The Living Daylights. Cello, Is It Me You're Looking For?

#JamesBond
Stam Fine Reviews looks at the 1987 James Bond adventure, The Living Daylights. The film was Timothy Dalton's first appearance as 007 and was an evolution of the 80's films that had starred Roger Moore, just with most of the humour removed, like Augustus Gloop's sugar-rotted molar. It's a solid James Bond film- not 5 star, but certainly competitive. Also stars Maryam D'Abo, John Rhys-Davies, and Jeroen Krabbe.
James Bond follows the trail of a defecting Russian General, and meets Kara, a professional cellist, but one who's an amateur sniper.
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[@jasonkerest394]

This is one of my favorites of all time. Dalton is Great as James Bond!

[@6581punk]

True, a return to the serious Bond of Connery. Plus Dalton did a lot of his own stunts.

[@Homeschoolsw6]

One of the good ones ye.

[@daveautzen9089]

Agreed.

[@vladpiranha]

I love The Living Daylights so damn much. How Dalton isn't held in higher regard is a mystery to me. His Bond was perfect.

[@tomsenior7405]

Bond IS Dalton. He was by far the best. PS. That sodding Key Finder was an hilarious touch, Cheers Stam.

[@luther1546]

Agree. Dalton is the best Bond.

[@tomsenior7405]

@@luther1546 You have excellent taste

[@RandoUploader3]

I had to stop the video twice to see if I was hearing things lol

[@michaeldemarco9950]

Timothy Dalton is my favorite Bond. Period.

[@richardjohnson9543]

Dalton paved the way for Daniel Craig's interpretation of Bond 20 years later

[@mikavirtanen7029]

Dalton should have been given the Bond mantle when they made For Your Eyes Only. It would have been perfect "grittier" start to own the role, and given him the chance to be the Bond of the 80's.

[@tomsenior7405]

Excellent suggestion. What a pity it never was. Nevertheless, Dalton is still my favourite Bond.

[@Loner-Wolf]

@@tomsenior7405 shit man I thought I was the only one but I found a kindred spirit. My favourite of the Dalton two is Licence To Kill and one of my favourites of all the Bond films. It is to date the most violent in the series and the action was tougher.

[@tomsenior7405]

@@Loner-Wolf You have excellent taste. Licence is by far the Best of he Franchise.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Always felt that way too. I think Dalton's intense take the role would have improved the film.

[@SmartCookie2022]

It was going to be Michael Billington until Roger Moore signed his Bond contract again. In fact, Michael Billington was onset as a standby throughout, just as he was for Live & Let Die up to even Moonraker.

[@garybryant1501]

For a serious Bond he makes me crack up when he says "Are you calling me a horse's arse" 😁

[@thedanielstraight]

Dalton is a great actor... I enjoyed him in Penny Dreadful, Doom Patrol, and of course, Flash Gordon.

[@nickgalea82]

This was my first Bond movie as a kid and still one of my faves, Dalton was a fantastic Bond.

[@TheDukeofMadness]

I'm a fan of John Gardner's updated Bond books from the 80s and early 90's, I always imagine Timothy Dalton as the Bond in them.

[@manekakapoor1612]

The best looking Bond.

[@TheBeird]

Timothy Dalton got more handsome with age! Foxy foxy fox-man!

[@the_lichemaster]

Not enough credit was given to Necros, probably the most believable henchman since Red Grant. The scene were he rescues Koskov from the British safehouse is one of my favourites.

[@aaronleverton4221]

Epic fight with the MI6 butler in the kitchen, man is on the job. Meanwhile the standard government worker trope is sitting out at the gate more interested in his tea than sending someone to investigate.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

He's okay. A refreshing change from Jaws and his ilk but not memorable.

[@bizmen81]

First Bond movie I ever saw, Dalton is the best Bond!

[@luther1546]

Bond doesn't kill the cello player because he only kills professionals. He says that. Also, Dalton is the Bond that most resembles the Bond in the original stories. He's very good.

