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- Living Daylights: Who Do You Trust?, The
Living Daylights: Who Do You Trust?, The
Updated
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1987
Original Running Time:
131 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
117 minutes
Time Cut:
14 minutes
Available in HD:
Additional Links:
Synopsis:
James Bond changed in the 1980s. With the retirement of Roger Moore and introduction of Timothy Dalton, we transition from action movie with-a-wink to spy thriller. Well... mostly.
Dalton, inspired by the novels, presents a colder, more cynical Bond. His approach to win the confidence of a beautiful woman behind the Cold War's Iron Curtain, reminds of Richard Burton's performance in the Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
Perhaps the filmmakers feared that changing Bond overnight from the suave, cheery gentleman to a cynical smoking alcoholic, would feel as jarring to the audience as dislocating your shoulder. Perhaps they were right to fill Dalton's first adventure with comedic moments. In hindsight, however, we know the audience responded just fine to the comparable transition from suave and jocular Pierce Brosnan to steely-eyed and cynical Daniel Craig.
Dalton, inspired by the novels, presents a colder, more cynical Bond. His approach to win the confidence of a beautiful woman behind the Cold War's Iron Curtain, reminds of Richard Burton's performance in the Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
Perhaps the filmmakers feared that changing Bond overnight from the suave, cheery gentleman to a cynical smoking alcoholic, would feel as jarring to the audience as dislocating your shoulder. Perhaps they were right to fill Dalton's first adventure with comedic moments. In hindsight, however, we know the audience responded just fine to the comparable transition from suave and jocular Pierce Brosnan to steely-eyed and cynical Daniel Craig.
Intention:
What if Timothy Dalton's first Bond adventure was a more complete break from Roger Moore's jokes? This edit tries to answer that. We keep the lies and manipulation. Keep the rough and gruff. Tighten the pacing. Ditch the romance (Bond charms the girl because she's a useful asset in the case, that's all). Cut the slapstick (the ghetto blaster felt like a left-over Moore-era joke). Cut the cello sledding (I can't picture Connery, Craig, or Lazenby's Bond doing that). Cut the caricature Felix Leiter. Cut the sappy happy ending.
Special Thanks:
LastSurvivor and Problem Eliminator for their many Bond edits that set a high bar to follow.
Release Information:
Digital
Special Features:
Surround
1080p
English subtitles
1080p
English subtitles
Cuts and Additions:
- Clean up Opening Title music card: erase 1 Pretenders song.
- Mute off-screen Bond tapping Moneypenny's behind, cut Moneypenny sighing after Bond.
- Cut real milkman.
- Trim Q Branch: cut ghetto blaster, cut turning couch.
- Bond and Kara in tram: micro-trims for pacing.
- Bond with cello in toilet: micro-trim to reduce comedy.
- Bond / Kara in her apt: micro-trims to long pauzes in dialog for pacing.
- Begin car chase: cut "must be atmospheric anomaly".
- Cut cello bobsled chase!
- Tangier: cut Leiter's rooftop lookout and yacht.
- Mute/cut 2x Where Has Everybody Gone around Prater Cafe, copy Living Daylights tune from Hercules plane scene in its place.
- Cut several Dabo's swooning one-liners.
- Cut shot of Moroccan harem during Bond's rooftop escape. No plot relevance.
- Cut officer inspecting the heart-transplant container.
- Add establishing shot of heart from previous scene when Kara opens the container.
- Trim Bond and Kara in Soviet jail to reduce comedy.
- Replace Bond line "save for harem" with "come".
- Small trims when Bond and Kara are with Mujahideen, for pacing.
- Bond carries bag to truck: cut Necros stops Bond.
- Cut Dabo rides away from Afghans.
- Trim Afghans attack Russian base.
- Bag out of airplane: trim 1 cycle of Barry theme for pacing, mute/cut Necros "please, no".
- Cut Leiter lookout in Tangier.
- Cut Leiter.
- Small trims when Bond faces Whitaker, for pacing.
- Edit closing concert: remove bullet-hole in cello (using photoshop).
- End on applause at Kara's concert: cut Gogol, Afghans, Bond. I love General Gogol, but his appearance here didn't strengthen the film. No armed Mujahideen in Vienna, no Bond and M fawning over a cellist. Just a happy ending where for once our spies were able to do something nice for someone.
- Remove "Gogol" and "Felix Leiter" from end credits.
