Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1313 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-07-31
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 133 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
"Remember, remember the fifth of November," for on this day, in 2020, the minds of the masses shall be set free. So says code-name V (Hugo Weaving), a man on a mission to shake society out of its blank complacent stares in the film V For Vendetta. His tactics, however, are a bit revolutionary to say the least. The world in which V lives is very similar to Orwell's totalitarian dystopia in 1984: after years of various wars, England is now under "big brother" Chancellor Adam Sutler (played by John Hurt, who ironically played Winston Smith in the movie 1984) whose party uses force and fear to run the nation. After gaining power, minorities and political dissenters were rounded up and removed; artistic and unacceptable religious works were confiscated. Cameras and microphones are littered throughout the land, and the people are perpetually sedated through the governmentally controlled media. Taking inspiration from Guy Fawkes, the 17th century co-conspirator of a failed attempt to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605, V dons a Fawkes mask and costume and sets off to wake the masses by destroying the symbols of their oppressors, literally and figuratively. At the beginning of his vendetta, V rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) from a group of police officers and has her live with him in his underworld lair. It is through their relationship where we learn how V became V, the extremities of the party's corruption, the problems of an oppressive government, V's revenge plot and his philosophy on how to induce change.

Based on the popular graphic novel by Alan Moore, V For Vendetta's screenplay was written by the Wachowski Brothers (of The Matrix fame) and directed by their protégé James McTeigue. Controversy and criticism followed the film since its inception, from the hyper-stylized use of anarchistic terrorism to overthrow a corrupt government and the blatant jabs at the current US political arena, to graphic novel fans complaining about the reconstruction of Alan Moore's original vision (Moore himself has dismissed the film). Many are valid critiques and opinions, but there's no hiding the message the film is trying to express: Radical and drastic events often need to occur in order to shake people out of their state of indifference in order to bring about real change. Unfortunately, the movie only offers a means with no ends, and those looking for answers may find the film stylish, but a bit empty. --Rob Bracco

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

A Subtle Triumph
Having been a fan of the graphic novel for many years I was interested to see how exactly the Wachowski's intended to translate Moore's early 90's view of the future into a believable concept for the twentieth century. Despite what most of the purists may say, Moores original view of totalitarian britain has aged somewhat, and an exacttranslation of the graphic novel onto the silver screen would have been far too esoteric and inaccessable for those who had not been previously introduced to the material. What we have here the is an adaptation of the original concept of the novel, with some of the plot points rearranged and characters redrawn, in order to fit a movie format, and to better explore the intricacies of this fascist police state. Whereas moore portrayed a world where the government is in complete control, both of the nation and the hearts and minds of the citizenry, the Wachowski's have altered this somewhat. What we have now is a government that controls through deception and spin, by creating fear in the populace and presenting Anglo-christian based national socialism as the cure for all ills. This is in contrast to moores vision where the government rules by intimidation and violence, the citizens of britain are brow beaten dogs utterly submissive and incapable of thought, in this movie the populace have simply been kept in the dark and are awaiting someone to turn the light on. Enter V.

What makes this film such a triumph is it's assertion that no matter how entrencehd a governments control becomes, there are always going to be people who question them always people who look at the world and sense something is wrong. People know when they're being lied to, know when spin becomes outright lies and are perfectly capable of standing for their own rights. Of course V's attacks act as the catalyst for this process ut the ultimate act of herosim is performed by the public.
Yes there are better action films, yes there are better films that question the world we live in, but very few do both with such style and grace. This time the wachowski's managed to of their message without recourse to big black coats and rage against the machine music. Rebellion isn't just for angry teenagers- it must be for everyone.

Remember, Remember the fifth of November
Having been a fan of Alan Moore for some time now I waited with some trepidation to see what Hollywood and the Wachowski brothers had done to this fine story. Where there is an established fan base, there's always the risk that any movie might get panned for reasons of accuracy, story and in some cases out of pure petulance. In this case, I needn't have worried, the results were most impressive.

Hugo Weaving's "V" the masked freedom fighter (funny how we call the ones we like "freedom fighters" and the ones we don't "terrorists") struggles against the fascist British establishment and along the way meets Evey (Natalie Portman), a young woman eking out an existence in the state controlled media. The Government and Secret Police are ably represented in true Orwellian style by John Hurt and Tim Pigott-Smith, with Stephen Rea as a police inspector hunting Evey and V. Stephen Fry's supporting role provided amusement - just watch for that unsanctioned TV broadcast!

The production is very dark, brooding even - another reviewer has touched on Batman meets 1984 with a fair degree of accuracy. Some might say that the movie is somewhat hammed up, but as far as I can see, the deliberate correlation of V to the infamous Guy Fawkes and the flamboyance of the 17th Century rule out any complaint. I enjoyed the graphic novel and most definitely enjoyed the movie. I would recommend that any Alan Moore fan sees "V for Vendetta", in my opinion, you won't be disappointed.

I wonder what the movie version of "Watchmen" will be like??

Excellent modern version of 1984
The movie is set in 2020 and shows an England under the oppressive thumb of a fascist, oppressive dictatorship. It draws a lot from dystopian stories of the past, notably George Orwell's 1984.... IN the movie 1984 John Hurt played the ordinary man oppressed by his government trying to beat the system - in this he plays the fascist dictator forcing the system down everyone elses throats as High Chancellor Suttler. What gives the book a modern flavour (and arguably weakens the message) is that the situation is not hopeless. Fight the power is the message V takes to his heart. I must confess I fell deeply in love with the character V after he'd only said about 3 sentences as he is an intelligent and educated hero. No 'hasta la vista, baby' here, just shakespearean quotes and clever linguistic gymnastics - other people have mentioned the famous alliteration speech (nearly every word starts with V in it) - you can find it it online, it really is amusing. Other reviewers mentioned that its stylish though empty though I found it otherwise, V makes good points, listen carefully to his speech when he hacks his way on to the airwaves to broadcast what the propaganda machine later calls a message of hate, he expertly sums up how politicians hoodwink the masses through psychological sleight of hand. Listen to his explanation of how symbols are given power by people.

Hugo weaving plays V with class and humility - I say that because the character never reveals his face, in the book he is even more mysterious as its hinted that he might not even be prisoner number 5 (roman numeral V) from the Larkhill concentration camp. Natalie Portman's performance is strong despite her imperfect accent.

The action is fast paced and without giving anything away, if you haven't read the graphic novel there are parts of the movie that will blow your mind. I watched the movie several times in the first week I'd purchased it and its hard to praise it highly enough. Its amazing. An interesting aspect is how an oppressive government can gain power by offering freedom FROM terrorism (very relevent for the current political climes) and FROM things like homosexuality and religious extremism, just remember that a good healthy government offers freedom TO do things, not freedom 'from' things.

The acting is superb, stephen rea as police chief finch elegantly underplays his role as the besieged policeman trying to do whats right in a world gone wrong, Weaving is chivalrous but dark as V and natalie portman shines as Evie. Sublime. Magnificent. A modern classic with a lesson for our times.