[@parkerpshebnisky1051]

One of the best James Bond movies!

[@TheToonMonkey]

"In a decade of weak and ordinary Bond Villains." That is literally the first time a Christopher Walken performance has been described as "ordinary".

[@tomsenior7405]

Agreed, Christopher Walken wasn't really "Ordinary" as a Bond Villain. His role could better be described as "Disappointing" perhaps? Or, "A waste of a Legend", "A Missed Opportunity", but hardly "Ordinary".

[@StamFine]

well, he's no Drax, but he's certainly competitive.

[@daveroche6522]

In fairness, Walken Bond movie was a turd-on-a-stick (although if Q had been involved, t'wud have been an exploding-turd-on-a-stick.....). Skinpeelingly dreadful movie.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

​​@@daveroche6522 The movie was and Zorin wasn't all that good. He didn't do anything interesting outside of a precious few actions. He was just the villain of the week.

[@matthewkugel6237]

It cracked me up every time i heard the key ring beeping. I'm laughing just remembering it.

[@Laukki]

Dalton my absolute favourite 🤩 stylish, dark and dangerous

[@mathewguglielmi8451]

Dalton, the only Bond that portrayed a Time Lord, Rassilon.

[@whitefalcon720]

For me together with Casino Royale and On her majesty's Secret Sevice the Top 3 of the Bond-Franchise. From the todays point of view, Dalton was ahead of his time and the trailblazer for Daniel Craigs Stil. A Stil the most people weren't ready for at the end of the 80s. With die best Bond-Score, John Barry ever composed.

[@jdslater1]

I still think the safe house breakout is superb. Probably the best Bond action scene actually not involving Bind.

[@6581punk]

Hawk the Slayer :) glad you spotted him.

[@martharunstheworld]

I love Dalton as Bond, my 2nd fav, first of course is Connery.

[@BrettJones27]

Loved this flick on release. The only Bond movies I saw more than once at the theatre were Living Daylights and Goldeneye. Both three times, with various groups of family or friends. Living Daylights is easily in my top three to five Bond films. Thanks for the fun review, as usual.

[@daveroche6522]

Wasn't Living Daylights the one where 007 gives us an actual "F.F.S." up front in the cockpit? BEST! BOND! MOMENT! EVER!

[@daddystabz]

This is one of my favorites in the entire series. Dalton is awesome as Bond and is the closes to Ian Fleming's spy in the books.

[@dogdrovenorth]

09:59 after the introduction of the keyring finder, I chuckled my way through the rest of the video.

[@Althea-M]

That key ring finder though. 😂

[@GoldenfoxxPrime]

Greaaaat. Thaaaaanks, Stam Fine. My favorite Bond film, and I'll never be able to watch it again without laughing hysterically every time I see that key finder. Lovely.

[@niels25chr1]

The eighties had some of My favourite Bond villains BECAUSE They were human and down to earth. Sanchez is My favourite. Loved the key ring Barrys last Bond score is among his very best.

[@jammin023]

Love the subtle repeating beeper gag. Your channel is great, keep up the good work :)

[@rikkiwear853]

Hawk the Slayer? Cool. I recognize him as Christian Shephard from Lost.

[@callumbus7690]

The living daylights is my second favourite bond film

[@bob23301]

Ok, one more cello pun and no more octopussy for you.

[@Mr17051963]

My favorite Bond is Sir Roger Moore (for personal reasons). That said, reading the original 007’s books, Dalton is THE perfect Bond. With Pierce Brosnam being the second one.

[@cpmf2112]

Timothy Dalton got screwed for sure, he was one of the best.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

He never got the scripts he deserved.

[@chrisdiver6224]

Terrific job and your droll sense of humor much appreciated.

[@Alkeeros]

The non sequitur are among the best parts of these reviews, though they are also well thought out and interesting. Hmmmm. Just give it a 10 overall. Great video

[@geraintwilliams531]

excellent review ... but now i'm haunted by the sound of the key ring finder !

