V for Vendetta



V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta is a 2006 action-thriller film set in London sometime in the near future. The film follows V, a freedom fighter who uses terrorist tactics in pursuit of a personal vendetta and, above all, to force sociopolitical change in a dystopian Britain. The film is a loose adaptation of the graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. V for Vendetta was directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Natalie Portman as Evey Hammond, Hugo Weaving as V, Stephen Rea as Inspector Finch and John Hurt as Chancellor Sutler.

The film's release was originally scheduled for Friday, November 4, 2005 (a day before the 400th Guy Fawkes Night), but was delayed; it instead opened on March 17, 2006, and has been generally well-received by critics; Alan Moore, however, disassociated himself with the film, something Moore has done with all films made about his works. The filmmakers removed some of the anarchist themes that were present in the original story and added a current political context to the film. Due to the politically sensitive content of the film, V for Vendetta has been the target of both criticism and praise from political groups.

Plot

The story is set in the near future (about 2038) when Britain is ruled by a totalitarian regime called Norsefire. It follows Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), a young woman who, at the start of the film, is rescued from state police by a masked vigilante known as "V" (Hugo Weaving). After rescuing her, V takes Evey to a rooftop location to witness his spectacular destruction of the Old Bailey. The regime explains the incident to the public as a planned demolition, but this is shown to be a lie when V takes over the state-run TV station later that day. V broadcasts a message urging the people of Britain to rise up and stand with him at the houses of parliament on November 5, one year from that day. V implies that on that date he will destroy the Houses of Parliament.

Evey, who works at the TV station, helps V escape. V brings Evey to his lair, where she is told that she must stay in hiding with him for her own safety. Upon learning that V is killing government officials, she is horrified and disgusted with V's actions, vowing to escape from V, even if it means betraying and deceiving him. In an effort to escape V's lair, she briefly explains her past to V and then inquires as to whether there is anything that she could do to help. Later, he devises a plan to infiltrate the monastery where a corrupt priest is found, requiring Evey's assistance. Evey betrays V's plot to the priest but the priest doesn't believe her. After V appears, Evey escapes to the home of one of her superiors from the BTN, Gordon Deitrich (Stephen Fry), who reveals to her that he is a closet homosexual and a collector of banned art and literature. Shortly afterwards the state police raid Gordon's home, and Evey is captured. She is incarcerated and tortured for days, finding solace only in the notes left by another prisoner named Valerie, who was imprisoned and persecuted for being a lesbian. Evey is told that she will be executed unless she reveals V's whereabouts. An exhausted Evey says she would rather die, and, surprisingly, is then released. Evey discovers that she has been in V's lair all along, and that her imprisonment was staged by V. By forcing Evey to experience what he had gone through long ago, V hoped that Evey would understand that our integrity, "the very last inch of us", can be more important than our lives. Evey initially hates V for what he has done, but comes to realize that having faced her own death, she can now live without fear. She leaves V, promising to return before November 5.

Meanwhile, Inspector Finch (Stephen Rea), through his investigation of V, learns how Norsefire came to power, and about V’s origins. Fourteen years previously, Britain had suffered from war and terrorism. The ultra-conservative Norsefire party led a reactionary purge to restore order; so-called enemies of the state disappeared during the night. The country was deeply divided over the loss of freedom until a bioterrorist attack occurred, killing about 100,000 people. The fear generated by the attack allowed Norsefire to silence all opposition and win the next election by a landslide. A cure for the virus was discovered soon afterwards. With the silent consent of the people, Norsefire turned Britain into a bigoted totalitarian order, with their leader Adam Sutler (John Hurt) as High Chancellor.

However, the viral catastrophe had actually been engineered by Norsefire as a ploy to gain power. The virus had been engineered through deadly experimentation on "social deviants" and political dissidents at Larkhill detention center. V had been one of the prisoners, but instead of being killed by the experiments, he had gained heightened mental and physical abilities. V eventually destroyed the center and escaped, vowing to take revenge on Norsefire's regime. As November 5 nears, V's various schemes cause chaos in Britain, as the population grows more and more intolerant and subversive towards government authority. On the eve of November 5, V is again visited by Evey, and shows her a train which he has filled with explosives in order to destroy Parliament through an explosion in the abandoned London Underground. He delegates the destruction of Parliament to Evey, believing that the ultimate decision should not come from him. He then leaves to meet Party leader Creedy who, as part of an earlier agreement, has agreed to bring the Chancellor to V in exchange for V's surrender. Creedy kills the Chancellor in front of V, but V does not surrender, instead killing Creedy and his men. V, mortally wounded in the fight, returns to Evey. He thanks her, professes his love for her, and then dies. His body is placed upon the train with the explosives, in a type of Viking funeral.

Evey is about to send the train down the track when she is discovered by Inspector Finch. Finch, having learned much about the corruption of the Norsefire regime, allows Evey to proceed. Meanwhile, thousands of Londoners, all wearing Guy Fawkes masks, march on Parliament to watch the event. Because Creedy and the Chancellor are dead, the military stands down in the face of a civil rebellion. Parliament is destroyed by the explosion. On a nearby rooftop Evey and Finch watch the scene together and hope for a better tomorrow.

Development

The film was made by many of the same filmmakers involved in the Matrix trilogy. In 1988, producer Joel Silver acquired the rights to two of Alan Moore's texts: V for Vendetta and Watchmen.[2] The Wachowski brothers were fans of V for Vendetta and in the mid-1990's, before working on The Matrix, wrote a draft screenplay that closely followed the graphic novel. During the postproduction of the second and third Matrix films, the Wachowski brothers revisited the screenplay and offered the director's role to James McTeigue and Pedro Esteves. All three were intrigued by the themes of the original story and found them to be relevant to the current political landscape. Upon revisiting the screenplay, the Brothers set about making revisions to condense and modernize the story, while at the same time attempting to preserve its integrity and themes.[3]

Moore explicitly disassociated himself from the film, continuing a series of disputes over film adaptations of his work. He ended cooperation with his publisher, DC Comics, after its corporate parent, Warner Bros., failed to retract statements about Moore's supposed endorsement of the film. Moore said that the script contained plot holes[4] and that it ran contrary to the theme of his original work, which was to place two political extremes (fascism and anarchism) against one another. He argues his work had been recast as a story about "current American neo-conservatism vs. current American liberalism".[5] As per his wishes, Moore's name does not appear in the film's closing credits. Meanwhile, co-creator and illustrator David Lloyd supports the film adaptation, commenting that the script is very good and that Moore would only ever be truly happy with a complete book-to-screen adaptation.[2]

Neoconservatism is a political current and ideology, mainly in the United States, which is generally held to have emerged in the 1960s, coalesced in the 1970s, and has had a significant presence in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. It is today most closely identified with a set of foreign policy positions and goals: a hawkish stance during the Cold War and, more recently, in various conflicts in the Middle East. At times there have been distinct neoconservative positions in domestic policies; in particular, the first generation of neoconservatives were generally less opposed to "big government" and to social spending than other U.S. conservatives of the time, though they also called for significant restructuring of the goals and methods of many social programs.

The prefix neo- refers to two ways in which neoconservatism was new: many of the movement's founders, originally liberals, Democrats or from socialist backgrounds, were new to conservatism; neoconservatism was also a comparatively recent strain of conservative thought, which derived from a variety of intellectual roots in the decades following World War II. While some (such as Irving Kristol) have described themselves as "neoconservatives", the term is used today more by opponents and critics of this political current than by its adherents, some of whom reject even the claim that neoconservatism is an identifiable current of American political thought.

American liberalism—that is, liberalism in the United States of America—is a broad political and philosophical mindset, favoring individual liberty, and opposing restrictions on liberty, whether they come from established religion, from government regulation, from the existing class structure, or from multi-national corporations. [1] Liberalism in America takes various forms, ranging from classical liberalism to social liberalism to neoliberalism.

The United States was founded on classical liberal republican principles. The United States Declaration of Independence speaks of "unalienable rights" to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", and asserts that government may exist only with the "consent of the governed"; the Preamble to the Constitution enumerates among its purposes to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity"; the Bill of Rights contains numerous measures guaranteeing individual freedom, both from the authority of the state and from the tyranny of the majority; and the Reconstruction Amendments after the Civil War freed the slaves and (at least in principle) extended to them and to their descendants the same rights as other Americans. [2

Production

V for Vendetta was filmed in London, UK and in Potsdam, Germany at Babelsberg Studios. Much of the film was shot on sound stages and indoor sets, with location work done in Berlin for three scenes: the Norsefire rally flashback, Larkhill, and Bishop Lilliman’s bedroom. The scenes that took place in the abandoned London Underground were filmed at the disused Aldwych tube station. Filming began in early March, 2005, and principal photography officially wrapped in early June of 2005.[2] V for Vendetta is the final film shot by noted cinematographer Adrian Biddle, who died of a heart attack on December 7, 2005.

