Celebrate Guy Fawkes Day with these 7 ‘V for Vendetta’ clips

The plot is memorialized in a famous traditional rhyme. “Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.”

Many view Fawkes as an anarchist or anti-government hero, but his goal was to overthrow King James, head of the Church of England, and install a Catholic monarch.

Still, Fawkes’ reputation as an anarchist inspires the hero in the “V for Vendetta” stories. First a graphic novel released in the 1980s then a movie starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman released in 2006.

As the story goes, most of the world is destroyed in a major war but England survives and a fascist government takes power. The mysterious masked character simply known as “V” almost singlehandedly attempts to overthrow the government. Here is a summary of the movie in seven clips:

Introduction

“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. 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.” – V

“Are you, like, a crazy person?” – Evey

“I am quite sure they will say so.” – V

The Old Bailey

“It is to Madame Justice that I dedicate this concerto, in honor of the holiday that she seems to have taken from these parts, and in recognition of the impostor that stands in her stead.” – V

Revolutionary Speech

“The truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.” – V

Governments

“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” – V

Dancing

“A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having.” – V

(Warning: Lots of blood and violence in this clip. Spoilers in both of the clips below.)

Ideas

“Why won’t you die?” – Creedy

“Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.” – V

The End

“Who was he?” – Mr. Finch

“He was Edmond Dantes [from “The Count of Monte Cristo”], and he was my father. And my mother. My brother. My friend. He was you, and me. He was all of us.” – Evey

Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.