I will most certainly read it. And thankee to you also for the welcome
I will most certainly read it. And thankee to you also for the welcome
Definitely a great book and movie. While the movie watered down the themes of the book to make things basically about Conservatism v. Liberalism, it still kept some of the major stuff, most notably Valerie's letter. I absolutely hated the changing of the character traits of Evey, but she was beautifully played by Natalie Portman. Excellent film for sure.
At ComicCon this weekend:
I think he remembers the fifth of November.
Win!!Originally Posted by idk, my bff jill?
At ComicCon this weekend:
I think he remembers the fifth of November.
Looks like he was in the costume contest... I hope he really did WIN!
The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert...
...And The Gunslinger Followed.
“I’m always on the Batman rule, sir.” - Kate Kane / Detective Comics 857
"It is the story, not he who tells it." Except to us collectors who have to put limits somewhere. - jhanic
Remember, Remember, The Fifth of November, The Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot.
I liked Watchmen a lot better than V (graphic novel-wise, movie-wise is the opposite). Although I have to wonder if I'd have liked the graphic novel V more if I had read it before I'd seen the movie.
That's a really good question, because I think the movie is just wonderful and I loved the graphic novel, too.I liked Watchmen a lot better than V (graphic novel-wise, movie-wise is the opposite). Although I have to wonder if I'd have liked the graphic novel V more if I had read it before I'd seen the movie.
I did read the graphic novel first - but honest, I kind of take them as two different things entirely.
The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert...
...And The Gunslinger Followed.
“I’m always on the Batman rule, sir.” - Kate Kane / Detective Comics 857
"It is the story, not he who tells it." Except to us collectors who have to put limits somewhere. - jhanic
I love the movie and the book, I just wish the movie had kept a lot closer to the book theme and story wise.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
Happy Guy Fawkes Day / Night !
Remember, Remember The Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder, Treason and Plot,
I Know Of No Reason Why The Gunpowder Treason,
Should Ever Be Forgot.
Fawkes At Midnight,
And By Torchlight,
There Was Found,
With Long Matches And Devices,
Underground.
The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert...
...And The Gunslinger Followed.
“I’m always on the Batman rule, sir.” - Kate Kane / Detective Comics 857
"It is the story, not he who tells it." Except to us collectors who have to put limits somewhere. - jhanic
I'll be heading home from work today and watching V for Vendetta - as I have done every Nov 5th since the movie has been out. Then, perhaps I'll peruse my Absolute V for Vendetta GN. Ah.... I love November 5th.
The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert...
...And The Gunslinger Followed.
“I’m always on the Batman rule, sir.” - Kate Kane / Detective Comics 857
"It is the story, not he who tells it." Except to us collectors who have to put limits somewhere. - jhanic
Damn. I still haven't read the book! I'll be doing that soon I think. I've been thinking about it lately. But tonight I'll be watching the movie.
Coz - The GN is a must.. and very different from the movie. I love them both.
The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert...
...And The Gunslinger Followed.
“I’m always on the Batman rule, sir.” - Kate Kane / Detective Comics 857
"It is the story, not he who tells it." Except to us collectors who have to put limits somewhere. - jhanic
((hugs)) to you all and pam, i wish you were here to see the island lit up. They set fire works off at all 4 corners of the island at once!
bonfire night... love it (apart from dogs and cats being scared, but ine are ok so thats cool, and yes i know i am waffling)
and yes i loved V (who doesn't)
Super-cool V For Vendetta Info :
- Being huge fans of the original comic series, The Wachowski brothers (Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski) wrote a draft of the script in the '90s before they worked on The Matrix (1999), which shares several similar themes with "V for Vendetta".
- Natalie Portman was chosen for the role of Evey over Scarlett Johansson and Bryce Dallas Howard.
