The Living Daylights (1987)
Action, Adventure, Thriller • 2h 10m
Overview
After a defecting Russian general reveals a plot to assassinate foreign spies, James Bond is assigned a secret mission to dispatch the new head of the KGB to prevent an escalation of tensions between the Soviet Union and the West.
Director: John Glen
Cast: Timothy Dalton, Maryam D'Abo, Joe Don Baker, Art Malik, John Rhys-Davies, Jeroen Krabbé, Andreas Wisniewski, Thomas Wheatley, Desmond Llewelyn, Robert Brown, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, Caroline Bliss, John Terry, Virginia Hey, John Bowe, Julie T. Wallace, Belle Avery, Catherine Rabett, Dulice Liecier, Nadim Sawalha, Alan Talbot, Carl Rigg, Tony Cyrus, Michael Moor, Sumar Khan, Ken Sharrock, Peter Porteous, Antony Carrick, Frederick Warder, Glyn Baker, Scott Hoxby, Bill Weston, Richard Cubison, Heinz Winter, Leslie French, Mayte Sánchez, Barbara Broccoli, Robert Miranda, Paul Weston, Michael G. Wilson, Hanno Pöschl, Graham Cole
Director: Terence Young
WB 4K Blu-ray, despite prevalent frozen grain
Director: Terence Young
WB 4K Blu-ray, despite prevalent frozen grain
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Terence Young
WB 4K Blu-ray despite frozen grain
Director: Terence Young
WB 4K Blu-ray despite frozen grain
WB 4K Blu-ray despite some frozen grain
WB 4K Blu-ray despite some frozen grain
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Martin Campbell
Director: Martin Campbell
Director: Sam Mendes
Director: Sam Mendes
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
US Universal 4K Blu-ray (for original forced subtitles font)
IMAX sequences have not been released on home video to date
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
US Universal 4K Blu-ray (for original forced subtitles font)
IMAX sequences have not been released on home video to date
Directors: Val Guest & Ken Hughes & John Huston & Joseph McGrath & Robert Parrish
Directors: Val Guest & Ken Hughes & John Huston & Joseph McGrath & Robert Parrish
Director: John Woo
Director: John Woo
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray or Germany Plaion 4K Blu-ray - subtle difference in encoding to the Criterion in encoding, trading blows in different shots, with Plaion taking a slight edge with less highlight blocking
1993 MGM LaserDisc/2000 Region 1 MGM DVD
Criterion's 2.0 sounds muffled due to noise reduction and EQ.
Plaion's 2.0 lacks bass and has a very bright EQ, more resembling the 5.1 remix. Plaion’s 2.0 doesn't have any filtering unlike the Criterion, see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23831289&postcount=110
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray or Germany Plaion 4K Blu-ray - subtle difference in encoding to the Criterion in encoding, trading blows in different shots, with Plaion taking a slight edge with less highlight blocking
1993 MGM LaserDisc/2000 Region 1 MGM DVD
Criterion's 2.0 sounds muffled due to noise reduction and EQ.
Plaion's 2.0 lacks bass and has a very bright EQ, more resembling the 5.1 remix. Plaion’s 2.0 doesn't have any filtering unlike the Criterion, see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23831289&postcount=110
Director: Bob Clark
Director: Bob Clark
Director: John Badham
Director: John Badham
Director: Michael Curtiz
Director: Michael Curtiz
Director: Tod Browning
Director: Tod Browning
Director: Woody Allen
4k restoration not released
4k restoration, not sure about blurays https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/manhattan-trailer-woody-allen-4k-digital-print-diane-keaton-meryl-streep-1201785874/
Director: Woody Allen
4k restoration not released
4k restoration, not sure about blurays https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/manhattan-trailer-woody-allen-4k-digital-print-diane-keaton-meryl-streep-1201785874/
Director: John Huston
2023 WB 4K Blu-ray
2023 WB 4K Blu-ray
Director: John Huston
2023 WB 4K Blu-ray
2023 WB 4K Blu-ray
Director: John Sturges
Director: John Sturges
Edit History
11/25/2025
Format
Added
1080p Blu-ray
Added
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly Release
Added
MGM Blu-ray
Added
MGM Blu-ray
Best Video Release
Added
MGM Blu-ray despite Lowry master issues
Added
MGM Blu-ray despite Lowry master issues
Best Audio Release
Added
1992 MGM laserdisc
Added
1992 MGM laserdisc
Blu-ray.com
Added
https://www.blu-ray.com/The-Living-Daylights/19883/#Releases
Added
https://www.blu-ray.com/The-Living-Daylights/19883/#Releases
