Skyfall

Skyfall is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villain, with Judi Dench returning as M. Directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan, the film has Bond investigating a series of targeted data leaks and co-ordinated attacks on MI6 led by Raoul Silva. It sees the return of two recurring characters, Miss Moneypenny (played by Naomie Harris) and Q (played by Ben Whishaw), after an absence of two films. Ralph Fiennes, Bérénice Marlohe and Albert Finney are among the supporting cast.

Mendes was approached to direct after the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008. Development of the film was suspended throughout 2010 after Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which caused screenwriter Peter Morgan to leave the project. Production resumed in December 2010 after Purvis, Wade, and Logan were hired and a November 2012 release date was announced in January 2011. Principal photography began that November after the film's title was revealed and lasted until March 2012, with filming locations including London, Shanghai, Istanbul, and Scotland.

Skyfall premiered at the Royal Albert Hall on 23 October 2012, and was released theatrically in conventional and IMAX formats in the United Kingdom three days later and in the United States on 9 November, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962). Skyfall received praise for Mendes's direction, cast performances, action sequences, cinematography, and musical score. The film was nominated for five awards at the 85th Academy Awards, winning two, and received numerous other accolades. Skyfall grossed $1 billion worldwide, the fourteenth film to do so, and became the then-seventh-highest grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing James Bond film, the second-highest grossing film of 2012, and the then-highest grossing film released by Sony or MGM. The next film in the series, Spectre, was released in 2015.

Storyline[]

Plot[]

When James Bond's (Daniel Craig) latest assignment goes terribly wrong, it leads to a calamitous turn of events: Undercover agents around the world are exposed, and MI6 is attacked, forcing M (Judi Dench) to relocate the agency. With MI6 now compromised inside and out, M turns to the one man she can trust: Bond. Aided only by a field agent (Naomie Harris), Bond takes to the shadows and follows a trail to Silva (Javier Bardem), a man from M's past who wants to settle an old score.

Genres[]

Action
Spy
Adventure
Thriller
Mystery
Action Thriller

Motion Picture Rating[]

13 (Argentina)
M (Australia)
12 (Austria)
14 (Brazil)
14A (Canada) (Alberta/Manitoba)
PG (Canada) (British Columbia)
PG (Canada) (Ontario)
13+ (Canada, Violence)
12 (Czechia)
11 (Denmark)
PG-13 (Egypt) (self-applied)
K-16 (Finland) (original rating)
K-12 (Finland) (re-rating)
Tous publics (France)
12 (Germany)
IIB (Hong Kong)
16 (Hungary)
UA (India)
R (Indonesia) (self-applied)
12A (Ireland)
15 (Ireland) (Blu-ray rating)
12 (Ireland) (DVD rating)
ALL (Israel)
T (Italy)
G (Japan)
N-13 (Lithuania)
P13 (Malaysia)
B (Mexico)
12 (Netherlands)
M (New Zealand)
15 (Norway) (cinema rating)
14 (Peru)
PG-13 (Philippines)
12 (Poland) (self-applied)
M/12 (Portugal)
16+ (Russia)
PG (Singapore) (original rating)
PG13 (Singapore) (re-rating)
13 (South Africa)
15 (South Korea)
12 (Spain) (ICAA)
15 (Sweden) (original rating)
11 (Sweden) (re-rating)
12 (Switzerland) (canton of Geneva)
12 (Switzerland) (canton of Vaud)
6+ (Taiwan)
13 (Thailand)
13A (Turkey)
12A (UK)
12 (UK) (DVD rating)
PG-13 (USA)
PG-15 (United Arab Emirates) (self-applied)
C16 (Vietnam)

Images[]

Cast and Crew[]

Director[]

Marc Forster

Writing Credits[]

Neal Purvis (written by) &
Robert Wade (written by) and
John Logan (written by)
Ian Fleming (characters)

Cast[]

Daniel Craig - James Bond
Judi Dench - M
Javier Bardem - Silva
Ralph Fiennes - Gareth Mallory
Naomie Harris - Eve
Bérénice Marlohe - Sévérine (as Bérénice Lim Marlohe)
Albert Finney - Kincade
Ben Whishaw - Q
Rory Kinnear - Tanner
Ola Rapace - Patrice
Helen McCrory - Clair Dowar MP
Nicholas Woodeson - Doctor Hall
Bill Buckhurst - Ronson
Elize du Toit - Vanessa (M's Assistant)
Ian Bonar - MI6 Technician
Gordon Milne - M's Driver
Peter Basham - Vauxhall Bridge Police Guard
Ben Loyd-Holmes - Vauxhall Bridge Police Guard
Tonia Sotiropoulou - Bond's Lover
Wolf Blitzer - CNN News Anchor
David Gillies - MI6 Assessor
James Li - MI6 Assessor
Kenneth Hazeldine - MI6 Assessor (as Ken Hazeldine)
Orion Lee - Shanghai Barman
Dave Wong - Shanghai Art Collector
Tank Dong - Severine's Bodyguard
Roger Yuan - Severine's Bodyguard
Liang Yang - Severine's Bodyguard
Yennis Cheung - Floating Dragon Cashier
Chooye Bay - Floating Dragon Floor Manager
Sid Man - Floating Dragon Assistant Floor Manager
Angela Tran - Floating Dragon Barmaid
Milorad Kapor - Boat Captain
Huw Edwards - BBC News Anchor
Adebayo Bolaji - Boat Crew
Elia Lo Tauro - Boat Crew
Amir Boutrous - Boat Crew
Khan Bonfils - Boat Crew (as Kan Bonfils)
Nicholas Goh - Boat Crew
John Hodgkinson - Silva's Isolation Guard
Kurt Egyiawan - Q's Assistant
Oliver Johnstone - Q's Assistant
Harry Kershaw - Q's Assistant
Burt Caesar - Q's Assistant
Paul Venables - Inquiry Member
Crispin Letts - Inquiry Member
Kammy Darweish - Inquiry Member
Beatrice Curnew - Inquiry Member
Dominique Anne Jones - M's Inquiry Assistant (as Dominique Jones)
Ross Waiton - Whitehall Police Guard
Jim Conway - Whitehall Police Guard
Jens Hultén - Silva's Henchman
Michael Pink - Silva's Henchman
Jo Cameron Brown - Wife at Tube Station
Anthony O'Donnell - Husband at Tube Station
Hannah Stokely - Tube Driver
Wayne Gordon - Silva's Mercenary
Enoch Frost - Silva's Mercenary
Tom Wu - Silva's Mercenary
Jake Fairbrother - Silva's Mercenary
Christopher Sciueref - Silva's Mercenary (as Chris Sciueref)
Daniel Adegboyega - Silva's Mercenary
Selva Rasalingam - Silva's Mercenary
Joss Skottowe - Silva's Mercenary

Other Cast (in alphabetical order)[]