- The rhyme referenced by the tag line is called 'The Bonfire Prayer' and commemorates 'Guy Fawkes night', November the 5th, when a Catholic plot to overthrow the British parliament was foiled. There are several slight variations of the full words, one of which goes...?Remember, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot. Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent to blow up the King and the Parliament. Three score barrels of powder below, Poor old England to overthrow: By God's providence he was catch'd With a dark lantern and burning match. Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring. Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King! Hip hip hoorah! A penny loaf to feed the Pope. A farthing o' cheese to choke him. A pint of beer to rinse it down. A faggot of sticks to burn him. Burn him in a tub of tar. Burn him like a blazing star. Burn his body from his head. Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead. Hip hip hoorah! Hip hip hoorah!" It is still recited in full at the famous Lewes bonfire night celebrations in East Sussex.
- The cast and crew were only allowed to shoot in the area near the British Parliament and the Clock Tower from midnight to 4.30 am. Furthermore, they were only allowed to stop traffic for four minutes at a time.
- Natalie Portman looked forward to shaving her head totally bald for the role of Evey Hammond during the torture scenes, stating that she has wanted to do it for a long time. For the shaving scene, the crew and the shaving guys had only one take to do it.
- James Purefoy was originally cast as V but left the project because he had great difficulty breathing behind the Guy Fawkes mask. Hugo Weaving was then brought in to take his place.
- Natalie Portman worked with Barbara Berkery, the dialectologist who also worked with Gwyneth Paltrow, to perfect her English accent.
- The Houses of Parliament destroyed in the film are not the same buildings which Guy Fawkes planned to destroy in 1605. The original Parliament buildings were destroyed in a fire in 1834. The current buildings are built on the same site and took 30 years to build, finishing in 1870. They were largely destroyed again in World War Two and rebuilt to the original design in the late 1940s.
- The scenes near the end that take place in an abandoned London Underground station were actually filmed at Aldwych, a branch from the Piccadilly line that was closed in 1994. The branch still has its tracks and current rails, allowing an operational train to be used in the scene.
- V's pseudonym, "Rookwood", is the last name of another conspirator at the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, as are the names of Rookwood's friends "Percy" and "Keyes".
- The domino scene (where V tips over black and red dominoes to form a giant letter V) involved 22,000 dominoes, was assembled by four professional domino assemblers, and took 200 hours to set up.
- The masks that the soldiers wear outside The Houses of Parliament are JT X-FIRE brand paintball masks.
- The "scrambler device" that Finch uses in his office is in fact a popular type of pocket reading light, with a red bulb or filter added to make it look more high-tech.
- The line about God playing dice with the universe comes from Einstein's objections to quantum theory, in which he said that "At any rate, I am convinced that He [God] does not play dice."
- When Evey gets up from underneath the desk during V's pirate broadcast, there is a copy of "Watchmen", another comic by Alan Moore on the desk in front of her.
- The skit making fun of the High Chancellor was a tribute to "The Benny Hill Show" (1969) as many of the skits used this music ("Yakety Sax") and high speed footage.
- In the original graphic novel, V's cause was anarchy, not freedom. Alan Moore was specifically and harshly critical of the movie for changing what he called the "anarchy vs. fascism" structure of his graphic novel into what he saw as an exploration of "American neo-liberalism vs. American neo-conservatism" that should have been thusly set in the U.S. instead of Britain.
- In the original graphic novel, the leader's name is Adam Susan, not Sutler.
- The name Evey is pronounced EV, with E being the fifth letter of the alphabet, V being five in Latin and Y being the 25th letter (5 squared)
- Interestingly, John Hurt played Winston in the film Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) - in this film he was the victim of the totalitarian state (and the original "Big Brother"). In Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), TV screens with Big Brother's face were watching and spying citizens.
- On a clock that has an hour hand and a minute hand, the time 11:05 makes a V. These two numbers, 11 and 5, where 11 is November, and 5 is the day of November, spell out: the fifth of November. "Remember, remember the 5th of November."
