"Remember, remember the fifth of November..."

"There is a certain amount of political inexperience upon my part evident in these early episodes. Back in 1981 the term "nuclear winter" had not passed into common currency, and although my guess about climatic upheaval came pretty close to the eventual truth of the situation, the fact remains that the story at hand suggests that a nuclear war, even a limited one, might be survivable. To the best of my knowledge, this is not the case...Naivete can also be detected in my supposition that it would take something as melodramatic as a near-miss nuclear conflict to nudge England towards fascism."   
-Moore, Alan. "I began V for Vendetta..." DC Comics, September 1988. Vol I of X

"How purposeful was your vendetta. How benign, almost like surgery...your foes assumed you sought revenge upon their flesh alone, but you did not stop there...you gored their ideology as well. The people stand within the ruins of society, a jail intended to out-live them all. The choice is theirs, as ever it must be. I will not lead them, but I will help them build, help them create where I'll not help them kill. The age of killers is no more."
- Moore, Alan. "V For Vendetta." DC Comics, 1988. Vol. X of X (p. 26)

wait, it's the fifth of November?? I can't believe I didn't notice before I read this :( 
 
but I have watched the film at least half a dozen times (and loved it!) and I've also read the graphic novel having already seen the movie (as it turns out the graphic novel varied quite drastically from the movie but it was also great) and I still love BOTH the movie and the graphic novel, at the same time! That's right...I love the story in both mediums...such a thing is unheard of but it's true. 
 
And if it weren't already so late and me so tired I would re-watch the movie and re-read the graphic novel tonight but alas...it is late and I am tired...maybe I'll read over a favorite part of mine in honor of this great day. Or I will try and memorize V's intro speech in the film, that was awesome! 
 

• 
  

  Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant and vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition! The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. [laughs] Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me "V". 

  
  

Oh yeah I forgot about this date.

There's no question the movie screwed the pooch when it came to the ending and to no surprise Alan Moore had a cow.  It misses the point that destabilizing gov't leads to anarchy and mob without direction becomes a mindless mass that turns in on itself. So freeing people without structure is no better off than the tyranny it sought to destroy. Except now every one is defenseless...much like how Rome was sacked and the dark ages began.
 
In the graphic novel, Helen Heyer played a significant role (and doesn't exist in the movie) as the first prostitute (that doesn't look like the winner of the genetic lottery) tried to convince Finch to save her from rampaging mindless mob of men bent on raping her and all the women that engaged in allegedly "freeing England." Now a cop without a gov't, he realized that there is no order thanks to blowing the shit out of Parliament and walks down an uncertain road. Thus, showing that anarchy is Not really this utopian view that we can live without rules or structure. Also nixes that there are more good people in the world than wicked.
 
In the movie, I think they did a decent job of skimming the surface, romanticizing humanity, and focused more on discrimination and Civil Rights than showing the other side of why gov't and structure was created in the first place. V for Vendetta was for Discrimination in the way that Crash was about Racism. Visual but hollow. Still, its entertaining action done by the Matrix bros.

Such a terrible movie, yet such a great graphic novel.

I watch the movie every November 5th. 

Nice review Babs! Forgot all about Guy Fawkes Day.

REMEMBER REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER!!

I have had alt happen to me on the fifth of november, first break up of first ex that was just an odd thing and odd timing. I remember after the break i remembered this line from the book was quite hilarious to me at the time.

First car crash, first time got pulled over by a cop, first....nevermind. Fifth of November is both a good and bad day for me so HAPPY GUY FAWKES DAY!!

I will never forget the... Fifth of November.    

I am love this comic and movie. It's real beautifull!!!!!