The film was designed to have a future-retro look, with a heavy use of grey tones to give a dreary, stagnant feel to totalitarian London. The largest set created for the film was the Shadow Gallery, which was made to feel like a cross between a crypt and an undercroft.[6] The Gallery is V's home as well as the place where he stores various artifacts forbidden by the government. Some of the works of art displayed in the gallery include The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian, a Mildred Pierce poster, St. Sebastian by Andrea Mantegna and The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse.

One of the major challenges in the film was how to bring V to life from under an expressionless mask. Thus, considerable effort was made to bring together lighting, acting and Weaving's voice to create the proper mood for the situation. In order to prevent the mask from muffling Weaving's voice, a microphone was placed in his hairline to aid post-production, when his entire dialogue was re-recorded.[7]

To film the final scene at Westminster, the area from Trafalgar Square and Whitehall up to Parliament and Big Ben had to be closed for three nights from 12–5 a.m, and the crew was only allowed to stop traffic for four minutes at a time. This was the first time the security-sensitive area (home to 10 Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence) had ever been closed to accommodate filming.[7] Prime Minister Tony Blair's son Euan Blair worked on the film's production and is said (through an interview with Stephen Fry) to have helped the filmmakers obtain the unparalleled filming access. This drew criticism for Blair from MP David Davis due to the content of the film. However, the makers of the film deny Euan Blair's involvement in the deal,[8] stating that access was acquired through nine months of negotiations with 14 different government departments and agencies.[7]

Cast

• Natalie Portman as Evey Hammond: Director James McTeigue first met Portman on the set of Attack of the Clones, where he worked with her as assistant director. In preparing for the role, Portman worked with a dialectologist Barbara Berkery in order to perform with an English accent. She also studied films like The Weather Underground and read the autobiography of Menachem Begin.[3] Portman received top billing for the film and is the only American cast member.

• Hugo Weaving and James Purefoy as V: James Purefoy was originally cast as V but left six weeks into filming due to difficulties wearing the mask for the entire film.[9] He was replaced by Hugo Weaving, who previously worked with Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers on The Matrix trilogy as Agent Smith. However, parts of the film still contain scenes from Purefoy with only a voiceover from Weaving. When taking into account the stuntmen who also played V, there were actually several people who played V in the film.[10]

• Stephen Rea as Chief Inspector Eric Finch: Eric Finch is technically the Chief Constable of the English police force, nicknamed "the Nose". However, the title "Chief Constable" has since fallen out of favour in Britain after one protested the Reclamation. Finch's Irish background causes his loyalties to be questioned by Creedy. Actor Stephen Rea is also Irish and, interestingly, was once married to Dolours Price, a former member of the IRA, imprisoned for bombing the Old Bailey.[11]

• John Hurt as High Chancellor Adam Sutler: A former Conservative MP and Under-Secretary for Defence, Sutler founded Norsefire which won a landslide election victory after (staged) terrorist attacks weakened confidence in the government. Sutler was appointed to a new office of High Chancellor, becoming the de facto dictator of Britain. Playing Chancellor Sutler was a complete role reversal for John Hurt, as he played the part of Winston Smith, a victim of the state in the film adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

• Stephen Fry as Gordon Deitrich: Talk show host Gordon Deitrich is a closeted homosexual who, due to the restrictions of the regime, has "lost his appetite" over the years. This has some parallels with Stephen Fry, who is also homosexual and had famously practiced a celibate lifestyle for over 16 years. When asked in an interview what he liked about the role, Stephen replied, "Being beaten up! I hadn't been beaten up in a movie before and I was very excited by the idea of being clubbed to death."[12]

• Sinead Cusack as Dr. Delia Surridge: Dr. Surridge was the head physician at the Larkhill detention center. V states that the torture and death at Larkhill was only possible because of her research. She apologises to V before she dies.

• John Standing as Bishop Anthony James Lilliman: Lilliman is a corrupt pedophile bishop at Westminster Abbey, installed into this position by Sutler. In regards to his role as Lilliman, Standing remarks, "I thoroughly enjoyed playing Lilliman... because he's slightly comic and utterly atrocious. Lovely to do."[3]

• Tim Pigott-Smith as Peter Creedy: Creedy is both Norsefire's party leader and the head of Britain's Secret Police, the Finger. While Sutler is the Chancellor, the real power of the regime lies with Creedy.[3]

• Rupert Graves as Dominic Stone: Dominic is Inspector Finch’s lieutenant in the V investigation.

• Natasha Wightman as Valerie Page: Born in 1985, Valerie starred in her first film, The Salt Flats, in 2015. Three years later, her partner, Ruth, was imprisoned by the government and Valerie was taken shortly afterwards. She was imprisoned at Larkhill (in the cell next to V) and her autobiography inspired V to take vengeance on the state. Valerie's symbolic role as a victim of the state was received positively by many LGBT critics. Film critic Michael Jensen praised the extraordinarily powerful moment of Valerie's scene "not just because it is beautifully acted and well-written, but because it is so utterly unexpected [in a Hollywood film]."[13]

• Roger Allam as Lewis Prothero: Lewis Prothero, "The Voice of London" (originally known as "The Voice of Fate,") is the mouthpiece of Norsefire's propaganda division. Prior to becoming "The Voice of London", he was fabulously wealthy by being a major stockholder of the pharmaceutical company that "developed" the cure for the St. Mary's virus. He also served in the Middle East, in nations with high political tensions.

• Ben Miles as Roger Dascombe: Though never explicitly mentioned in the film, Dascombe is Sutler's head of the propaganda division, "the Mouth".[3]

• Eddie Marsan as Brian Etheridge: Etheridge is the head of "the Ear", the audio-surveillance division. The division is responsible for random audio sweeps and phone surveillance.

• Guy Henry as Conrad Heyer: Heyer is the head of "the Eye", the visual-surveillance division.

• Clive Ashborn as Guy Fawkes: The story of Guy Fawkes is described in the beginning of the film and serves as the historical inspiration for V.

CHARACTERS

Evey Hammond is a main character in V for Vendetta, which was originally published through monthly independent issues of Warrior, until the series folded, leaving the story unfinished. DC Comics sought to get ahold of the material, and creators Alan Moore and David Lloyd finished it, seeing DC release it as a 10-part series. It was later collected as a graphic novel as well.

Biography

In 2006 film adaption, Evey is not a would-be prostitute, but she is still caught by a fingerman during the city curfew. She is no longer a naive, 16-year-old waif, but an older, more independent and free-thinking young woman.

Issues regarding her family are different as well. In the film, she has an older brother who is killed by a virus that was secretly developed by the government and first tested on V's fellow inmates at Larkhill. Her parents then become political activists and participate in anti-government protests. The Hammonds are arrested by the Fingermen and later executed; Evey's last memory of her mother is of her head being covered by a black bag as she is dragged away. Suddenly orphaned, Evey is sent to a child reclamation camp and then works for the British Television Network.

Evey does form a relationship with Gordon (here, a popular talk show host and acquaintance of hers at the network) but the two do not become lovers, as he is a homosexual. Evey is abducted by V when Creedy, one of the most powerful officials in the government, raids Gordon's home. The ensuing sequences involving the torture Evey undergoes and the inspiration she finds in Valerie's letters, are taken from the graphic novel almost verbatim.

Evey's trust of V develops quicker in the novel, but a more romantic angle is developed in the film. She does not personally take up the mantle of V after his death, but she does grant him his final wish and give him a Viking's Funeral in a train car filled with explosives. Detective Finch discovers her and nearly stops her, but his own hatred for the government overpowers him and he lets her pull the lever triggering the explosives. Evey and Finch then watch as Parliament is destroyed by V's funeral car, ending Sutler's oppressive reign over England.

V is a fictional character from the comic book series V for Vendetta, created by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. He is a mysterious anarchist vigilante and terrorist, easily recognizable by his Guy Fawkes mask and dark clothing. According to Moore, he was designed to be both a protagonist and antagonist, so that readers could decide for themselves whether he was a hero fighting for a cause, or simply insane. [1]

Origin

V's background and his identity are largely unknown. He was an inmate at the infamous "Larkhill Resettlement Camp", which was actually one of many concentration camps where political prisoners, homosexuals, Jews, black people, Muslims and probably all non-Caucasians were exterminated by Britain's new fascist regime, Norsefire. While there, he was part of a group of prisoners who were subjected to horrific medical experiments conducted by Dr. Delia Surridge, which involved artificially designed hormone experiments (possibly research into creating super-soldiers). A pedophile priest, Lilliman, was at the camp to lend "spiritual support". The dozens of prisoners injected with the serum all died horribly, all except for one man: the man in room five ("V" in Roman numerals). Physically, there was nothing wrong with him, but Surridge felt that his mind had been warped by the experimentation. Still, his actions seemed to maintain a twisted logic to them. The experiments actually yielded some beneficial results; he developed Olympic-level reflexes, increased strength, and incredibly expanded mental capacity.

