Product Description

A shadowy freedom fighter known only as v uses terrorist tactics to fight against his totalitarian society. Upon rescuing a girl from the secret police he also finds his best chance at having an ally. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 11/13/2007 Starring: Natalie Portman Hugo Weaving Run time: 133 minutes Rating: R

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7060 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2006-08-01
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .35 pounds
• Running time: 132 minutes

Amazon.com
"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 played Winston Smith in the movie 1984), whose party uses force and fear to run the nation. After they gained 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 U.S. 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

On the DVDs
On disc 1 is a 16-minute documentary "Freedom! Forever!: Making V for Vendetta" with discussions on the movie's origin and themes by the principal cast and crew (no Alan Moore or Wachowskis, to no one's surprise, but the graphic novel's illustrator David Lloyd is on hand to call the movie "a very good version"). On disc 2 is a 17-minute production featurette, a 10-minute history of Guy Fawkes, and the 15-minute "England Prevails: V for Vendetta and the New Wave in Comics." Lloyd and others from the comics industry such as Paul Levitz and Bill Sienkiwicz talk about the graphic novel and how it appealed to a different, older audience. The second menu of the second disc also has an easy-to-find Easter egg of a rapping and swearing Natalie Portman on Saturday Night Live. --David Horiuchi

Beyond the Film

The graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd	More by Alan Moore	From Graphic Novel to Big Screen
More by Natalie Portman	More by Hugo Weaving	More by the Wachowski Brothers

From The New Yorker
A dunderheaded pop fantasia that celebrates terrorism and destruction. The graphic-novel creators Alan Moore and David Lloyd conceived the material in the nineteen-eighties during the reign of Margaret Thatcher. Setting their work in 1997, they projected a fascist future for England and a rebel hero—a terrorist in a Guy Fawkes mask who blows up the Parliament buildings and the Prime Minister's residence. The producer, Joel Silver, and the Wachowskis, Larry and Andy, grafted references to the current condition of warfare and fear onto this template, lifting details out of Orwell's "1984" and a variety of pop myths. Hugo Weaving is the caped and masked man who kills and blows things up; Natalie Portman is the innocent who becomes his victim and his follower. The movie has some visual life to it, but it's so foolish that you come out shaking your head. Among other things, the ineptitude of "Vendetta" suggests that pop isn't a very good mode for political allegory. With Stephen Rea. Directed by the Wachowski brothers' protégé, James McTeigue.
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

3 stars out of 4
The Bottom Line:

Even after multiple viewings I cannot deny that V for Vendetta has serious flaws--the scenes with Natalie Portman and V don't really click--but the film has scenes of such power and skill that it lingers in the memory far more than more accomplished but less ambitious movies.

V for Vacuous politics
Let me say two things about this before I get started. First, I have never read the comics, so nothing about them biased my view towards this film in any way. Second, while my rating may be low, I didn't totally see this movie as worthless, let me explain.

First the somewhat good...

This movie is as entertaining to me as simiar movies in the same genre. For example, Equilibrium, a very simillar film in almost every way possible, gave me about the same entertainment level as this film. The fight scenes were nothing great but they weren't a drudgery either. The acting was only standard in my opinion, they only exception being John Hurt's portrayl of Adam Sutler. Basically as far as most of the surface things go with this film, I have no real problem with it, but on the same token I don't really see it as great, just average.

The real problem I have with this movie and the simillar Equilibrium is the overall message. Characters like V and Cleric Preston, underline a general misconception and problem I have with contemporary political thought. They idea that in any governed body all it takes is some political messiah to come in and save everyone and inform them about what is wrong with said governing body, is both stupid and complacentcy causing. Not to mention the fact, that it blatantly insults the very people watching by assuming most of them would be herd like and complacent in such a dystopia in order for the need to be saved to come about. They answer isn't magically strong characters like V or any type of political leader at all, its regular people and personal responsibility. Whether the world be fact or fiction, waiting for a savior while you could be taking actions on your own is just stupid.

That is why I cant support this movie with anything other than one star because its message is both tired and more importantly wrong.

Blueray is the Bomb
Great movie that was spectacular re-watching on a bluray player in HD 1080P. Highly recommend this seller they were fantastic. Product reached me quickly