Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21549 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-11-20
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 133 minutes

Synopsis
From DC comics and the Wachowski Brothers (THE MATRIX) comes this tale of revolution in an England of the future, one that has become fearful and fascist; anyone different, from homosexuals to free thinking artists are black bagged and subjected to torture and inhumane medical experiments. Hugo Weaving stars as V, the mysterious masked avenger who carries knives, has lightning reflexes, lots of explosives, and intentions to blow up Parliament. He's also on a vendetta against the evil powermongers who made him the lonely monster he is. Innocent waif Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) is saved by V and winds up hiding out in his nifty secret lair, which is filled with forbidden books, art and a jukebox that plays Cat Power and Julie London's 'Cry Me a River'. Meanwhile there's a hangdog police inspector (Stephen Rea) picking up their trail, and a plethora of evil British government types regularly bullied into action by the intensely odious Grand Chancellor (John Hurt). Director James McTiegue keeps all these events unfolding at a hypnotically rhythmic pace, like the burning of a long, unstoppable fuse. Some may balk at the film's seemingly pro-explosive, pro-terrorist stance, but to look deeper is to realise the film merely provides a funhouse mirror of our actual messed up world, something that is true of all the best science fiction. V certainly fits that category, especially with Natalie Portman in the lead, as lovely and riveting an actress as a beleaguered nation could ever hope for.

Customer Reviews

Informative & Inspiring
This is truly a fantastic film from the Wachowski brothers, and everybody must get a copy and watch it. It conveys a stark and terrifying message that is eerily similar to the changes in society and government we're seeing today; though that is one of the main themes: are we truly seeing them, and if so, what are we going to do about it? As the saying goes, all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. As another reviewer said, we need to all find that part of ourselves that is exemplified by "V" and to stop living in a dream world of denial and complacency because these are the very attributes that have been the fertiliser - as well as the innocent lives lost - for totalitarian repressive regimes.

Informative and inspiring, and should go hand in hand with psychological literature by authors such as Martha Stout, Robert Hare, Andrew Lobaczewski, etc. It can only stop when we get to the very root of the issue, and that is pathological deviance in all its dark hydra-like forms.

Very Powerful
"V for Vendetta" does not show how things could become, but is a look at how things have become in the U.S. and other countries as well. To get a better idea of what the world has become (although the politicians are trying their darnedest to keep it hidden) one only needs to watch "V for Vendetta" to pierce the veil that hides the truth from so many.

This movie shows the psychopathic people who are in control of a country and how they are abusing their power, as all psychopaths do. And although I am not endorsing the way that the revenge of "V" was handled, there is a sense of encouragement that one has while watching the movie.

I think that "V for Vendetta" is a very important movie in its own right. It brings to light the true face behind the mask of those who are in power right now in real life. It is a movie that needs to be seen by those who think that their governments have their best interests at heart. To show them that 'Big Brother' is already here.

Refreshingly un-Hollywood
A great film, set in a macabre but scarily familiar England. It is bit of a shame that the two main stars aren't English but who can complain when it's Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman. I was so disappointed with the very short run in the cinemas, which ended before I had a chance to go out and see it. After their phenomenal previous success with the Matrix, I can't believe that this Wachowski brothers film was pulled so quickly!

If you thought the matrix was dark, this is possibly more so (due to its less sci-fi, more 'near-future real life' setting), and stylishly so - what else would you expect given the source material and the directors. It is a real-life study in a far more overt and less mystical manner than the matrix, and it assaults your belief in 'how things really are' in a more direct, less roundabout way.

It centers around the character 'V' who eludes the grasp of the fascist society he lives in, and attempts to wake others up to the 'unreal' reality they inhabit. This character is a bit of an enigma, and has several levels to peel away - after getting beneath the superficial level of machismo, violence and mystique, there is a whole lot more to be discovered, by the viewer and simultaneously by Natalie Portman's character, and it is in this that the magic of this film lies.

What makes this film so disturbing is that although it is presented as an over the top oppressive fascist state, there are some jarringly familiar threads running through it - just listen to the scaremongering rhetoric that John Hurt spouts as the crazed politician, and then compare with the current bunch in real life Westminster. An intelligent and thought provokingful social commentary, which illustrates the possibilities of the future if we do not pay attention, and intricately ties this in to a complex personal viewpoint of someone who is 'paying attention'.