Over time, the man is allowed to grow flowers (violet carsons) and is discovered to be a gardening expert and ends up raising crops for camp officials, i.e. Prothero. The man eventually started taking surplus ammonia-based fertilizer back to his cell, arranged them in bizarre, intricate patterns on the floor, and soon after a large amount of grease solvent from the gardens also went missing. In secret, the man was using the fertilizer and solvent to make mustard gas and napalm. On a stormy night (Nov. 5th), he detonated his homemade bomb and escaped his cell. Much of the camp was set ablaze, and many of the guards that rushed in to see what happened were killed by the mustard gas. The camp was evacuated and closed down. He adopted the new identity, "V", and donned a Guy Fawkes mask and costume. V then spent the next five years planning his revenge on the Norsefire government, building his secret base, which he called the "Shadow Gallery", and killing off most of the over 40 surviving personnel from Larkhill, making each killing look like an accident. However, he saved Prothero, Surridge, and Lilliman for last.

Identity

V's true identity is a mystery, and he takes off his mask only once during the entire story (at Surridge's request) but his face is never shown. The only instance in which we might see his face is at a point when he dunks Evey's head into water. In one panel, the reader is shown a Caucasian male covered partially by shadows, pulling her head out of the water. However, this possible sighting of a face could easily be written off as just another mask.

He doesn't even consider "V" his "name", saying "I do not have a name. You can call me V." The only explanation given regarding V's past is Surridge's diary, which V leaves out in the open for the "Nose" (an agency much like the FBI) to find after he kills her. Inspector Finch, the head of London's Nose department and one of Norsefire's most powerful officials, reads through the diary, but points out that V wanted them to read it. V also tore out many pages, which possibly left clues to his true identity before arriving at the camp. Finch further speculates that V fabricated the version of Surridge's diary which he left with her body, just to confuse the police. It does seem to be confirmed that V was actually at Larkhill, but anything the police found out about it from the diary is what V wanted them to know.

It is possible that V was horrifically disfigured by the experiments. His confidante Evey Hammond speculated in the comic that V might be her own father, who was arrested years ago as a political prisoner, though he denies it. Indeed, Moore has confirmed that V is not Evey's father. [2] There is also some speculation that V could actually be Valerie, the prisoner in the cell next to his whose autobiographical letter inspired V not to give up (and which he later passed on to Evey). Conceivably, V might actually be a woman whose appearance has been so drastically altered by the hormone experiments that it is impossible to tell while wearing the Guy Fawkes disguise. However, Prothero and Surridge both describe V as the "man" from room five, which would seem to dispel this theory.

V's true identity is never revealed. As Finch comments on the pages V tore from Surridge's diary, "What was on the missing pages, eh? His name? His age? Whether he was Jewish, or homosexual, or black or white?". He later describes himself to Finch as "an idea". That Evey genuinely takes over the persona upon the death of her predecessor suggests V is something transcending the individual physically donning the mask, akin to Doctor Mabuse. Late in the story, Evey, having taken over V's mission, also appears to consider herself anarchy incarnate. In effect, V is an Everyman: potentially, anyone oppressed by their government could become a revolutionary avenger.

The villain

Four years after his escape from Larkhill, V begins his vendetta against the government by blowing up Parliament on November 5, Guy Fawkes Day. V then kidnapped Prothero, who was now the "Voice of Fate" on the government's propaganda radio, and drove him insane by destroying his prize doll collection in a satire of the exterminations that occurred at Larkhill. V killed now-Bishop Lilliman by forcing him to eat a communion wafer laced with a lethal dose of cyanide. Norsefire had infused a perversion of religion into their rhetoric, saying that those who were exterminated were not pure in the eyes of God, and V's black joke was in forcing Lilliman to put some of his religious rhetoric to the test. V then killed Surridge, the one Larkhill official who felt remorse for her actions, by injecting her with a poison which painlessly killed her. Having thus leveled the playing field, V moved his plans forward.

V staged an attack on the government's propaganda broadcasting station, strapping himself with explosives and forcing the staff to follow his orders under threat of detonating them. V then broadcast a message to the people, telling them to take responsibility for themselves and rise up against their government. Finally, V destroyed the government's CCTV surveillance buildings, eroding its control over British citizens. However, V was mortally wounded when he was shot by Finch, and he staggered back to the Shadow Gallery, where he died in Evey's arms. Evey then laid him in state, surrounded by white lilies and gelignite, in a subway train which stopped at a blockage along the tracks right under 10 Downing Street, where the explosives-laden cab detonated, giving V a viking funeral in the process. Evey then took on the mantle of "V".

The 2006 film adaptation of the graphic novel starred Hugo Weaving as V. In the film, V is a portrayed as a romantic freedom fighter rather than as an anarchist terrorist. While he still performs acts of terrorism, they are more in the light of Che Guevara. He is also portrayed as much more human and personable than his comic book counterpart, and more willing to spare the lives of those collaborating with the government. Also, near the climax of the film, the character admits to having fallen in love with Evey. Although it is never specified, it appears to be a platonic love rather than romantic love. There are strong elements from the Count of Monte Cristo and Phantom of the Opera in this interpretation of V that are not as pronounced in the original story. V's history is also very different from that given in the graphic novel; his powers are no longer the result of a super-soldier experiment, but an end result of a biological weapons experiment. Another addition to the character's mythos is that, prior to his escape from Larkhill, he claims to have forgotten his past in its entirety, including his name, transforming him totally into the "everyman" persona he adopts in both the original story and in the film. Unlike the graphic novel, where he kills dozens, if not hundreds of government workers indiscriminately, the V of the film kills only to fulfill his vendetta and those who are an immediate threat to his plans. He fails to bomb Jordan Tower, and given V's proximity to the explosives and his stated plans for the future, it can only be assumed that the bomb was not rigged to explode anyway. He is also revealed to have undergone severe burn damage, whereas in the novel, he is assumed to have been unscarred by his escape from Larkhill. The briefly exposed skin, while suffering from severe scarring, indicates he is probably white.

Chief Inspector Eric Finch is a fictional character from the graphic novel and film V for Vendetta. In the film, he is played by Stephen Rea.

He is London's Chief of Police, and a member of Norsefire, a fascist regime that rules post-apocalyptic England. Unlike his amoral, power-hungry superiors, however, he is not a bad man, but simply a dedicated police officer committed to upholding the law and protecting society. While he is (perhaps willfully) unaware of the full scope of Norsefire's crimes, including state terrorism and genocide, it is implied that he is troubled by what little he does know of, such as the Party's possible role in the death of his family during the regime's initial rise to power.

A peripheral member of Chancellor Adam Susan's inner circle of lieutenants, Finch is charged with hunting down and arresting "V" a masked vigilante who has destroyed the Old Bailey, before he carries out his promise to destroy the Houses of Parliament in a year's time.

Film interpretation

In the 2006 film adaptation, Finch's doubts about Norsefire and latent sympathy for V is more explicit; he seems almost reluctant to stop V's plan as he learns the full scope of the atrocities Norsefire has committed (in this adaptation, killing thousands of people with a laboratory-engineered plague and blaming it on terrorists in order to seize power). Also, Finch's Irish background causes his loyality to be put to question by Peter Creedy. Whatever his personal feelings about the case, however, Finch remains committed to stopping V and preserving the law.

The biggest departure this version of the character takes from the novel is that his sympathy for V's cause eventually wins out; not only does he not kill V, but he allows Hammond to bomb Parliament.

High Chancellor Adam Sutler is a fictional character in the film adaptation of the graphic novel V for Vendetta. Chancellor Sutler is based on the novel's Adam Susan, whose name and traits - like those of several other characters - were altered in the process of adapting the novel to film. In the film, he is portrayed by John Hurt.

The film adaptation of V For Vendetta renames him Adam Sutler, and portrays him as a far less complex character. In this adaptation, he is a power-hungry politician who hid behind a religious facade to insinuate himself into England's political arena. While his graphic novel counterpart genuinely believes in fascist ideals, this version of the character appears to see them as merely a means to achieving absolute power.

In the film, Norsefire seized power by murdering thousands of people with a laboratory-engineered plague, blaming the catastrophe on terrorists, and promising to restore order. It then uses the supposed terrorist threat, along with an ongoing propaganda campaign in the state-run media, to cow the public into silence and justify its genocidal policies. As in the graphic novel, Sutler lives in an underground bunker in self-imposed exile and leaves the day-to-day operation of his empire to Creedy.