- Replace end credits song w Aha instrumental TLD.
- Mute off-screen Bond tapping Moneypenny's behind, cut Moneypenny sighing after Bond.
- Cut real milkman.
- Trim Q Branch: cut ghetto blaster, cut turning couch.
- Bond and Kara in tram: micro-trims for pacing.
- Bond with cello in toilet: micro-trim to reduce comedy.
- Bond / Kara in her apt: micro-trims to long pauzes in dialog for pacing.
- Begin car chase: cut "must be atmospheric anomaly".
- Cut cello bobsled chase!
- Tangier: cut Leiter's rooftop lookout and yacht.
- Mute/cut 2x Where Has Everybody Gone around Prater Cafe, copy Living Daylights tune from Hercules plane scene in its place.
- Cut several Dabo's swooning one-liners.
- Cut shot of Moroccan harem during Bond's rooftop escape. No plot relevance.
- Cut officer inspecting the heart-transplant container.
- Add establishing shot of heart from previous scene when Kara opens the container.
- Trim Bond and Kara in Soviet jail to reduce comedy.
- Replace Bond line "save for harem" with "come".
- Small trims when Bond and Kara are with Mujahideen, for pacing.
- Bond carries bag to truck: cut Necros stops Bond.
- Cut Dabo rides away from Afghans.
- Trim Afghans attack Russian base.
- Bag out of airplane: trim 1 cycle of Barry theme for pacing, mute/cut Necros "please, no".
- Cut Leiter lookout in Tangier.
- Cut Leiter.
- Small trims when Bond faces Whitaker, for pacing.
- Edit closing concert: remove bullet-hole in cello (using photoshop).
- End on applause at Kara's concert: cut Gogol, Afghans, Bond. I love General Gogol, but his appearance here didn't strengthen the film. No armed Mujahideen in Vienna, no Bond and M fawning over a cellist. Just a happy ending where for once our spies were able to do something nice for someone.
- Remove "Gogol" and "Felix Leiter" from end credits.
- Replace end credits song w Aha instrumental TLD.
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1987
Original Running Time:
131 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
117 minutes
Time Cut:
14 minutes
Available in HD:
Additional Links:
Synopsis:
James Bond changed in the 1980s. With the retirement of Roger Moore and introduction of Timothy Dalton, we transition from action movie with-a-wink to spy thriller. Well... mostly.
Dalton, inspired by the novels, presents a colder, more cynical Bond. His approach to win the confidence of a beautiful woman behind the Cold War's Iron Curtain, reminds of Richard Burton's performance in the Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
Perhaps the filmmakers feared that changing Bond overnight from the suave, cheery gentleman to a cynical smoking alcoholic, would feel as jarring to the audience as dislocating your shoulder. Perhaps they were right to fill Dalton's first adventure with comedic moments. In hindsight, however, we know the audience responded just fine to the comparable transition from suave and jocular Pierce Brosnan to steely-eyed and cynical Daniel Craig.
Dalton, inspired by the novels, presents a colder, more cynical Bond. His approach to win the confidence of a beautiful woman behind the Cold War's Iron Curtain, reminds of Richard Burton's performance in the Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
Perhaps the filmmakers feared that changing Bond overnight from the suave, cheery gentleman to a cynical smoking alcoholic, would feel as jarring to the audience as dislocating your shoulder. Perhaps they were right to fill Dalton's first adventure with comedic moments. In hindsight, however, we know the audience responded just fine to the comparable transition from suave and jocular Pierce Brosnan to steely-eyed and cynical Daniel Craig.
Intention:
What if Timothy Dalton's first Bond adventure was a more complete break from Roger Moore's jokes? This edit tries to answer that. We keep the lies and manipulation. Keep the rough and gruff. Tighten the pacing. Ditch the romance (Bond charms the girl because she's a useful asset in the case, that's all). Cut the slapstick (the ghetto blaster felt like a left-over Moore-era joke). Cut the cello sledding (I can't picture Connery, Craig, or Lazenby's Bond doing that). Cut the caricature Felix Leiter. Cut the sappy happy ending.
Special Thanks:
LastSurvivor and Problem Eliminator for their many Bond edits that set a high bar to follow.
Release Information:
Digital
Special Features:
Surround
1080p
English subtitles
1080p
English subtitles
Cuts and Additions:
- Clean up Opening Title music card: erase 1 Pretenders song.
