What does "Skyfall" mean in British culture?

UsualMan

Yes I known that this is something like lot of rain (and probably second name for London ;-) ), but why They chosen it? Maybe somebody known more, and it have a little more symbolism in British culture(or other?)?

Samuel001

Sadly, it does not mean any more to those from the UK. The meaning will be revealed in due course it appears.

Monsieur_Aubergine

I posted elsewhere my theory. It could be associated with the taking down of the establishment 'the sky is falling'. To be used as one word could mean the name of the operation : SkyFall. Or indeed the description of events from Bonds point of view. All supposition obviously. :-)

4EverBonded

To me, the expression "The sky is falling" means a huge disaster, one that shakes up everything. I'm American, though.

Monsieur_Aubergine

^yeah exactly and that's what makes the title so exciting rather than flat. Loving this SkyFall enigma.

fanbond123

In the Asterix cartoon books and films the chief of the tribe always believes the sky will fall on his people. I think the sky falling is an old superstition, a sign of the end of the world. I think this might have a similar meaning in Bond 23. Skyfall could mean the end of the world or some great danger for Bond to overcome. It could be the name of a rocket or explosive device, perhaps a nuclear bomb.

Just a guess, of course!

shadowonthesun

When SKYFALL was first rumoured as the title, I went a-hunting. And one of the references I found was fiat justita ruat caelum, a legal phrase that means "justice must be done, even if it means the sky falls". If my theory about what "Skyfall" actually is in the film (an off-the-books MI6 operation that ended badly and was covered up), fiat justita ruat caelum could be a fairly powerful motive for the villain.

DarthDimi

shadowonthesun said:
When SKYFALL was first rumoured as the title, I went a-hunting. And one of the references I found was fiat justita ruat caelum, a legal phrase that means "justice must be done, even if it means the sky falls". If my theory about what "Skyfall" actually is in the film (an off-the-books MI6 operation that ended badly and was covered up), fiat justita ruat caelum could be a fairly powerful motive for the villain.

Interesting theory, @shadowonthesun. If that's the title's meaning, it suddenly becomes a whole lot more than just a name similar to a character from Transformers.

shadowonthesun

Well, my other theory is that "Skyfall" will be an off-the-books operation run by M during the Cold War, one that ended poorly and was covered up (ie, M leaked the identity of an agent in Moscow to try and expose a mole in London, but while successful, the mole was not very useful). The villain could be someone who was hurt as a result of that incident (continuing the example, he would be the agent M gave up), and now lives by the idea that justice must be done, whatever the cost. He knows that his actions will cause serious damage, but he also feels it is necessary. That's something we've never seen before - a villain who is a villain out of necessity. Most Bond villains are motivated by money or the material; few are motivated by ideology. It kind of reminds me of an episode of Futurama, The Why of Fry - Fry was forced to give up his family and his life in 2000 so that he could save billions in the year 3000. The people who did it to him claimed that it was justified, but Fry pointed out that "it was my life". I think that's something we could see in SKYFALL: someone who was given up for the sake of saving lives, but his life was ruined because of it.

I also think that all of this will be a subplot to the main action, featuring Craig against Bardem.

Sandy

fanbond123 said:
In the Asterix cartoon books and films the chief of the tribe always believes the sky will fall on his people. I think the sky falling is an old superstition, a sign of the end of the world. I think this might have a similar meaning in Bond 23. Skyfall could mean the end of the world or some great danger for Bond to overcome. It could be the name of a rocket or explosive device, perhaps a nuclear bomb.

Just a guess, of course!

I thought exactly the same thing the first time I heard the name SkyFall! But I guess we have to wait and see what it means, it's an enigmatic name.

forgotmyusername

Navy NCIS: skyfall - hunt it down on the net, it's a good story and funny enough it's about spies, action and drama.

I think Shadow has it, skyfall an operation gone wrong in M's past. Maybe she's responsible for JB's parents death. JB finds out but still has to help M despite his feelings for her.

shadowonthesun

forgotmyusername said:
Maybe she's responsible for JB's parents death. JB finds out but still has to help M despite his feelings for her.

