Movies - The Living Daylights

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	Movies - The Living Daylights

The Living Daylights is the fifthteenth James Bond film made by EON Productions. It is the first of two portrayals for Timothy Dalton as the British Secret Service agent, Commander James Bond. Produced by Albert R. Broccoli, his stepson Michael G. Wilson, and his daughter Barbara Broccoli, it was released in 1987.

The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story "The Living Daylights," first published in The London Sunday Times colour section on February 4, 1962. The first American publication was in the June 1962 issue of Argosy under the title "Berlin Escape". In 1966 it was the second story to be added to the short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights, published two years after Fleming's death.

This was the last film to make use of an Ian Fleming story title until 2006's Casino Royale
.

Plot summary

In the prologue, three double-0 agents parachute onto Gibraltar to test its defences. One is captured almost immediately by the SAS, while James Bond and the other agent start scaling the cliffs to the base. As they ascend an assassin appears and sends a tag reading Smiert Spionom down the rope before cutting it, sending the second double-0 agent to his death. Bond witnesses the incident and gives chase to the assassin, ending in an explosives-laden Land Rover careening down Gibraltar's narrow roads and then into the air. Bond escapes with his reserve parachute while the assassin is killed when the Land Rover explodes in mid-air.

The early part of the film has much of the original short story's plot dealing with Bond assisting in the defection to the West of a devious KGB General, Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé), covering his intermission escape from a concert hall in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Bond notices that the sniper protecting Koskov is a beautiful cellist from the orchestra, Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo). Suspecting she is not an assassin, he shoots the rifle out of her hands, sparing her life, whilst facilitating Koskov's escape from the hall.

In England, General Koskov informs MI6 that the KGB is being run by power-hungry General Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies). According to Koskov, Pushkin has revived the old policy of Smert' Shpionam — literally, Death to Spies (SMERSH), a programme of Western spy assassinations — and as such Pushkin needs to be eliminated. This story is credible given the recent murder of Bond's partner in the Gibraltar training exercise. Shortly afterwards the KGB, led by the assassin Necros (Andreas Wisniewski), raids the safe-house where British Intelligence have Koskov and snatch him back East.

Bond leaves to kill General Pushkin. Q supplies him with a new Aston Martin and an electric key-finder able to both release stun gas or explode. Bond discovers that Kara Milovy is in fact General Koskov's girlfriend, and begins suspecting that Koskov's defection and recapture were staged. He returns to Bratislava, posing to Milovy as Koskov's friend; shortly afterwards the pair flee to Vienna, Austria, in the Aston Martin. They are pursued by KGB, but Bond and Milovy escape using the Aston Martin's weapons. Bond, however, is forced to destroy the car, whereupon he and Milovy sled down a snow-covered hill in the girl's cello case.

At the opera in Vienna Bond excuses himself from Milovy to meet his MI6 contact, Saunders, in a café. Saunders has investigated Koskov's story and discovered a tenuous link between him and a greedy arms dealer, "General" Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker). Later in the film, it is revealed that Whitaker was merely a self-styled general, as he had been expelled from West Point for cheating, and had never served as a military officer. The Stradivarius cello Milovy owns, though bought by Koskov, was funded by Brad Whitaker. Whitaker had arranged to supply the KGB with Western high-technology weapons through Koskov, and Koskov is attempting to deliver the down payment in diamonds. Pushkin is in fact investigating Koskov, and so Koskov wants him dead. Unable to use Necros as the Soviets are too familiar with him, which would only jeopardize their plans, Koskov intends to deal with Pushkin by having the British kill him. After Whitaker learns about Koskov's plan, he agrees to it but wants Necros to ensure that Pushkin is dead.

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Movies - The Living Daylights

Plot summary

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