Above: UK poster artwork

Mission
A cryptic message from the past sends James Bond on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal.  Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE. Meanwhile back in London, Max Denbigh, the new head of the Centre for National Security, questions Bond’s actions and challenges the relevance of MI6, led by M. Bond covertly enlists Moneypenny and Q to help him seek out Madeleine Swann, the daughter of his old nemesis Mr White, who may hold the clue to untangling the web of SPECTRE. As the daughter of an assassin, she understands Bond in a way most others cannot. As Bond ventures towards the heart of SPECTRE, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks, played by Christoph Waltz.

Release Data
UK: 26th October 2015 (12A)
USA: 6th November 2015 (PG-13)
World Premiere: 26th October 2015 (Royal Albert Hall, London, UK)
Running Time: 148 minutes
Classification: 12A (UK), PG-13 (US)
Budget: $250m (unconfirmed) 

Production
Producers: Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Director: Sam Mendes
Co-Producers: Daniel Craig, Andrew Noakes, David Pope
Screenplay: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade
Composer: Thomas Newman

Locations
Mexico City, Mexico; London, UK; Rome, Italy; Austria; Morocco.

Pre-Credits Sequence
007 tracks down the illusive assassin Sciarra to complete one last mission for M by eliminating him in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead festival. Despite destroying the building, Sciarra escapes Bond until the two meet up again in a helicopter above the city. After making good on his deed, 007 discovers a clue to the shadowy organisation behind it all.

Title
The title comes from the evil organisation that has been pulling the strings in 007’s last three missions and is an acronym for the ‘Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion.’ James Bond creator Ian Fleming invented the group to be a viable long term enemy for 007 long after the Cold War.

Cut Scenes & Alternate Versions
The last line of the original script when he drives away with Madeleine had Bond echoing his final line from ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, but this was cut.

Craig insisted on reshooting the scene where Moneypenny visits Bond’s flat towards the end of filming. Dialogue about gossip at MI6 and theories of why he went to Mexico were removed. The scene also originally ended with Moneypenny hearing a women’s voice coming from Bond’s bedroom.

Best Lines
Madeleine: "You shouldn’t stare like that."
Bond: "You shouldn’t look like that."

Madeleine: "What is your occupation?"
Bond: "That’s not the sort of thing that looks good on a form."

M: "Now we know what ‘C’ stands for."