FAQ

In August 2015, Columbia submitted the film to the BBFC in the UK for advice on whether the film would receive a 12A rating upon a formal submission. The BBFC informed the filmmakers that cuts would be required in two scenes before a 12A rating, instead of an uncut 15, could be obtained. These were made prior to formal submission and it was duly passed at 12A with no further changes. Reductions to "strong bloody (injury) detail" were made in the following two scenes:

• The eye gouging now only shows an establishing shot of the thumbs being inserted, then cuts to a counter-shot from behind the victim's head when the slightly bloody thumbs emerge. The uncut version showed this all from the front, including the aftermath.
• The suicide now takes place off-screen and with reduced detail. The uncut version showed the man putting the gun under his chin and firing with a spray of bloody mist, and two subsequent shots showed brain tissue hanging down from the back of his head.

These cuts persist in all worldwide versions of the film.

There is long tradition of British Intelligence chiefs being referred to by a single initial. William Melville, the founder of the Secret Service Bureau and Maxwell Knight the head of MI5 were both referred as "M" whilst Sir Ormonde Winter, head of intelligence in Dublin Castle was known as "O". Hugh Dansey, head of MI6 in World War II was known as Z. The Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) traditionally signs documents in green ink with the letter "C"; originating with the first Chief, Mansfield Smith-Cumming (1859-1923).

SPECTRE is an acronym standing for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. It is a fictional global terrorist organization featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming and prominent in the 1960s James Bond films. In Spectre, however, SPECTRE is never used in a way to suggest its name is an acronym.

The "dead are alive" at the beginning of the film is a reference to the Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico, the setting for the pre-title teaser in the film. More information can be read here. In a more thematic sense, it probably refers to all the people that died being around Bond in the previous movies (Vesper Lynd, Sévérine, M, Le Chiffre etc.), which is also referenced throughout the film by Blofeld, especially at the old MI6 headquarters at the finale of the film—when Bond walks into the building, he sees the memorial wall that M had talked about when confronting Silva after his capture ("Your [real] name is on the memorial wall of the very building you attacked. I will have it struck off"). The current iteration of Bond (since Casino Royale) paints him as a broken man, probably haunted by all those people in his past who died from being around him. Blofeld says he's responsible for all their deaths to ruin Bond. It could also be a reference to Oberhauser, as he is thought to have died as a child but is found to still be alive.

No, but at the very end of the film, we do see the familiar phrase "James Bond will return."

Spectre follows the conventional Bond film formula to a T. It's a recipe with clearly defined ingredients: the extravagant opening scene, the theme song delivered by a prominent pop star, the talking-to by M, the Bond girl who either rescues or is rescued, Bond's total control of every situation, the villain's large lair with many henchmen, etc.

Aston Martin provided ten DB10 car models that were designed and produced specially for the movie.

The Spectre film tells us that the SPECTRE organization has been behind the events of the last three Bond films—so why haven't we heard anything about it in those films? And why is villain Blofeld back after all these years? Apparently, the copyright surrounding Spectre and Blofeld had been tied up in a long legal battle that only resolved by the mid-2010s. Read here for a full explanation of the lengthy legal dispute.

It looks like it, but it isn't. As Hoyte van Hoytema, the film's cinematographer, told The Hollywood Reporter, "It looks like one take but that was not possible." It was achieved by editing together several long takes with carefully-placed wipes and a small amount of CGI. The first shot was lensed with a Technocrane, which created the establishing shot, then lowering the camera and zooming in to follow the actors. A transition occurs when Bond and the woman enter the hotel, which is actually on a different street. A Steadicam picks up the actors, following them through the lobby and into an elevator. The hotel room is a set built at Pinewood Studios in the U.K. When 007 goes out the window, a camera on a Technocrane follows Craig as he strolls across the rooftops to find his target.