In the film's climactic scene, Creedy, who had secretly made a deal with V to kill Sutler, kidnaps him, brings him to V, and executes him. Moments later, a mortally wounded V kills Creedy and fulfills his pledge to destroy Parliament as a newly liberated public looks on.

Gordon Deitrich is a fictional character from the graphic novel and film V for Vendetta. In the film, Gordon Deitrich (played by Stephen Fry) is a former television producer from before the Reclamation. After Norsefire took power in England, Deitrich was contracted to host a weekly, government-approved variety show called Deitrich's Half-Hour. In public, Deitrich portrayed himself as a playboy; in fact, he is a homosexual, which would get him executed if publically known.

Evey Hammond accepts dinner with Deitrich, hoping it will get her higher up in the BTN. However, she is confronted by Fingermen and is subsequently saved by V, a masked vigilante who then blows up the Old Bailey. Later, Evey tries to escape V and Deitrich allows her into his home. Deitrich confides in Evey his sexual orientation and his collection of rare and banned art in his basement, such as the Qur'an and a painting of England dictatorial ruler, Chancellor Sutler, dressed as Queen Elizabeth II.

Inspired by V, Deitrich produces an episode of his show mocking Chancellor Sutler and V. Sutler orders his right-hand man, Peter Creedy, to raid Deitrich's home. His men then place a black bag over Deitrich's head and he is taken away. V finds Evey before the Finger does and later reveals that Dietrich was executed when the police found his Qur'an.

If you look closely at the very end of the film when the crowd of masked revolutionaries remove their headgear Deitrich is in full shot as one of them. This, however, is only symbolism for Evey saying V was "all of us". You can see Valerie and Ruth, Evey's parents, and the little girl the Fingerman shot who was doing graffiti in a V outfit.

Dr. Delia Surridge (a.k.a. Dr. Diana Stanton) is a fictional character from V for Vendetta. In the film, she is played by Sinead Cusack In both the graphic novel and the film, she was chief doctor at Larkhill Detention Center. She helped work on a powerful virus that was later used in an attack on England organized by Norsefire, a fascist dictatorship, and blamed on terrorists. During her work, she became fascinated with "the man from Room V", who was not killed by the virus and appeared to have gained near-superhuman strength from the experiments. The man was given special privileges and put in an order for gardening supplies. He then used the ammonia and fertilizers to destroy much of the camp on November 5 and escaped.

Shortly afterward, Stanton learned the full extent of the mass murders Norsefire committed using her research. Horrified and stricken with guilt, she disappeared and applied for an overseas visa which was denied. She then changed her name to "Delia Surridge" and became Chief Autopsy Examiner at the Nose, Norsefire's police department. She became friends with Chief Inspector Finch and sometimes went out with him.

After examining the body of the late Father Lilliman, Finch gives Surridge a flower that V uses as a "calling card". She identifies it as a "Scarlet Carson" and then realizes that V is the terrorist. Finch then leaves her when his DS Dominic Stone reveals that V has killed all of the Larkhill staff except for "Diana Stanton". They then learn that Stanton is Dr. Surridge and rush to her house to save her and catch V.

At her home, Surridge is confronted by V, who says that the bio-attack was only possible because of her research. V then gives her a Scarlett Carson and tells her that he already injected her with poison. Delia Surridge uses her last breath to apologize to V for her role in his suffering. Finch and Dominic arrive shortly afterwards, failing to catch V. However, Finch discovers Surridge's journal and reads it, learning what really happened at Larkhill.

Bishop Anthony James Lilliman is a fictional character from the graphic novel and film V for Vendetta. In the film, he is played by John Standing.

In the film, Lilliman was the chaplain at the Larkhill Detention Center and was suppose to monitor "rules and rights" violations. However, his £200,000 a month payment kept him silent while Commander Lewis Prothero and others worked on the St. Mary's virus, which the fascist government, Norsefire, used to kill thousands of people. Among other Larkhill personnel, he is particularly cruel to the prisoner in room V, who later destroys Larkhill and escapes.

A few years after the destruction of Larkhill and St. Mary's Outbreak, Lilliman becomes Bishop of London, possibly installed into this position by Chancellor Sutler. Lilliman secretly rapes young girls on Sunday evening after mass.

The escaped prisoner, now a masked vigilante calling himself "V" has his accomplice Evey Hammond play Lilliman's girl for "Children's Hour at the Abbey". Evey tells Lilliman everything, hoping she will get some kind of amnesty. However, Lilliman thinks it is part of a sex game and while he tries to rape her, Evey kicks him in the crotch. At this point, V enters and Evey flees. Lilliman grabs a gun from a hollowed Bible, but misses V, who then tortures him to death. Police in a nearby surveillance van hear Lilliman's screams of pain; however, by the time Chief Inspector Eric Finch and Dominic Stone arrive, Lilliman is dead.

Peter Creedy is a fictional character from the film and graphic novel V for Vendetta. In the movie version he is played by Tim Piggott-Smith.

In both interpretations, Creedy is the Party Leader of Norsefire, a fascist dictatorship holding England in an iron grip, and head of the secret police, called "the Finger." He and his secret police are charged with apprehending "V," a masked vigilante whose high-profile acts of terrorism have undermined Norsefire's control of the country

the movie, "Creepy" Creedy lurks in the shadows, making his men do most of the dirty work, including the kidnapping, detention and mass murder of anyone who criticizes Norsefire or does not fit its racist standards of "purity." He makes an exception, however, for variety show host Gordon Deitrich, showing up at Deitrich's home following Deitrich's lampoon of the High Chancellor, renamed "Adam Sutler" for the movie. His trademark is the black satchels his men, or he personally, put over his captives' heads. Although "Creedy's black-baggers," as they are known, usually do this, Creedy himself puts the bag on Deitrich after whipping him in the face with a nightstick.

Although his level of personal involvement is never directly stated, it is made clear that he is complicit in murdering thousands of people with a laboratory-engineered plague, which is later blamed on terrorists and used to frighten the public into giving the Party total control. In a meeting with Inspector Eric Finch, a disguised V suggests that it was Creedy's idea to use the virus "not on the enemies of the country, but on the country itself."

By the end of the movie, Creedy has fallen out of favor with Chancellor Sutler because of his failure to capture V. After Sutler threatens to fire him, Creedy is faced in his home by V, who offers Creedy a deal: Knowing that, one day, survival will come down to him and Sutler, he gives V Sutler; in return, V turns himself over.

V and Creedy meet in an abandoned tube station, and Creedy personally executes Sutler in front of V. In the ensuing chaos, a mortally wounded V kills all of Creedy's men, followed by Creedy himself.

Lewis Prothero is a fictional character from V for Vendetta. In the film, he was played by Roger Allam. In the film, Prothero is a former military commander who served in the British Army in the Middle East nations including Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria ("before and after," according to Inspector Finch, although he never says before and after what), and Sudan. After that, he returned to England as commanding officer of the Larkhill Detention Center. At Larkhill, Dr. Delia Surridge engineered a powerful bioweapon which was later used in a government organized biological attack on England. Along with Anthony James Lilliman, he takes particular delight in brutalizing a prisoner in room V, who eventually destroys Larkhill and escapes.

Prothero was a major stockholder in Viadox Pharmaceutical. As Viadox took credit for producing the cure for the "St. Mary's virus" shortly after Chancellor Sutler was elected (the cure was also engineered at Larkhill), Viadox stock soared and Prothero became one of the richest men in England. He also says that during the Reclamation, he served at detention centers in Islington and Enfield.

He was later contracted to do a political show called The Voice of London each weeknight, earning Prothero the eponymous nickname. On the show, Prothero would bad-mouth the former-United States and rant on how, in England, "We did what we had to do" before a canned audience. His racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic rants go unchallenged, and his signoff is, "England prevails!" In a telephone conversation with Dascombe, he says, "England prevails because I say it does!" and then says "Find another DOP or find yourself another job!"

Years later, the escaped prisoner, now a masked terrorist calling himself "V," began his revolution to take down the oppressive Norsefire regime. After V destroyed the Old Bailey, Prothero publicly called him "a goddamned coward." Shortly after the show aired, V arrived in Prothero's home and killed him. Chief Inspector Eric Finch then investigated Prothero's life before becoming The Voice of London and through it, he learned the true origins of the St. Mary's virus.

Roger Dascombe is a fictional character from the graphic novel and film V for Vendetta. In the film, he is played by Ben Miles. In the film, Dascombe is the head of the Norsefire Propaganda Division, nicknamed "the Mouth", and is chief executive of the British Television Network. He also helps write news reports and puts the spin on stories.

