The Living Daylights

Starring:Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen KrabbÃ©, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies, Art Malik, Andreas Wisniewski, Thomas Wheatley, Desmond Llewelyn, Robert Brown, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, Caroline Bliss, John Terry, Virginia Hey, John Bowe, Julie T. Wallace, Kell Tyler, Catherine Rabett, Dulice Liecier
Director: John Glen (II)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Timothy Dalton made his 007 debut in the lean, mean mode of Sean Connery, doing away with the pun-filled camp of Roger Moore's final outings. He establishes his persona right from the gritty pre-credits sequence, in which he hangs from a speeding truck as it barrels down narrow cobblestone streets, battles an assassin mano a mano, and lands in the arms of a bikinied babe. This James Bond is ruthless, tough, and romantic. The Living Daylights, set during the thaw of the cold war, begins with the defection of Russian KGB General Koskov (Jeroen KrabbÃ©) and his revelation of a Soviet plot to eliminate Britain's secret agent force. Assigned to eliminate Koskov's Soviet boss (John Rhys-Davies, cutting a memorable figure in his brief appearance), Bond uncovers a conspiracy involving Koskov and an American arms dealer (Joe Don Baker). Maryam d'Abo makes a fine Bond girl as Koskov's beautiful cellist girlfriend, a classy innocent who soon loses her naive blush and shows her pluck. The villains are lackluster--KrabbÃ© is a clown and Baker a blowhard--and Dalton hadn't yet mastered the delivery of the trademark quips, but it's a sleek script with a no-nonsense attitude. Veteran series director John Glen's action scenes have never been better--especially the show-stopping mid-air battle on the net of a speeding cargo plane--and he returns the series to the smart, rough, high-energy adventures that made the Bond reputation. --Sean Axmaker

James Bond Ultimate Edition Boxed Sets Bundle
Average customer rating:

The Ultimate Bond is the Ultimate

wonderfully restored movies!

007- Bond, James

Picked up whole collection in one pack - great deal

The Ultimate For The 007 Fan

James Bond Ultimate Edition Boxed Sets Bundle
Starring: Sean Connery , Pierce Brosnan , Roger Moore , George Lazenby , and Timothy Dalton
Manufacturer: MGM
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Sean Connery | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
Pierce Brosnan | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
Roger Moore | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
Collections & Documentaries | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
Timothy Dalton & George Lazenby | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
All Titles | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
Brosnan, Pierce | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Connery, Sean | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Dalton, Timothy | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Lazenby, George | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Moore, Roger | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
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( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Ultimate Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000MCI1RA
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Amazon.com

The Man with the Golden Gun: The British superspy with a license to kill takes on his dark underworld double, a classy assassin who kills with golden bullets at $1 million a hit. Roger Moore, in his second outing as James Bond, meets Christopher Lee's Scaramanga, one of the most magnetic villains in the entire series, in this entertaining but rather wan entry in the 007 sweepstakes. Moore balances the overplayed humor of the film with a steely performance and Lee's charm and enthusiasm makes Scaramanga a cool, deadly, and thoroughly enchanting adversary. --Sean Axmaker

Goldfinger: To own Goldfinger (1964) on DVD is to have at your fingertips the proof that Sean Connery is the definitive James Bond. No one but Connery can believably seduce women so effortlessly, kill with almost as much ease, and then pull another bottle of Dom Perignon '53 out of the fridge. Goldfinger contains many of the most memorable scenes in the Bond series: gorgeous Shirley Eaton (as Jill Masterson) coated in gold paint by evil Auric Goldfinger and deposited in Bond's bed; silent Oddjob, flipping a razor-sharp derby like a Frisbee to sever heads; our hero spread-eagle on a table while a laser beam moves threateningly toward his crotch. Goldfinger's two climaxes, inside Fort Knox and aboard a private plane, have to be seen to be believed. --Raphael Shargel

The World Is Not Enough:Bond 5.0, Pierce Brosnan, undercuts his usually suave persona with a darker, more brutal edge largely absent since Sean Connery departed. Equally tantalizing are our initial glimpses of Bond's nemesis du jour, Renard (Robert Carlyle), and imminent love interest, Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), both atypically complex characters cast with seemingly shrewd choices, and directed by the capable Michael Apted. The story's focus on post-Soviet geopolitics likewise starts off on a savvy note, before being overtaken by increasingly Byzantine plot twists, hidden motives, and reversals of loyalty superheated by relentless (if intermittently perfunctory) action sequences.--Sam Sutherland

Diamonds Are Forever: Sean Connery retired from the 007 franchise after You Only Live Twice but was lured back for one last official appearance as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. Goldfinger director Guy Hamilton keeps the film zipping along gamely from one entertaining set piece to another, including a terrific car chase in a parking lot, a battle with a pair of bikini-clad killer gymnasts named Bambi and Thumper, and a deadly game with a bizarre pair of fey, sardonic killers who dispatch their victims with elaborate invention. Connery retired again after this one but he returned once more, for Never Say Never Again 15 years later. --Sean Axmaker

The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton made his 007 debut in the lean, mean mode of Sean Connery, doing away with the pun-filled camp of Roger Moore's final outings. This James Bond is ruthless, tough, and romantic. The Living Daylights, set during the thaw of the cold war, begins with the defection of Russian KGB General Koskov (Jeroen Krabb) and his revelation of a Soviet plot to eliminate Britain's secret agent force. Assigned to eliminate Koskov's Soviet boss (John Rhys-Davies), Bond uncovers a conspiracy involving Koskov and an American arms dealer (Joe Don Baker). Veteran series director John Glen's action scenes have never been better--especially the show-stopping mid-air battle on the net of a speeding cargo plane--and he returns the series to the smart, rough, high-energy adventures that made the Bond reputation. --Sean Axmaker

A View to a Kill: Roger Moore's last outing as James Bond is evidence enough that it was time to pass the torch to another actor. Beset by crummy action (an out-of-control fire engine?) and featuring a fading Moore still trying to prop up his mannered idea of style, the film is largely interesting for Christopher Walken's quirky performance as a sort-of supervillain who wants to take out California's Silicon Valley. Grace Jones has a spookily interesting presence as a lethal associate of Walken's (and who, in the best Bond tradition, has sex with 007 before trying to kill him later), and Patrick Macnee (Steed!) has a warm if brief bit. Even directed by John Glen, who brought some crackle to the Moore years in the Bond franchise, this is a very slight effort. -- Tom Keogh

Thunderball: James Bond's fourth adventure takes him to the Bahamas, where a NATO warplane with a nuclear payload has disappeared into the sea. Bond (Sean Connery) travels from a tiny health spa (where he tangles with a mechanized masseuse run amuck) to the casinos of Nassau and soon picks up the trail of SPECTRE's number-two man, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), and his beautiful mistress, Domino (Claudine Auger), whom Bond soon seduces to his side. Equipped with more gadgets than ever, 007 escapes an ambush with a personal-size jet pack and takes to the water as he searches for the undersea plane, battles Largo's pet sharks, and finally leads the battle against Largo's scuba-equipped henchmen in a spectacular underwater climax. This thrilling Bond entry became Connery's most successful outing in the series and was remade in 1983 as Never Say Never Again, with Connery returning to the role after a 12-year hiatus. --Sean Axmaker

Die Another Day: The 20th James Bond adventure, Die Another Day succeeds on three important fronts: it avoids comparison to Austin Powers by keeping its cheesy humor in check, allows Halle Berry to be sexy and worthy of a spinoff franchise, and keeps pace with the technical wizardry that modern action films demand. Pierce Brosnan is paired with American agent Jinx (Berry) in chasing a genetically altered North Korean villain (Rick Yune) armed with a satellite capable of destroying just about anything. John Cleese and Judi Dench reprise their recurring roles (as "Q" and "M," respectively); they're accompanied by weapons-laden sports cars, a hokey cameo by Madonna (who sings the techno-pulsed theme song), and enough double-entendres to keep Bond-philes adequately shaken and stirred. Die Another Day makes you welcome the familiar end-credits promise: James Bond will return. --Jeff Shannon