Fabio Abraham - Passenger (uncredited)
James Adkin - Whitehall Businessman (uncredited)
Bhanu Alley - Commuter (uncredited)
Sandy Ani-Adjei - Passenger (uncredited)
Mihai Arsene - Turkish Businessman (uncredited)
Claire Ashton - National Gallery Skirt Lady (uncredited)
Raj Awasti - Commuter (uncredited)
Eddie Bagayawa - Gambler (uncredited)
Richard Banks - Commuter (uncredited)
Steve Barnett - Casino Player / Train Passenger (uncredited)
Gintare Beinoraviciute - News Crew (uncredited)
Greg Bennett - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
Alon Bentley - Civilian (uncredited)
Harry Berry - Commuter (uncredited)
Paul Blackwell - Commuter (uncredited)
David Bulbeck - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
Luke Burnyeat - Commuter (uncredited)
Marvin Campbell - Silva's henchman dressed as policeman (uncredited)
Duncan Casey - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
Richard Clark - Theatre Manager (uncredited)
Bern Collaço - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
Trevor Comber - Paramedic (uncredited)
Leon Corbin - Tube Commuter (uncredited)
Tom Coulston - MI6 Executive Courtroom (uncredited)
Chris Cowlin - Commuter Pushed by Bond (uncredited)
Elliott Crossley - Underground commuter (uncredited)
Carol Cummings - Mourner (uncredited)
Graham Curry - Commuter (uncredited)
Philippe D'Imperio - Underground passer-by (uncredited)
Paul Davis - MI6 agent Steve Benelisha (uncredited)
Leigh Dent - Passenger (uncredited)
Simon DeSilva - Commuter (uncredited)
Michael Dickins - Passenger (uncredited)
Kriss Dillon - Commuter (uncredited)
Alexandra Doyle - White Hall Staff Member (uncredited)
Mehmet Edip - Armed Response Police Officer (uncredited)
Guinevere Edwards - Woman (uncredited)
Amber Elizabeth - Commuter (uncredited)
Dino Fazzani - Whitehall Worker (uncredited)
Joshua Ferdinand - London Commuter (uncredited)
Lynda Fisher - Pedestrian (uncredited)
Brandon Francis - Reporter (uncredited)
Duane Francis - Train passenger (uncredited)
Jake Francis - Chauffeur (uncredited)
Neve Gachev - London Commuter (uncredited)
Daniel Harland - Whitehall Commuter (uncredited)
Lee Nicholas Harris - Armed Police Officer (uncredited)
Lindy Hennessy - Commuter (uncredited)
Michael Hennessy - Commuter (uncredited)
Rebecca Hickey - London Commuter (uncredited)
Rob Ho - Airport Security (uncredited)
Tina Holland - London underground commuter (uncredited)
Luke Hope - Silvas Mercenary (uncredited)
Luke Howard - MI6 Agent / Mourner (uncredited)
Askin Ibik - Turkish Citizen (uncredited)
Craig Izzard - London Tourist (uncredited)
Phoenix James - Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Joanna Jeffrees - Whitehall Commuter (uncredited)
Jorge Leon - Police Officer (uncredited)
Chelsea Li - Casino Guest (uncredited)
Alan Low - Casino Martini Bar Guest (uncredited)
Shaun Lucas - London Tourist (uncredited)
Darren Lynch - Terrorist (uncredited)
David Malcolm - London Passerby (uncredited)
Demi Mann - MI6 Headquarter staff (uncredited)
Jarah Mariano - Girl with Gun - Title Sequence (uncredited)
Martyn Mayger - Commuter on Underground (uncredited)
Oliver Mayo - Firefighter (uncredited)
Katherine Elizabeth McLean - London Commuter (uncredited)
Vander McLeod - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
Duncan Meadows - Isolation Guard (uncredited)
Lisa Michalski - London Commuter (uncredited)
Eric Michels - Cocktail Party Guest (uncredited)
Mike Mitchell - Turkish Heavy (uncredited)
Sandeep Mohan - MI5 Agent (uncredited)
Mark Mottram - Silva's henchman dressed as policeman (uncredited)
Stuart Mulcaster - Car Driver (uncredited)
Benjayx Murphy - Whitehall and Tube Commuter (uncredited)
Shane Nolan - Police Officer (uncredited)
David Norfolk - Police Armed Response Officer (uncredited)
Martin Poole - Commuter (uncredited)
Michael Riedacher - Istanbul Fake Market Tourist (uncredited)
Peter Roy - Rear Admiral (uncredited)
Santi Scinelli - London Commuter (uncredited)
Raven Shanelle - Casino Guest (uncredited)
Vinita Sharma - Londoner (uncredited)
Mark Shrimpton - Police Officer (uncredited)
Weiwei Si - Shanghai Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Neil Alexander Smith - Underground Passenger (uncredited)
Clem So - Casino Guest (uncredited)
Glen Stanway - Police Officer (uncredited)
Senem Temiz - London Whitehall Commuter (uncredited)
David Thackeray - Commuter (uncredited)
Caroline Thornton - London Commuter (uncredited)
Glenn Webster - Car Driver / Businessman (uncredited)
Jayson Whiteley - Police Officer (uncredited)
Daniel Craig Williams - Tube Passenger (uncredited)
Dion Williams - Embedded MI6 Agent (uncredited)
Chris Wilson - Executive National Gallery (uncredited)
Gregg Wilson - Turkish bar patron (uncredited)
Michael G. Wilson - Pall Bearer (uncredited)

Producers[]

Barbara Broccoli (producer)
Chiu Wah Lee (line producer: Shanghai)
Callum McDougall (executive producer)
Andrew Noakes (co-producer)
David Pope (co-producer)
Gregg Wilson (associate producer)
Michael G. Wilson (producer)

Details[]

Country[]

UK
USA

Language[]

English

Release Dates[]

October 24, 2012 (Belgium)
October 24, 2012 (France)
October 24, 2012 (South Korea)
October 25, 2012 (United Arab Emirates)
October 25, 2012 (Azerbaijan)
October 25, 2012 (Bahrain)
October 25, 2012 (Czechia)
October 25, 2012 (Denmark)
October 25, 2012 (Egypt)
October 25, 2012 (Hungary)
October 25, 2012 (Israel)
October 25, 2012 (Iraq)
October 25, 2012 (Jordan)
October 25, 2012 (Kuwait)
October 25, 2012 (Kazakhstan)
October 25, 2012 (Lebanon)
October 25, 2012 (Oman)
October 25, 2012 (Portugal)
October 25, 2012 (Qatar)
October 25, 2012 (Russia)
October 25, 2012 (Slovakia)
October 26, 2012 (Bulgaria)
October 26, 2012 (Finland)
October 26, 2012 (UK)
October 26, 2012 (Ireland)
October 26, 2012 (Iceland)
October 26, 2012 (Malta)
October 26, 2012 (Norway)
October 26, 2012 (Poland)
October 26, 2012 (Palestinian Territories)
October 26, 2012 (Romania)
October 26, 2012 (Sweden)
October 27, 2012 (Switzerland) (French speaking region)
October 31, 2012 (Spain)
October 31, 2012 (Italy)
October 31, 2012 (Netherlands)
October 31, 2012 (Philippines)
October 31, 2012 (Serbia)
November 1, 2012 (Argentina)
November 1, 2012 (Austria)
November 1, 2012 (Bolivia)
November 1, 2012 (Brazil)
November 1, 2012 (Switzerland) (German speaking region)
November 1, 2012 (Chile)
November 1, 2012 (Colombia)
November 1, 2012 (Germany)
November 1, 2012 (Ecuador)
November 1, 2012 (Georgia)
November 1, 2012 (Greece)
November 1, 2012 (Hong Kong)
November 1, 2012 (Croatia)
November 1, 2012 (Indonesia)
November 1, 2012 (India)
November 1, 2012 (Lithuania)
November 1, 2012 (Mexico)
November 1, 2012 (Malaysia)
November 1, 2012 (Peru)
November 1, 2012 (Singapore)
November 1, 2012 (Slovenia)
November 1, 2012 (El Salvador)
November 1, 2012 (Thailand)
November 1, 2012 (Ukraine)
November 1, 2012 (Uruguay)
November 1, 2012 (Venezuela)
November 2, 2012 (Cameroon)
November 2, 2012 (Estonia)
November 2, 2012 (Ethiopia)
November 2, 2012 (Kenya)
November 2, 2012 (Latvia)
November 2, 2012 (Nigeria)
November 2, 2012 (Panama)
November 2, 2012 (Turkey)
November 2, 2012 (Taiwan)
November 2, 2012 (Vietnam)
November 5, 2012 (Armenia)
November 7, 2012 (Jamaica)
November 8, 2012 (USA) (IMAX version)
November 9, 2012 (Albania)
November 9, 2012 (Canada)
November 9, 2012 (Pakistan)
November 9, 2012 (USA)
November 15, 2012 (Cambodia)
November 22, 2012 (Australia)
November 22, 2012 (North Macedonia)
November 22, 2012 (New Zealand)
November 29, 2012 (Bangladesh)
November 30, 2012 (Bangladesh)
November 30, 2012 (South Africa)
December 1, 2012 (Japan)
December 6, 2012 (Dominican Republic)
January 21, 2013 (China)
July 12, 2015 (UK) (re-release)
September 26, 2021 (Switzerland) (Zurich Film Festival)

Home Media Release Dates[]

February 18, 2013 (UK) (DVD)
September 14, 2015 (UK) (Blu-ray)
March 23, 2020 (UK) (4K)

Also Known As[]