Dascombe tells High Chancellor Sutler that he is calling the destruction of the Old Bailey, perpetrated by a masked terrorist calling himself "V," an "emergency demolition", with the help of spin coverage on the BTN and the InterLink. Later that same day, V attacks Jordan Tower (headquarters of the Mouth) and broadcasts a message urging London's citizens to rise up against the government. When Chief Inspector Finch raids the control booth with a SWAT team, Dascombe records the raid with cameras and later uses the footage in a news segment. A vest of dynamite is found in the control booth and Dascombe defuses it; however, it is implied by V's proximity to the explosives that the bomb was not meant to detonate.

Dascombe tries to help cover up the death of Lewis Prothero (host of The Voice of London) by saying he died "of heart failure while working late at night in his office" when in fact V killed him. Dascombe also attacks the public with reports of water shortages, avian flu vaccine hoarders, new viral attacks, and the fact that "V" is a terrorist organization, not just one man. However, the public no longer believes Dascombe's broadcasts anymore and they begin to disobey the government.

By the end of the film, it is implied that Dascombe has joined the rest of the country in rebelling against Norsefire.

Guy Fawkes (April 13, 1570 – January 31, 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, born in York, was an English soldier and member of a group of Roman Catholic conspirators who attempted to carry out the Gunpowder Plot on November 5, 1605.

The plot was an attempt to assassinate King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) and the members of both houses of the Parliament of England. To do this, Westminster Palace was to be blown up during the formal opening session of the 1605 Parliament, in which the king would address a joint assembly of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Guy Fawkes was in large part responsible for the later stages of the plan's execution. His activities were detected, however, before the plan's completion. Following a severe interrogation involving the use of torture, and a trial in Westminster Hall, Fawkes and his conspirators were executed for treason and attempted murder. Guy Fawkes's failure is remembered with Guy Fawkes Night on November 5.

Publicity and Release

The cast and filmmakers attended several press conferences that allowed them to address issues surrounding the film, including its authenticity, Alan Moore's reaction to it and its intended political message. The responses given at the conferences made it clear that the film was intended to be a departure from some of Moore's original themes. In the words of Hugo Weaving: "Alan Moore was writing about something which happened some time ago. It was a response to living in Thatcherite England... This is a response to the world in which we live today. So I think that the film and the graphic novel are two separate entities." Regarding the controversial political content in the film the filmmakers have said that the film is intended more to raise questions and add to a dialogue already present in society, rather than provide answers or tell viewers what to think.[14]

The film takes extensive imagery from the infamous 1605 Gunpowder Plot, where a group of Catholic conspirators plotted to destroy the Houses of Parliament in order to spark a revolution in England.[2] The film was originally scheduled for release on the weekend of November 5, 2005, the 400th anniversary of the Plot, with the tagline "Remember, remember the 5th of November", taken from a traditional British rhyme memorializing the event. However, the marketing angle lost much of its value when the release date was pushed back to March 17, 2006. Many have speculated that the delay was due to the London tube bombings on July 7 and 21. The film-makers have denied this, saying that the delays were from the need for more time in order to finish the visual effects production.[15] V for Vendetta had its first major premiere on February 13 at the Berlin Film Festival.[14] It opened for general release on March 17, 2006 in 3,365 theatres in the United States, the United Kingdom and six other countries.[1] Major theatres decorated the exterior of their buildings with Norsefire flags.

Music

The V for Vendetta soundtrack was released by Astralwerks Records on March 21, 2006. The original scores from the film's composer, Dario Marianelli, make up most of the tracks on the album. The soundtrack also features three vocals played during the film: "Cry Me A River" by Julie London, "I Found A Reason" by Cat Power and "Bird Gerhl" by Antony and the Johnsons. These songs were a sample of the 872 blacklisted tracks on V's Wurlitzer jukebox that V "reclaimed" from the Ministry of Objectionable Materials. The climax of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture appears at the end of the track "Knives and Bullets (and Cannons too)". The revolutionary sounding Overture is played at key parts at the beginning and end of the film.

Three songs were played during the ending credits which were not included on the V for Vendetta soundtrack. The first was "Street Fighting Man" by the Rolling Stones. The second was a special version of Ethan Stoller's "BKAB". In keeping with revolutionary tone of the film, excerpts from "On Black Power" by black nationalist leader Malcolm X, and from "Address to the Women of America" by feminist-writer Gloria Steinem were added to the song. Gloria Steinem can be heard saying: "This is no simple reform... It really is a revolution. Sex and race, because they are easy and visible differences, have been the primary ways of organizing human beings into superior and inferior groups and into the cheap labor on which this system still depends." The final song was "Out of Sight" by Spiritualized. Also in the film were segments from two of Antonio Carlos Jobim's classic bossa nova songs, "The Girl From Ipanema" and "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars". These songs were played during the "breakfast scenes" with V and Deitrich and were one of the ways used to tie the two characters together. Beethoven's Symphony No.5 also plays an important role in the film, with the first four notes of the song signifying the letter "V" in Morse code. Gordon Deitrich's Benny Hill-styled comedy sketch of Chancellor Sutler includes the "Yakety Sax" theme. Amusingly, Inspector Finch's alarm clock begins the evening of 4 November with the song "Long Black Train" by Richard Hawley, which contains the foreshadowing lyrics "Ride the long black train... take me home black train."

Themes

The film V for Vendetta can be viewed in the tradition of the other cautionary dystopian stories like It Can't Happen Here and Nineteen Eighty-Four, with the addition of some Matrix-style action elements. The story retains some of the anarchist themes of the original story and turns them into a medium for examining topics of terrorism and state control within a modern context. On a theatrical level, V for Vendetta sets the Gunpowder Plot as the V’s historical inspiration, contributing to his choice of timing, language and appearance. (For example, V adopts the identity of a dead man called Rookwood, named for Ambrose Rokewood; colleagues of this "Rookwood" mentioned in the film are called Percy and Keyes, also the names of Gunpowder Plotters). Evey and V’s relationship contain many of the romantic elements from the Phantom of the Opera, where the masked Phantom takes Christine Daaé to his lair in order to reeducate her. Revenge is a central motivation for V and the film makes explicit connections to similar themes in the Count of Monte Cristo. The film also incorporates the idea of V as the embodiment of an idea rather than an individual, minimizing V's past, and giving the viewer no glimpse of a humanizing face.

The Norsefire regime takes totalitarian imagery from many sources: fictional and non-fictional.As a film about the struggle between freedom and the state, V for Vendetta takes imagery from many classic totalitarian icons both real and fictional, including Nazi Germany, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, and popular conspiracy theories relating to the Illuminati and the New World Order. [14] For example, Adam Sutler (who was named after Adolf Hitler)[14] primarily appears on large video screens and on portraits in people's homes, reminiscent of Big Brother. In another reference to Orwell's novel, the slogan "Strength through Unity. Unity through Faith" is displayed prominently across London, similar to "War is peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength" in Orwell's Oceania. There is also the state's Orwellian use of mass surveillance, such as closed-circuit television, on its citizens. (Britain currently has the world's highest concentration of CCTV.)[16] Valerie was sent to a detention facility for being a lesbian and then had medical experiments performed on her, similar to Nazi Germany's treatment of gays during the Holocaust.[17] The Aryan-sounding Norsefire regime also uses red and black as their party colours, similar to the Nazi party. Norsefire has also replaced St George's Cross with the Cross of Lorraine as their Nordic-style national symbol. This was a symbol used by Free French Forces during World War II, as it was a traditional symbol of French patriotism that could be used as an answer to the Nazi's Swastika. The media is also portrayed as highly subservient to government propaganda, a characteristic of totalitarian regimes in general.

Modern fears of totalitarianism

We felt the novel was very prescient to how the political climate is at the moment. It really showed what can happen when society is ruled by government, rather than the government being run as a voice of the people. I don’t think it’s such a big leap to say that things like that can happen when leaders stop listening to the people.

— Director James McTeigue

With the intention of making the film relevant to today’s audience, the filmmakers included many modern day references as well. For example, the culture of fear montage of news stories ordered by Sutler contains references to an avian flu pandemic. There is also pervasive use of biometric identification and signal-intelligence gathering and analysis by the regime. Many have also noted the numerous references in the film to events surrounding the current American administration. These include the "black bags" worn by the prisoners in Larkhill that have been seen as a reference to the black bags worn by prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.[18][19][20] Also London is under a yellow-coded curfew alert, similar to the U.S. Government's color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System.[21][22] One of the forbidden items in Gordon's secret basement is a protest poster with a mixed U.S.–UK flag with a swastika and the title "Coalition of the Willing, To Power." This is likely a reference to the real Coalition of the Willing that was formed for the Iraq War.[23] (At the same time, it also appears to be a reference to Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of Will to Power[24]). As well, there is use of the term "rendition" in the film, in reference to the way the regime removes undesirables from society.[20] There is even a brief scene (during the Valerie flashback) that contains real-life footage of an anti-Iraq war demonstration, with mention of President George W. Bush. Finally, the film contains reference's to "America's war" and "the war America started" as well as real footage from the Iraq War.

