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V FOR VENDETTA " FILM REVIEW & COMMENTARY ON GUY FAWKES & CHANCELLOR GEORGE BUSH & CO.
" V " VIVE
LA REVOLUTION"
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The film “ V “ begins with the voice over of Evey reciting the GUY FAWKES Rhyme as we are told the story of Guy
Fawkes & are left with the feeling that maybe Guy Fawkes’ intentions were not as evil as we have through the centuries
been led to believe.
Remember Remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Guy Fawkes Guy, 'twas his intent
to blow up king and parliament
Three score barrels were laid below
to prove old England's overthrow
By God's mercy he was catched
GUY FAWKES
TRAITOR OR FREEDOM FIGHTER A common phrase is that Fawkes was "the only man to ever enter parliament with honourable intentions."
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Guy Fawkes is most
famous for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, which he was placed in charge of executing owing to his military
and explosives experience. The plot, masterminded by Robert Catesby, was a failed attempt by a group of English Roman Catholic
conspirators to kill King James I of England (VI of Scotland), his family, and most of the aristocracy in one swoop by blowing
up the (now demolished) House of Lords building in the Houses of Parliament during its State Opening
See for instance website:
Guy Fawkes, The Gunpowder Plot, Bonfire Night, November 5th.
www.guy-fawkes.com/
V FOR VENDETTA
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" ARTISTS
USE LIES TO REVEAL THE TRUTH. POLITICIANS USE LIES TO CONCEAL THE TRUTH " EVEY IN " V "
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FILM REVIEW & COMMENTARY
V for Vendetta ( 2005)
Directed by James McTeigue
Writing credits
Alan Moore (comic book)
Andy Wachowski (screenplay)
Cast overview, first billed only:
Natalie Portman as “V ‘s ” love interest & protégée Evey Hammond
Hugo Weaving as the dark & mysterious “ V” Stephen Rea as Inspector Eric Finch Stephen Fry as Gordon Deitrich
, John Hurt as Chancellor Adam Sutler ( Note: John Hurt played the everyman character Winston Smith in the film “ 1984
”) Tim Pigott-Smith as Creedy Rupert Graves as Dominic , Roger Allam as Lewis Prothero Ben Miles as Dascomb,
Sinéad Cusack as Delia Surridge , Natasha Wightman as Valerie , John Standing as the evil & lecherous Bishop Lilliman , Eddie
Marsan as Etheridge
Clive Ashborn as Guy Fawkes ,Emma Field-Rayner as Guy Fawkes Lover
The film V was a revelation for me since it was based upon a graphic novel & so I expected some sort of super hero ala
Batman , Spider-man , or the Darkman series or Superman & a comic book style; fun to watch but without much in the way of
substance .There are some major or pivotal scenes which are a bit over the top as it were such as in the first big scene when
on Guy Fawkes Day V ( Hugo Weaving ) blows up THE OLD old Bailey in London with the 1812 Overture blaring out of loudspeakers
positioned throughout the streets of London & the ending with the masses of citizens dressed in the same costume as V as a
sign of rebellion & unity against those in power. On the other hand V does not have the powers of a super hero & can be
injured & killed by conventional means though he is quite the swordsmen & martial arts expert but more like the Enforcers
in the film EQUILIBRIUM .
But much of the film “ V ” is quite realistic & dramatic & disturbing & the intelligent dialogue & analysis
combined with great editing & cinematography makes it superiour to the majority of films made in the past few years . It
is uncompromising in its vision & refuses to be reduced to mere exploitation & so becomes a work of great artifice . And
it does not treat its audience as if they were too simple minded to understand a film filled with ideas & the unraveling of
a complicated story .
