Living Daylights: Recut, The

I liked Roger Moore a lot, but The Living Daylights has got to be the best Bond film since the 60s and Connery. (For Your Eyes Only is a legit contender though). I really loved this edit and, until I looked at the cut list, wasn't sure what was changed. I did remember the lame joke where the leader of the Mujahideen says "women" before chasing after. I am glad that was cut but i think it still needs a beat there. I know it is no longer a joke with "women!" as the punchline, but I think it still needs the same rhythm as if he said it. More like he thought "women" in his head and then gave in. That is a very small odd thing that stuck out to me in an otherwise perfect edit of one of the very best James Bond movies of all time.
It is especially cool how this cut of the movie feels so totally grounded in the real world all the way up until the gadget-laden car chase. Prior to that, this is the most realistic bond film in a while. Even the cello case sledding feels ok to me. It feels like something both Bond or Indiana Jones are famous for--improvising and being resourceful. This is still probably my overall favorite 007 movie, but I wish it could have kept that tone all the way through. The car chase feels like it was directed by someone else. It all felt so realistic and grounded before the flat tire cutting a hole in the ice and the other stuff. This is no criticism of this edit, but that there was still the traces of Moonraker and View To A Kill-style Bond present. And of course the film's truly insurmountable flaw--Joe Don Baker (Mitchell!) as the worst, least interesting or memorable Bond Villain ever. If only we'd had Sanchez as the arms dealer in this movie instead of License to Kill! But at least I found the plot really easy to follow in this edit. I remember thinking it was very convoluted after first seeing the original, but it was clear throughout this one.
An excellent edit, highly recommended! Dalton was 2nd only to Connery IMO and this is the movie, and edit, that exemplifies it

The Living Daylights is my second favorite Bond movie of all time. For Dalton's first movie, they knocked it out of the park with this one. The score is, in my opinion, John Barry's best, and the more serious tone shift clicked so well with me the first time I watched it. However, that's not to say there weren't issues I had with it. In particular, the humor. It stands out more in this than the Roger Moore era, and it simply does not work here. However, thanks to Problem Eliminator, he turned this movie from good to fantastic. The only moments that took me out of the film briefly were the removal of the Leiter scenes. That's not to say I wish they were kept in, I'm glad they were cut, but it was a little jarring. The most jarring one being Bond and Kara driving to Karachi and then it suddenly cutting to Bond in Tangier sneaking through Whittaker's place. Other than that, the edit was marvelous. I highly recommend anyone to check this out!

This convinced me that Dalton is one of the top 3 Bonds. An excellent film and I would highly recommend this edit. It really cut out some of the fluff and cheesy humor that can really make a bond film drag. Honestly, I couldn't really tell much was cut until I looked at the change log. Everything was seamless. Audio remained fantastic throughout. It jumps the characters around a bit when they get to the middle east, which is the only complaint I would have. Bravo Problem Eliminator. Thanks for your hard work and allowing this great recut to exist.

I enjoyed this a lot. I haven't actually seen the original but opted to watch this instead of the copy in my collection. This felt good and went down easy. I read through the changes after the movie, and while I typically like the Leiter character, it sounds like he was really unnecessary in the film, so happy he was cut. The rest of the changes made sense to me just reading them, and I appreciate the goal of the edit was to take a more serious tone.

The whole thing seemed pretty seamless to me from an editing standpoint. The visuals were great, colors looked good. My only technical gripes are lack of surround sound and subtitles, which I understand aren't exactly easy to deal with in terms of editing, especially given potential mixing of sources, etc.

I really appreciate the time taken on this edit and was happy to watch it as part of my bond marathon.

A very nice edit of one of my favourite Bond films. The cuts are very well placed and the flow of the film is much better than in the theatrical cut, in my opinion. It seems a lot more focused and also closer to Timothy Dalton's style regarding the use of humour eg. one-liners etc.

The only complaint I have - and it's a very minor one - is that the deletion of Felix Leiter makes the scene with the girls who take Bond for a ride seem a bit odd. However, this is clearly stated in the editor's comments regarding "changes". The way that particular scene plays out in the edit makes it look like it is simply a coincidence that these two girls show up and get Bond out of danger. But again, it is a minor complaint and I'd much rather have this somewhat strange short scene than any of that Felix Leiter nonsense. I guess it had to be done ;-)

Overall, I highly recommend this edit if you are a fan of Dalton's Bond.