In the film it is discovered that the fictional fascist government used a biological agent against its own population. Placed in the contemporary context of the film, this is perhaps a nod to and endorsement of current 9/11 conspiracy theories, although a parallel more true to the graphic novel would be the burning of the Reichstag in the Weimar Republic.

Much of the modern U.S. imagery is personified in the character Lewis Prothero. For example, his combat record seems to be an allusion to the war in Iraq and other parts of the Middle-East with strong political tensions ("Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria: before and after, Sudan").[25] As the talk show host “The Voice of London”, Prothero evokes the image of conservative American pundits like Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh, (particularly with Prothero's and Limbaugh's drug use).[26][23] Furthermore, with his rhetoric about God, gays, and Muslims, Prothero is likely a caricature of religious right-wing commentators like Pat Robertson.[21] (Prothero mentions that the U.S. itself has collapsed due to "Godlessness").

Despite the American specific references, the filmmakers have always referred to the film as adding dialogue to a set of issues much broader than the U.S. administration.[14] When James McTeigue was asked whether or not BTN was based on Fox News McTeigue replied, "Yes. But not just Fox. Everyone is complicit in this kind of stuff. It could just as well been the British Sky News Channel."[22]

The letter V and the number 5

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V.

In his battle with Creedy, V primes his daggers into the letter "V" before throwing them.

There is repeated reference to the symbol “V”, as both letter and number, throughout the film. For example, V's introductory monologue to Evey (above) begins and ends with “V”, has five sentences, and contains 49 words that begin with “V”. Also, on the subject of Evey, "E" is the fifth letter of the alphabet and similarly, the letter "V" is the fifth letter from the end of the alphabet. Similar references are made through V's background, choice of words and action. V is held in Larkhill cell number “V”. A favorite Latin phrase of V's is from Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus: "Vi veri veniversum vivus vici" ("By the power of truth, I, a living man, have conquered the universe"). In a dance with Evey, the song V chooses is number five on his jukebox, though all the songs on his jukebox are numbered "5". When V confronts Creedy in his home, he plays Beethoven's "Fifth" Symphony, whose opening notes have a rhythmic pattern that resembles the letter “V” in Morse code (···–). The Symphony's opening was used as a call-sign in the European broadcasts of the BBC during World War II in reference to Winston Churchill's “V for Victory”. The film's title itself, is also a reference to “V for Victory”. In the battle with Creedy and his men at Victoria station, V forms the letter “V” with his daggers just before he throws them. The daggers each spin 5 times before embedding themselves in Creedy's bodyguards. After the battle, when V is mortally wounded, he leaves a “V” signature in his own red blood. The Londoners, descending on Parliament in V costumes, approach on streets which meet and form a V. The destruction of Parliament results in a display of fireworks which form the letter “V” (just like at the beginning with Old Bailey), which is also an inverted red-on-black “A” symbol for anarchy. Like the Old Bailey and Larkhill, Parliament was destroyed on the fifth of November (the only month on the calendar to contain the letter "V"). Also, Big Ben shows the start of the group of Vs at 11:05 pm, creating a giant V on the clock face. Also to add when Evey is brought to confess for the first time, the background light is shown diagonal to show the left side of a V, and the opposite when Evey refused to confess at the end.

Comments from political sources

V for Vendetta deals with issues of race, sexuality, religion, totalitarianism, and terrorism. Its controversial storyline and themes have, inevitably, made it the target of both criticism and praise from different sociopolitical groups.

An anarchist group in New York City has used the film's release to gain publicity for anarchism as a political philosophy. However, the group felt that the film waters down the anarchist message from the original story in order to satisfy mass Hollywood audiences, and instead focuses on destruction without proposing any alternatives.[36] Despite the lack of acceptance by some anarchists, the film has brought renewed interest to Alan Moore's original story, as sales of the original graphic novel rose dramatically in the United States, placing the book firmly in the top sales at Barnes & Noble and .[37]

Many libertarians, especially at the Mises Institute's see the film as a positive depiction in favor of a free society with limited government and free enterprise, citing the state's terrorism as being of greater evil and rationalized by its political machinery, while V's acts are seen as 'terroristic' because they are done by a single individual.[38] Justin Raimondo, the libertarian editor of , praised the film for its sociopolitical self-awareness and saw the film’s success as "helping to fight the cultural rot that the War Party feeds on".[26]

Several conservative Christian groups were critical of the film's negative portrayal of a theocracy and sympathetic portrayal of homosexuality and Islam. Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, called V for Vendetta "a vile, pro-terrorist piece of neo-Marxist, left-wing propaganda filled with radical sexual politics and nasty attacks on religion and Christianity".[39] Don Feder, a conservative columnist from Frontpage Magazine has called V for Vendetta "the most explicitly anti-Christian movie to date."[40] Meanwhile, LGBT commentators have praised the film for its positive depiction of gays, with writer Michael Jensen calling the film "one of the most pro-gay ever".[13]

Dave Saldana from the left-wing media group ZNet says that the regime's treachery could have “come from today's newspaper [citing] secret tribunals, secret prisons, political scapegoats 'disappeared' and tortured, a too- cozy relationship between Big Business and government, TV blowhards and corrupt religious leaders helping the government do its dirty work, and a ruthless political henchman pulling the strings.”[41] However, David Walsh from the World Socialist Web Site criticizes V's actions as "antidemocratic" and cites the film as an example of "the bankruptcy of anarcho-terrorist ideology" stating that because the people have not played any part in the revolution, they will be unable to produce a "new, liberated society."[42]

The film was forbidden for public presentation in Belarus for political reasons and possible analogies between the regime described in the film and that of Alexander Lukashenko[43].

A Political Parable With Swordfights

By Dave Saldana

'V for Vendetta' is an action-adventure film that might just inspire you

V for Vendetta Directed by: James McTeigue Written by:

the Wachowskis Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, John Hurt

You don't find many films based on comic book characters that really stick with you.  The Batman series started with Michael Keaton playing a brooding Caped Crusader and ended with George Clooney doing a fair impression of Adam West in the campy 1960s TV show.  The X-Men, Fantastic 4, the Hulk, and Spiderman all got the big-screen treatment to varying degrees of success, but none of them would stand accused of being thought-provoking.

V for Vendetta is a very different comic-book-hero film.  Based on writer Alan Moore's 'graphic novel,' as comic books are now called, V has a purpose.  The cause of his vendetta is a major plot point, so I won't divulge it, but it puts him at extreme odds with a totalitarian regime in Great Britain in the near future.

As written by Moore, the regime was inspired by Margaret Thatcher's government in the 1980s, every bit as reactionary, hard-hearted and anti-labor as the Reagan Administration, but without the sunshiny rhetoric and the 1984 Summer Olympics to put a happy face on it.  This film adaption by the Wachowskis, the brother team responsible for The Matrix and its sequels, is more reminscent of the Bush Administration.

Examples of the regime's treachery could have come from today's newspaper: secret tribunals, secret prisons, political scapegoats 'disappeared' and tortured, a too- cozy relationship between Big Business and government, TV blowhards and corrupt religious leaders helping the government do its dirty work, and a ruthless political henchman pulling the strings.

Against this regime battles V, played by Hugo Weaving, known for his roles as Agent Smith in the 'Matrix' series and Elrond, king of the Elves in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy.  He hides behind the mask of Guy Fawkes, the 17th century anarchist who tried to blow up London's Parliament building in 1605.  Quoting Shakespeare and showing considerable dexterity with knives, he seeks his revenge on those who did him wrong and hold the people down with an iron fist. He is aided by Evey, a young woman who has reasons of her own to hate the government, but is too caged by fear to do anything about it.  Evey is brilliantly played by Natalie Portman, who stretches her action-film cred beyond Star Wars Episodes I-III, and shows considerable depth.  When V rescues Evey and helps her escape from her fear, Portman transforms into an everywoman hero.

(It is wrenching to watch Portman genuinely sob while her hair is shorn and then appear in a shapeless prison smock, looking worn and emaciated, especially in light of the fact that she is proudly Jewish.  Given that the film was made in Berlin, one suspects she did not have much trouble finding her motivation.  The evocative imagery, one assumes, did not come about by accident.)

Into this fray comes Stephen Rea (The Crying Game) as Chief Inspector Finch, the cop who wants to catch V . More compelling is Finch's desire to uncover the truth, which High Chancellor Sutler, played by John Hurt (The Elephant Man), wants to keep hidden at all costs.

Sutler's chief tool is fear, and compliant media repeat government claims they know to be lies. V is no superhero out to solve the people's problems.  Rather, he attempts to free them to solve their own.  Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned in this: the public knows that the government is up to no good and the media is lying about it.  When V presents an opportunity for them to do something about it, the government gets very, very nervous.