[@mrmeerkat1096]

I thought this movie was okay at the time, but I watched it recently and relised it's a hell of a lot better than I first thought and it's one of my favourite Bond films now. I think the Craig era is making people appreciate TLD and there reliseing that Timothy Dalton was a severely underrated 007. I completely agree with you it seems to be missing something. I don't know if it's the massive set of the villans lair or iconic henchmen or what mainly from the Moore era that's missing. But that's the thing with all Bond movie's or the novels. There a mixture of serious, grounded spy thrillers and fantasy, over the top plots and characters. So people can have different expectations of a Bond movie.

[@SJKPJR007]

Can't disagree with your assessment of this film. It's a solid action flick and Dalton is a credible Bond, perhaps even too credible at the time. But the film does lack an indefinable Bondian air. Its a real shame Dalton wasn't given the opportunity to fully amend the character's template to fully exploit his considerable acting strengths.

[@rodneyclarke6477]

This movie was kind of written for Moore. The humour, the situations etc.Hence that awkward fit for Dalton. He really came into his own in Licence to Kill.

[@SmartCookie2022]

Yes... and of course Pierce Brosnan, who Dalton stepped in to replace. I think Cubby the producer was scared of discarding the humour entirely, thinking American audiences wouldn't go for a straight-laced, tougher Bond. TLD was a sort of halfway house.

[@raulzavala9061]

I agree on John Barry's score it's really good and along with A View To A Kill the only two Bond soundtracks I have.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Barry's A View To a Kill score is terrific, especially the part called "He's Dangerous". I don't like The Living Daylights score as much but it's really good.

[@iangalley3464]

I never realised that Felix is Hawk, The Slayer, until now. I must tell my friends, they will be most unimpressed. Our paths shall cross again, wielder of the mind sword.

[@artyfartblast3289]

I want those Coldplay tickets! Or do I...? Glad to see the subs have grown, you deserve them. Brilliantly scripted as always!

[@SmartCookie2022]

The main fault I always had with Dalton was when he smiled, he looked like a crazed wolf. Had Dalton done a Connery and refrained from smiling and kept it deadpan, he would've been much easier on the eye.

[@MichaelMcCormackMusic]

Dalton rules.

[@whaguitars]

I really dig this film. Great review too!

[@CRITTERBUSTERS]

The Living Daylights was a breath of fresh air after years of Roger Moore getting long in the tooth. I think The Living Daylights is a decent film with more energy than a majority of Moore’s films, but it needed better villains and some polishing on the the script in the 2nd half. That opium and diamond subplot came out of nowhere and isn’t well integrated into the film.

[@mohammedashian8094]

12:11 is it weird that I really want to see those movies 😅

[@ja37d-34]

Great movie.

[@Homeschoolsw6]

3:00..." start to drag once they reach Afghanistan. " True

[@johnashley327]

Rodger Moore was the Bond I grew up with. When I first saw Timothy Dalton I didn't lime him but I have grown to appreciate his Bond.

[@martinhumble]

Dalton the best Bond IMO, Moore is my favourite, OHMSS the best film. And TLD top 5

[@martinhumble]

Though JDB is a fall the be honest. Thanks 🇳🇴 for the song

[@o0pinkdino0o]

Credits feature a dedication to all the fallen, brave Afghan warriors that had died fighting the Russians. Oh how that worm has turned.

[@StuMas]

Made me chuckle

[@jamespfp]

8:35 -- RE: Joe Don Baker -- Everybody, all together now! Mah-Mah-Mah-Mah-Mitchell!

[@marieodu3149]

Timothy Dalton was definitely a more serious James Bond kinda like Daniel Craig. James Bond movies always fo through this phase where omg where can we get another Bond actor oh wait are you sure we can’t use the previous actors😑

[@chevy-is-a-good-boy]

I don't think the movies are great (I like them), but there's no denying Dalton was a wonderful Bond. Hard edged but somehow still vulnerable & soft (in a manly way). I enjoy all the Bonds, but maybe he was the best?