007: Operación Skyfall (Argentina)
Skyfall (Australia)
Skyfall (Austria)
Nebopad (Bosnia & Herzegovina) (Croatian title)
007 - Operação Skyfall (Brazil)
007 координати: Скайфол (Bulgaria) (Bulgarian title)
Skyfall (Canada) (French title)
Skyfall (Canada) (English title)
007: Operación Skyfall (Chile)
007：大破天幕杀机 (China) (Mandarin title)
Skyfall (Croatia)
Skyfall (Czechia)
Skyfall (Egypt) (English title)
007: Skyfall (Estonia)
007 Skyfall (Finland)
Skyfall (France)
Skaifoli (Georgia)
James Bond 007: Skyfall (Germany)
Skyfall (Greece)
Skyfall (Hungary)
Skyfall (India) (Hindi title)
Skyfall (India) (English title)
स्कायफॉल (India) (Hindi title) (transliterated title)
Skyfall (Indonesia) (English title)
Skyfall (Israel) (Hebrew title)
Skyfall (Italy)
007 - Skyfall (Italy) (alternative title)
Agente 007 - Skyfall (Italy) (alternative title)
007 スカイフォール (Japan) (Japanese title)
Operācija 'Skyfall' (Latvia)
Operacija Skyfall (Lithuania)
007: Operación Skyfall (Mexico)
Skyfall (Netherlands)
007: Operación Skyfall (Philippines) (English title)
Skyfall (Poland)
007: Skyfall (Portugal)
007: Coordonata Skyfall (Romania)
007: Координаты «Скайфолл» (Russia)
Skyfall (Serbia) (alternative title)
Скајфол (Serbia)
Skyfall (Singapore) (English title)
James Bond: Skyfall (Slovakia)
Skyfall (South Africa) (English title)
Skyfall (Spain)
Skyfall (Sweden)
007：空降危機 (Taiwan)
Skyfall (Thailand) (English title)
Skyfall (Turkey) (Turkish title)
007: Координати Скайфолл (Ukraine)
Bond 23 (UK) (working title)
Silver Bullet (UK) (original script title)
Skyfall (UK)
Skyfall (USA)
007: Operación Skyfall (Uruguay)
Skayfoll (Uzbekistan)
007: Operación Skyfall (Venezuela)
Tử Địa Skyfall (Vietnam)
Sky Fall (World-wide) (English title) (alternative title)
Skyfall: The IMAX Experience (World-wide) (English title) (IMAX version)

Production[]

Development[]

Development of Bond 23 began in 2009 but was suspended throughout 2010 because of MGM's financial troubles. Preproduction resumed following MGM's exit from bankruptcy on 21 December 2010, and in January 2011, the film was officially given a release date of 9 November 2012 by MGM and the Broccoli family, with production scheduled to start in late 2011. Subsequently, MGM and Sony Pictures announced that the UK release date would be brought forward to 26 October 2012, two weeks ahead of the US release date, which remained scheduled for 9 November 2012. The film's budget is estimated to have been between US$150 million and $200 million, compared to the $200 million spent on Quantum of Solace. Skyfall was part of year-long celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Dr. No and the Bond film series. According to producer Michael G. Wilson, a documentary crew was scheduled to follow production of the film to celebrate the anniversary.

Pre-production[]

After the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008, producer Barbara Broccoli commented that Skyfall, untitled at the time, may continue the plot of the Quantum organisation, introduced in Casino Royale and continued in Quantum of Solace.

In August 2011, the Serbian newspaper Blic stated that Bond 23 would be titled Carte Blanche and would be an adaptation of the recent continuation novel by Jeffery Deaver. On 30 August, Eon Productions officially denied any link between Bond 23 and Carte Blanche, stating that "the new film is not going to be called Carte Blanche and will have nothing to do with the Jeffery Deaver book". On 3 October 2011, fifteen domain names including jamesbond-skyfall.com and skyfallthefilm.com were reported to have been registered on behalf of MGM and Sony Pictures by Internet brand-protection service MarkMonitor. Skyfall was confirmed as the title at a press conference on 3 November 2011, during which co-producer Barbara Broccoli said that the title "has some emotional context which will be revealed in the film". The title refers to the name of Bond's childhood home, "Skyfall", and the setting for the film's finale.

Casting[]

The main cast was announced at a press conference held at the Corinthia Hotel in London on 3 November 2011, fifty years after Sean Connery had been announced as James Bond in the film Dr. No. Daniel Craig returned as James Bond for the third time, saying he felt lucky to have the chance. Mendes described Bond as experiencing a "combination of lassitude, boredom, depression [and] difficulty with what he's chosen to do for a living". Judi Dench returned as M for her seventh and final time. Over the course of the film, M's ability to run MI6 is called into question, culminating in a public inquiry into her running of the service.

Javier Bardem was cast as the principal villain, Raoul Silva, a cyberterrorist seeking revenge against those he holds responsible for betraying him. Bardem described Silva as "more than a villain", while Craig stated that Bond has a "very important relationship" to Silva. Mendes admitted that he had lobbied hard for Bardem to accept the part, and saw potential for the character to be recognised as one of the most memorable in the series. He wanted to create "something [the audience] may consider to have been absent from the Bond movies for a long time", and felt that Bardem was one of the few actors able to become "colourless" and exist as more than just a function of the plot. In preparing for the role, Bardem had the script translated into his native Spanish, which Mendes cited as a sign of his commitment. Bardem dyed his hair blond for the role, after brainstorming ideas for a distinct visual look with Mendes, which led some commentators to suggest a resemblance to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Bérénice Marlohe was cast as Séverine, saved from the Macau sex trade by Silva and now working as his representative. Marlohe described her character as being "glamorous and enigmatic", and that she drew inspiration from GoldenEye villain Xenia Onatopp (played by Famke Janssen).

Ralph Fiennes was cast as Gareth Mallory, a former lieutenant colonel in the British Army and now Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, which regulates MI6. At the end of the film, Mallory becomes the head of MI6, assuming the title of 'M'. During production, Fiennes stated that he could not say anything specific about the role other than that it was a "really interesting part which is really quite fun". Fiennes had previously been considered to play Bond during the casting of GoldenEye. Naomie Harris was cast as the returning character of Miss Moneypenny. Harris's role was initially presented as that of Eve, an MI6 field agent who works closely with Bond. Despite media speculation that Harris had been cast as Miss Moneypenny, this was not confirmed by anyone involved in production, with Harris herself dismissing claims that Eve was in fact Moneypenny. According to Harris, Eve "[believes] she is Bond's equal, but she is really his junior". Another returning character was Q, played by Ben Whishaw. Mendes had initially declined to confirm which part Whishaw would play, and later said the idea of the re-introduction was his, saying, "I offered ideas about Moneypenny, Q and a flamboyant villain and they said yes". To play the part of Kincade, Mendes cast Albert Finney. The producers briefly considered approaching Sean Connery to play the role in a nod to the 50th anniversary of the series, but decided not to as they felt Connery's presence would have been seen as stunt casting and might disengage the audience.

Crew[]

Mendes first signed on to direct the project shortly after Quantum of Solace was released, and remained as a consultant during the uncertainty surrounding MGM's financial situation. Mendes, who had previously worked with Craig on Road to Perdition, was approached after seeing Craig in A Steady Rain, meeting after a performance, where Craig broached the subject of directing a Bond film for the first time. He was at first hesitant, as the job had little appeal to him, but he did not reject the offer immediately because of Craig's involvement and enthusiasm; Mendes described Craig's casting and performance in Casino Royale as being what he felt the Bond franchise needed. He agreed to direct after meeting producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and seeing the early direction the film was going to take. Media speculation was that Mendes had commissioned rewrites of the script to "[remove] action scenes in favour of 'characterful performances'" with the hope of securing an Academy Award. Mendes denied this, saying that the action scenes were an important part of the film.

Roger Deakins signed on as cinematographer, having previously worked with Mendes on Jarhead and Revolutionary Road. Dennis Gassner returned as production designer, the costume designer was Jany Temime, Alexander Witt was director of the second unit, the stunt co-ordinator was Gary Powell and Chris Corbould supervised the special effects, while the visual effects supervisor was Steve Begg. All had worked on previous Bond films. Daniel Kleinman returned to design the title sequence after stepping aside to allow graphic design studio MK12 to create the Quantum of Solace sequence.

Writing[]

Peter Morgan was originally commissioned to write a script, but left the project when MGM filed for bankruptcy and production of the film stalled; despite his departure, Morgan later stated that the final script was based on his original idea, retaining what he described as its "big hook". Mendes denied this as "just not true", insisting that Morgan's approach had been discarded once he had agreed to direct. Robert Wade later said that "Neal and I were pretty steeped in Fleming. I think Peter was more interested in Le Carré. It just didn't work." Morgan cowrote the treatment Once Upon a Spy with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, which had M being blackmailed by a Russian oligarch, who would be a former KGB agent she had an affair with while stationed in West Berlin during the Cold War. The script would have ended with Bond being forced to kill M. Mendes disliked most of the script but asked to keep the ending with M's death.