- The original comic series was originally created by Alan Moore. However, following his negative experience with From Hell (2001) and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), Moore decided to reject all money and credit from Hollywood on any adaptations of his work. Thus, he gave all the money he would've gotten to the artist who drew the character with him, and rejected his own "created by" credit from the film.
- Ben Miles plays Dascomb in "V for Vendetta". A scene depicts a security van with listening devices cruising through a neighborhood. One of dialogs picked up is "I'm Dick Darlington" from the 'The End of the Line' episode of Season 2 of the comedy "Coupling" (2000) that also stars Ben Miles.
- At the set of Prothero's bathroom, a collection of dolls can be seen in the background. This is a reference to the graphic novel where V burned the dolls.
- Towards the end of the movie when V meets Creedy he announces his presence by saying, "Penny for the Guy." This is a reference to a children's custom in England around November 5th ("Guy Fawkes day") when children make a Guy Fawkes mannequin to be burned on the bonfire in the evening and ask for money in the meantime with which to buy fireworks.
- The tune V's humming along to when he was cooking eggs for Evey is "The Girl From Ipanema."
- The symbol of the Norsefire Party is one form of an ancient heraldic symbol called the "Croix de Lorraine". A similar symbol was adopted as the official symbol of General Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces between 1940 and 1944. It was later used for various Gaullist political parties in France, notably the RPR (Rally for the Republic).
- Included in the images seen on T.V. as Valerie talks about America's war growing worse and then eventually coming to London, is footage of baby Jessica McClure being pulled out of the well she fell into in Texas in 1987.
- The building used for the wide-angle shot of Evey on the balcony actually exists, although certain architectural details were digitally modified. It is located at 1 Cornhill, London, and is just across the street from the Bank of England.
- According to the police archives, the St Marys virus outbreak started May 13 2006.
- The musical theme accompanying the explosions in the beginning and at the end of the film is Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture"
- Among the paintings in V's lair are Waterhouse's "The Lady of Shalott", "Puberty" by Edvard Munch, "Bacchus and Ariadne" by Titian, and "Elohim Creating Adam" by William Blake.
- The exchange between Evey and V that ends with V saying, "A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having!" is a reference to a famous paraphrase of the words of American Anarchist Feminist, Emma Goldman (1869-1940). One version of the familiar line attributed to her is, "If I can't dance to it, it's not my revolution." While this particular phrase is not hers, it is a distillation of a passage from her autobiography, "Living My Life" published in 1931.
- After V sends out Guy Fawkes masks to everyone and the riots start, the TV announcer mentioned that the first riots started in Brixton. This is a reference to the Brixton riots of 1981 in London.
- Just to the left of the jukebox is the painting "Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride" (1434) by Jan Van Eyck.
- The voice-overs about the futility of non-violence and the definition of humanism that can be heard during the end credits are sound bites from speeches given by Malcolm X and Gloria Steinem, respectively.
- In the special features of the DVD, John Hurt states that the film is rather like a combination of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) and Alien (1979), both of which he starred in.
- Most of the forbidden objects in V's shadow gallery are classical works of art and culture but a few modern ones can be seen, most prominently (though still discretely), The Vitra Lounge Chair by Eames and Valerio Bottin's Bubble Lamp.
- In the memorial for those that died as a result of the virus, the statues are of children playing "Ring a Ring o' Roses". There is a frequently cited urban legend that this nursery rhyme was about the Great Plague of London.
- V quotes Polonius from Shakespeare's Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1 when he first meets Evey: "We are oft to blame in this, - / 'Tis too much proved - that with devotion's visage/ And pious action we do sugar o'er/ The devil himself."
- Adrian Biddle's final film. He died on December 7 2005 from a heart attack. The film is dedicated to him.
- The supervising art director, Kevin Phipps, and the production designer, Owen Paterson, are listed on the Larkhill staff list.
- Hugo Weaving based his accent on Harold Wilson - the British Prime Minister 1964-1970 and 1974-1976.