The Spy Who Loved Me: The best of the James Bond adventures starring Roger Moore as tuxedoed Agent 007, this globe-trotting thriller introduced the steel-toothed Jaws (played by seven-foot-two-inch-tall actor Richard Kiel) as one of the most memorable and indestructible Bond villains. Jaws is so tenacious, in fact, that Moore looks genuinely frightened, and that adds to the abundant fun. This time Bond teams up with yet another lovely Russian agent (Barbara Bach) to track a pair of nuclear submarines that the nefarious Stromberg (Curt Jürgens) plans to use in his plot to start World War III. The Spy Who Loved Me is a galaxy away from the suave Sean Connery exploits of the 1960s, but the film works perfectly as grandiose entertainment. From cavernous undersea lairs to the vast horizons of Egypt, this Bond thriller keeps its tongue firmly in cheek with a plot tailor-made for daredevil escapism. --Jeff Shannon

License to Kill: Timothy Dalton's second and last shot at playing James Bond isn't nearly as much fun as his debut, two years earlier, in the 1987 The Living Daylights. This time Bond gets mad after a close friend (David Hedison) from the intelligence sector is assassinated on his wedding day, and 007 goes undercover to link the murder to an international drug cartel. Robert Davi makes an interesting adversary, but as with most of the Bond films in the '70s, '80s, and '90s--and especially since the end of the cold war--one has to wonder why we should still care about these lesser villains and their unimaginative crimes. Still, Dalton did manage in his short time with the character to make 007 his own, which neither Roger Moore did nor Pierce Brosnan did. --Tom Keogh

Goldeneye: The 18th James Bond adventure was a runaway box-office success when released in 1995, thanks to the arrival of Pierce Brosnan as the fifth actor (following the departure of Timothy Dalton) to play the suave, danger-loving Agent 007. This James Bond is a bit more vulnerable and psychologically complex--and just a shade more politically correct--but he's still a formally attired playboy at heart, with a lovely Russian beauty (Izabella Scorupco) as his sexy ally against a cadre of renegade Russians bent on--what else?--global domination. All in all, this action-packed Bond adventure provided a much-needed boost the long-running movie series, revitalizing the 007 franchise for the turn of the millennium. -- Jeff Shannon

Live and Let Die: Roger Moore was introduced as James Bond in this 1973 action movie featuring secret agent 007. This film marks a deviation from the more character-driven stories of the Connery years, a deliberate shift to plastic action (multiple chases, bravura stunts) that made the franchise more of a comic book or machine. If that's not depressing enough, there's even a good British director on board, Guy Hamilton (Force 10 from Navarone). The story finds Bond taking on an international drug dealer (Yaphet Kotto), and while that may be superficially relevant, it isn't exactly the same as fighting supervillains on the order of Goldfinger. --Tom Keogh

For Your Eyes Only: After a ship sunk off the coast of Albania, the world's superpowers begin a feverish search for its valuable lost cargo: the powerful ATAC system, which will give its bearer unlimited control over Polaris nuclear submarines. As Bond joins the search, he suspects the suave Kristatos (Julian Glover) of seizing the device. The competition between nations grows more deadly by the moment, but Bond finds an ally in the beautiful Melina Havelock (Caroline Bouquet), who blames Kristatos for the death of her parents. The non-stop action includes automobile chases, thrilling underwater battles, and even a breathtaking tour over razor-sharp coral reefs. But all of this is merely a prelude to 007's cliffhanging assault of a magnificent mountaintop fortress. -- Robert Lynch

From Russia with Love: Directed with consummate skill by Terence Young, the second James Bond spy thriller is considered by many fans to be the best of them all. Certainly Sean Connery was never better as the dashing Agent 007, whose latest mission takes him to Istanbul to retrieve a top-secret Russian decoding machine. His efforts are thwarted when he gets romantically distracted by a sexy Russian double agent (Daniela Bianchi), and is tracked by a lovely assassin (Lotte Lenya) with switchblade shoes, and by a crazed killer (Robert Shaw), who clashes with Bond during the film's dazzling climax aboard the Orient Express. From Russia with Love is classic James Bond, before the gadgets, pyrotechnics, and Roger Moore steered the movies away from the more realistic tone of the books by Ian Fleming. --Jeff Shannon

On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Australian model George Lazenby took up the mantle of the world's most suave secret agent when Sean Connery retired as James Bond (although Connery returned in Diamonds Are Forever before leaving the role to Roger Moore). In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 007 leaves the Service to privately pursue his SPECTRE nemesis Blofeld (played this time by Telly Savalas), whose latest master plan involves a threat to the world's crops by agricultural sterilization. Lazenby hasn't the intensity of Connery but he has fun with his quips and even lampoons the Bond image in a playful pre-credits sequence. Former editor Peter Hunt makes a strong directorial debut, deftly handling the elaborate action sequences with a kinetic finesse. --Sean Axmaker

Dr. No: Released in 1962, this first James Bond movie remains one of the best, and serves as an entertaining reminder that the Bond series began (in keeping with Ian Fleming's novels) with a surprising lack of gadgetry and big-budget fireworks. In his first adventure James Bond is called to Jamaica where a colleague and secretary have been mysteriously killed. With an American CIA agent (Jack Lord, pre-Hawaii Five-O), they discover that the nefarious Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) is scheming to blackmail the U.S. government with a device capable of deflecting and destroying U.S. rockets launched from Cape Canaveral. Of course, Bond takes time off from his exploits to enjoy the company of a few gorgeous women, including the bikini-clad Ursula Andress. This is Bond at his purest, kicking off a series of movies that shows no sign of slowing down. --Jeff Shannon

You Only Live Twice: The film boasts the best of the Bond title songs (this one sung on a dreamy track by Nancy Sinatra), but the movie itself is one of the weaker ones of the Sean Connery phase of the 007 franchise. The story concerns an effort by the evil organization SPECTRE to start a world war, but the not-so-super villain behind the plot is the awfully civilized Donald Pleasence. The thin script is by Roald Dahl (shouldn't we have expected a better Bond nemesis from the creator of mad genius Willy Wonka?), and direction is by British veteran Lewis Gilbert (Alfie). But the movie can't hold a candle to Dr. No, From Russia with Love, or Goldfinger. --Tom Keogh

Octopussy: Roger Moore was nearing the end of his reign as James Bond when he made Octopussy, and he looks a little worn out. But the movie itself infuses some new blood into the old franchise, with a frisky pace and a pair of sturdy villains. Maud Adams--who'd also been in the Bond outing The Man with the Golden Gun--plays the improbably named Octopussy, while old smoothie Louis Jourdan is her crafty partner in crime. Two Bond films were actually released in 1983 within a few months of each other, as Octopussy was followed by Sean Connery's comeback in Never Say Never Again. The success of both pictures proved that there was still plenty of mileage left in the old license to kill, though Moore had one more workout--A View to a Kill--before hanging it up. And that title? The franchise had already used up the titles to Ian Fleming's novels, so Octopussy was taken from a lesser-known Fleming short story. -- Robert Horton

Tomorrow Never Dies: Pierce Brosnan returns for his second stint as James Bond (after GoldenEye), and he's doing it in high style with an invigorating cast of costars. It's only appropriate that a Bond film from 1997 would find Agent 007 pitted against a media mogul (Jonathan Pryce) who's going to start a global war (beginning with stolen nuclear missiles aimed at China) to create attention-grabbing headlines for his latest multimedia news channel. It's the information age run amok, and Bond must team up with a lovely and lethal agent from the Chinese External Security Force (played by Honk Kong action star Michelle Yeoh) to foil the madman's plot of global domination. Luckily for Bond, the villain's wife (Teri Hatcher) is one of his former lovers and 007 finds ample opportunity to exploit the connection. Armed with the usual array of gadgets (including a remote-controlled BMW), Brosnan settles into his role with acceptable flair, and the dynamic Yeoh provides a perfect balance to the sexism that once threatened to turn Bond into a politically incorrect anachronism. He's still Bond, to be sure, but he's saving the world with a bit more sophisticated finesse. --Jeff Shannon