The basic story is that Britain has become a totalitarian state which is controlled by Neoconservatives & the Radical Christian
Right . All those of other faiths Muslims , Hindus Buddhists etc & Humanists & Atheists have been imprisoned , executed
, or deported along with
those considered to be “ sexual deviants “ such as Gays & Lesbians. As in George Orwell’s “1984
” or the astounding & brilliant film Equilibrium( 2002) or Francois Truffault ‘s ( 1966 ) adaptation of Ray
Bradbury’s FAHRENHEIT 451 or Jean-Luc Godard’s sci-fi film noir Alphaville( 1965) or Margaret Atwood’s
extremely disturbing “ THE HANDMAID’s TALE ( filmed in 1990)“; certain books i.e. the Quran & films &
music which are believed to be offensive have been banned .
“ V ” himself was once a prisoner of the state who along with a number of other prisoners was used in experiments
for biological warfare but he escaped when the facility he was being held in was blown up . He is therefore, in part out for
personal revenge to kill those who abused him, but has also set his sights a bit higher in that he hopes to foster doubt among
the British people which may eventually lead to the overthrow of the present regime . ( Ah to dream ...) Anyway V is able
to take over the Television studio where Evy works & explains that the New Regime under Chancellor Adam Sutler is the real
enemy of the people & not the terrorists & that on the next Guy Fawkes Day he will blow up the Parliament Buildings as
Guy Fawkes had intended to do .
The biological weapon developed as a result of these experiments was not used on a foreign enemy but on the people of Britain
killing some 80,000 innocent civilians & was described as a terrorist attack on the nation. This event allowed those with
a certain agenda to take power & to whittle away at the peoples’ personal freedom all in the name of National Security.
The corporation involved in the development of the biological weapon also developed an antidote which was then sold to the
British people on the open market or through Government agencies which made a number of people extremely rich & helped to
foster loyalty to the Government & the Pharmaceutical Company & Big Corporations in general who’s intentions are
always good or so the people are told & therefore believe. ( There’s a sucker born every minute as Barnum said...)
Part of what adds to the tension & drive of the film is that the story is told from several different perspectives . Besides
V ‘s view we also get Evey’s view of things as she comes under the influence of V as he helps her to understand
what is at stake since she has made herself numb to everything since she lost her parents & brother because of the Chancellor’s
Regime . In order to bring about a change in her attitude V has her “ BLACK-BAGGED ” imprisoned & tortured allowing
her to believe she is a prisoner of the Government in power . And to add to this Evey finds a written message hidden in her
cell which tells the story of another prisoner who was imprisoned for being a Lesbian & so we get her story of falling
in love with another woman & their somewhat idyllic life til the New Regime takes over Britain. . This is told to us in the
form of a series of flashbacks as Evey between torture sessions is able to read snatches of the message written on toilet
paper .But that prisoner did not survive but is one of the people murdered by the Regime whom V is out to avenge .
When Evey emerges from her cell she is angry with V but his method worked as Even is now convinced that the way things are
is not right & must be changed .
The other device which is used to add to the urgency of the story is cutting back & forth from V’s perspective &
Evey’s( Natalie Portman) perspective to that of the police detective Inspector Eric Finch (played superbly by Stephen
Rea ) who is investigating the bombing of the Old Baily & the attack on the Television station & the murder of several
party officials who took part in the Biological experiments & the use of the weapon on the British people. As the police detective
follows the various leads he begins to uncover the dark secrets of the New Regime & so becomes conflicted about whom he
is to trust & who are the real enemies of the people .
There is also the story of Evey’s boss at the television station Gordon Deitrich( Stephen Fry ) who admits to her that
he is Gay & that he owns books music & works of art which are illegal especially as he points out a 14th century copy
of the Quran & as we discover later when he is arrested for making fun of the Chancellor on his Television show ala The
Daily Show or The Colbert Report etc.; it is expected he might be released til the police discover the copy of the Quran
& so Gordon is executed since this is the gravest of offenses .