No, no, no. This is not the "big hook" or the "shocking" central idea that Peter Morgan promised.

fanbond123

If you think about it, Skyfall sounds similar to Thunderball and this may not be a coincidence. Fall - ball. Thunderball was the name of that mission. Codename Thunderball : Bond trying to stop nuclear missiles being used by SPECTRE. Perhaps Skyfall is a 21st century variation on that plot?

A title like Skyfall suggests the sky will fall - if you take it literally, of course! And if the rumour about Blofeld returning is accurate - Blofeld, sky falling, Skyfall sounding like Thunderball - these seem reasonably clues the plot will involve something major and world threatening. It makes sense to up the ante for Craig's third Bond film so Bond vs a nuclear threat (albeit done in a different way to Thunderball) could be the inspiration behind Bond 23's title.

shadowonthesun

fanbond123 said:
If you think about it, Skyfall sounds similar to Thunderball and this may not be a coincidence. Fall - ball. Thunderball was the name of that mission. Codename Thunderball : Bond trying to stop nuclear missiles being used by SPECTRE. Perhaps Skyfall is a 21st century variation on that plot?

... Theyre similar because they rhyme? Sorry, but that's pretty thin.

DarthDimi

Seriously, where's all this speculation about Bond's parents coming from? I hope they won't go there.

fanbond123

" Theyre similar because they rhyme? Sorry, but that's pretty thin."

Well it's possible they chose Skyfall because it sounded similar to Thunderball. The plot of Skyfall may be totally different but when I heard Skyfall being mentioned it reminded me of Thunderball. The producers may have picked it because it sounded 1960s Bond! They may not be a deep reason why it's called Skyfall, perhaps B and MG were thinking of titles and they said "hey, Skyfall sounds a bit like Thunderball, let's go with that!" ;-)

DaltonCraig007

Craig Bond's parents are dead. It was stated on the CR website.

shadowonthesun

DarthDimi said:
Seriously, where's all this speculation about Bond's parents coming from? I hope they won't go there.

Everyone seems to think it would be a "shocking" twist.

fanbond123 said:
Well it's possible they chose Skyfall because it sounded similar to Thunderball.

It's certainly possible, but likely? No.

fanbond123

We don't want Bond Snr in a Bond film. Oooh no thanks. :-S

fanbond123

Not likely? Well Die Another Day more or less means the same as Tomorrow Never Dies. It seems apparent the producers wanted a variation on Tomorrow Never Dies and came up with Die Another Day. They decided to go with a one word title for Bond 23 and Skyfall seems too similar sounding to Thunderball - SkyFALL... ThunderBALL - to be a complete coincidence. Just my gut feeling.

DarthDimi

Not even Fleming went into much detail concerning Bond's decent. One has to read the Pearson biography for that.

fanbond123 said:
Not likely? Well Die Another Day more or less means the same as Tomorrow Never Dies. It seems apparent the producers wanted a variation on Tomorrow Never Dies and came up with Die Another Day. They decided to go with a one word title for Bond 23 and Skyfall seems too similar sounding to Thunderball - SkyFALL... ThunderBALL - to be a complete coincidence. Just my gut feeling.

I see virtually no similarities between DAD and TND TBH. The titles feel the same, yes, but that's where the similarities end, no?

DaltonCraig007

DarthDimi said:
Not even Fleming went into much detail concerning Bond's decent. One has to read the Pearson biography for that.

They could always use flashbacks... I remember during the QOS production, when it was rumoured Bond would ski in Austria, members on KTBEU said that Bond might have flashbacks of the fatal accident of his parents.

fanbond123

"The titles feel the same, yes, "

That's what I meant! The plots don't have to be the same. But as the risk of repeating myself :-D , if you came up with a title like Skyfall you may (consciously or subconsciously) hark back to Thunderball. If Skyfall does feature Blofeld and any major nuclear threat to the West then it's clear Skyfall's title was inspired by Thunderball. But of course this is a huge guess. Blofeld may not be in the film. I don't know if Eon would want to bring him back, perhaps he should be left in the past. If Blofeld does return it's best to avoid any Dr Evil Austin Powers imagery!

shadowonthesun

fanbond123 said:
Not likely? Well Die Another Day more or less means the same as Tomorrow Never Dies. It seems apparent the producers wanted a variation on Tomorrow Never Dies and came up with Die Another Day.

