with Connery and Moore as Bond, and when that establishes so firmly, change is never a good thing.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader finally, someone else who thinks Dalton can do humour
Then you DON’T actually know bond as much as you think you do. Something you need to understand is that dalton made it absolutely 100% clear that he did NOT want to do what Sean and Roger did because nobody can and instead played him how Fleming wrote him and not how Sean and Roger did it although as good as they were at it, they did something that Fleming would’ve NEVER done let allowed it to happen is that they made him cool (which he is 😂) and someone to aspire to be. Dalton plays him like he’s meant to be portrayed and as for the women, Bond’s relationship with the women was not schmoozing his way to her and seducing her into bed. The tenderness and vulnerability are actually what makes the character work but he knows that his job doesn’t allow it so he spends as much time as he can before having to leave and he doesn’t treat them as if they’re objects that he can sleep with and then move on as they don’t matter, he’s what I like to call a romantic with rough edges. This man is not a superhero this man is not cool he lives a very dangerous life and could be killed at any minute and for what? A job that doesn’t pay much? In the third novel moonraker it is mentioned that he earns £1500 a year and doesn’t actually go on his missions as often as you would think. It also shows him being stuck in the office on a Monday doing paperwork and reading files (you heard that correctly) so he does actually have a lot of things that make a bit more of a relatable person
Plus dalton literally did a comedy a year later and was good at it plus hot fuzz is a must for anyone who thinks he can’t do humor (he just did not want to)