Finch is part of Sutler's inner circle, and knows where this is headed: 'What always happens when people with guns are confronted by people without guns?' (Finch, like Rea in real life, is of Irish extraction, adding another layer of political resonance to this line.)

The result is a powerful and moving climax.

V for Vendetta owes a debt to George Orwell's 1984, Sinclair Lewis's It Can't Happen Here, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, and any number of cautionary tales about government power and the public who surrender to it too easily. Like those books, the film does not resolve itself in a nice, button-down ending, but leaves open what happens next.  Although some of the dialogue is political cliche ('People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people.') the message is more textured.  Building a just society doesn't lend itself to facile resolutions.

V for Vendetta does not insult its audience with a 'Hollywood' happy ending. While you are likely to feel good as the credits roll, you are also likely to feel inspired and, hopefully, maybe a little bit like you've been sprung from a cage.

Confused, not thought through: V for Vendetta

By David Walsh

27 March 2006

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V for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, written by the Wachowski Brothers, based on characters created by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

V for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue and written by the Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix, Bound), aspires presumably to be a meaningful political thriller and offer an equally meaningful warning. It is largely undone by the primitiveness of the artistic means and disoriented or wrongheaded social views.

In the near future Britain is ruled by a totalitarian regime, rooted in nationalism with overtones of Christian fundamentalism (as well as the ‘Big Brother’ aspects of George Orwell’s 1984). Political opponents have been jailed or executed en masse, secret police thugs rule the streets after dark, and the face of Chancellor Adam Sutler is omnipresent on the omnipresent television screens.

A young girl, Evey (Natalie Portman), wandering out at night after curfew is rescued from a trio of vicious secret policemen by a mysterious masked man, known as V (Hugo Weaving). The two join forces eventually in a campaign to bring down the regime. A third figure, Finch (Stephen Rea), a member of the political police, has his own misgivings about the course of events. As he comes closer to the truth about V’s identity and history, his doubts grow.

V is driven by the desire for revenge as much as political idealism. He was mutilated in a fire at a detention center, which specialized in horrifying medical experiments, some time before. He has sworn to avenge himself on all his tormentors. His political program consists of killing government officials and blowing up public buildings. He wears a Guy Fawkes mask, to remind the British population of the early seventeenth century Catholic conspirator who plotted, along with a few others, to blow up the Parliament buildings.

The film is based on a graphic novel, i.e., a comic book, produced in the 1980s by writer (and anarchist) Alan Moore and illustrator David Lloyd. The work was directed against the Thatcher regime and the threat Moore and Lloyd felt the latter represented to British democracy. There are politically prescient and perceptive elements. The Wachowski Brothers, in adapting the graphic novel, have added obvious references to the present situation in the US. The Sutler regime is particularly hostile to Muslims and to Islam, and has used a disaster, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, which it actually orchestrated, to eliminate elementary rights. Right-wing demagogues, in alliance with hypocritical clergymen, monopolize the airwaves.

I could possibly be convinced otherwise, but basing a serious film on a ‘graphic novel’ seems to me a questionable proposition. Is that not perhaps an inherently limited medium? Such an argument could be made. Almost inevitably the word ‘cartoonish,’ and not meant as a compliment, comes to mind. The comic book has no doubt gone beyond its simplistic origins, but, in the final analysis, it seems to me that a lowering of film standards rather than the emergence of the graphic novel as a significant art form accounts for the prevalence of films based on such works. In any event, Ghost World, From Hell, Road to Perdition, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, A History of Violence, Sin City and now V for Vendetta do not constitute much of a persuasive argument.

No doubt many film scripts fail to transcend, and many may even seriously fall below, the level of the average graphic novel, but that is not an argument in favor of comic books, it is largely an argument against current filmmaking. To begin with a graphic novel, it seems to me, is to set oneself a ceiling, an artistic ‘maximum,’ that it is difficult to go beyond.

At any rate, whether Moore (who has taken his name off the film) or the Wachowski Brothers are primarily responsible, the drama and dialogue in V for Vendetta are often puerile (all too ‘cartoonish’). At times, indeed, the film reminds one unhappily of that other recent melodrama about a masked man who inhabits an underground lair, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s execrable The Phantom of the Opera (made into one of the most painful films of recent decades).

These samples will give some flavor of the current film.

Evey to V: “You’re getting back at them for what they did to you.” V replies: “What was done to me was monstrous.” Evey: “Then they created a monster.”

Or:

In his hideout, where he has a Wurlitzer jukebox, along with art works he has rescued from the dictatorship (including Jan van Eyck’s famed “The Arnolfini Marriage”!), V absurdly invites Evey to dance on the eve of ‘his’ revolution. When she questions it, he answers (in a paraphrase of a comment by American anarchist Emma Goldman): “A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having.”

Or:

Evey: Who are you?

V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what. And what I am is a man in a mask. Evey: I can see that. V: Of course you can. I am not questioning your powers of observation. I’m merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.

Or:

Evey: I don’t want you to die. V: That is the most beautiful thing you could have given me.

And so forth.

It may very well be that disgust and horror at unfolding events, both at home (the growing assault on constitutional rights and civil liberties) and abroad (Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo), animate the filmmakers. Warnings about the possibility of a police-state, fascistic regime are certainly in order. However, for these warnings to have a measurable impact, the artist has to have thought through political and social questions, as well as problems of dramatic plausibility and psychological realism. There is little sign of that here.

Apart from such intellectual and artistic labor, disgust and horror are not entirely reliable guides. The attitude of the protagonist V and the filmmakers toward the population is ambivalent, to say the least. The notion that an assassination campaign and the demolition of landmark buildings will provoke a social upheaval is false and, ultimately, deeply antidemocratic. V is single-handedly carrying out ‘his’ revolution, as Evey calls it.

Ordinary people are portrayed as zombies, glued to their television sets, who need to be galvanized by bombings. The filmmakers stack the decks by having the population respond as V would like. But what if they did not? Would his next targets be crowded underground stations or shopping centers, as part of a further effort to arouse the slumbering masses?

The choice of Guy Fawkes, a former mercenary and Catholic conspirator, as revolutionary inspiration is hardly promising. It points to the essentially apolitical and asocial (and nationalist) character of V’s supposed uprising, in which personal revenge plays as large a part as any other element.

Taken at face value, the film neatly, if inadvertently, captures the bankruptcy of anarcho-terrorist ideology: the mass of the population is reduced to the role of a passive spectator while the heroic individual (and super-egoist) carries out exemplary, supposedly ‘electrifying’ operations. The sudden appearance on the scene of large numbers of people in the final sequence, the destruction of Parliament, in support of V’s actions is both unconvincing and problematic. Since the population has taken no part in the ‘revolution,’ has not advanced its own social awareness in any noticeable manner, how is a new, liberated society supposed to emerge from all this?

We will be told that we are taking this all too seriously, but, as a matter of fact, these are serious matters.

The Media's War on the "War on Christians" Conference

By Don Feder

| March 31, 2006

Last week (March 27-28), Vision America convened a War On Christians conference in Washington, D.C. It was the first to address escalating attacks on Christians from Hollywood, the news media, academia, the courts, and activist groups like the ACLU and Anti-Defamation League.

Speakers included scholars, authors, clergy (among them an Orthodox rabbi), lawyers and members of Congress. Delegates came from as far away as South Africa. I was the conference coordinator, as well as a speaker on two panels ("Jews Confront the War On Christians" and "Hollywood: Christians Through a Distorted Lens").

You will be shocked – shocked! – to learn that the mainstream media did its best to trivialize and marginalize the conference: to present a thoughtful examination of the rising tide of anti-Christian bias and persecution as the work of hysterical, paranoid whack-jobs who are manufacturing a crisis to generate donations and mobilize Republican votes.

• An alleged news story in The Washington Post, (March 29th) by Alan Cooperman, was headlined "’War’ on Christians Is Alleged." Try to imagine the Post covering the 2005 conference Examining the Real Agenda of the Religious Far Right and headlining its story "Coming ‘Theocracy’ Alleged."

• Cooperman misidentified Dr. Rick Scarborough, president of Vision America (the conference host) as a "radio commentator." You know, one of those guys who screams at you over the airwaves. In fact, besides being the head of a growing national movement, Scarborough is a Baptist minister, an author and an acclaimed speaker.

• Cooperman included extensive quotes attacking the conference – SOP for reportage on conservative events. A professor of social ethics charged that the meeting was "a spoiled brat response by Christians who have always enjoyed the privileges of a majority position." A mainline Protestant cleric claimed that by calling attention to the war on Christians in the U.S., the conference "disrespects the experience of people who have been jailed and died because of their faith."

