Natalie Portman Movie:

		List Price: $28.99		Label: Warner Home Video Salesrank: 925 Released: May 20, 2008
		Our Price: $13.98
		Used Price: $12.13
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man (Hugo Weaving) known only as "V." Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he urges his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V's mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself - and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption. Special Features: In-Movie Experience • Director’s Notebook: Re-imagining a Cult Classic for the 21st Century Behind the Story • Designing the Near Future • Remember, Remember: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot • Freedom! Forever!: Making V for Vendetta • England Prevails: V for Vendetta and the New Wave in Comics Additional Footage • Cat Power Montage (Music Video) • Saturday Night Live Digital Short - Natalie Portman SNL Trailers • Theatrical Trailer (Trailer #2) • Soundtrack Album Information

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

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

Beyond Vendetta

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

V for Vendetta [Blu-ray] Reviews:
A truly magnificent movie
2008-11-20 - I saw this movie this week on DVD in two sessions on a friend's recommendation. I think it is an absolutely wonderful movie: ingenious, imaginative, always exciting, with a breathtaking performance from Natalie Portman, who takes her character through momentous emotional changes and is always riveting to watch. Hugo Weaving is magnificent as the silken-voiced V. John Hurt is marvellously menacing as the High Chancellor and I thought Stephen Fry's performance really moving and highly convincing. The plotting and dialogue are simply splendid. I also loved the early historical enactments to link the modern story with Guy Fawkes. I would have liked to have seen V's face at some point but this is only a minor quibble.

Well done, everyone who was involved with this movie!

Heartily recommended.

good movie
2008-11-16 - I saw this a few years ago, and it is really thought provoking, which is rare in movies nowdays. It makes you wonder how easy it could be to create a dictatorship in which the few own the powerful, especially since nowdays the media will participate because they care more about ratings than reporting. my only complaint was the length, although that is due to my short attention span

Great movie, garbage propoganda
2008-11-11 - Wonderful entertaining movie. Simple political analogies weigh the movie down. I believe in tolerance not forced recognition. Problem is the downtrodden thrive to turn the tables rather then line then up evenly. Fire for fire. Violence for violence. Revenge is the function of vendetta. Ultimately this movie fails in its noble cause but works as a source of entertainment.

Read the graphic novel, skip this rubbish
2008-11-04 - Want to know what Alan Moore, writer and creator of the V for Vendetta thinks of this movie? He thinks its crap. Want to know what Alan Moore, writer and creator of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen thinks of that film adaptation? Also rubish. Constantine? More rubish. Want to know why Alan Moore has sworn off Hollywood? Because they have taken his masterpieces of writing in the graphic medium and have turned it into basura. Its with extreme trepidation that I await the much anticipated Watchmen. Despite the fact that Moore has told Terry Gilliam, who initially was tapped to direct it, that its unfilmable. We'll see.

What I do know is that movie is does not deserve to have Moore's talent attached to it. If you watch this movie and you wonder, "why is Moore's original graphic novel so widely praised?" then you wont see it in this travesty of his work. Do yourself a big favor, go find the original graphic novel, read it, compare it, then see for yourself.

The only possibly redeeming outcome of this poor adaptation is that anyone with any half a brain will want to go to the source and read the graphic novel directly. 'Nuff said.

Coming Soon
2008-10-29 - This film may seem a work of fiction to some, but look around and see the similarities in today's news. Undoubtedly this film is destined to become a cult film for those who draw on history and see parallels.
Brilliant acting and cinematography. Natalie Portman is exquisite in this role. Hugo Weaving's passion is undeniable as V.
One should check the history of Guy Faulkes.