[@jaidanielparker]

A 007 film that is a lot of very excellent scenes and ideas that doesn't quite come together to make something amazing. Still, I love The Living Daylights for what it is and it's the first Bond film I saw at the cinema (well, drive-in to be precise!). Yeah Dalton is awkward in the obligatory romance and comedy scenes but IMO he's still to be outdone as the intense, Devil-may-care secret agent as written by Ian Fleming.

[@carlrood4457]

There was a two part (I think) episode of Remington Steele where they went to Acapulco. It played out like an audition tape for Brosnan to play Bond. They even had faux-Bond theme song.

[@franohmsford7548]

John Glen only directed five Bond films and two of them {A View to a Kill and Octopussy} were absolute shite BUT the other three are all in my Top 7 Bond films along with From Russia With Love, Spy Who Loved Me, Live and Let Die and OHMSS. The 80s saw an explosion in Action films and of course from 84 to 98 we had the Action era where Action films were at the top of the game. Before then Bond was THE Action franchise, now it was just one of many. Goldeneye was outgrossed by Die Hard with a Vengeance Worldwide. Tomorrow Never Dies did outgrossed Air Force One to be the fourth highest grossing film of 1997 behind Men in Black, The Lost World and of course Titanic but Air Force One was easily the better film. The World is Not Enough came out in 1999 as the Backlash to the Action genre hit its height and though it did become the eighth highest grossing film of that year it was the only "Action" film in the Top 10 {no I'm not counting The Matrix, The Mummy or Austin Powers as "Action" films - They are Sci-Fi, Adventure and Spoof films}. Die Another Day would make a ludicrous 430 million dollars in 2002, over 70 million more than Minority Report {which I will count as Action first, Sci-Fi second} but again those were the only two "Action films" in the Top 10 that year with Die Another Day 6th and Minority Report 10th . Die Another Day was beaten by LotR, Harry Potter, Spiderman, Star Wars and Men in Black II so really that makes it the highest grossing film of 2002 that wasn't part of a Mega Franchise {yes Men in Black II killed the Men in Black franchise but let's be fair here, no-one was expecting Die Another Day to outgross Men In Black II but it came within 10 million dollars of doing just that}. The consensus worst ever canon Bond film was the 6th highest grossing film of 2002 and grossed almost 100 million more than Tomorrow Never Dies had done 5 years earlier - Inflation aside that feels like a lot. But Tomorrow Never Dies came out in a year featuring Con Air, Face/Off, Gross Pointe Blank, Speed 2 {yes that film was atrocious} and The 6th Man as well as Air Force One and outgrossed them all Worldwide. Like all Bond films Tomorrow Never Dies most likely got a boost from UK Box Office but it still outgrossed Con Air in the US by almost 25 million dollars and Face/Off in the US by approx 12 million dollars though it was outgrossed by Air Force One in the US by almost 50 million dollars yet still outgrossed that film Worldwide.

[@billgreen4003]

Cool 😎

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

Like Lazenby - Dalton is more in keeping with the original character from the books- surviving on his skills rather than gadgets and louche charm.

[@SmartCookie2022]

I concur. Dalton was good, as was Lazenby. I really think Dalton needed a new director, though, to inject new blood into the veins.

[@TheyCallMeNewb]

There's some refined comedy in this review.

[@jonnoheyne6318]

The keychain going off is killing me...

[@Truthseeker1515]

Dalton suffered from his predecessor's antics (which the audience was not prepared for in the new adaptation of the character), the end of the cold war which made the movie already antiquated and the fantastic 1980s movie alternatives to the Bond Franchise.

[@6581punk]

It was also not long after AIDS was discovered, so womanising wasn't really on the cards.

[@SmartCookie2022]

It was only in the US that Dalton didn't light-up the box office. Same with Lazenby. Both movies did well, just not as well as they'd hoped for. American audiences were a little unpredictable during the Eighties. Movies that should've been major hits bombed, and terrible movies did very well.