Purvis and Wade then wrote a new script drawing from You Only Live Twice (1964) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1965), in which Bond is presumed dead after an accident and travels back to London to an uncertain MI6. The original screenplay would have more closely followed the literary series' story arc with Bond become an amnesiac and unknowingly impregnating his lover Lily in Turkey, who would have tracked him down to London after he returned to MI6. It would have featured Bond tracking down a Francisco Scaramanga-esque villain into the Andes Mountains, and would have had a "Heart of Darkness feel." The screenplay was delayed because of MGM's financial problems. At the end of 2010, Purvis and Wade completed a draft titled Nothing is Forever in which a villain called Raoul Sousa kills M with a bombing aboard the Barcelona Metro and leaves a bureaucrat named Mallender as the new M. They still disliked the third act, and so later revised it to include the ending in Scotland. The final script was rewritten by John Logan, who kept most of Purvis and Wade's basic story. Logan recounted being brought into the project by his long-time friend Mendes, describing the process between Mendes and the writers as "very collaborative", and that writing Skyfall was one of the best experiences he had had in scripting. British playwright Jez Butterworth also provided uncredited contributions.

Location scouting[]

In April 2011, Mendes and Broccoli travelled to South Africa for location scouting. With the film moving into pre-production in August, reports emerged that shooting would take place in India, with scenes to be shot in the Sarojini Nagar district of New Delhi and on railway lines between Goa and Ahmedabad. The production crew faced complications in securing permission to close sections of the Konkan Railway. Similar problems in obtaining filming permits were encountered by production crews for The Dark Knight Rises and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Permission was eventually granted to the Bond production crew; the production ultimately did not shoot in India.

Filming[]

Principal photography was scheduled to take up to 133 days, although actually took 128. It began on 7 November 2011 in London, with Deakins using Arri Alexa digital cameras to shoot the entire film. It was the first Bond film to be shot digitally. Scenes were shot in London Underground stations, Smithfield car park in West Smithfield, the National Gallery, Southwark, Whitehall, Parliament Square, Charing Cross station, the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, Cadogan Square and Tower Hill. St Bartholomew's Hospital was used for the scene in which Bond enters MI6's underground headquarters, while the Old Vic Tunnels underneath Waterloo Station served as the MI6 training grounds. The meeting between Q and Bond was filmed when the National Gallery was closed at night. The Department of Energy and Climate Change offices were used for the scene near the end, when Bond stands on the roof. Vauxhall Bridge and Millbank were closed to traffic for filming the explosion at the MI6 headquarters at Vauxhall Cross. Unlike for The World Is Not Enough, which featured an explosion at the building filmed at a large-scale replica, this explosion was added digitally during post-production. The finale was planned for Duntrune Castle in Argyll, but shortly after filming began the location was changed to Glencoe. Although supposedly in Scotland, Bond's family home was constructed on Hankley Common in Surrey using a plywood and plaster full-scale model of the building.

Production moved to Turkey in March 2012, with filming continuing until 6 May. Adana stands in for the outskirts of Istanbul. Some Turkish teenagers infiltrated a closed set in railway sidings in Adana, during film rehearsals of the fight on top of a train, before they were caught by security. The train scene depicted in trailers showed the Varda Viaduct outside Adana, during which Bond stunt double Andy Lister dived backwards off the 300-foot (91 m) drop, with a crane on a train carriage holding a safety line. Parts of Istanbul—including the Spice Bazaar, Yeni Camii, the Grand Post Office, Sultanahmet Square and the Grand Bazaar—were closed for filming in April. Affected store owners were reportedly allowed to open their shops, but not allowed to conduct business, instead being paid TRY₺750 ($418) per day as compensation. Production was criticised for allegedly damaging buildings while filming a motorcycle chase across rooftops. Wilson denied this, pointing out that the crew had removed sections of rooftop before filming, and replaced them with temporary replicas. The production team negotiated with 613 part-owners of Calis Beach in Fethiye to film along the coastline.

Mendes confirmed that China would feature in the film, with shooting scheduled for Shanghai and "other parts" of the country. Logan asserted that they deliberately sought locations that were "in opposition" to London, with an exotic quality as "places for Bond to be uncomfortable". Scenes with the principal actors were not filmed on location in Shanghai, but in the UK. The Virgin Active pool in London's Canary Wharf acted as Bond's hotel pool, Ascot Racecourse stood in for Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and London's Broadgate Tower was used as the entrance and lobby of the Shanghai office building. The Golden Dragon casino in Macau was constructed on a sound stage at Pinewood Studios, with 300 floating lanterns and two 30-foot-high dragon heads lighting the set. The production received permission to shoot second unit aerial footage of Shanghai from a helicopter loaned by the Chinese government. The first official image from the film was released on 1 February 2012, showing Craig on set at Pinewood within a recreation of a Shanghai skyscraper.

The lair of villain Silva was inspired by Hashima, an abandoned island off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan. In the film, the fictionalized island is located near Macau. Mendes explained that the sequence was created with a combination of large sets of the city streets and computer-generated establishing shots. The Hashima setting was included after Craig met with Swedish film-maker Thomas Nordanstad while shooting The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Stockholm. Nordanstad, who produced a short 2002 documentary on the island entitled Hashima, recalled Craig taking extensive notes during the meeting, but was unaware of his interest in it until Skyfall was released.

The film was later converted into the IMAX format for projection in IMAX cinemas. Deakins was unaware that the film was to be released on IMAX until after he had made the decision to shoot the film with the Arri Alexa cameras, and was unhappy with the IMAX tests made from his footage as the colours "didn't look great". After exploring the IMAX system further and discovering that the IMAX Corporation was using their proprietary re-mastering process, Deakins had further tests made without the process and found that "the images looked spectacular on the big IMAX screen", quelling his doubts about the format.

Music[]

Thomas Newman, who had previously worked with Mendes as composer for American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead and Revolutionary Road, replaced David Arnold as composer, becoming the ninth composer in the series' history. When asked about the circumstances surrounding his departure from the role, David Arnold commented that Newman had been selected by Mendes because of their work together, rather than because of Arnold's commitment to working with director Danny Boyle as composer for the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The soundtrack album was released on 29 October 2012 in the United Kingdom and on 6 November 2012 in the United States.

In October 2012 British singer-songwriter Adele confirmed that she had written and recorded the film's theme song with her regular songwriter, Paul Epworth. She later posted the cover for the "Skyfall" sheet music on Twitter, crediting the songwriting to herself and Epworth, with arrangements to both Epworth and orchestrator J. A. C. Redford. The song was released online at 0:07 am BST on 5 October 2012, a day dubbed "James Bond Day" by the producers as it marked 50 years to the day of the release of Dr. No.

The song was nominated for and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was the first time a Bond song had won, and the fourth time one had been nominated. "Skyfall" also won the Brit Award for Best British Single at the 2013 BRIT Awards.

The film also features Charles Trenet's 1938 song "Boum !" during scenes in which Silva shows Bond around his abandoned island, and The Animals' 1964 cover of John Lee Hooker's song, "Boom Boom" when Silva assaults Skyfall in the film's finale.

Release and reception[]

The premiere of Skyfall was on 23 October 2012 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The event was attended by Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Charles asked that money raised at the premiere be donated to charities that served former or serving members of the British intelligence agencies. The film was released in the UK three days later on 26 October and into US cinemas on 8 November. Skyfall was the first Bond film to be screened in IMAX venues and was released into IMAX cinemas in North America a day earlier than the conventional cinema release.

Skyfall attracted some criticism from the US Sexual Violence Resource Center which, without having screened the film, expressed concern that Bond "abuses his power and authority" in a scene that suggests Bond initiates sexual intercourse with Sévérine, a former victim of sex trafficking.

Box office[]

Skyfall earned $1.109 billion worldwide, and at the time of its release was the highest-grossing film worldwide for Sony Pictures and the second-highest-grossing film of 2012. On its opening weekend, it earned $80.6 million from 25 markets. In the UK the film grossed £20.1 million on its opening weekend, making it the second-highest Friday-to-Sunday debut ever behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. It also achieved the second-highest IMAX debut ever behind The Dark Knight Rises. The film set a record for the highest seven-day gross with £37.2 million, surpassing previous record holder Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (£35.7 million). By 9 November 2012 the film had earned over £57 million to surpass The Dark Knight Rises as the highest-grossing film of 2012, and the highest-grossing James Bond film of all time in the UK. After 40 days of release the total UK gross stood at £94.28 million, making Skyfall the highest-grossing film in the UK, surpassing the £94.03 million of Avatar. By 30 December 2012, it had become the first film to gross more than £100 million ($161.6 million) in the UK. Skyfall's box office receipts made it only the 14th film and first Bond film to gross over $1 billion, the seventh-highest-grossing film ever made at the time, pushing it past the inflation-adjusted amount of $1.047 billion earned by Thunderball.