Moonraker: This was the first James Bond adventure produced after the success of Star Wars, so it jumped on the sci-fi bandwagon by combining the suave appeal of Agent 007 (once again played by Roger Moore) with enough high-tech hardware and special effects to make Luke Skywalker want to join Her Majesty's Secret Service. This time Bond is up against a criminal industrialist named Drax (Michel Lonsdale) who wants to control the world from his orbiting space station. Bond thwarts this maniacal Neo-Hitler's scheme with the help of a beautiful, sleek-figured scientist (played by Lois Chiles with all the vitality of a department-store mannequin). Despite Moore's passive performance (which Pauline Kael described as "like an office manager who is turning into dead wood but hanging on to collect his pension"), Moonraker had no problem attracting an appreciative audience, and there are even a few renegade Bond-philes who consider it one of their favorites. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

The Ultimate Bond is the Ultimate.......2007-06-27

If you love James Bond movies, wait, even if you just plain like Bond movies, get this collection. The movies look great and it is fabulous to watch how the character of Bond and the movies themselves evolve. Great for a film class or just someone who wants a lot of fun action adventure movies around. Plus at Amazon prices, you can't go wrong.

wonderfully restored movies!.......2007-06-27

We bought this set after reading a lot of reviews that said how nice the movies looked (restored). We were pleasantly surprised that the restored movies exceeded our expectation. The movies are very clean and there are absolutely tons of extras on each DVD.

There are only 2 annoying things. 1) they don't come in chronological order. We just rearranged them, but then you can't quite see the entire title from inside the box. 2) the slim cases were cheaply made. For the price it seems like they should be a little more sturdy.

Because of the slim cases, they don't take up very much room (for 20 DVD's plus extras). We are very happy with the set.

007- Bond, James.......2007-06-26

Simply..........Amazing! I am glad I waited to collect the series...They are Bigger & Better than the original in all facets.....My only complaint if I were to have one, is that they are not in order. Besides that one flaw I am Super Happy with this Awesome James Bond Collection.......

Michael from Minneapolis

Picked up whole collection in one pack - great deal.......2007-06-14

Really good deal for the big time Bond fan.

The Ultimate For The 007 Fan.......2007-06-09

Anyone who grew up with or loves James Bond Movies will enjoy this fine collection of films. If you are a fan and you don't have all the movies but want them, this is the collection to purchase. The Box Set and Art Work on the case's is quality along with every single disk.

James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1 (The Man with the Golden Gun / Goldfinger / The World Is Not Enough / Diamonds Are Forever / The Living Daylights)

Average customer rating:

Fabulous Restoration Makes Bond Collection a Must!
James Bond Vol. 1
Thank goodness for these sets
Finally, sets that do the Bond legacy justice
I Was VERY Skeptical Of This Collection But...

James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1 (The Man with the Golden Gun / Goldfinger / The World Is Not Enough / Diamonds Are Forever / The Living Daylights)
Starring: Roger Moore , Christopher Lee , Britt Ekland , Maud Adams , and Hervé Villechaize
Director: Guy Hamilton , and Michael Apted
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Ultimate Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
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James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 2 (A View to a Kill / Thunderball / Die Another Day / The Spy Who Loved Me / Licence to Kill)
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 4 (Dr. No / You Only Live Twice / Octopussy / Tomorrow Never Dies / Moonraker)
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 3 (GoldenEye / Live and Let Die / For Your Eyes Only / From Russia With Love / On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
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Never Say Never Again

ASIN: B00000BLFI
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Description

Disc 1: *Goldfinger (1964) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Guy Hamilton Audio Commentary Featuring Cast and Crew

Disc 2: **Goldfinger Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Sean Connery From the Set of Goldfinger Screen Tests On Tour With the Aston Martin DB-5 Honor Blackman Open-Ended Interview 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Goldfinger The Making of Goldfinger The Goldfinger Phenomenon Original Publicity Featurette MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 3: *The World Is Not Enough (1999) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Michael Apted Audio Commentary Featuring Peter Lamont, David Arnold and Vic Armstrong

Disc 4: **The World Is Not Enough Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes and Alternate Angles With Introductions by Director Michael Apted Alternate Angle, Expanded Angle Scene: The Thames Boat Chase James Bond Down River - Original 1999 Featurette Creating an Icon: Making the Teaser Trailer Hong Kong Press Conference 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The World Is Not Enough The Making of The World Is Not Enough Bond Cocktail Tribute to Desmond Llewelyn Garbage 'The World Is Not Enough' Music Video The Secrets of 007 MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailer & Photo Gallery

Disc 5: *Diamonds Are Forever (1971) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Guy Hamilton and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 6: **Diamonds Are Forever Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes Sean Connery 1971: The BBC Interview Lesson # 007: Close Quarter Combat Deleted Footage - Oil Rig Attack Satellite & Explosions Test Reel Alternate & Expanded Angles 007 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Diamonds Are Forever Inside Diamonds Are Forever Cubby Broccoli - The Man Behind Bond MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 7: *The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) **The Man With The Golden Gun Bonus Disc Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Guy Hamilton and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 8: DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Roger Moore and HervÃ(c) Villechaize - The Russell Harty Show On Location With The Man With the Golden Gun Guy Hamilton: The Director Speaks Girls Fighting American Thrill Show Stunt Film The Road to Bond: Stunt Coordinator W.J. Millian Jr. 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Man With the Golden Gun Inside The Man With the Golden Gun An Original Documentary Double-O Stuntmen: A Look at the Greatest Stunts and Stunt Performers in the Bond Films MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 9: *The Living Daylights (1987) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 10: **The Living Daylights Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes With Introduction by John Glen Happy Anniversary, 007 Silver Anniversary Featurettes Timothy Dalton: The New James Bond/Vienna Press Conference Timothy Dalton: On Acting Dalton and d'Abo Interviews The Ice Chase Outtakes - Deleted Footage With Director John Glen Narration 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Living Daylights Inside The Living Daylights Ian Fleming: 007's Creator a-ha 'The Living Daylights' Music Video The Making of 'The Living Daylights' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous Restoration Makes Bond Collection a Must!.......2007-06-09

Although 'Deluxe' Bond editions have appeared, in recent years, the new 'frame-by-frame' restorations make "James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1" ESSENTIAL, if you are a fan of the 007 films!

The title selections may be head scratchers, but the pristine quality of each film offers a look and sound that is breathtaking!

"The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974), Roger Moore's second outing as 007, suffers from the decline into campiness that would plague many of his films; targeted by hit man Christopher Lee, Bond journeys to Asia to track him down, aided by annoying Britt Ekland and ridiculous redneck sheriff Clifton James. While Maud Adams is lovely, and Thailand, breathtaking, Hervé Villechaize is silly, and the attempt to incorporate the kung fu craze, while amusing, turns 007 into a joke. Add an awful theme song, and you have a major disappointment! (2 stars out of 5)

"Goldfinger" (1964), for many fans, the 'perfect' Bond film, kicked off the 60's worldwide 007 craze; piggy meglamaniac Gert Frobe plans to nuke Fort Knox, and it's up to 007 Sean Connery, at his sexiest, to stop him. Fabulous women (Honor Blackman and Shirley Eaton), a superhuman henchman (Harold Sakata), an unforgettable theme song (sung by Shirley Bassey), and spectacular action makes this one solid gold. (5 stars out of 5).

"The World Is Not Enough" (1999), Pierce Brosnan's third 007 outing, is, arguably, his best; assigned to protecting sexy oil heiress Sophie Marceau from terrorist Robert Carlyle, Bond discovers nothing is as it seems! Offering Judi Dench's finest performance as M, and more plot twists than usual, one can almost forgive buxom Denise Richards' one-note portrayal, and the series' decline into derivativeness. (4 stars out of 5).