- In the comic, illustrator David Lloyd often subtly changed the Guy Fawkes mask worn by V so as to suit the mood or tone a particular scene. The filmmakers considered replicating this in the movie, by designing a number of subtly different masks, but they ultimately decided that it would be better to simply alter the shadows and lighting in post-production rather than literally having different masks for different scenes.
- All of V's dialogue was recorded via ADR. Initially, a mask was designed with a small microphone inside it and another mike was designed to sit along the hair line of actor Hugo Weaving, but neither worked very well.
- Costume designer Sammy Sheldon had only 5 weeks prep time.
- The exact same font is found on all the posters and signs seen throughout the movie except the posters for Valerie's movies.
- All of the models (the Old Bailey, the Clock Tower and the Houses of Parliament) were built at tenth scale, and together, they took 20 people 10 weeks to build.
- When shooting the fight in Victoria Station, the stunt-men literally moved in slow motion on set whilst David Leitch (Hugo Weaving's stunt double) moved in real time - thus making it seem as if he was moving much faster then the Fingermen. Additionally, the scene was shot at 60fps to slow the Fingermen down even further.
- For the scene when V emerges from Larkhill, stunt double Chad Stahelski literally walked through fire, wearing just a special fire resistant gel and a g-string. Stahelski's body temperature had to be lowered before the scene was shot, and luckily, it was 3 below zero the night of the shoot. 15 minutes before a take, he would put on ice cold flame resistant clothing, and once he took them off, he would be covered with fire resistant gel which had been icing all day long.
- Prior to shooting the movie, director James McTeigue studied the Gillo Pontecorvo film La battaglia di Algeri (1966)
- Natalie Portman did research for her role by watching the Sam Green and Bill Siegel documentary The Weather Underground (2002), and by reading the Antonia Fraser book about Guy Fawkes, Fate and Treason, as well as the autobiography of Menachem Begin (the founder of the Irgun Party in Israel).
- The two tanks used in the scenes in Parliament Square were real army tanks that had been decommissioned. Each night, prior to transporting the vehicles to the shoot, each tank was inspected by government security personnel to ensure their weaponry was not functional and had been altered in any way. They were then taken via trucks to the location, with no stops allowed during transportation, and were accompanied by armed security officials the entire way.
- For the scenes in Parliament Square, background checks were conducted on every actor and technician who carried a weapon and the bar-codes on each and every piece of weaponry was scanned so as to track the individuals authorized to handle them.
- Keira Knightley auditioned for the role of Evey Hammond.
- Certain scenes within the film feature James Purefoy as V, who was originally cast in the role but replaced by Hugo Weaving four weeks into filming. Weaving's voice was simply dubbed over Purefoy's performance. Director James McTeigue said in an interview: "Can I tell the difference? Yeah. Can the audience tell? I doubt it."
- In the movie Stephen Fry's character Dietrich hosts a variety show in England. In real life, Fry has starred in and hosted several different variety shows, including '"A Bit of Fry and Laurie" (1986)' with fellow British actor Hugh Laurie.
- The song "Long Black Train" foreshadows on Inspector Finch's alarm in the morning of November 5th, when the film ultimately ends.
- The reason the secret police are called "Fingermen" is because the New Order was arranged on the model of the human body. The Chancellor was the Head; the television station BTN was the mouth; visual and audio surveillance were the Eye and the Ear; Inspector Finch was part of The Nose, the police force, and Creedy secret police were the Hand.
- Euan Blair, son of the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, worked as a runner for the film's production company. The role drew criticism after it was suggested by actor Stephen Fry that permission to film in government buildings was obtained through Blair Jnr's political connections - an allegation strenuously denied by producers. Conservative MP David Davies told the Sunday Times: "It smacks of sheer hypocrisy that Blair's government is willing to arrest a woman for simply making a protest in Whitehall but is happy to open the doors when Blair's son turns up in a film which is about parliament being blown up."
