Now pay attention, 007. The fourth Daniel Craig James Bond movie SPECTRE, released to huge box-office success back in 2015, was notable for its superb pre-credits sequence, where 007 was first seen looking rather like a black-clad version of Baron Samedi, and it evidently left a special and lasting legacy in Mexico City itself.
As many Bond fans will recall, director Sam Mendes and his hard-working crew created a spectacular pre-credits sequence for the 24th EON Bond movie, which involved a dramatic a foot-chase and helicopter fight, a confrontation which took place against the backdrop of the capital’s busy and crowded ‘Day of the Dead’ parade. However, it is worth remembering that the parade was actually something specially created for the world of James Bond. There was no official major ‘Day of the Dead’ parade in Mexico City at that stage.
Traditionally, Mexico’s ‘Day of the Dead’ celebrations, which take place annually on November 1st and 2nd, had usually consisted more of quiet family gatherings to mark the arrival of All Saints eve, often with visits to the graves of loved ones, with some songs, music and drinks
But Bond’s influence somewhat changed things. The Mexican government – under some pressure to allow the capital city to live up to the expectations created by SPECTRE – and not long after the huge success of the movie at the global box-office, organised a major ‘Day of the Dead’ parade for the first time, and this proved to be so popular that it has now become an annual event, attracting tourists from around the world. Numerous floats, large skeleton marionettes, and over a 1,000 actors, dancers, and acrobats all took part in the special parade when it was officially launched by the Mexican government. The event proved to be very popular indeed, drawing tens of thousands of onlookers to the city centre’s streets to watch the procession and enjoy the atmosphere and colourful sights. In fact, it was so successful that the special Day has effectively become a permanent annual fixture in Mexico City’s calendar, helping to boost the country’s growing tourist industry. Take a bow, Mr. Bond!
Lourdes Berho, chief executive of the Mexico tourism board, explained at the time: ‘When this movie hit the big screen and was seen by millions of people in 67 countries, that started to create expectations that we would have something. We knew this was going to generate a desire on the part of people here, among Mexicans and tourists, to come and participate in a big parade’.
From Mexico With Love
The pre-credits filming that was carried out for SPECTRE in Mexico City, which saw a huge amount of behind-the-scenes preparation and make-up work put into the ‘Day of the Dead’ festivities, kicked off the movie in heart-thumping style, and was largely the result of an idea that came to Sam Mendes. Explaining his reasons for choosing the ‘Day of the Dead’ festival for SPECTRE, Mendes commented at the time: ‘I wanted the audience to be dropped into the middle of a very, very specific, very heady, rich environment. It’s the Day of the Dead, everywhere you look there’s colour and detail and life. We’ve built floats and maquettes, the costumes are extraordinary and the craftsmanship is amazing’.
The Mexican ‘Day of the Dead’ (Dia de los Muertos) festival provided a perfect setting for the loud drums that first greet us as we spy Bond and his female companion walking through the crowds, and there is a lovely unbroken camera sequence which follows the pair as they enter a hotel and head for what the audience assumes will be an erotic encounter in the lady’s hotel room.
But Bond has other ideas, and sets off across the roof-tops to engage in some observational espionage, against a suitably atmospheric rendition of the James Bond theme courtesy of Thomas Newman. The massive explosion which results, the collapse of the building, and the energetic foot-chase engaged in by Craig’s 007 through the crowded streets and into the famous Zocalo Square, make for some truly nerve-wracking tension.
In fact, this highly entertaining pre-credits sequence is now seen by critics and Bond aficionados alike as one of the highlights of the film, and Mendes’s direction and the crisp cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema have been highly praised by movie experts.
Die Another Way
The main shooting in Mexico City for this memorable sequences took approximately three weeks, and the ‘Day of the Dead’ scenes saw a large number of extras all having to be made up and ready in their costumes for each day’s carefully co-ordinated shooting. This involved a challenging and complex logistical operation, processing all the extras and getting them into appropriate costumes, with special attention paid to making up ‘skeletal’ and ‘dead’ facial characteristics on each person involved. There was very impressive attention to fine detail in each case. Huge catrina skeletons, known locally as ‘Dapper Skeletons’ and ‘Elegant Skulls’, also added tremendous visual impact to the sequence.
At the time of shooting, EON co-producer Michael G. Wilson revealed that ‘it is maybe the biggest sequence we’ve done’, while 007 actor Daniel Craig also similarly commented: ‘It’s one of the biggest opening sequences I think the Bond franchise has ever done’.
Additional shooting for the Mexico City sequences was also carried out at Pinewood Studios in England, including some further work on the gritty helicopter fight sequence between Bond and his adversary that formed the climax to the pre-credits. It was truly a case of live and let high! And with the creation of a formal ‘Day of the Dead’ parade by the Mexican authorities, Bond had left a major long-term legacy in the country. There was also another reason why both Mendes and Craig were keen on the ‘Day of the Dead’ sequence. Both have said in various interviews that the first Bond movie they each saw, and which had a lasting impact on them, was Roger Moore’s debut 007 film Live and Let Die.
And, clearly, the voodoo, Baron Samedi and death-related context to the film made a major impression. Mendes was keen to make a tribute to this in SPECTRE, and Daniel Craig was only too happy to go along with this. It tapped into something very ‘Bondian’, a preoccupation with death that had been a key element in past entries in the 007 franchise.
SKYFALL and SPECTRE director Sir Sam Mendes