"Diamonds Are Forever" (1971), best-known as Sean Connery's 'comeback' as 007 after a one-film hiatus (and his final Eon Bond film), the film marks the beginning of the 'comic' Bond films of the '70s. Villain Charles Gray, as a sly, droll Blofeld, launches a diamond-powered laser satellite to blackmail the world. Shot largely in Las Vegas, Connery is graying and paunchy, Jill St. John, sexy, but ditzy, and one-liners and brainless action dominates the plot. Funny, but quite a letdown from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". (3 1/2 stars out of 5)

"The Living Daylights" (1987), Timothy Dalton's debut as 007, is best remembered, today, as the film Pierce Brosnan would have starred in, had NBC not renewed "Remington Steele". The silliness of Moore's Bond is gone, as a more serious Dalton falls for cellist/would-be assassin (Maryam d'Abo), and uncovers an arms plot involving three villains (Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker, and Andreas Wisniewski). An Afghan/Soviet war subplot 'dates' the story, and the film, released in the same year as "Lethal Weapon" and "Batman", would not be a hit, but time has proven it to be a superior 007 outing. (4 stars out of 5).

Even if you've seen these films, I recommend this new collection; Bond films have never 'looked' better!

James Bond Vol. 1.......2007-05-19

The first James Bond movie that I saw was "Goldfinger". It was great. I wanted to see them all. Now I can with these great box sets. A lot of people don't like them because they're not in order. I like them that way. It gives you a good mixture. Let's get on to the reviews for all the movies in Vol. 1.

Goldfinger- This is the first James Bond movie that I saw. It is great. Sean Connery IS James Bond. If you've never seen a James Bond movie, watch this one first. 5 stars

Diamonds Are Forever- This one is great. It returns Sean Connery as James Bond. 5 stars

The Man with the Golden Gun- This one is pretty good. It stars Roger Moore as James Bond. I've always wanted to see this one. Now that I have, I am very happy. 5 stars

The Living Daylights- This has a weird title, but it is still good. It is the first James Bond movie with Timothy Dalton playing Bond. He is pretty good. 5 stars.

The World is Not Enough- This one is really good. I always like Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. He is excellent in his second to last movie as James Bond. 5 stars.

Overall, this recieves 5 stars.

Thank goodness for these sets.......2007-05-15

These four JB sets are the perfect way to get your Bond fix in enormous doses. The special features are great and the quality of the picture is unbeatable. My only small quibble is that the setup of the DVD menus is sort of obnoxious, but that seems to be the way of DVDs these days. If you are a Bond fan, or if you have a Bond fan in your home and want to give him an amazing gift (I did), these aren't to be missed.

Finally, sets that do the Bond legacy justice.......2007-03-31

James Bond Ultimate Collection.

INTRODUCTION:
When it comes to film franchises, very few measure up to Ian Fleming's legendary secret agent, James Bond. For decades this series has never failed to entertain. With girls, guns, gadgets, and everything in between, the series rarely fails to please. The franchise has been through many highs and lows in its several-decade history, and numerous collections of the films have been released over the years. In 2006, MGM released four Ultimate Collections.

OVERVIEW:
The James Bond Ultimate Collection consists of four box sets, each including ten discs - five films and a bonus disc for each. The boxes' content are as follows:
-Volume One (Gold): Goldfinger (1963), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), The World Is Not Enough (1999)
-Volume Two (Blue): Thunderball (1965), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), A View To A Kill (1985), Licence To Kill (1989), Die Another Day (2002)
-Volume Three (Red): From Russia With Love (1963), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Live and Let Die (1973), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Goldeneye (1995)
-Volume Four (Silver): Dr. No (1962), You Only Live Twice (1967), Moonraker (1979), Octopussy (1983), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Note that these are sets of the official EON productions films. As such, non-EON productions such as the David Niven/Peter Sellers version of Casino Royale and Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again are not included.

REVIEW:
I'm not going to go through and review each individual film (that's what the movies' individual Amazon pages are for), I'm just gonna focus on the box sets and their execution here. Here is a list of the pros and cons for every set.

-THE GOOD-
-ALL TWENTY FILMS READILY AVAILABLE ON DVD AGAIN. It's been a long time since we've been able to get the movies on DVD, and it's about time they got reissued. Finally, this shortage has reached its end.
-A QUICK AND EASY WAY TO COMPLETE YOUR BOND COLLECTION. You could hunt down each individual film, and spend a lot more money and do a lot more searching. Or you could just get these four sets. Much quicker and easier.
-A BONUS DISC OF MATERIAL FOR EVERY MOVIE! If you're a Bond fanatic, you're going to get a kick out of all the extra material MGM gives you in these sets. Deleted scenes, trailers, interviews with cast and crew, these bonus discs are pure gold for you if you're a Bond die hard like me.
-REMASTERED. VERY WELL. Normally I don't mention remastering of movies in my reviews, as it's usually a rather shoddy job that does little to improve the picture quality. NOT THIS TIME. MGM has given us the films with FRAME BY FRAME RESTORATION. If you thought earlier issues of Bond films on DVD had crappy picture quality, MGM redeems themselves here. This is, hands down, THE GREATEST FILM REMASTERING JOB I HAVE EVER SEEN. Even Dr. No, the first Bond film, has stunningly beautiful picture quality! My hat goes off to MGM here. This is reason alone to buy the sets, even if you own the older boxes.
-SUPERIOR TO THE OLD DVD BOXES OF THE SERIES. Everything they did, these sets do better. Picture, extras, you name it, this set does it better.

-THE BAD-
-STILL NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. This has been under hot debate from Bond fans as long as boxes of the films have been on the market. MGM clearly wants to make a few bucks. Let's face it, if all of the Connery films were in one set, everyone would buy that set and no others. Rather than getting the films in chronological order, we get uneven and scattershot mixes. For instance, the fourth box set features Dr. No and You Only Live Twice, two of the masterpieces of the series. But the set is dragged down by two of the major stinkers in the series, Moonraker and Octopussy. With every set it's this same "balancing act" phenomenon, with great films and weak ones alike. I must admit, a rather ingenious marketing strategy on MGM's part, but not what fans want (of course, you can do like I did and buy all the sets and make your own box and put them in order.) Fortunately, this is the ONLY major flaw of these sets.

OVERALL:
When it comes to the Bond films on DVD, "Nobody Does It Better" than MGM with these box sets. Beautiful picture and sound, extras galore, and all twenty films readily available again, there's no reason not to own these if you're a Bond fan. Even if you already have a few films on DVD or some of the older sets, these are still worth getting for the picture quality and bonus features alone.

EDITION NOTES:
These sets are all readily available. Any major DVD retailer should have them available.

I Was VERY Skeptical Of This Collection But..........2007-03-15

Before buying this collection, I was very skeptical. Being a long time James Bond fan, I invested plenty of money in the best VHS version of all these films. When DVD came out, I re-bought about half of the collection again. I must admit that the DVD releases of these films are some of the most disappointing DVDs in my collection.

My major complaints about the ORIGINAL DVD RELEASES were:
1.) Audio Mix -- The first release of the Bond DVDs featured only the original 2 channel audio mixes. The result was a disaster. The spoken dialog was BURIED under the soundtrack... resulting in me having to dive for the remote every five minutes. On top of the poor dialog / score mixing, the audio lacked definition and served as a constant distraction from watching the movie. There were no distinct lows, or distinct highs, just a lot of bland sounding audio.

2.) Picture Quality -- I suppose I couldn't complain too too much about this one. Given the age of many of these movies, I accepted the washed-out, often grainy image as nothing more than a symptom of the era the movie was made.

All in all, poor audio and poor picture makes for a pretty crappy experience. After having been disappointed by the first couple Bond DVDs I bought, I gave up on the collection. It was with this in mind that the announcement of the newly remastered series left me very skeptical.

The major criticism of this DVD set is that it is another ploy by MGM/UA to drain more money from every Bond fan's wallet. In the past, I had avoided these pathetic attempts at getting me to constantly upgrade versions of things I already owned.