- Mute off-screen Bond tapping Moneypenny's behind, cut Moneypenny sighing after Bond.
- Cut real milkman.
- Trim Q Branch: cut ghetto blaster, cut turning couch.
- Bond and Kara in tram: micro-trims for pacing.
- Bond with cello in toilet: micro-trim to reduce comedy.
- Bond / Kara in her apt: micro-trims to long pauzes in dialog for pacing.
- Begin car chase: cut "must be atmospheric anomaly".
- Cut cello bobsled chase!
- Tangier: cut Leiter's rooftop lookout and yacht.
- Mute/cut 2x Where Has Everybody Gone around Prater Cafe, copy Living Daylights tune from Hercules plane scene in its place.
- Cut several Dabo's swooning one-liners.
- Cut shot of Moroccan harem during Bond's rooftop escape. No plot relevance.
- Cut officer inspecting the heart-transplant container.
- Add establishing shot of heart from previous scene when Kara opens the container.
- Trim Bond and Kara in Soviet jail to reduce comedy.
- Replace Bond line "save for harem" with "come".
- Small trims when Bond and Kara are with Mujahideen, for pacing.
- Bond carries bag to truck: cut Necros stops Bond.
- Cut Dabo rides away from Afghans.
- Trim Afghans attack Russian base.
- Bag out of airplane: trim 1 cycle of Barry theme for pacing, mute/cut Necros "please, no".
- Cut Leiter lookout in Tangier.
- Cut Leiter.
- Small trims when Bond faces Whitaker, for pacing.
- Edit closing concert: remove bullet-hole in cello (using photoshop).
- End on applause at Kara's concert: cut Gogol, Afghans, Bond. I love General Gogol, but his appearance here didn't strengthen the film. No armed Mujahideen in Vienna, no Bond and M fawning over a cellist. Just a happy ending where for once our spies were able to do something nice for someone.
- Remove "Gogol" and "Felix Leiter" from end credits.
- Replace end credits song w Aha instrumental TLD.
- Mute off-screen Bond tapping Moneypenny's behind, cut Moneypenny sighing after Bond.
- Cut real milkman.
- Trim Q Branch: cut ghetto blaster, cut turning couch.
- Bond and Kara in tram: micro-trims for pacing.
- Bond with cello in toilet: micro-trim to reduce comedy.
- Bond / Kara in her apt: micro-trims to long pauzes in dialog for pacing.
- Begin car chase: cut "must be atmospheric anomaly".
- Cut cello bobsled chase!
- Tangier: cut Leiter's rooftop lookout and yacht.
- Mute/cut 2x Where Has Everybody Gone around Prater Cafe, copy Living Daylights tune from Hercules plane scene in its place.
- Cut several Dabo's swooning one-liners.
- Cut shot of Moroccan harem during Bond's rooftop escape. No plot relevance.
- Cut officer inspecting the heart-transplant container.
- Add establishing shot of heart from previous scene when Kara opens the container.
- Trim Bond and Kara in Soviet jail to reduce comedy.
- Replace Bond line "save for harem" with "come".
- Small trims when Bond and Kara are with Mujahideen, for pacing.
- Bond carries bag to truck: cut Necros stops Bond.
- Cut Dabo rides away from Afghans.
- Trim Afghans attack Russian base.
- Bag out of airplane: trim 1 cycle of Barry theme for pacing, mute/cut Necros "please, no".
- Cut Leiter lookout in Tangier.
- Cut Leiter.
- Small trims when Bond faces Whitaker, for pacing.
- Edit closing concert: remove bullet-hole in cello (using photoshop).
- End on applause at Kara's concert: cut Gogol, Afghans, Bond. I love General Gogol, but his appearance here didn't strengthen the film. No armed Mujahideen in Vienna, no Bond and M fawning over a cellist. Just a happy ending where for once our spies were able to do something nice for someone.
- Remove "Gogol" and "Felix Leiter" from end credits.
- Replace end credits song w Aha instrumental TLD.
Cover art by lapis molari (DOWNLOAD HERE)
Trusted Reviewer reviews
2 reviews
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
The Living Daylights is an entry I've always had mixed feelings about. The good part is that Timothy Dalton is a really excellent Bond, for me second only to Connery, and the movie itself is interesting and entertaining enough during its first two thirds. The not so good part is that it contains too many Moore leftover traits, both villains are terribly weak (whose idea was it to play Koskov, a KGB general, as an used car salesman?), and the whole Mujahideen thing in the third act is a bit too Rambo III for my tastes. Oh well... guess they wanted to use what was making the headlines those days. A bit of a curate's egg, but one I still like to revisit from time to time because of Dalton.
