Why didn't they include the "Give me a viking funeral," line?

Well I went to see this for the 3rd time in the theatre today.

This has become my all time favorite movie. Hands down. I cannot explain how impressed I am with Hugo Weavings performance. The small nuances of movement to inflect emotion are astonishing. The small movements of his head and hands truly get this characters emotion across.

The music, theme and acting truly amaze me on this one. I just cannot explain how much I enjoy this movie. Each time I've seen it I find myself on the edge of my seat with the score and goings on at the end of the movie. Cannot wait for the DVD.

In honor of this flick...I've started using a new wallpaper:





Loved this movie!

I want that wallpaper! How do I get it. I loved the movie too (check my sig).

Did anyone catch that they showed the lesbian in the crowd at the end when everyone took off their masks? Or were my eyes seeing something different?

I don't know where to get that one but if you go here and scroll to the Desktop area there's around 5 different ones with the "V" themes, "V" Buddy Icons, and some other stuff.


http://www.dccomics.com/downloads/#desktop_patterns

I think they also showed her dead boss and some others. I only saw this once so I can't remember

Yeah, they showed everybody who died.

Here you go: http://vforvendetta.warnerbros.com/index2.html Click on Dekstops

That wall paper looks scary. Remember, Remember the fifth of November...

I finally caught a matinee showing of V today, and I must say I share the general sentiment of this thread. Definitely not perfect, but very enjoyable. I can't wait to pick up the dvd.

I do have one question though. What is the nature of Evey's relationship with Gordon? He's her boss obviously, but they displayed a high degree of trust with each other that seemed unusual (she finding shelter with him, him revealing his stash of forbidden goods). So I began I think that maybe Gordon was a friend of Evey's parents. Because their connection seemed almost familial to me.

Did I miss something or am I reading too much into this?

I think you're reading a bit too much into it.

I will agree that Evey and her bosses relationship was close but I believe it was due to the fact they were "together" in their beliefs. Thats the way I read it.


PS: Still running the wallpaper...and its gonna stay there til the DVD comes out!

Yeah, I figured the most probable explanation was that they are both like-minded and in similar situations.

I guess I expected a bit more of a set-up before she just showed up at his place.

Finally caught this at the dollar theater...a truly remarkable dystopian film.

I have no experience with the graphic novel, but they clearly adapted the book into a modern day allegory (possibly a warning) for western conservatism carried to its logical conclusion. It was a bit heavy-handed in spots with clear characatures of actual people (pill popping Rush Limbuagh type and the Cheney/Rumsfeld type), but it was effective nonetheless. I personally saw the political message as more libertarian than liberal, but perhaps that's just me.

Political allegory aside, I thought it was beautifully shot and wonderfully acted, and I was glued to the screen throughout. I didn't go in expecting a ton of action, but I can see how that expectation might have hurt the experience. I liked that V was morally ambiguous and just a bit creepy, and selecting Weaving as the voice of V was inspired.

If you didn't get to see this, I highly recommend a rental or possibly a blind-buy when it comes out on DVD. I will no doubt own it on release day.

I've seen about 12 or 13 new movies this year and V is still far and away my favorite.

Mine too.

OKay, so just saw this last night. I enjoyed the film but the ending left me a little cold. V's plot was to encite an uprising against the government, basically anarchy, as mentioned by Finch I believe.

But what he does is kill the high chancellor and his potential successor, effectively eliminating the very threat he wants the people to rise up against. He cripples the government, which is demonstrated by the military's lack of action against the oncoming crowd of V's. A crowd who essentially does nothing but watch a fireworks display. No uprising, no anarchy, no government to rise against, etc. etc.

The uprising will continue. V did what he could for their efforts, took out the governments most powerful representatives but there is a lot more to do.

I have no problems imagining that as soon as the demonstration ended, the crowd immediately began taking back power.

Here's my take -
V had two goals:
1. To get revenge against the people who had wronged him and take them out of power, and
2. To get the general populace to wake up from their complacency and refuse to accept totalitarian rule.

Both goals have to be accomplished, or neither will succeed. If he simply killed the current power structure, without inspiring the people to rise up, then another totalitarian regime would have just taken its place and nothing would really change.
But the people need more than simple inspiration to take down the oppressive regime they are living under. They have slept too long, and the system currently in power is a strong one. So if V simply did the fireworks and made the speeches, and the people then rose up against the government, they would be mowed down, with little more effort than it takes to quiet a single dissenter.