However, let me tell you, this collection DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. The talk about the upgraded audio and video is NOT hype. Painstaking efforts were taken to re-scan the original prints of each film frame-by-frame. Once scanned, the image was digitally enhanced from the original prints. I was amazed at the richness and depth of color this process produced. During most parts, these movies look like they could have been filmed last year. Different color pigments are more noticeable, skin color and tone looks more lifelike, and the special effects look sharper. All in all, one couldn't ask for anything more from the picture quality of these versions. I have yet to a scene where I felt it could have been retouched better.

If the image quality isn't enough to make this collection worth buying, the new 5.1 DTS mixes seal the deal. Gone are the days of me fidgeting with volume during every other scene! The balance between dialog, ambient sounds, and score is perfect. I never would have imagined that movies made in the 60's and 70's could sound so good. Unlike the previous DVDs, these Ultimate Edition DVDs utilize my home theater to its maximum potential. Explosions rumble through my sub and the dialog comes clearly through my center channel; every word is audible. I own other DVDs from films made over the last couple of years that wish they could sound this good! Utilizing the DTS is a MUST!

Finally, while I consider myself fairly discriminating when it comes to audio and video clarity, I am by no means an audio or videophile. So, I don't think you need a $25,000 home theater setup to enjoy the enhancements these DVDs offer. I wrote this review based off of the following hardware:
32" Winbook 720p LCD HDTV
Up-converting Samsung DVD Player (connected via DVI)
Sony 7.1 (7x100w) Surround Receiver
Matching 5.1 MTX Surround Sound Speaker System

Hopefully, this will help clear up some confusion or doubt as to the value this collection offers.

Average customer rating:

Good film but not one of my favorites
Dalton's Debut Is Impressive

The Living Daylights
Starring: Timothy Dalton , Maryam d'Abo , Jeroen Krabbé , Joe Don Baker , and John Rhys-Davies
Director: John Glen (II)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000NDEXPM
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Amazon.com

Timothy Dalton made his 007 debut in the lean, mean mode of Sean Connery, doing away with the pun-filled camp of Roger Moore's final outings. This James Bond is ruthless, tough, and romantic. The Living Daylights, set during the thaw of the cold war, begins with the defection of Russian KGB General Koskov (Jeroen Krabb) and his revelation of a Soviet plot to eliminate Britain's secret agent force. Assigned to eliminate Koskov's Soviet boss (John Rhys-Davies), Bond uncovers a conspiracy involving Koskov and an American arms dealer (Joe Don Baker). Veteran series director John Glen's action scenes have never been better--especially the show-stopping mid-air battle on the net of a speeding cargo plane--and he returns the series to the smart, rough, high-energy adventures that made the Bond reputation. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Good film but not one of my favorites.......2007-06-14

Dalton did a great job in his short time as Bond. They didn't give him a lot to work with in this one, but he still did a good job.

Dalton's Debut Is Impressive.......2007-04-04

The first thing that struck me about this film is that Timothy Dalton could act and he took the part very seriously. I found THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS to be one of the better James Bond films. I think it is the best since ON HER MAJESTY's SECRET SERVICE. I really liked Timothy Dalton as James Bond, the James Bond he gave us in this film (THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS). He was not the hard edged civil servant but more of a thinking man's blunt instrument as he demonstrated his reluctance to get the job done "their" way as opposed to "his" way.

John Barry delivered his last 007 score and it is one of his best. I also enjoyed a-ha's rich and lyrical theme song played over Maurice Binder's main titles, which are very reflective. This was also the last Bond film made during the actual cold war. We see a much more intelligent British agent discern that the KGB is not made up of a bunch of hoodlums but instead it is actually headed by an equally intelligent counterpart to "M" and the like. The dark yet richly colored photography and locations bring back much of the feel of the earlier Bond films.

Timothy Dalton deserved to be around much longer as James Bond based on his work in this film.

Average customer rating:

The First Dalton Outing
Timothy Dalton brings back the danger in Bond...
strong contender for worst bond film
Dalton is James Bond genetically
A Different Side of Bond

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ASIN: B00004W9CB
Release Date: 2000-10-17

Amazon.com

Timothy Dalton made his 007 debut in the lean, mean mode of Sean Connery, doing away with the pun-filled camp of Roger Moore's final outings. He establishes his persona right from the gritty pre-credits sequence, in which he hangs from a speeding truck as it barrels down narrow cobblestone streets, battles an assassin mano a mano, and lands in the arms of a bikinied babe. This James Bond is ruthless, tough, and romantic. The Living Daylights, set during the thaw of the cold war, begins with the defection of Russian KGB General Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) and his revelation of a Soviet plot to eliminate Britain's secret agent force. Assigned to eliminate Koskov's Soviet boss (John Rhys-Davies, cutting a memorable figure in his brief appearance), Bond uncovers a conspiracy involving Koskov and an American arms dealer (Joe Don Baker). Maryam d'Abo makes a fine Bond girl as Koskov's beautiful cellist girlfriend, a classy innocent who soon loses her naive blush and shows her pluck. The villains are lackluster--Krabbé is a clown and Baker a blowhard--and Dalton hadn't yet mastered the delivery of the trademark quips, but it's a sleek script with a no-nonsense attitude. Veteran series director John Glen's action scenes have never been better--especially the show-stopping mid-air battle on the net of a speeding cargo plane--and he returns the series to the smart, rough, high-energy adventures that made the Bond reputation. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

The First Dalton Outing.......2007-06-17

My favorite bond in a fun movie. Heavy Euro and Middle Eastern scenes in fact none were set in America, which is a switch from the previous Bonds by Roger Moore. Good flck, although the villians are softer than previous and perhaps since. One of the vilians here appeared again in one of the later Bond movies with Pearce Brosnan. See if you can guess who!

Timothy Dalton brings back the danger in Bond..........2007-01-07

Timothy Dalton became the fourth actor to portray James Bond... Having replaced Roger Moore, Dalton's appearance on the scene inspired a sharp reversal of policy in the approach to Bond's films... Moore's comfort with witty lines, light comedic situations, and fantasy plots was replaced by a hard-edged reality and some violent episodes that were better suited to Dalton's more realistic approach to the character of 007...

Dalton has the perfect Bond qualities... He's good looking, athletic, commanding... He's believable as a British secret agent with a license to kill, who can bed any lady he wants... Dalton's debut in "The Living Daylights" is astonishing... His first close-up on the Rock of Gibraltar is riveting as he spies the death of a fellow agent... His arrival via parachute onto the yacht of a playgirl is equally perfect... There is no hesitation in his performance...

But unfortunately, the problem with "The Living Daylights" is its lack of strong villains... General Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) is too nice to be dangerous (he hugs practically everyone he meets), and Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker) is denied enough screen time to develop any true malice... He's a gunrunner who likes to play with army toys...

The only truly villainous character in the film is Necros, played effectively by Andreas Wisniewski... But he's not on-screen long enough to make any true impact, and even he has his sympathetic moments... The plot is another throwaway because just as you're starting to figure out why Koskov and Whitaker are partners, the plot switches to a big drug deal in Afghanistan...

Maryam D'Abo is the perfect mate--an elegant, well-mannered, soulful woman dedicated to her musical craft, who is drawn into the adventure of a lifetime...

Romance, a key element missing from many of the Roger Moore James Bond movies, is present in "The Living Daylights" in large doses as a definite on-screen chemistry develops between Bond and Milovy... It's helped, of course, by the fact that both characters spend a great deal of time together on-screen... Not since "Thunderball," "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," and "The Spy Who Loved Me" has Bond been given the special time to develop a believable relationship with a woman...

Desmond LLewellyn, who hadn't missed a Bond film since "Live and Let Die," returned as Q, this time supplying Bond with an updated Aston Martin V8 with 'optional extras fitted.'