[@AaronJohnson-mo8rf]

the living daylights had a great opening theme by aha But License to Kill, the following bond film, had a great score By Michael Kamen

[@CorvoFG]

I read that from Ah-Ha’s pov, he was unpleasant to work with, didn’t like what they’d written and kept trying to change it and would only butt out when they threatened to quit.

[@SmartCookie2022]

Ah-Ha were not music producers, as the many failed iterations of Take On Me proved until music producer, Alan Tarney, got the re-recording for their song right. John Barry WAS the quintessential sound of Bond and knew what sounded good for Bond and what didn't, All Time High being the only exception. Even Paul McCartney admitted trying to outdo Barry with his own Bond song. I've heard Ah-Ha's preferred TLD recording without Barry's imput and it sounds flat and insipid, so Barry made the right call.

[@dereknewstead5409]

I would LOVE to know the name of the actress who plays 'Tatiana' in Sam Neill's 1986 Screen Test for the role of James Bond. I think the scene runs rings around the original take by Sean Connery in "From Russia with Love".

[@StamFine]

Fiona Fullerton. She was in View to a Kill in the hot tub with Roger Moore. They used that FRWL scene as a screen test for both potential Bonds and Bond women for decades.

[@dereknewstead5409]

@@StamFine Thank you. I am very greatful. I searched on-line for sometime without a result. Do you know how many women were considered to play the part of Kara in "The Living Daylights" ?

[@dereknewstead5409]

@@StamFine Hi. Do you know the DVD / Blu-Ray titles where the Bond screen-tests appear as 'Special Features' ?

[@richardkennedy8481]

Please do High Cliff Manor with Shelley Fabares

[@billgreen4003]

I'm a walking magic book full of knowledge freely

[@henryglennon3864]

Hey! Found my car keys! Nice.

[@jamminjohn]

Broccoli didn't know Roger Moore did tv shows like Maverick and The Saint before being cast as Bond?

[@raulzavala9061]

I think those shows had ended when Moore was cast.

[@valmarsiglia]

Oh yeah, the one where the Taliban were the good guys. That part has aged like a bottle of Thunderbird. 🤣🤣🤣

[@geosword6]

Is it any coincidence that just a few months after they kill Bond off, Russia goes on the offensive?? I don't think so. Bond's success rate vs Evil Eastern Overlords: 100% Jus sayin.

[@Retro-Fez]

At the time i hated Daltons bond as i grew up with moore but i later watched Daltons movies and thought he was great shame he only got 2 movies

[@jimenycricket8431]

SC: Yearrrshh... I shertainly shee what shoo mean Mishta Shtammy.

[@monotonehell]

Beebeebeebeeebeeeeee

[@nicklarocco4178]

Dalton is way too sinister to be Bond. He would have been a great Bond villain, maybe as a rival spy.

[@StamFine]

He’d have made an excellent Bond villain.

[@luther1546]

Bond is sinister in Fleming's stories. He's a hard man who does whatever he must to win. He doesn't enjoy killing, but it doesn't exactly keep him up at night.

[@The.Last.Guitar.Hero.]

the mujahideen seen as some kind of heroes hasn't dated well has it ?

[@BrettJones27]

No... between this and Rambo III... not pretty in hindsight.

[@mhoppy6639]

Nice partridge touch. But Timothy dalton can’t wear a safari suit with quite the same casuality as Roger Moore. A-ha!

[@Hawkeye26]

Funny how different reviews can touch upon similar points...here's mine from my first viewing of it, several years ago: "Timothy Dalton's first outing in the role has some nice scenes in it and a great key ring gadget...but the film seems to run a bit long...and the name has no significance on the plot." The length of the review is atypical for the Bond film ones I've written, this movie simply did not inspire much to really get a good critique going.

[@neiltaylor6645]

Your videos are always so funny unlike Tim Dalton 🙈

[@jogordon1530]

Dalton was great as Bond! The rest of the actors sucked !

[@daveschrader8841]

I’m getting sick of your jokes. They’re just bad and slow down the review. The reviews I really like. But I think I’m done here.