Skyfall set an opening weekend record in Switzerland ($5.3 million) and recorded the second-largest opening weekend of the year for a Hollywood film in India after The Amazing Spider-Man ($5.1 million), as well as grossing $14.3 million on its opening weekend in France. In Austria, it achieved the second-highest opening weekend ever ($3.4 million) behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, while in Finland, it scored the largest opening weekend when excluding previews ($1.47 million).

In North America, the film opened in 3,505 cinemas, the widest opening for a Bond film. The film earned $2.4 million from midnight showings on its opening day and a further $2.2 million from IMAX and large-format cinemas. Skyfall went on to gross $30.8 million on its opening day in the US and Canada, and $88.4 million in its opening weekend, the biggest debut yet for a Bond film. By the end of its theatrical run, the film earned $304.4 million in the United States and Canada, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2012 in these regions.

Critical response[]

Skyfall received "generally positive reviews from critics and fans", according to the GlobalPost. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 92% based on 384 reviews, with an average rating of 8.20/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Sam Mendes brings Bond surging back with a smart, sexy, riveting action thriller that qualifies as one of the best 007 films to date." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade filmgoers gave the film was an "A" on an A+ to F scale.

A number of critics, including Kate Muir, reviewing for The Times, Philip French, writing in The Observer, IGN's Daniel Krupa and the reviewers for the Irish Independent and the Daily Record, all asked whether Skyfall was the best Bond film. The Daily Telegraph's film reviewer, Robbie Collin, considered Skyfall to be "often dazzling, always audacious", with excellent action sequences in a film that contained humour and emotion. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter thought that Skyfall was "dramatically gripping while still brandishing a droll undercurrent of humor", going on to say that it was a film that had "some weight and complexity to it". Variety's Peter DeBruge suggested that the film's greatest strength lay in its willingness to put as much focus on characterisation as it did action set-pieces, allowing the two to co-exist rather than compete for the audience's attention, while Manohla Dargis, reviewing for The New York Times, considered Skyfall to be "a superior follow-up to Casino Royale" which is "opulent rather than outlandish and insistently, progressively low-key".

Kim Newman, reviewing the film for Empire, concluded, "Skyfall is pretty much all you could want from a 21st Century Bond: cool but not camp, respectful of tradition but up to the moment, serious in its thrills and relatively complex in its characters but with the sense of fun that hasn't always been evident lately". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, describing it as "a full-blooded, joyous, intelligent celebration of a beloved cultural icon". Reviewing for the New Statesman, Ryan Gilbey saw that "nostalgia permeates the movie", going on to say that "sometimes the old ways are the best".

A number of reviewers praised Daniel Craig's lead performance. Roger Ebert believed that in Skyfall, "Daniel Craig [takes] full possession of a role he earlier played well in 'Casino Royale,' not so well in 'Quantum'"; Philip French commented that "Craig manages to get out of the shadow of [Sean] Connery"; while Daniel Krupa thought Craig's Bond was a "defining performance" for "a great actor". Edward Porter, writing in The Sunday Times, considered that "Craig has developed an authoritative Bond persona, dry and intelligent". Ryan Gilbey thought Craig had "relaxed into Bond without losing any steeliness".

The supporting cast also received praise. Roger Ebert reflected that Skyfall "at last provides a role worthy of Judi Dench, one of the best actors of her generation. She is all but the co-star of the film, with a lot of screen time, poignant dialogue, and a character who is far more complex and sympathetic than we expect in this series". Jenny McCartney, writing in The Sunday Telegraph, agreed, describing Dench as "compellingly luminous" in the film, and the one that "the camera caresses most meaningfully and often". McCartney thought Javier Bardem played Silva "with worrisome élan", while Henry K Miller considered his character "the most authentically Bondian Bond villain in decades". A number of critics noted the strength of the supporting cast; Kim Newman found the "warmth and gravitas" of Finney's performance noteworthy, while other reviewers, including Edward Porter, Daniel Krupa and The Playlist's Oliver Lyttelton, singled out Ralph Fiennes as Mallory and Ben Whishaw as Q.

Ann Hornaday, writing for The Washington Post, thought Sam Mendes had reinvigorated the series, with Skyfall being "sleek, crisp, classy ... exhibiting just the right proportion of respect for legacy and embrace of novelty". Henry K. Miller of Sight & Sound agreed, and praised Mendes, who he thought was worthy of directing more Bond films. Kim Newman also praised Mendes's direction of the action sequences. The work of cinematographer Roger Deakins also received praise: Newman commented that he "delivers the most impressive visuals this series has had since the 1960s", and Miller described the film as "dazzlingly photographed".

The film did not escape criticism, with reviews pointing to its two and a half-hour running time, and the final third of the film being "protracted", and not matching the first two thirds in its momentum as the underlying flaws in the film. Xan Brooks of The Guardian, in an otherwise positive review, criticised the "touchy-feely indulgence" of "the bold decision to open Bond up – to probe at the character's back-story and raise a toast to his relationship with M". Daniel Krupa also singled out Naomie Harris as "awkward" and having "virtually non-existent chemistry" with Craig. Similarly Philip French in The Observer tempered his praise for the film by highlighting "some lazy repetition" and argued, "the badinage is often perfunctory and Bond is as usual captured too easily and too easily escapes". Edward Porter, writing in The Sunday Times, considered that while aspects of the film were "achieved with wit and panache", he found that the climax to the film was slightly disappointing, although the "weaknesses in the final stages are not serious, however, and the film's brief epilogue is wonderful".

Home media[]

Skyfall was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital HD in the US and Canada on 12 February 2013, and in the UK on 18 February 2013.

It was later released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on 22 October 2019 along with the other three Daniel Craig Bond movies in a 4K boxset, with this release itself being released standalone 25 February 2020 by 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment.

Company Credits[]

Production Companies[]

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Columbia Pictures
Danjaq
Eon Productions (as Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions)
Anka Film
B23

Distributors[]

Columbia Pictures (2012) (USA) (theatrical)
ACME (2012) (Estonia) (theatrical)
ACME (2012) (Lithuania) (theatrical)
ACME (2012) (Latvia) (theatrical)
Andes Films (2012) (Chile) (theatrical)
B&H Film Distribution (2012) (Ukraine) (theatrical)
Cineforum (2012) (Romania) (theatrical)
Columbia Pictures (2012) (Philippines) (theatrical)
Columbia TriStar Warner Filmes de Portugal (2012) (Portugal) (theatrical)
Distribuye Movie (2012) (Uruguay) (theatrical)
FS Film (2012) (Finland) (theatrical)
Feelgood Entertainment (2012) (Greece) (theatrical)
Filmcompagniet (2012) (Denmark) (theatrical)
Forum Film Bulgaria (2012) (Bulgaria) (theatrical)
Forum Film Poland (2012) (Poland) (theatrical)
Forum Film Slovakia (2012) (Slovakia) (theatrical)
Forum Film (2012) (Israel) (theatrical)
Forum Films (2012) (Czechia) (theatrical)
Forum Hungary (2012) (Hungary) (theatrical)
Gulf Film (2012) (United Arab Emirates) (theatrical)
Meloman (2012) (Kazakhstan) (theatrical)
Sena (2012) (Iceland) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Filmverleih (2012) (Austria) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (Argentina) (theatrical) (through United International Pictures)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (Brazil) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (Canada) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (France) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (Germany) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (Italy) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (Spain) (theatrical)
Sony Pictures Releasing (2012) (UK) (theatrical)
Ster-Kinekor Pictures (2012) (South Africa) (theatrical)
United International Pictures (UIP) (2012) (Argentina) (theatrical) (through)
Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing (WDSSPR) (2012) (Russia) (theatrical)
Westec Media Limited (2012) (Cambodia) (theatrical)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (Argentina) (Blu-ray)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (Argentina) (DVD)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (Germany) (Blu-ray)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (Germany) (DVD)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2020) (Germany) (all media) (Ultra HD Blu-ray)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (UK) (Blu-ray)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (UK) (DVD)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (USA) (DVD)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2016) (USA) (Blu-ray)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2019) (USA) (all media) (Ultra HD Blu-ray) (Daniel Craig Collection)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2020) (USA) (all media) (Ultra HD Blu-ray)
MGM Home Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD)
MGM Home Entertainment (2013) (USA) (Blu-ray)
Odeon Home Entertainment (2013) (Greece) (Blu-ray)
Odeon Home Entertainment (2013) (Greece) (DVD)
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (Blu-ray)
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD)
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (Russia) (Blu-ray)
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2013) (Russia) (DVD)
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (2020) (USA) (Blu-ray) (reprint for MGM)
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (2020) (USA) (DVD) (reprint for MGM)
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (2022) (USA) (Blu-ray) (Daniel Craig 5-Film Collection)
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (2022) (USA) (all media) (Ultra HD Blu-ray) (Daniel Craig 5-Film Collection)