Another delightful bit if you like is Lewis Prothero who is a journalist on television who is referred to as THE VOICE OF
LONDON who was once Commander Prothero in the British military who was in charge of the Biological Experiments & was also
major stock holder in the pharmaceuitical company which created the antidote for the Biological weapon developed by the government
sounds like connections in the Bush regime to the Carlisle Group ,Haliburton et al. But he seems to be the spokesman for
the Regime who shouts out his vile nasty racist bigoted narrow minded view of the world & is a fanatical supporter of THE
CHANCELLOR which reminds me of someone like CNN’s Glen Beck or the Bizzaro Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh or the narrow
minded racist hate -mongering neocon Tony Blankley who came from Britain & now resides in America & takes up a seat on
the Mclaughlin Group on PBS
for instance recently wrote ; “Thus over time world opinion may weaken American will to defend itself against the amorphous
but deadly Islamist virus.” Here for instance as Hitler called the Jews “ VERMIN” he refers to Islam as
a virus something therefore needing to be wiped out.
This attack on the Quran & Islam in particular is a jab at the present ruling Regimes in Britain Canada & the United
States as all three nations become hostage to the Neoconservatives & the Radical Christian Right . Since it appears that George
Bush’s glib remark about the necessity of a Crusade against the Terrorists i.e. read Islam & Arabs etc. just after
9/11 is now to be taken quite seriously after what has been happening in Iraq , Palestine & Lebanon since according to the
Bush Regime all Iraqis & all Lebanese & Muslims are the enemy even infants who one day might grow up to be terrorists
. Again so much for Christian forgiveness & mercy & brotherly Love. .The situation in the Mideast also moves us into an
era of perpetual war as Leo Strauss envisioned it as a way to maintain control of the populace & as The Chancellor’s
Regime in this film also does as Big Brother also did in Orwell’s “ 1984 ”.
In the film there are also a number of references made to the present tactics & strategy & ultimate goals of the Bush
regime . For example there is mention of the creation of new phrases & words as a way to make the actions seem more benign
& acceptable i.e. “ Renditions ” & “ Black-Bagging ” ( kidnaping or disappearing people; being
arrested without being charged & kept incommunicado for years etc. ) “Collateral Damage ” (the shooting or blowing
up of civilians as just part of war ) “ Interrogation ” ( read torture ); “Treason ” & “ National
Security ” so that anyone who questions the goals or tactics or the claims made by the government are enemies of the
Regime , The State & The People while those in the Media in the film are depicted as the Regime’s spokespersons
& Propagandists who sell whatever lies the Government tells them to which is how much of the so called Free-Press & media
are acting at the present time not just in the United States but also in Britain & even in our own country Canada & the so-called
opposition parties are not much better witness Hilary Clinton of the Democratic Party in the USA as she too beats the War-drums
spews vile hatred against Palestine & Lebanon & makes excuses for the WAR CRIMES being committed daily by the Israeli
Regime.
In the same way The Bush Regime under the guidance of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Karl Rove & Condi Rice have used 9/11 to push
ahead with their Neoconservative & Radical Religious Right agenda to make America into a Theocracy supported by the absurdly
wealthy who have little regard for the Ideals as stated in the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE or The BILL OF RIGHTS or THE CONSTITUTION
& the Separation of Powers & The Separation of Church & State etc.
But as I said the movie offers a glimmer of hope whereas in our present situation there is little hope & it seems it is just
more of the same & business as usual as we move day by day into a society that is less & less compassionate or understanding
of those who are different from ourselves . Differences & Dissidence as in the former Soviet Union are not to be encouraged
or tolerated.
see review at FILM FORCE
V For Vendetta
Review: A bold, subversive thriller that should both please audiences and fuel post-film debate.
by Jeff Otto
http://filmforce.ign.com/
Also see:
Welcome to the V for Vendetta Shrine!
www.shadowgalaxy.net/Vendetta/vmain
And:
www.alanmoorefansite.com
see www.IMDB.com for info & reviews of films mentioned
Also see:
World opinion managing the mind of a hostile world
By Tony Blankley
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
www.townhall.com/
see:
www.rushlimbaugh.com/
www.anncoulter.com/
www.glennbeck.com/
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