Caroline Bliss, an actress who had come to prominence playing Lady Diana Spencer in ABC's 1982 drama "Charles and Diana: A Royal Love Story," stepped into Lois Maxwell's shoes as a younger, doe-eyed Miss Moneypenny...

strong contender for worst bond film.......2006-12-13

No wonder the franchise died out a bit in the 80s. This movie was absolutely horrible. It was literally painful to listen to the dialog in this movie; The actors could barely carry the terrible plot; all the class of a bond movie was replace with gaudy 80s pop culture. Overall, I was extremely disappointed with this film and had to immediately rewatch "From Russia with Love" as to not loose respect for the series.

Dalton is James Bond genetically.......2006-11-28

I love this movie, Dalton fits so well as 007, that's why hard core James Bond fans considered this one as their favorite. This is difinitely the dark side of James Bond. And of course the bond girl is very beautiful sometimes she looks like Nastassja Kinski from the movie Paris Texas. Accdg. to the novel James Bond drinks and smokes , and this one you often see James smoking and has a fine taste for wines. Thats why accdg. to Desmond Llewelyn(famous for the character Q) he felt that Timothy Dalton's performance was the closest to the way Bond was portrayed in the original novels. And the villains, was so cool, esp. the one who plays Necros(Andreas Wisniewski) his skills are equal to agent 007, he's a professional killer opposite to Bond, now James has to meet an enemy which is equal to him which is great, man their fight scenes on the airplane was so intense.

Overall its very realistic, romantic and has an excellent cinematography and I love the way James Bond shows his human emotion esp. when his comrade was killed by Necros.

A Different Side of Bond.......2006-08-21

"The Living Daylights" is actor Timothy Dalton's first outing as the British super spy. He replaced Roger Moore, whom I regretfully have never seen in a Bond film. Actually, I've only seen 3 Bond films prior to this one.
(Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and Diamonds are Forever). One thing most Bond fans agree on is that Sean Connery was the best James Bond.
I'd say that's accurate, but Dalton's approach to the character is far different from what we've previously seen. James Bond is, overall, an under developed character. He's a super-spy who loves martinis and women. In the films I've seen, James Bond is given no back story and shows little human emotion. Don't get me wrong, in this film there's no back-story either...But there is a little emotion. Anyway, the film has a great opening sequence; But, as usual, this sequence has little to do with the rest of the plot. It's merely used to get the audiences pumped for the rest of the story. The story involves Bond being hired as a sniper to protect a Russian officer named Georgi Koskov. Koskov is afraid that he is being targeted by a sniper; Bonds orders are to shoot any sniper he sees that poses a threat to Koskov. Well, Bond does see a sniper. Only the sniper is in the form a beautiful cellist named Kara (Maryam d'Abo, a really hot Bond girl). Making a last minute decision, Bond opts not to kill Kara and instead just wounds her. He then transports Koskov to a remote hiding spot. Koskov is then abducted from his hiding place and it's up to Bond to find him. As he does, with Kara's help of course, he uncovers a semi-complex weapons scheme. The plot is really nothing special, overall, but back to Dalton. In the previous Bond films, Bond usually woos a Bond girl and beds her. In this film, Bond seems to fall in love with her. Of course, there's no exchange of "I Love You" here; But the romance is a little different. The action sequences are good and the art direction is fantastic. It's nice to Bond in a normal place, like a fair. The scene where Bond and Kara have to escape from an Afghanistan prison is exciting. The film does have it's spot where it lags, but this is a worthy entry in the series. Hell, it's just nice to see a different side of James Bond. Another thing this film does is show a little more skin then you're used too. All the other Bond films use mere sexual innuendo; In this film, you actually side-nipple.

GRADE: B+

The Living Daylights - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition

Average customer rating:

Alright, hold on tight now. It's down, down to the wire!
A cool, calm, no nonsense Bond
2.5 stars for real
A New Bond with a New Style
Dalton's Debut Is Impressive

The Living Daylights - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition

Manufacturer: MGM/UA
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000LY4NP8

Product Description

2 Disc Collectors Edition

Customer Reviews:

Alright, hold on tight now. It's down, down to the wire!.......2007-04-24

The first of Dalton's double-bill as 007 is a merely above-average affair. The one thing that really stops TLD from being a better film is the fact that it's just too tame. This was the last Bond film to be given a PG rating as it was clear that they couldn't appeal to the family audience any longer. With a new Bond should have come a new approach. Yes, it does feel more modern and realistic but since the script was originally designed for Moore they missed a chance at taking advantage of Bond's dark side. Thankfully, they did exactly that in Licence to Kill.

Ian Fleming's story had Bond on a sniping mission, detailing every characteristic and moment of his assignment. Upon spotting the person he's been ordered to kill he discovers it's a beautiful woman and chooses to wound her instead of killing her. Wishing M to fire him for disobeying orders he comments that he must have 'scared the living daylights out of her'. The story ended on this note. The film expands this premise and has Bond escort a defecting Soviet agent from Russia only to disbelieve his story of a Russian General going berserk. Upon investigating further he discovers a plot involving the Mujhadeen and an American Arms dealer. Despite these complications and developments, there's just not enough killing! Without meaning to sound bloodthirsty, I just think that Bond should have laid waste to more bad guys. The script doesn't really give him a chance to. And, as a result, the film seems watered-down and too broad.

Director John Glen stages and frames the action very well, as always but it's John Barry's score (his last involvement with the series) that gives it that extra punch. The Bond theme, so incredibly worn-out and done-to-death, is given a new spin, a faster tempo and more modern feel. Despite being about nine when I first saw it, this is the first thing I realized. They ruined a lot of potential by not taking this renewing further and not giving us a tougher film.

Of Dalton's reign as 007, Licence to Kill is definitely the superior film, but don't rule-out Living Daylights. Average it may be, but still far from being anywhere near bad.

The new ultimate edition DVD features a gorgeous 2.35:1 anamorphic picture (this is SD DVD?) and a great Dolby/DTS 5.1 sound design. Extras are plentiful.

A cool, calm, no nonsense Bond.......2007-04-24

I've known the theme tune for ages now, and can even spot the intro now when the Aha video has been shown on TV, before "Living Daylights" comes up. Although the first time I heard it, I didn't think it was the lead singer from Aha, I thought it was David Bowie! Whoops.

My Dad always says the first Bond you see, is normally the one you like the best. So far, I've seen two Bond films both with Timothy Dalton. I do think I would like Sean Connery (he is Scottish, I have to say that!), but I have to say, out of the two films I've seen, I do like Timothy Dalton! He's the fourth actor to portray the suave Bond.

For a soppy romantic like myself, it's nice to see a little bit of romance in this, with Maryam d'Abo playing the cellist Kara. It's a very gradual relationship too, so that makes the difference too.

I took four years of history at school, but really it should have been renamed "Second World War Class", as I knew nothing about the Cold War, and has to be embarrassed into asking what it was, cos I feared I wouldn't understand the film.

The action scenes in this are absolutely top notch from the start to the end. There's a car chase, a chase down a mountain riding on a cello case, the rooftop chase in Morocco and the cargo net fight at the end of the film.

The only problem I have with Living Daylights is the bad guys. For me, they were instantly forgettable, and there was really no reason why they were doing what they were doing. Bad guys should light up the screen and be memorable. And Art Malik didn't have enough screen time in my opinion.

It's still only my second Bond film, and it looks like I have a lot of catching up to do with the amount of Bond films. But they do seem to have a very formulaic plot, which could end up being disappointing. But I do like Timothy Dalton though.

2.5 stars for real.......2007-04-01

I just watched this movie for the first time in ten years, or more. I hadn't remembered a thing about it, and so it was like I'd never seen it before. I was rather disappointed in it. Living Daylights is the first Bond movie after Roger Moore. While it is better without Moore than it would have been with him, it was still a lame action spy film. I don't think Timothy Dalton hurt the film any, but he wasn't as impressive in Living Daylights as he was in his subsequent Bond flick, License To Kill. He seemed like almost a non-entity. As I mentioned, it was better than having Roger Moore for yet another ho-hum performance.