Special Effects[]

Plowman Craven & Associates (Lidar) (as Plowman Craven)
Blind (design and animation) (as Blind Ltd London)
Moving Picture Company (MPC) (previsualisation)
Destroy All Monsters (previsualisation)
Double Negative (DNEG) (visual effects)
Moving Picture Company (MPC) (visual effects)
Cinesite (visual effects)
Peerless Camera Company (visual effects)
Lola Visual Effects (visual effects) (as Lola VFX)
BlueBolt (visual effects)
Baseblack
Framestore (main title sequence)
Mark Roberts Motion Control (uncredited)
Proof (postvisualization)

Technical Specs[]

Runtime[]

143 mins

Color[]

Color

Sound Mix[]

Dolby Digital
Datasat
SDDS
Sonics-DDP
Dolby Surround 7.1
Dolby Atmos
IMAX 6-Track

Aspect Ratio[]

2.39:1
1.90:1 (IMAX version)
1.78:1 (Small Widescreen versions)
1.33:1 (4:3 fullscreen versions)

Trivia[]

Skyfall is not related to any previously published Ian Fleming James Bond short-story or novel.
Skyfall does not carry on from where the previous film left off, as Quantum of Solace did with Casino Royale. Producer Barbara Broccoli stated that the series "will go on to other different stories from now on." She also talked about the common villain organization across the three movies, saying that Bond "will go after the Quantum organization. So in that sense, it may become a trilogy, but we haven't really structured it that way." Ultimately, Quantum did not feature in Skyfall. However, it was later revealed in the following film SPECTRE that Silva was an agent of SPECTRE, of which Quantum was a subsidiary, essentially linking all four films.
- The only major plot element carrying over from Quantum of Solace is the return of Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner.
Skyfall is the first James Bond film with an original title to not be novelized (Never Say Never Again having been an adaptation of Thunderball).
Skyfall is the third James Bond film in which the primary Bond girl dies, following On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Casino Royale, and the first in which her death occurs partway through the film, rather than at the end.
- Due to the relatively quick exit of the character and her lack of overall importance to the plot, a case can be made for this being the first film without a major James Bond girl character. Indeed, given her dominance of the final acts of the movie, a case can be made that the "Bond girl" in Skyfall is in fact M, albeit with all romantic aspects removed. (This would make it the second Bond film after Quantum of Solace to be thus chaste.
This is the second Bond film (after The World is Not Enough) in which M is placed in jeopardy (coincidentally with M being played by the same person), which this time results in her death, making her the first major recurring non-villainous Bond film character to die on screen (notwithstanding the visual acknowledgement of the former M played by Bernard Lee, who is presumed to be deceased by the time of the reference in World is Not Enough).
This is the first Bond film in which the main villain may be considered to have succeeded in their ultimate goal, albeit posthumously.
£29 million, a third of the film's budget, was raised by selling product placement spots, including a deal with Virgin Atlantic. Virgin CEO Richard Branson had a cameo as an air traveler being searched by security in Casino Royale.
Production of Skyfall was delayed for several months in 2010-11 due to the bankruptcy and delayed sale of studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), with the production being officially suspended on 19 April 2010. Production resumed in January 2011.
Despite the production stoppage, many of the film's producers and crew continued pre-production of the film, fully assuming it was a momentary setback. EON wanted to ensure Bond 23 would be released to the silver screen on Bond's 50th anniversary.
Skyfall prominently features the return of the Aston Martin DB5 in its third act.
The movie's theme song was performed by Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Adele. It earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 85th Academy Awards on February 24, 2013, making it the first Bond theme song to ever achieve that feat.
Although Bond films have flirted with the use of strong profanity since the early 1970s, Judi Dench became the first person in a Bond film to utter the F-word in full (Sheriff J.W Pepper came close to using it in Live and Let Die, but was cut off before he could complete it). Despite this, Skyfall retained the coveted "family-friendly" PG-13 rating in the United States, owing to current MPAA content rules allowing a single utterance of that word under that rating.
The character of Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, does not appear in Skyfall.
Javier Bardem is the first Spanish actor to play a James Bond villain, and the second Oscar-winner to appear in a Bond film (after Christopher Walken; Benicio del Toro has also won an Oscar, but not until after his appearance in Licence to Kill). Bardem begins a string of Oscar-winners being cast as Bond villains in consecutive films, as he is followed by Christoph Waltz in Spectre and Rami Malek in No Time to Die.
Daniel Craig and Ben Whishaw previously worked together on Layer Cake.
Ben Whishaw is the fourth actor to play Q in the official James Bond series. Whishaw is younger than Daniel Craig, which makes Bond older than Q for the first time in the series. Q's last appearance previously was in Die Another Day as played by John Cleese. Q's real name is not revealed, so it is unknown if he is meant to be the same person played by Desmond Llewelyn up until The World is Not Enough (Cleese's Q having been established as the Llewelyn Q's successor).
Much speculation surrounded the role taken by Ralph Fiennes, with some saying he would play a new version of Bond's nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, although it was later revealed that Fiennes' character was a government agent, debunking this rumour. Others theorised that he would replace Judi Dench as M, who would retire during the course of the movie - this one was confirmed, although Dench's M was killed off rather than retiring. Fiennes' M is the first holder of the title (in the EON films) whose real name is known from the start; Bernard Lee's M was never fully identified on screen, only by the first name Miles in The Spy Who Loved Me (though the novels provided a surname), while all that's known of Dench's M is that one of her initials may be M as per the 2006 version of Casino Royale (likewise, some novels have provided her full name too).
Naomie Harris plays Eve Moneypenny; while early rumours stated she had been cast as Moneypenny, both the actress and the producers strongly denied them. She is the the first black actress in the role. At 35, Harris is one of the oldest Bond Girls, although she does not actually engage in a physical relationship with Bond at any point making this classification subjective. This is the first film to reveal Moneypenny's given name, although this breaks from the Moneypenny Diaries spin-off novels that establishes her first name as Jane.
The classification is also subjective because Berenice Marlohe's character, Sévérine, is considered the main Bond girl of the film, even though in fact, Judi Dench's M plays a major role in the film to the degree that she could be seen as fulfilling the "Bond girl" role, in a platonic fashion.
This is Judi Dench's seventh and final film as M. She played the character for 17 years, tying her with Bernard Lee as the longest-serving M (although during his tenure Lee appeared in more films as the character — eleven); she later exceeded Lee's longevity record by appearing in a cameo in Spectre.
Freida Pinto, Olivia Wilde, Rachel Weisz, Esti Ginzburg, Margarita Levieva, Alice Eve, Ana Araujo, Emilia Fox and Ebru Akel were rumored to star as Bond Girls before Bérénice Marlohe and Naomie Harris were cast.
- By coincidence, Rachel Weisz happens to be the wife of Daniel Craig, of whom the two met while working on Dream House and got married on June 22, 2011. In another coincidence, Weisz has also worked with Ralph Fiennes (who starred as M in Skyfall and its subsequent films) in John le Carré's 2005 film adaptation of The Constant Gardener, for which Weisz won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
In Skyfall, Daniel Craig became the second James Bond to sport a beard, the other being Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day]].
The time between filming Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, 4 years, is the longest gap between Bond films that have featured the same actor in the lead role.
Kevin Spacey was considered for a role, but declined due to scheduling conflicts. Spacey worked with Skyfall's director Sam Mendes on the latter's first feature film, American Beauty.
The first Bond film that director Sam Mendes ever saw was Live and Let Die.
Mendes is also the only Academy Award winning director (American Beauty) to direct a James Bond film.
Mendes has previously worked with Judi Dench in live theater, with Daniel Craig on Road to Perdition, and with cinematographer Roger Deakins on Revolutionary Road and Jarhead.
Skyfall is only the sixth film out of 23 Bond films that has not been scored by either Monty Norman, John Barry, or David Arnold. While many have reported that Arnold was unable to score the film due to his duties as musical director for the 2012 London Olympics, Arnold himself has stated Mendes hired Thomas Newman to compose the score because of his work on the director's previous movies.
Daniel Craig performed the stunt of leaping and sliding down the escalator rail himself.
The most successful James Bond movie at the international box office in the official film franchise's history.
This is the first James Bond movie to make over $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
Adele's "Skyfall" is the first Billboard Top 10 hit to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song since Eminem's "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile (2002).
Albert Finney's last movie role before his retirement the same year this came out. He died on February 7, 2019 at the age of eighty-two.