- The account of Adam Sutler's rise to power that V delivers to Inspector Finch closely parallels the account Leo Tolstoy gives of Napoleon's rise to power in France in Part I, Chapter III of the Epilogue to War and Peace.
- Several of the main themes (music), when written out on a staff form the letter V if the notes are connected, dot to dot. Specifically the theme that's played at the beginning of "The Dominoes Fall," or the piano solo during "Valerie."
- In the movie Mr. Creedy says: "You've got nothing but your bloody knives and your fancy karate gimmicks. We have guns." This line is similar to one from Mr. Almond in the book, a character that was excluded from the movie.
- In the original graphic novel the leader relies on a centralized computer system called Fate to help maintain control.
- "Madam Justice" as called by V, doesn't have blindfolds. The reason the common Madam Justice has blindfolds is to represent that justice does not see, therefore she cannot be biased or discriminatory in any way. As the new government in the film is extremely discriminatory towards many different groups, the Madame Justice in the film has no blindfold.
- During the introduction of V to Evey, starting with "Voila", V uses words that begin with "V" 47 times.
Spoilers For the Movie and Book
The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert...
...And The Gunslinger Followed.
“I’m always on the Batman rule, sir.” - Kate Kane / Detective Comics 857
"It is the story, not he who tells it." Except to us collectors who have to put limits somewhere. - jhanic
Happy November 5th !!
Remember, Remember The Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.
I Know Of No Reason Why The Gunpowder Treason,
Should Ever Be Forgot.
Fawkes At Midnight,
And By Torchlight,
There Was Found,
With Long Matches and Devices,
Underground.
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I see no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert...
...And The Gunslinger Followed.
“I’m always on the Batman rule, sir.” - Kate Kane / Detective Comics 857
"It is the story, not he who tells it." Except to us collectors who have to put limits somewhere. - jhanic
I guess I need to watch this movie again. All my facebook peeps have references to it all over their posts today too. I know I watched it but I just don't remember much of anything about it. It didn't impress me too much so I will have to have another look.
I'll def be watching this tonight
I'll be watching tonight as well !!
One of my favorite all time movies !!
The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert...
...And The Gunslinger Followed.
“I’m always on the Batman rule, sir.” - Kate Kane / Detective Comics 857
"It is the story, not he who tells it." Except to us collectors who have to put limits somewhere. - jhanic
Pam, every year i say it. You really should come over the the UK for Bonfire night you would love it.
I am staying in tonight and may very well be watching V
But i will be out tomorrow partying it up
Spoiler:
A NEW GAME BEGINS
I met up with a friend and we took a walk to a park and climbed the hill to watch the fireworks.
It wasn't a bad display but I enjoyed the walk at night as much as anything. I managed to slip on the wet grass and ended up with muddy jeans too. (That actually added to the enjoyment.)
I haven't watched V for Vendetta all the way through, but I like the Graphic novel a lot.
Watching V for Vendetta right now.
I am Daenerys Stormborn and I will take what is mine. With fire and blood.
It's actually on tonight over here! I'm not sure if I'll watch it yet.
I agree. My biggest complaint is the Anarchy v. Fascism theme was dumbed down to Conservatism v. Liberalism, but very good nonetheless. It's always a joy to watch. I saw it last night.
Candy!!Pam, every year i say it. You really should come over the the UK for Bonfire night you would love it.
I am staying in tonight and may very well be watching V
But i will be out tomorrow partying it upthis is a dream of mine ... to actually experience Guy Fawkes Night in the UK.
Who knows, right? Someday ?!?
I watch V for Vendetta every Nov 5th. It's sort of a tradition for me. I love the movie.
The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert...
...And The Gunslinger Followed.
“I’m always on the Batman rule, sir.” - Kate Kane / Detective Comics 857
"It is the story, not he who tells it." Except to us collectors who have to put limits somewhere. - jhanic
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