In Living Daylights' opening action sequence, Bond is participating in a double 0 training exercise, when things go awry. Bond manages to bring death to the bad guy, and the action leads to the main part of the story. We are introduced to a new M, who is rather bland. We also get a new Miss Moneypenny, who has virtually no part at all, though she is a cutie. Bond's job is to help a Russian general escape to the West. He is also expected to kill a Russian sniper. Naturally, the sniper turns out to be a beautiful concert celloist, and Bond cannot bring himself to kill her, but not because of her beauty. He has a hunch that something is amiss. He gets the general out of the country, only to have the general "renabbed" by the Russians, and the hunt is on. Bond is then detailed with the double burden of finding the general and killing another Russian general, an act which Bond finds unnecessary.

The film starts out okay, and I thought I was on my way to a different experience, but it soon turns into another of the many disappointing Bond films made since Roger Moore took the helm. It's recycled junk. The same old tired scenes, the same flash, though less gimmicks. It was a bit more dramatic than it was comedy, as in the eight or so Moore films, but it just wasn't what it could have been. The only thing that saves this film is that Moore isn't in it.

A New Bond with a New Style.......2007-03-13

The mystery of how well the new Bond would replace Roger Moore in the fifteenth "official" Bond movie was over with "The Living Daylights." The style of the movie was set with the opening scenes, where three double-0 agents parachute onto Gibraltar as part of an infiltration exercise. Unfortunately, someone in the exercise is using real ammunition, not paint balls. Timothy Dalton shows that he is made of Bond material as he jumps onto an escaping jeep and fights with the bad guy as the jeep full of explosives catches fire, flies off a cliff, and explodes, with Bond having departed in a typically clever fashion but moments before the fireball erupts.

Timothy Dalton was a no-nonsense Bond in this movie. He eliminated the numerous one-liners that seemed to be a Roger Moore characteristic in favor of a leaner and meaner and much more spy-like Bond. In this first of two Bond movies Dalton had yet to achieve the presence and technique of either Sean Connery or Roger Moore, but he breathed new life into the series.

The plot bears some characteristics of "A View to a Kill" in that both films portray the Soviet Union as a friendlier nation beset with evil doers who would take advantage of the kinder, gentler, Soviet Union. This time the criminals are looking to do a novel sort of bait and switch, profiting by buying drugs from Afghanistan and selling them in the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, the money belongs to the Soviet Union.

Mixed into this plot is a Soviet defector, KGB General Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé). Bond's mission was to get Koskov out of East Germany and into Berlin. However, it appears that someone wants Koskov dead, as a beautiful assassin attempts to kill Koskov as he attempts to defect. Bond has a chance to kill Kara Milovy, well played by Maryam d'Abo, but he elects to shoot the gun from her hand instead.

The plot thickens during the debrief of Koskov. Koskov tells British agents that General Leonid Pushkin, played by always excellent actor John Rhys-Davies, is executing a program to eliminate Britain's secret agents. Unfortunately, KGB appears to retrieve Koskov from the English estate safe house and the British agents are unable to learn more. Bond turns to Kara Milovy. Bond leads Kara to believe he is going to get her out of the country to meet Koskov, her patron. However, Bond has yet to learn where Koskov is.

What follows is an action-packed movie that is nicely plotted and interesting to the end. There is an excellent battle scene in Afghanistan (filmed in Morocco), and an even better escape scene from Afghanistan. After all that action there remains one loose end to tie up, which Bond does nicely.

During the film we meet another excellent supporting actor, Art Malik as Kamran Shah, an Afghani chief. We also meet Joe Don Baker as self-centered Brad Whitaker. There is yet another version of Felix Leiter, this time a less than memorable version of Leiter. Caroline Bliss is a mediocre version of Miss Moneypenny.

The special effects were much more down-to-earth versus those in "A View to a Kill." The ubiquitous Aston-Martin returns with rockets, rocket boost, outriggers, and sundry other gadgets. There is a sliding glass door used as a weapon by an assassin. The same assassin also uses a headset as an assassination tool. This film also featured exploding milk bottles. The way Koskov escapes from East Germany is excellent for at least a couple of reasons, including the use of a Harrier vertical takeoff jet. In general the special effects were well done and believable.

There are a few moments where I noticed some scene glitches. It appeared that in the final scenes of the movie that there were places where the four-engine C-130 Bond was flying had two engines. In another scene in the plane Bond looks out the left window and we see fuel leaking from a tank. However, the bullet holes are on the opposite side of the tank from the window. Perhaps Bond also has x-ray eyes. In yet another scene Kara drives a jeep up the ramp of the C-130, which is impossible due to the configuration of the C-130's ramps. However, these minor errors can be forgiven as the quality of the rest of the movie is excellent.

This two-disk set includes a massive array of features, many of which are interesting, some of which are not. I tend to find these features valuable, but then again I have watched these movies many, many times.

Keeping with the trend of having current musical artists perform the title song, A-Ha sings "Living Daylights." A-Ha was popular in Europe at the time, and had a huge hit in the United States with "Take on Me."

Enjoy!

Dalton's Debut Is Impressive.......2007-01-05

The first thing that struck me about this film is that Timothy Dalton could act and he took the part very seriously. I found THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS to be one of the better James Bond films. I think it is the best since ON HER MAJESTY's SECRET SERVICE. I really liked Timothy Dalton as James Bond, the James Bond he gave us in this film (THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS). He was not the hard edged civil servant but more of a thinking man's blunt instrument as he demonstrated his reluctance to get the job done "their" way as opposed to "his" way.

John Barry delivered his last 007 score and it is one of his best. I also enjoyed a-ha's rich and lyrical theme song played over Maurice Binder's main titles, which are very reflective. The music video and the making of the video are on this DVD. This was also the last Bond film made during the actual cold war. We see a much more intelligent British agent discern that the KGB is not made up of a bunch of hoodlums but instead it is actually headed by an equally intelligent counterpart to "M" and the like. The dark yet richly colored photography and locations bring back much of the feel of the earlier Bond films.

Timothy Dalton deserved to be around much longer as James Bond based on his work in this film.

The extras are very good. They are well thought out and prepared. I like the re-design of the menu screens. The digital sound restoration is spectacular. The new digital sound restoration adds a new dimension to the film. The images are also much crisper, cleaner and vibrant. I also like the redesign of the cover graphics.

The James Bond Collection, Vol. 2 (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Good Set, but Wow $$$$
3 Repeats in This Series!!!
A great mix of Bond movies
Holy be-jesus...
JB Ultimate Edit... mi6.co.uk

The James Bond Collection, Vol. 2 (Special Edition)
Starring: Sean Connery
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The James Bond Collection, Vol. 1 (Special Edition)
Never Say Never Again
Thunderball
Casino Royale

ASIN: B0000BYRO7
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Amazon.com

Sean Connery casts a long shadow over the James Bond legacy. He created the movie persona and starred in six of the first seven features, all but establishing the cool cold warrior as the world's most suave secret agent. The second Bond collection celebrates the Connery Bond with three of his classics, including From Russia with Love, 007's second and perhaps finest outing. A blond, buff Robert Shaw plays Bond's most ruthless nemesis, and Lotte Lenya and the great Pedro Armindáriz costar in this sleek, high-energy trip through the Iron Curtain. Connery travels to the Far East in You Only Live Twice, which introduces the international criminal conspiracy SPECTRE and its cat-loving mastermind, Blofeld (Donald Pleasence). After a brief retirement, Connery returned for Diamonds Are Forever, his final "official" appearance in the Bond series (15 years later he played Bond for a rival studio's Never Say Never Again). This more tongue-in-cheek adventure takes 007 to Las Vegas, where he battles Blofeld (this time played by Charles Gray) and his minions--namely, a pair of fey, sardonic henchmen and a team of bikini-clad karate killers.