And my next revisions are likely to be of this cut. It can only be tweaked to a point, of course, and still needs stronger villains, but I was happy to see most of the Moore-isms gone. I would have gone a bit further and removed Rosika's "distraction tactics" as well, but that's just personal preference. The rest of the changes were more than welcome, and I for once did not miss Felix at all. The fact that it was the worst Felix ever by far definitely helps the cause, of course.
There is, though, one bit that I didn't think worked too well (I almost feel bad pointing one perceived flaw in each and every Lapis' Bond edit - nothing personal, I swear!) and that'd be the ending. Finishing the movie with just Kara playing with no Bond in sight felt strange, almost surreal in fact, as in we are suddenly somewhere indeterminate with no real reference about what's going to become of her. Didn't feel like a Bond ending to me. In my opinion it needed to keep the dressing room scene. It may not be the best classic Bond ending, but it's still a classic Bond ending, and ending on Kara's concert is not. For my tastes, of course.
Editing itself is very well done, though there's a slightly iffy audio transition: at 1:09:58, when we cut from the rooftop chase to Pushkin's "corpse", the music change feels a bit unnatural. Probably not much of a way around it, though, and I don't certainly miss the harem bit. Otherwise the technical aspects are superb.
All in all, another very solid entry in the Lapis Molari Bond series, and another one I'll sooner rewatch than the original. Well done!
And my next revisions are likely to be of this cut. It can only be tweaked to a point, of course, and still needs stronger villains, but I was happy to see most of the Moore-isms gone. I would have gone a bit further and removed Rosika's "distraction tactics" as well, but that's just personal preference. The rest of the changes were more than welcome, and I for once did not miss Felix at all. The fact that it was the worst Felix ever by far definitely helps the cause, of course.
There is, though, one bit that I didn't think worked too well (I almost feel bad pointing one perceived flaw in each and every Lapis' Bond edit - nothing personal, I swear!) and that'd be the ending. Finishing the movie with just Kara playing with no Bond in sight felt strange, almost surreal in fact, as in we are suddenly somewhere indeterminate with no real reference about what's going to become of her. Didn't feel like a Bond ending to me. In my opinion it needed to keep the dressing room scene. It may not be the best classic Bond ending, but it's still a classic Bond ending, and ending on Kara's concert is not. For my tastes, of course.
Editing itself is very well done, though there's a slightly iffy audio transition: at 1:09:58, when we cut from the rooftop chase to Pushkin's "corpse", the music change feels a bit unnatural. Probably not much of a way around it, though, and I don't certainly miss the harem bit. Otherwise the technical aspects are superb.
All in all, another very solid entry in the Lapis Molari Bond series, and another one I'll sooner rewatch than the original. Well done!
Overall rating
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
7.0
Timothy Dalton is my favourite Bond (in my opinion definitely the best actor to play the character) and The Living Daylights is among the few films in the series that I consider to be objectively great. Perhaps it is no surprise then that I feel that this edit cuts away just a little too much and I find myself missing certain parts, including bits of Q’s lab (Moore-ish as they are); Necros’ original introduction; the conclusion of the snow chase and the full ending scene. I must commend the cutting around the notoriously sub-par appearance of Felix Leiter, something that has always bothered me especially considering his significance in the following film (with a different actor no less), but this leaves me wondering if somebody not familiar with the theatrical version might be confused as to how Bond deduces the scheme without this bit of exposition.
Still, I cannot think of another way around this and maybe it doesn’t matter, the film is still enjoyable and the actual cuts themselves are seamless whether it is the excision of a cringeworthy moment or the removal of an entire scene. It would not take the place of the original for personal viewing, but may work better for introducing somebody new to the story.
Still, I cannot think of another way around this and maybe it doesn’t matter, the film is still enjoyable and the actual cuts themselves are seamless whether it is the excision of a cringeworthy moment or the removal of an entire scene. It would not take the place of the original for personal viewing, but may work better for introducing somebody new to the story.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
User reviews
4 reviews
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
10.0(4)
Audio Editing
9.8(4)
Visual Editing
9.5(4)
Narrative
9.0(4)
Enjoyment
8.0(4)
(Updated: January 29, 2022)
Overall rating
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
8.0
Living Daylights was by far my least fave Bond movie, even taking Spectre into account. This edit let’s me swap their rankings for sure. However, it remains a dour entry for me.