Sixth appearance in the official James Bond franchise of the classic silver birch Aston Martin DB5 car. This movie marked the return of the vehicle, which first appeared in Goldfinger (1964), and had last appeared briefly in 'Casino Royale' (2006), the Bond movie before the then most recent one, Quantum of Solace (2008). The Aston Martin DB5 has also appeared in Thunderball (1965), GoldenEye (1995), and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). The car also features in the James Bond video games Agent Under Fire (2001), 007 Racing (2000), James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2010), and From Russia with Love (2005), but not in Skyfall's tie-in video game 007 Legends (2012), which has instead the Aston Martin DBS. The Aston Martin DB5 was going to appear in The World is Not Enough (1999) at Sir Robert King's funeral, but the shots were deleted, though some believe a thermal image of the Aston Martin DB5 can be seen right at the end of the film. Its appearance in the movie can be seen on the film's deleted scenes. The license plate number of the DB5 in this movie is BMT 216A, the same as it was in Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965). The garage out of which the Aston Martin DB5 drives in Skyfall (2012) actually resembles the villain's facility in Goldfinger (1964). The famous DB series of Aston Martin cars was named after Sir David Brown. Brown was an entrepreneur, adventurer, and chairman of Aston Martin from the late 1940s to the 1970s.
The most successful James Bond movie at the international box office in the official film franchise's history. It grossed $100 million at the international box office in its first week. It also had the biggest opening weekend at the box office for a Bond movie in Britain.
Dame Judi Dench's seventh and final major appearance playing M. Dench has played the role of M for seventeen years from 1995 until 2012, her first being in GoldenEye (1995). This record ties with Bernard Lee, who played M for the same amount of time, except Lee appeared in eleven James Bond movies, while Dench appeared in seven. Additionally, this puts Dench at the same number of Bond movies as Sir Roger Moore, as well as Sir Sean Connery (if one counts the unofficial Bond movie Never Say Never Again (1983)) and Walter Gotell (who played the roles of Morzeny in From Russia with Love (1963), and then General Gogol for six movies consecutively from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) to The Living Daylights (1987)). However, Dench played a cameo role in Spectre (2015) in a special video appearance.
The first James Bond movie to be shot entirely digitally. Previously, only part of one scene in Quantum of Solace (2008) was shot digitally. It is also the first movie to use the Arri Alexa Studio camera, which cinematographer Roger Deakins selected because, unlike the other Alexa models, it has an optical viewfinder. Deakins shot with Arri's sole Studio prototype, as the camera was not yet in production.
At two hours and twenty-three minutes, this film was at one time the second-longest Bond movie of all time, the longest then being Casino Royale (2006), at two hours and twenty-four minutes. At that time, the third-longest running time for a Bond movie was two hours and twenty-two minutes for On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), which had previously held the record as the longest for 37 years. With a running time of 163 minutes, or two hours and 43 minutes, No Time to Die (2020) has the longest ever running time for a Bond movie. At two hours and twenty-four minutes, Casino Royale (2006) was once the longest James Bond movie, beating the previous record holder On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) by four minutes, until the release of Spectre (2015), which beat it by another four minutes. Spectre (2015) was previously the longest James Bond movie record holder, with a running time of two hours and twenty-eight minutes. Daniel Craig has now played Bond in the four longest Bond movies of all time: No Time to Die (2020, Spectre (2015), Skyfall (2012), and Casino Royale (2006). The former long-time record holder, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), is now in fifth place, with Skyfall (2012) in fourth. Conversely, Daniel Craig has also starred in the shortest theatrical Bond film to date, Quantum of Solace (2008), which has a running time of only one hour and forty-six minutes..
Second time in the official James Bond franchise that Bond is seen with a beard, the first time was Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day (2002). In both movies, the character only has the beard for a portion of the movie. In both instances, we see the beard being shaved.
The four-year gap between the release of Quantum of Solace (2008) and this movie ties for the third-longest period between James Bond movies. This gap between movies also represents the longest time between movies without a casting change to the actor playing James Bond. Previous hiatuses between Licence to Kill (1989) and GoldenEye (1995) (the longest period between movies in the franchise), and then between Die Another Day (2002) and Casino Royale (2006) were both accompanied by casting changes to the actor playing James Bond. The gap between Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2020) is now in second place, at five years.
The theme song sung by Adele is the first Bond song to share the same name as the movie's title since Madonna's Die Another Day (2002), and the first Daniel Craig James Bond movie to do so. The "Skyfall" song was released on Friday, October 5, 2012, at 0:07 a.m. BST/London time (7:07 p.m. EDT on October 4), the exact 50th anniversary of the launch of Dr. No (1962). A ninety-second version of the song was leaked on-line not long after Adele officially announced on Twitter that she was the artist singing the title song. The song was recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios with a full orchestra.
First James Bond movie in ten years to have a theme song that shared its title with that of the movie.
The first James Bond movie to be released in the IMAX format. Unlike most movies blown up for an IMAX release, the film did not go through their DMR (Digital Media Remastering) process, as cinematographer Roger Deakins thought that the film's image quality was high enough to make it unnecessary. Deakins has said they "...shot 2.35:1 (aspect ratio), but because of the size of the chip, you have so much space top and bottom, that basically I shot it for both formats. The IMAX was clean, and the image quality is fantastic, because you're using the full size of the chip. So I had seen a lot of tests, and was blown away by the IMAX. We did a 4K finish, and it's down rez'd to 2K after that. It quite surprised me, the fantastic quality." Movies shot in IMAX have an aspect ratio of 1.44:1 which takes up the entire IMAX screen. This movie wasn't shot in IMAX, but the aspect ratio of the IMAX "Skyfall" prints, is 1.90:1 compared to standard theater "Skyfall" prints, which have an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The IMAX image is twenty-six percent larger at the top and bottom of the frame than the screen image in conventional theaters, thereby giving audiences a taller depth of field to view.
Adele's title song "Skyfall" is the first James Bond theme to debut in the Top 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart, entering at number eight. It's the seventh Bond song to reach the U.S. Top 10, and the thirteenth to reach the U.S. Top 100. It's the first to chart in the U.S. Top 10 in a decade, the last time being Madonna's Die Another Day (2002) song in 2002. Adele's song sold two hundred sixty-one thousand copies in the U.S. in its first three days. The song debuted on the U.K. Singles Chart at number four within just forty-eight hours of release, and then went to number two within a week, tying with the previous record holder, Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill (1985) (Dance into the Fire)" as the highest ever charting Bond song in U.K. singles history. The song sold eighty-four thousand copies in the U.K. in its first two days, and had sold ninety-two thousand copies within a week. The song went to number one on the U.K. iTunes chart within ten hours. On its first day of release worldwide, the song hit the Top 10 on the iTunes charts in twenty-one countries. Of those, it also went to number one in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.
Third James Bond movie to film in Japan. Hashima Island was for shooting Silva's island lair. The first Bond movie to lens in Japan, where the largest amount of filming was done, was for You Only Live Twice (1967). The second was for The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), where filming was done there, to get shots of exotic fish in Okinawa.
Second Daniel Craig James Bond movie to feature a casino, and the first for him since Casino Royale (2006). Not every Bond movie has a casino sequence, but this movie joins the ranks in the official series of those that have: Dr. No (1962), Thunderball (1965), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Licence to Kill (1989), GoldenEye (1995), The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Casino Royale (2006). All of the unofficial Bond movies, Casino Royale (1967), Never Say Never Again (1983), and Climax! (1954) season one, episode three, "Casino Royale", have featured a casino. This is the first Bond movie since The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) to feature a casino in Asia. Its name is "The Golden Dragon Casino", and it's a floating casino in Macau, China, and was based on the real-life Macau floating casino, "The Macau Palace".
Third consecutive official James Bond movie to be distributed by Sony Pictures, after Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008). The official April 13, 2011 press release stated: "Sony Pictures and MGM look forward to Sony Pictures co-financing and distributing Spectre (2015) on a similar basis." This is Sony Pictures' widest theatrical release in the U.K. and Ireland, with this movie launching on one thousand five hundred screens.
The movie's explosive finale at the James Bond homestead, "Skyfall", has often been likened by the public and production personnel, including director Sam Mendes, to the booby-trapped obstacle climax of Home Alone (1990). Two sound department crew, Dino Dimuro and David Young, worked on both movies.