Roger Moore took over the role and his fourth effort was Moonraker, a misguided sci-fi entry that takes Bond to space for a physically impressive but dramatically lackluster adventure with Richard Kiel's steel-dentured Jaws. After that brief digression, For Your Eyes Only returned Bond to globetrotting high adventure and teamed him with his most endearing ally (Topol as a gregarious smuggler). The torch was passed to Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights, an attempt to clear away the camp elements of Moore's portrayal and return to a lean, hard-edged spy thriller for the post-cold war era. It lacks the larger-than-life characters and spectacle of previous Bond pictures, but Dalton was a tough, ruthless 007 and a worthy inheritor of the legacy, which was then passed on to Pierce Brosnan. In The World Is Not Enough, Bond takes on post-Soviet geopolitics, with Robert Carlyle as the villainous Renard and Sophie Marceau and Denise Richards as love objects.

Description

Includes From Russia with Love, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, The Living Daylights, and The World Is Not Enough.

Customer Reviews:

Good Set, but Wow $$$$.......2006-11-29

Let me start off by saying that this collection has some good points. Those good points are From Russia with Love, a great Sean Connery movie, For Your Eyes Only which a pretty good Roger Moore film, and (many may disagree with me on this one) my favorite Brosnan Bond, The World is Not Enough. The other films in this collection are ok, but I don't think there is any film in the Bond series that I really dislike. Now that being said, DON'T PURCHASE THIS SET. I don't know who the people are that are reviewing this with 5 stars and saying great low price, but I wonder if they are the ones trying to sell them. My problems with this set is the picture and sound quality. They are what you would expect on a movie from the era each film was produced. The older Connery Bond movies look like your watching them on 1960's film. The other problem I have with these sets are the prices. To purchase this set used will cost you about $170, the price new is over $200. There is no reason to pay that much for this set. I would recommend if you are looking for the Bond collection to purchase the Ultimate Editions (UEs). The movies have been restored so picture quality is great. The UEs are also set in 5.1 surround sound, and the special features are great. Also the price of the UE compared to this set is a lot better, when you consider that you can purchase all 4 of the UE for about the same price this Vol 2 will cost you. In sort if you want the Bond movies, buy the Ultimate Editions.

3 Repeats in This Series!!!.......2006-09-04

I just bought James Bond Collection, Vol. 2 for my brother and much to my surprise found that THREE of the titles were also in Vol. 1 of the series (which he has). What a rip-off! Paid over $100.00 for 3 new discs. Very disappointing.

A great mix of Bond movies.......2006-08-19

This is my favorite of the 3 Special Edition boxsets. For one thing, it's got 3 great Connery movies: "From Russia With Love" (007 tries to get a Russian decoding machine while surviving a SPECTRE trap); "You Only Live Twice" (007 in Japan must take on SPECTRE, which has been kidnapping spaceships to start war between the USSR and the USA); and "Diamonds Are Forever" (classic Connery 007, in Las Vegas tracking a diamond smuggling trail that leads to Blofeld). I find all those Connery ones entertaining, and YOLT and DAF are two of my personnal favorites, both very entertaining and with great settings. Next, there are two Roger Moore flicks: "Moonraker" (007 goes onto a space station to stop a madman from destroying the world); and "For Your Eyes Only" (007 must recover a stolen piece of technology). "Moonraker" is a bit silly, but I'll admit I find it to be entertaining and I enjoy it more than most Moore films. And "FYEO" is my favorite Moore film, the most hard edged and realistic. There's also a Timothy Dalton film, "The Living Daylights" (007 must stop a group of Soviet renegades from smuggling heroin). It's Dalton's first film, and he's my second favorite, next to Connery. Dalton's Bond is more dark and serious, yet "TLD" is still a good thriller. Finally, there's Pierce Brosnan's third outing, "The World Is Not Enough" (007 tries to stop a nuclear sub exploding and destroying much of the world's oil supply). "TWINE" is one of Brosnan's best, certainly better than his first two. Overall this boxset contains some of the lightest Bond movies, and some of the darkest, offering a good variety of styles and a good variety of Bonds.

Holy be-jesus..........2005-11-19

For all the positive reviews, am I the only one who noticed that the cheapest you can get one of this box set for amounts to over $25 a movie? Maybe its just because it the holiday season and due to the amount of shopping impressed upon me at this time of year, but it occurs to me that this is rather outrageous.

JB Ultimate Edit... mi6.co.uk.......2005-09-21

For any James Bond fan. If this superb collection of James Bond DVDs weren't enough for you; there is good news coming your way. SONY and MGM are planning to re-release all twenty(20) of the James Bond Movies to DVD in (what they're calling) The James Bond Ultimate Edition DVD Collection. Straight official article from mi6.co.uk Here is the link:

http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/dvd_ultimate_editions.php3?=&s=

These new Ultimate Edition DVDS are due in Q32006 coinciding with the release of Casino Royale (21st James Bond Film). These DVD releases are gonna be one of the top DVD projects of 2006!

Picture Quality? They are using Imagica Machines; which are ultra-sophisticated digital film-scanners. One frame every four seconds, which is how long it takes Imagica to scan across the frame 4,000 times. The Imagica they are using creates digital replicas of the frame consisting 4,000 horizontal lines of data. The process is called 4K scanning. It's gonna look sharper than ever; believe it.

Sound Quality? The Company Mi Casa has chosen the brand new Bryston SP 1.7 multichannel preamplifirer/processors for to use in the James Bond remastering project. Although you'll be able to switch back to the original traditional mono sound track if you desire.

Extra special features? Brand New Documentaries and new special bonus material; plus cast and crew intervies from the past 42 years. Including rare and previously seen footage from the productions. Also newly added, Roger Moore has just recorded his commentary tracks for his seven bond films.

I just can't wait. Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan (my favorite Bond) coming back to DVD in the best action spy adventures; the best collection yet.

So they're out next year in 2006. Probably October, with the release of Casino Royale who'll once again being directed by Martin Campbell (GoldenEye). Theatrical Release Date October 19th, 2006.

Average customer rating:

The Living Daylights [Region 2]
Starring: Timothy Dalton , Maryam d'Abo , Jeroen Krabbé , Joe Don Baker , and John Rhys-Davies
Director: John Glen (II)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Living Daylights
Moonraker
Never Say Never Again
The World Is Not Enough
Diamonds are Forever

ASIN: B000056IFF

Average customer rating:

The Living Daylights [Region 2]
Starring: Timothy Dalton , Maryam d'Abo , Jeroen Krabbé , Joe Don Baker , and John Rhys-Davies
Director: John Glen (II)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Living Daylights
Moonraker
Never Say Never Again
The World Is Not Enough
Diamonds are Forever

ASIN: B000056KQH

Average customer rating:

Dalton's Debut Is Impressive

The Living Daylights [Region 2]
Starring: Timothy Dalton , Maryam d'Abo , Jeroen Krabbé , Joe Don Baker , and John Rhys-Davies
Director: John Glen (II)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00005A418

Customer Reviews:

Dalton's Debut Is Impressive.......2007-01-05

The first thing that struck me about this film is that Timothy Dalton could act and he took the part very seriously. I found THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS to be one of the better James Bond films. I think it is the best since ON HER MAJESTY's SECRET SERVICE. I really liked Timothy Dalton as James Bond, the James Bond he gave us in this film (THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS). He was not the hard edged civil servant but more of a thinking man's blunt instrument as he demonstrated his reluctance to get the job done "their" way as opposed to "his" way.

John Barry delivered his last 007 score and it is one of his best. I also enjoyed a-ha's rich and lyrical theme song played over Maurice Binder's main titles, which are very reflective. The music video and the making of the video are on this DVD. This was also the last Bond film made during the actual cold war. We see a much more intelligent British agent discern that the KGB is not made up of a bunch of hoodlums but instead it is actually headed by an equally intelligent counterpart to "M" and the like. The dark yet richly colored photography and locations bring back much of the feel of the earlier Bond films.

Timothy Dalton deserved to be around much longer as James Bond based on his work in this film.

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