At the end of V for Vendetta, V has accomplished both goals, with the added bonus of dying for the cause, thus becoming a martyr (this may have been part of his plan from the start). The government has fallen, and the crowd of people in V masks, marching en masse against their military oppression, shows that these people will not allow a similar regime to take power. They have solidarity, as symbolized by everyone wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, but they also have individual thought and freedom, as symbolized by everyone taking their masks off.

Thanks for the response, Chucky. I generally agree with everything you've said. My problem is with the supposed uprising. I tend to think that, in an effort to soften things up, typically Hollywood by the way, they presented the most peaceful uprising ever witnessed. V inspired people to put on masks and capes and walk out of their houses. The terrible, oppressive totalitarian government stood down, watched the citizens walk past them, and then all gathered to watch fireworks. I don't think anyone even cheered in support of the destruction. They turned an uprising into a 4th of July celebration, and even at those there's a lot of oohs & aahs!

I guess the ending I envision has the massive crowd running to engage the guards at Parliment. Gunshots are heard. Masked mayhem ensures. Cut to Big Ben. Explosion. Pause in the action. Citizens unmask. Mayhem ensures. The end.

Or maybe they wait for the explosion before they attack the gestapo. Yeah, I like that even better.

Just my preference, and I completely respect your opinions.

Thanks again.

ytrez,
I see your point completely, but I think what the writers/directors were saying here is that the symbolism, the act of standing up to your oppressors, is more important than beating them down or killing them.
Think about it - In America, we celebrate July 4th, Independence Day. That's the day the Declaration of Independence was signed - not the day that the Revolutionary War ended. We celebrate July 4th because symbolically, the signing of that Declaration was the end of colonial rule and the beginning of American independence, even though the war continued for another 5 years.
So what they're showing at the end of the film is the citizens' declaration of independence, if you will. The fireworks serve to reinforce this parallel.

Chucky, you make some excellent points. But even as "peaceful" and sedate as I imagine the signing of the Declaration was, it was, by its very nature, a dangerous act of treason. In parallel, so was the march to Parliment by the masked citizens in V. That march was their Declaration of Independence. The confrontation with the military should have been their Revolution. Oddly enough the American Revolution began in April 1775 and the Declaration wasn't signed until July 1776. V's parallel would actually be converse, with the declaration first, then the war. Regardless, imagine the signers taking the Declaration to King George and him letting them just walk by and go about their business.

The citizens of V's society should have to fight for their freedom. Struggle and die. Remember V told them to look in the mirror to see who was to blame. They have to earn it. And maybe they do. For all I know there's an epic battle to take place in some imaginary next scene after the ending, but I don't think so. The military puts down its arms and lets them pass. This, to me, symbolizes that the government has lost & the people have won.

ytrez,
This is quite the discussion we've gotten into - I wonder if the other readers of this thread have fallen asleep by now?

The only counterpoint I can make to your very excellent argument that the people should have to fight their freedom, is this:
Maybe, since the leader of the government has fallen, the military does not want to fight the people. This would basically come down to whether or not the men in uniform believed in the ideals of the government they were serving under, or were simply "taking orders," as all those Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials claimed.

So after the credits, does a battle ensue, or do the soldiers simply shrug and walk away? Clearly there's an argument for both scenarios, as we could go back and forth on this all day. I guess it's up to each viewer to decide for themselves - at least until, God help us, somebody decides to make "V for Vendetta 2: V Saves Christmas."

I just got the mental image of V with a Santa hat and bag. The Guy Fawkes mask still intact of course.


I noticed something last night at the end, and I'm not going to Spoilerize so....

SPOILER WARNING!!!



-When everyone unmasks, I noticed the little girl with glasses was one of them, and when I first saw the movie I thought :"Oh, the one who got shot must not have been her." However, I looked at some of the other people who unmasked, and they seemed to be characters who had died throughout the story of the movie in the name of what they believed. I think I also saw the TV show host (Edmund Dantes was it?), and the lesbian and her lover. So I guess this was supposed to tie in to what Evey was saying about how V was "everyone" in some way or another. If I am correct, this is quite a clever ploy by the filmmakers that could sneak by you if you didn't pay attention (this was my third time to see the movie ,and I just now caught it).

Yes, very nice discussion, this, Chucky. Thank you for your time.

V Saves Christmas. Nice, I'll be last in line!

I noticed this for the first time on DVD as well, the TV host, the little girl, and the lesbians were in the crowd for sure, I too took it as V was "everyone," and this uprising was the result of these peoples' actions as well as V's.they all had their part to play...