Connections[]

Follows[]

Dr. No (1962)
From Russia with Love (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Live and Let Die (1973)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Octopussy (1983)
A View to a Kill (1985)
The Living Daylights (1987)
Licence to Kill (1989)
GoldenEye (1995)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The World is Not Enough (1999)
Die Another Day (2002)
Casino Royale (2006)
Quantum of Solace (2008)

Followed by[]

Spectre (2015)
No Time to Die (2021)

Edited into[]

Omega 'Casino Royale' Television Commercial (2012) (Video) - The Omega TV advert is edited from the trailer/feature film.

References[]

The Third Man (1949) - Silva's shadow on the wall in the underground.
Throne of Blood (1957) - Sam Mendes took much inspiration from Akira Kurosawa for the end sequence, especially the end of Throne of Blood.
Vertigo (1958) - Similar music and shots when Bond reaches the top of the building in Shanghai, according to director Sam Mendes.
Dr. No (1962) - Q gives Bond a (modified) Walther PPK as a replacement for his standard-issue sidearm. The bottle of alcohol that Silva offers Bond on his island says, in big letters, "1962" on its label, referencing the franchise's 50th anniversary. Silva pours a shot each for both Bond and himself, simulating a sort of "toast" to celebrate.
From Russia with Love (1963) - Skyfall Lodge's priest hole is reminiscent of the secret tunnels for the allied intelligent agents. Silva makes Bond uncomfortable with homoerotic flirtations like Rosa Klebb did with Tatiana, albeit more explicit.
Goldfinger (1964) - The iconic Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger returns - down to the number plate, BMT 216A, and the ejector seat activated by a red button in the shift lever, along with the classic Bond music from that era. When M asks where they're going, Bond gives the apposite reply, "Back in time". This is not, however, the same '64 Aston Martin Bond won in a card game in Casino Royale, which was a left-hand drive model.
Thunderball (1965) - Bond picks up clues about Sévérine based on tattoos, the same way as Count Lippe
Belle de Jour (1967) - Bond Girl Severine is an ex-prostitute, like Severine in Belle de Jour
You Only Live Twice (1967) - Bond is presumed dead during the title sequence. An obituary for Bond is seen being written by M.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) - Bond is wearing special Tom Ford cuff-links which feature his family crest and motto.
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - Bond hitches a ride on a lift from the outside.
Live and Let Die (1973) - In the casino in Macau, Bond uses a large reptile to step out of the pit, referencing Live and Let Die when Bond escaped from the pond by stepping on the backs of alligators.
Chinatown (1974) - Some shots in Shanghai in the style of this film, according to director Sam Mendes.
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - Bond finds himself in a hall of mirrors during the title sequence. Silva lives on his own island as a virtual recluse.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - Silva wears a prosthetic jaw, which when removed, reveals a hideous set of teeth.
The Deer Hunter (1978) - Bond's drinking game with the scorpion is a reference to Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter, according to director Sam Mendes.
Apocalypse Now (1979) - Silva's arrival at Skyfall in a helicopter with music blasting from the speakers.
Moonraker (1979) - Bond falls down a huge waterfall, like Jaws to his presumed death.
The Shining (1980) - Long car journey through vast landscapes to the old house, using helicopter shots.
For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Bond hands Tanner the shrapnel from Patrice's shots in a baggie and says "For her eyes only," in regard to giving the results to M. A main villain is killed by a well-thrown knife to the back
Octopussy (1983) - Bond battles henchmen on top of a moving train which passes through a tunnel while doing so.
A View to a Kill (1985) - At Skyfall Lodge, Bond arms himself with a double-barrelled shotgun that happens to be a family heirloom. Like Stacey Sutton's mansion, the lodge is empty due to Kincade selling off its furnishings to pay debts.
The Living Daylights (1987) - Part of Silva's modus operandi is disclosing and assassinating MI6 operatives (a la "Death to Spies").
Licence to Kill (1989) - The palm-print signature Walther PPK that Q issues to Bond is a throwback to the Signature Rifle Bond uses in Licence to Kill.
Home Alone (1990) - Home assault and defence sequence (mentioned in director's commentary).
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - The villain is kept by the MI6 in a plexiglas cell built in the center of a large room and wears a white uniform. When Silva is walking towards Bond at their first meeting and giving his 'rat' speech, he makes a similar movement with his mouth to Lecter, after his 'nice chianti' dialogue.
The Lion King (1994) - After a man is eaten by a Komodo Dragon, Bond quips, "It's the circle of life".
GoldenEye (1995) - When Q gives Bond the case containing the Walther PPK/S 9mm short and the radio transmitter, Bond complains about the simplicity of the gadgets. Q states that they longer go for "exploding pens". This is a reference to the many pen gadgets Bond has had over the years, in particular the Ballpoint Pen (Parker Jotter) which acts as an explosive device. Also reuses the idea of the film's title being the name of a house--in this case, Bond's childhood home. Silva, like Alec Trevelyan, is a former MI6 agent who went rogue.
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - Silva is a brilliant cyber-terrorist who's computer-hacking skills are capable of causing worldwide pandemonium in the vein of Elliott Carver.
The World is Not Enough (1999) - MI6 is attacked and Bond's cuff-links translate to "The World Is Not Enough."
Die Another Day (2002) - Bond is intimidated by a scorpion (albeit of a different species than in the former film) during a bar game.
Casino Royale (2006) - Bond tells Eve not to put her hand up to her ear which is a reference to when an agent places his hand on his earpiece at the beginning of Casino Royale thereby exposing himself as a spy.
The Dark Knight (2008) - Director Sam Mendes has spoken in several interviews how the film's tone, themes, and atmosphere served as inspiration behind the production; Silva's incarceration and planned escape are similar to the Joker's; both main villains don't seem to care about their own safety
Quantum of Solace (2008) - Eve first appears when she stops her car next to Bond and he gets in, as Camille does in Quantum
Inception (2010) - Silva's island has considerable visual similarities to the crumbling towers in Dom's dream
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) - M has a Royal Doulton Bulldog figurine like the ones on Control's desk

Referenced in[]

Omega 'Skyfall' Television Commercial (2012) (Video) - Promotional tie-in television commercial with the movie. The picture's title logo is seen at the end of the commercial.
Adele: Skyfall (2012) (Video) - Promotional tie-in television commercial with the movie. The picture's title logo is seen at the end of the commercial.
Taylor Swift: Bad Blood (2015) (Music Video) - There is another gadget facility that looks just like the gadget-testing floor from Skyfall.
Spectre (2015) - Appearance of the Royal Doulton British Bulldog figurine previously first seen in Skyfall; Patrice & Raoul Silva characters are referenced with the latter appearing in the openng titles; Judi Dench cameo after dying in Skyfall; Death of previous M mentioned by characters; Extensive use of London, England as a filming location e.g. for the finale; Information technology scheme of the movie's villain; Forensics have recovered items from Skyfall; Reference to James Bond being shot accidentally
No Time to Die (2021) - Bond jumps off a similar bridge, Aston Martin gets shot up, Helicopter in Scottish terrain, Scene under ice, Arch villain in prison, In the garage can been seen in one of the boxes the English Bulldog figure which M gave to Bond, Portrait of Judi Dench's M character (Olivia Mansfield) at MI6 HQ.

Featured in[]

Adele: Skyfall (2012) (Video) - Clip
Spectre (2015) - Title sequence shows footage from the previous films.
Creed (2015) - Rocky, Adonis and Bianca watch the film.

Crazy Credits[]

The IMAX version of the film uses the 1.85:1 aspect ratio version of the Columbia Pictures logo.