V for Vendetta [Blu-ray]

V for Vendetta [Blu-ray]

V for Vendetta [Blu-ray]

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Blu-ray details

Actor: Charles Cork, Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Sinéad Cusack, Stephen Fry
Brand: Warner Brothers
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 132 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2008-05-20
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: 111701
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:

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

Blu-ray Reviews of V for Vendetta [Blu-ray]

Blu-ray Review: V for Vendetta (Blu-ray)
Summary: 4 Stars

Movie - 4.5

V for Vendetta strikes me as a well-scripted Chex Mix that serves as a superhero, revolutionary, and revenge movie all at once. But what makes the gunpowder treason and plot so interesting is the character of V himself and the circumstances in which his "quest" ultimately reveals a number of poignant observations. Aside from the obvious parallel between he and The Count of Monte Cristo, I particularly find the whole "rebellion against authority" theme to be a refreshing testament to the way certain governments can sometimes be a bit too controlling or ironically naïve for their own good, which in turn can cause said revolution. This is best portrayed through the character of Evey who, along with everyone else, had conformed and obeyed to the whims of a harsh and suffocating dictatorship for so long. And as history (or even science) has proven, for every action, there is indeed an equal and opposite reaction; authority <--> rebellion. But in one of the more unique twists, this revenge and rebellion is all catalyzed under the guise of a Guy Fawkes-masked vindicator whose actions also indeed can fit that of a textbook terrorist. 9/11 undertones are easily apparent when they mention the symbol of a building being destroyed and its ability to change the world for better or worse. I don't know when this graphic novel was written, but apparently the symbolism is justifiably and eerily accurate for what it's worth. I suppose it just depends on which side you're coming from and the amount of subjectivity involved when trying to observe such events. But in the end, I really enjoyed this movie for its extremely good choice in having cast Hugo Weaving as V and Natalie Portman as Evey. The only problems I had were a few pacing issues with the screenplay, that might've been better resolved with either a longer run time or more immersing musical score.

Video - 3.5

Presented in VC-1 with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio, I took a look at the bitrates (mostly in the high teens and low 20s) and it appears Warner Bros. used the exact same transfer from the previously released HD-DVD (aka the more inferior release). After reading the BD review of Batman Begins, I am now convinced that during the format war, some movies may have unexpectedly gotten the shaft in terms of a faithful transfer/encode. Because of the mere max capacity of 30GBs on a dual-layered HD-DVD, there wasn't as much space for as good a transfer/encode. The result: a few movies not quite meeting up to BD expectations LIKE a Batman Begins, V for Vendetta, and whatever else I might have in my library that was caught up in the war. Needless to say, while the BD presentation here is good, it's probably nowhere near as good as it could be. Colors are vivid, but not as in depth as I've seen in older, albeit newly-encoded, titles. Sharpness is around what you'd expect for an HD presentation, but some scenes looked a tad grainy and fuzzy (and not the good kind, like a Bourne Identity on BD, which by the way was re-encoded and looks great with the higher bitrates). Blacks aren't particularly deep either, which is a shame as it's a pretty dark movie. I'm disappointed, but it's better than DVD anyway...

Audio - 4.0

In addition, this TrueHD 5.1 track also seems to be a direct copy of the HD-DVD's. I don't have any HD-DVDs to compare, but I've heard other Warner Bros. titles with the same option, and they are remarkably more in depth than what we're given on this BD. Most of the film is dialogue and comes through very crisp (not that it should be hard), but the more action-focused scenes were lacking in surround usage. Music (one of the problems I had with the film overall) also seems less immersing than I'd like (where at least Batman Begins had a terrific score). LFEs were pretty good on a couple of scenes, though, such as the first fight where V introduces himself and that very cool montage with the dominoes. It's not quite up to snuff with other BDs having only an average bitrate between 1.6 and 2.1Mbps, but it's better than regular Dolby Digital.

Extras - 3.5

I enjoyed the extras, which consist mostly of behind-the-scenes footage concerning production and writing, but I felt there weren't enough. The one segment making comparisons between V and a terrorist is especially interesting, though they could've offered a little more subjectivity to the ideas and overall concepts of what this could represent in society. All features are in SD.

Overall - 4.0

I really enjoyed this film for its unique twist on the superhero genre -- to essentially portray the hero as a terrorist. Much like its script (which is supremely enunciated by Hugo Weaving), the cast is excellent with a special commendation to John Hurt who basically just talks on a giant TV for most of the film. But regardless, the plot itself touches upon many subtleties about authority, self-will, the power of symbolism, and its ability to withstand the test of time, be it through censorship, controlled viewing, etc. I highly recommend this for the great story. But with only an average A/V transfer thanks to HD-DVD's inferiority and the laziness of Warner Bros. studios to do a proper re-encoding, we fans of V may have to wait for an eventual double dip, along with some of their other catalog titles.

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Description of V for Vendetta [Blu-ray]

V FOR VENDETTA - Blu-Ray Movie

"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 ironically played Winston Smith in the movie 1984) whose party uses force and fear to run the nation. After gaining 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 US 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

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