No, because the original title of TOMORROW NEVER DIES was TOMORROW NEVER LIES, but it was changed after a typo.

I'm sorry, but I can't swallow the idea that EON named SKYFALL as such because it sounds like THUNDERBALL. It's ridiculous. Did they name LICENCE TO KILL that way because it sounded like A VIEW TO A KILL?

DarthDimi

DaltonCraig007 said:

DarthDimi said:
Not even Fleming went into much detail concerning Bond's decent. One has to read the Pearson biography for that.

They could always use flashbacks... I remember during the QOS production, when it was rumoured Bond would ski in Austria, members on KTBEU said that Bond might have flashbacks of the fatal accident of his parents.

It would be a first. Not sure whether I'd like it or not.

fanbond123

"I'm sorry, but I can't swallow the idea that EON named SKYFALL as such because it sounds like THUNDERBALL. It's ridiculous."

Wait until Skyfall is released. You never know what the plot is about! If Skyline involves nuclear bombs and Blofeld then that explains the title. But I'm making wild guesses. The plot could be about anything. But the screenwriter did hint Blofeld might return....

Skyline? I mean Skyfall. :p

shadowonthesun

fanbond123 said:
If Skyline involves nuclear bombs and Blofeld then that explains the title.

No, it doesn't explain the title at all, because the producers have said that the title has a "physical and emotional" connection to the story.

Both A VIEW TO A KILL and LICENCE TO KILL feature sociopathic villains who want to control a monopoly on a particular market (the production of microchips and cocaine respectively). Both titles have "kill" in them. Does that mean LICENCE TO KILL was named that way because it sounded like A VIEW TO A KILL?

Luds

UsualMan said:
What does "Skyfall" mean in British culture?

It's a quadruple decker sandwich consisting of Bun, liver pie, bun, bangers & mash with gravy, bun, English chips, bun, and well some lettuce under the top bun for the healthy concerned.

;)

DarthDimi

@Luds, you can fix me a Skyfall deluxe with extra gravy any time, sir! Hey, if Bond's okay with it, so am I. ;;)

forgotmyusername

DaltonCraig007 said:

DarthDimi said:
Not even Fleming went into much detail concerning Bond's decent. One has to read the Pearson biography for that.

They could always use flashbacks... I remember during the QOS production, when it was rumoured Bond would ski in Austria, members on KTBEU said that Bond might have flashbacks of the fatal accident of his parents.

JB, bearded, is in a dungeon in a Scottish castle awaiting his fate. He has no will to live. He looks up at the shaft of light prying its way through the vented shutters of his gaol window. The light is mesmerising and Bond drifts away into his own thoughts.

He then recants, through flashbacks, directly to the camera how and why he ended up in the situation he's in: The death of M, and why the establishment wanted her out of the way....M or his duty to the state, he's emotionally divided but he chooses his path and nothing will stop him. As he retells his tale, his energy and drive return, he escapes his dungeon and hunts down the man responsible for his plight in the cold forbidding Scottish highlands....

Or see Mi4 for full plot details.

WillardWhyte

shadowonthesun said:
When SKYFALL was first rumoured as the title, I went a-hunting. And one of the references I found was fiat justita ruat caelum, a legal phrase that means "justice must be done, even if it means the sky falls". If my theory about what "Skyfall" actually is in the film (an off-the-books MI6 operation that ended badly and was covered up), fiat justita ruat caelum could be a fairly powerful motive for the villain.

Interesting indeed Shadow, now the title for me as taken a whole new turn. If it actually could mean that, it may not be as bad as I thought. Good research though, top notch.

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