• This theme dominated news "coverage" – Christians are so powerful that it’s absurd to claim they’re persecuted. Thus, a commentary in USA Today (March 28th) by Tom Krattenmaker (who called the conference’s theme "overblown" and reckless): "We are in the second term of the most faith-friendly, explicitly Christian presidency in many a decade….Hollywood is producing more Christian-friendly movies [like The DaVinci Code? – DF] while Christian news media, Christian music, Christian novels and other forms of Christian pop culture continue making their strong mark on society." I’m only surprised Krattenmaker didn’t cite the presence of "In God We Trust" on our currency to refute claims of Christian persecution.

Apparently, a majority of Americans are equally hysterical, reckless and disrespectful of real persecution. According to a FOX News poll taken in December 2005, 59 percent of the American people agreed with conference organizers that "Christianity is under attack" in the U.S. today.

In reality, you have to be dogmatic, blind and biased – which pretty much describes the mainstream media – to miss the obvious here.

• V for Vendetta is the most explicitly anti-Christian movie to date. It’s set in a Britain, 20 years in the future, ruled by a murderous regime of Christian fanatics. (Would Warner Brothers distribute a film about Britain becoming an Islamic republic?) V for Vendetta was the number one box-office draw in its first week of release, and number two in its second, with a cumulative gross revenue of over $46 million.

|The Media's War on the "War on Christians" Conference |[pic] |

By Don Feder

| March 31, 2006

Last week (March 27-28), Vision America convened a War On Christians conference in Washington, D.C. It was the first to address escalating attacks on Christians from Hollywood, the news media, academia, the courts, and activist groups like the ACLU and Anti-Defamation League.

Speakers included scholars, authors, clergy (among them an Orthodox rabbi), lawyers and members of Congress. Delegates came from as far away as South Africa. I was the conference coordinator, as well as a speaker on two panels ("Jews Confront the War On Christians" and "Hollywood: Christians Through a Distorted Lens").

You will be shocked – shocked! – to learn that the mainstream media did its best to trivialize and marginalize the conference: to present a thoughtful examination of the rising tide of anti-Christian bias and persecution as the work of hysterical, paranoid whack-jobs who are manufacturing a crisis to generate donations and mobilize Republican votes.

• An alleged news story in The Washington Post, (March 29th) by Alan Cooperman, was headlined "’War’ on Christians Is Alleged." Try to imagine the Post covering the 2005 conference Examining the Real Agenda of the Religious Far Right and headlining its story "Coming ‘Theocracy’ Alleged."

• Cooperman misidentified Dr. Rick Scarborough, president of Vision America (the conference host) as a "radio commentator." You know, one of those guys who screams at you over the airwaves. In fact, besides being the head of a growing national movement, Scarborough is a Baptist minister, an author and an acclaimed speaker.

• Cooperman included extensive quotes attacking the conference – SOP for reportage on conservative events. A professor of social ethics charged that the meeting was "a spoiled brat response by Christians who have always enjoyed the privileges of a majority position." A mainline Protestant cleric claimed that by calling attention to the war on Christians in the U.S., the conference "disrespects the experience of people who have been jailed and died because of their faith."

• This theme dominated news "coverage" – Christians are so powerful that it’s absurd to claim they’re persecuted. Thus, a commentary in USA Today (March 28th) by Tom Krattenmaker (who called the conference’s theme "overblown" and reckless): "We are in the second term of the most faith-friendly, explicitly Christian presidency in many a decade….Hollywood is producing more Christian-friendly movies [like The DaVinci Code? – DF] while Christian news media, Christian music, Christian novels and other forms of Christian pop culture continue making their strong mark on society." I’m only surprised Krattenmaker didn’t cite the presence of "In God We Trust" on our currency to refute claims of Christian persecution.

Apparently, a majority of Americans are equally hysterical, reckless and disrespectful of real persecution. According to a FOX News poll taken in December 2005, 59 percent of the American people agreed with conference organizers that "Christianity is under attack" in the U.S. today.

In reality, you have to be dogmatic, blind and biased – which pretty much describes the mainstream media – to miss the obvious here.

• V for Vendetta is the most explicitly anti-Christian movie to date. It’s set in a Britain, 20 years in the future, ruled by a murderous regime of Christian fanatics. (Would Warner Brothers distribute a film about Britain becoming an Islamic republic?) V for Vendetta was the number one box-office draw in its first week of release, and number two in its second, with a cumulative gross revenue of over $46 million.

V for Vendetta

BY ROGER EBERT / March 16, 2006

It is the year 2020. A virus runs wild in the world, most Americans are dead, and Britain is ruled by a fascist dictator who promises security but not freedom. One man stands against him, the man named V, who moves through London like a wraith despite the desperate efforts of the police. He wears a mask showing the face of Guy Fawkes, who in 1605 tried to blow up the houses of Parliament. On Nov. 5, the eve of Guy Fawkes Day, British schoolchildren for centuries have started bonfires to burn Fawkes in effigy. On this eve in 2020, V saves a young TV reporter named Evey from rape at the hands of the police, forces her to join him, and makes a busy night of it by blowing up the Old Bailey courtrooms.

"V for Vendetta" will follow his exploits for the next 12 months, until the night when he has vowed to strike a crushing blow against the dictatorship. We see a police state that hold citizens in an iron grip and yet is humiliated by a single man who seems impervious. The state tries to suppress knowledge of his deeds -- to spin a plausible explanation for the destruction of the Old Bailey, for example. But V commandeers the national television network to claim authorship of his deed.

This story was first told as a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and published in 1982 and 1983. Its hero plays altogether differently now, and yet, given the nature of the regime. is he a terrorist or a freedom fighter? Britain is ruled by a man named Sutler, who gives orders to his underlings from a wall-sized TV screen and seems the personification of Big Brother. And is: Sutler is played by John Hurt, who in fact played Winston Smith in “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1984). (V seems more like Jack the Ripper, given his ability to move boldly in and out of areas the police think they control. The similarity may have come easily to Moore, whose graphic novel “From Hell” was about the Ripper, and inspired a good 2001 movie by the Hughes brothers.

"V for Vendetta" has been written and co-produced by the Wachowski brothers, Andy and Larry, whose "Matrix" movies also were about rebels holding out against a planetary system of control. This movie is more literary and less dominated by special effects (although there are plenty), and is filled with ideas that are all the more intriguing because we can't pin down the message. Is this movie a parable about 2006, a cautionary tale or a pure fantasy? It can be read many ways, as I will no doubt learn in endless e-mails.

The character of V and his relationship with Evey (Natalie Portman) inescapably reminds us of the Phantom of the Opera. V and the Phantom are both masked, move through subterranean spaces, control others through the leverage of their imaginations and have a score to settle. One difference, and it is an important one, is that V's facial disguise does not move (unlike, say, the faces of a Batman villain) but is a mask that always has the same smiling expression. Behind it is the actor Hugo Weaving, using his voice and body language to create a character, but I was reminded of my problem with Thomas the Tank Engine: If something talks, its lips should move.

Still, Portman’s Evey has expressions enough for most purposes, as she morphs from a dutiful citizen to V’s sympathizer, and the film is populated with a gallery of gifted character actors. In addition to Hurt as the sinister dictator, we see Stephen Rea and Rupert Graves as the police assigned to lead the search for V. Tim Pigott-Smith is an instrument of the dictator. These people exist in scenes designed to portray them as secure, until V sweeps in like a whirlwind, using martial arts, ingenious weapons and the element of surprise. Why the mask does not limit his peripheral vision is a question I will leave for the experts.

There are ideas in this film. The most pointed is V’s belief: “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” I am not sure V has it right; surely in the ideal state governments and their people should exist happily together. Fear in either direction must lead to violence. But V has a totalitarian state to overthrow, and only a year to do it in, and we watch as he improvises a revolution. He gets little support, although Stephen Fry plays a dissident TV host who criticizes the government at his peril.

With most action thrillers based on graphic novels, we simply watch the sound and light show. "V for Vendetta," directed by James McTeigue, almost always has something going on that is actually interesting, inviting us to decode the character and plot and apply the message where we will. There are times when you think the soundtrack should be supplying "Anarchy in the UK" by the Sex Pistols. The movie ends with a violent act that left me, as a lover of London, intensely unhappy; surely V's enemy is human, not architectural.

The film has been disowned by Alan Moore, who also removed his name from the movie versions of his graphic novels From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but then any sane person would have been unhappy with the Gentlemen. His complaint was not so much with the films as with the deal involving the use of his work. I have not read the original work, do not know what has been changed or gone missing, but found an audacious confusion of ideas in "V for Vendetta" and enjoyed their manic disorganization. To attempt a parable about terrorism and totalitarianism that would be relevant and readable might be impossible, could be dangerous and would probably not be box office.

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