Lapis has immeasurably improved this; no question. It flows well, the jokes are not missed, and frankly the cello removal is a gift, however what remains is a dour/sour performance which to me feels wooden too often. My enjoyment score is improved for sure in the original, and if Enjoyment category was Improvement, it would have been another 10…
Great work mind you and defo my go to version…
Thanks for making this!
Lapis has immeasurably improved this; no question. It flows well, the jokes are not missed, and frankly the cello removal is a gift, however what remains is a dour/sour performance which to me feels wooden too often. My enjoyment score is improved for sure in the original, and if Enjoyment category was Improvement, it would have been another 10…
Great work mind you and defo my go to version…
Thanks for making this!
Overall rating
9.9
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
7.0
The movie is dull and that's a fact. All the edits are excelent and help the narrative flow better. Silly stuff is gone and it's more of a spy film than before, like the books. It's better than the original, without a doubt, but the source material isn't just that great to start with.
This fanedit will also replace the original blu-ray in future viewings and 007 marathons.
Lapis Molari did a great job, and it's recommended!
p.s. Could the movie be shortened?
This fanedit will also replace the original blu-ray in future viewings and 007 marathons.
Lapis Molari did a great job, and it's recommended!
p.s. Could the movie be shortened?
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
7.0
Dalton although not quite marmite, is still a Bond that divides the fans. I think he would have a more regarded if he stayed till Goldeneye, but history played out differently. Anyway, I've always thought The Living Daylights was a massive improvement from the Moore films (especially the final few), but yet I also believe the Dalton films in general needed to be cut down quite a bit as they suffer from being too bloated and this is what this edit improves on. Much of the cheesy jokes that seem to have lingered on since the final Moore years are removed to further mark the change that this is a different Bond with a different style and I liked that. It feels as if Dalton is actually the real middle man to the Bronson years, but he shouldn't be simply be regarded as that since he carries off Bond's persona in a much more calculated way. He has the British charm that is neither Moore's early years or Bronson and he has holds that same British humour as a classic Connery.
As for the edit itself, I found that the pacing actually brought out both the narrative suspense and Dalton's Bond. The cuts are seamless and the audio is spot on. I thought the Necros fight scenes were quicker than usual and built the scene up, but I may be wrong. Whitaker's final scenes are definitely sped up. If I was going to watch a Dalton Bond film again then I would simply choose this edit over the original for the pacing in general. I also didn't think you could also make the introduction more of a jump scare than what it is, but you somehow managed it. Well done!
As for the edit itself, I found that the pacing actually brought out both the narrative suspense and Dalton's Bond. The cuts are seamless and the audio is spot on. I thought the Necros fight scenes were quicker than usual and built the scene up, but I may be wrong. Whitaker's final scenes are definitely sped up. If I was going to watch a Dalton Bond film again then I would simply choose this edit over the original for the pacing in general. I also didn't think you could also make the introduction more of a jump scare than what it is, but you somehow managed it. Well done!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
9.3
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Lapis gives us more Dalton to enjoy with this fine tweeking of a timeless Bond adventure. I remember recording this in the spring of 1998 and watching it endlessly, Dalton is a masterclass as Bond. Many of the movie's overly comedic gags and loony set pieces are cut for this, many to great effect. Some scenes go by smoothly with the cuts (like in Q branch, the jail, and Whitaker), others (like the trimming of the Cello sled and the rooftop chase), while not jarring, seem incomplete and take the audience familiar with the movie by surprise (rooftop chase in particular because there is very strong background music playing which, either due to a happy accident or to Lapis' credit, is drowned out before the scene ends by gunfire so it's not too noticeable)
Any faults I point out here are mostly due to maintaining a feeling of immersion and being overly familiar with the movie. You might find new audiences who are indifferent or dont' mind the changes, you might not even notice any, and if you can, then that's Lapis' job done. I do recommend this edit.
Any faults I point out here are mostly due to maintaining a feeling of immersion and being overly familiar with the movie. You might find new audiences who are indifferent or dont' mind the changes, you might not even notice any, and if you can, then that's Lapis' job done. I do recommend this edit.