V for Vendetta

Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man 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 up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V’s mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself – and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.

 

V

The masked vigilante known only as codename “V” is an eloquent, hyper-intelligent and incredibly cultured man who was horrifically tortured and experimented on, and as a result gains impossibly fast reflexes and fighting skill, and an unstoppable vendetta towards the corrupt Fascist government.

His costume consists of an iconic Guy Fawkes mask, which he wears at all times, a long brunette wig, a black Guy Fawkes hat, a long black cloak, and black tunic, gloves, trousers and boots. The mask and the emphasis on the black add to his air of mystery, whilst remaining practical and allowing him to be camouflaged in darkness. The mask connects him to his inspiration, Guy Fawkes, but also gives the viewers a human face to connect with, whilst the large grin adds an unnerving quality to the scenes of violence.

High Chancellor Adam Sutler

Sutler is the leader of the Norsefire party and the dictator of Britain in the dystopian future. He lives in an underground bunker in self-imposed exile and leaves the day-to-day operation of his empire to his lieutenants. For most of the film he is only seen on television, until the end when he finally appears in person. He reaches the position of Prime Minister by promising to restore order to the country after terrorists supposedly killed 80,000 people with a self-ignited bioweapon that created a viral epidemic - a bomb that he planted himself. Sulter is conniving and manipulative, but his erratic temper and increasingly extreme measures of "keeping peace" cause even his subordinates to turn on him. His name is a portmanteau of his name in the comics, "Adam Susan" and "Hitler", an indication of the sort of politician he is supposed to evoke connotations of. 

Evey Hammond

Every is a strong, intelligent, emotional woman who acts as the moral core of the narrative. V saves her from an attempted rape, leading her to attack an officer of Norsefire to save his; he hides her in his underground palace of contraband artifacts, and although she is afraid and wary of him, she soon learns to sympathise with his cause. She is not so much the "romantic interest" - although V does confess to having fallen in love with her shortly before he dies - as a secondary protagonist, but she has the classic traits associated with that role. She is young, attractive and incredibly loyal, enduring weeks of psychological and physical torture to keep V's whereabouts hidden, emerging from it completely "fearless".

Symbolism

V's rebellion symbol is a bright red "V" cutting through a circle, reminiscient of the anarchy symbol. The bold red on the black again brings connotations of blood and violence. The symbol is also the most iconic, memorable and well-known part of both the trailer and the film, as it is seen scrawled and painted all over walls and propaganda posters. We tried to replicate its iconic nature in our own rebel symbol.

The Norsefire symbol is a red on black double-barred cross shape, resembling the Croix de Lorraine. Again, the colours invoke blood and violence; the Norsefire party are obsessed with patriotism ("As always, England prevails!"), and their symbol is very similar to the English flag, but with black instead of white. This inversion suggests how England has been corrupted.

V for Vendetta Teaser Trailer Deconstruction

Link to trailer on YouTube

An incredibly effective shot in the trailer is a close up of a woman's feet as she is dragged away; we had considered using a close up of a woman being dragged away, but not from this particular angle. However, this angle connotates vulnerability and submission, whereas we wanted our female character to be struggling.

This close up of the female character, Evey, works particularly well because the darkness of the background highlights the white of her eyes and emphasizes the shadows on her face, creating mystery. The angle of her face, which exaggerates the slant of her eyebrows, also makes her look strong and determined.

The anchorage for this trailer appears part way through, which shows how the plot and characters are more of a draw than the studios who produced it. The Warner Bros, Vertigo DC Comics and Silver Pictures logos are all altered to fit with the red colour scheme, giving connotations of violence and anarchy to follow in the film.

There is a midshot of soldiers in red and black uniforms marching, which tilts down to show their marching feet in time with the non-diegetic music. This shot is effective because it is an iconic army-related image, which show the extreme measures taken to keep order and how individuality is being crushed. Using the colours black and red again cements the idea of violence and darkness in the film.

This close up shot is the first glimpse of the protagonist, who is wearing an iconic Guy Fawkes mask and flat-brimmed black hat, which makes him easily recognisable through the trailer. The shot is particularly effective because he steps forwards out of the darkness, but the angle of his head keeps his eyes in darkness, giving him an air of mystery and danger.

This trailer uses words on the screen, rather than a voiceover, to indicate the finer points of the plot, which is what we also want to do. The back ground is an aggressive swirling black and red cloud-like matter, with a white font, glowing red, indicating the nature of the trailer. This carries on the red colour scheme and uses the same font from the poster.

We also want to use a similar shot to this long shot; the head of the government giving a speech on a large screen to the masses. This one works incredibly well, because the antagonist's head is huge and imposing, adding to the melodramatic effect of having the cross-like symbols of his rule everywhere, and the men watching him are unidentifiable, linking to lost identities within the film.

This close up of the protagonist's thumb about to press the switch for a bomb is juxtaposed with the fast cut action shots preceeding it, which gives it far greater impact and gravitas, as it is a long cut in comparison. Through this, it also creates tension, as it is an iconic bomb switch that every viewer would easily recognise, and the previous cut showed that it was linked to TNT strapped to the protagonist.



Having the protagonist's symbol of rebellion as the very last shot of the trailer has an incredible impact on the viewer; the "V" is bright red on a black background, and the dripping gives connotations of spray paint, or blood, which again link to the notion of a rebellion and violence in the film. It is an easily recognisable symbol that the viewers will remember, over everything else they see in the trailer.

V for Vendetta Poster Deconstruction

The V for Vendetta poster is in the style of war-time propaganda posters, using the colours red, black, green and white, which promote connotations of violence and anarchy.

The main focus of the poster is V, whose eyes are hidden, giving him an air of mystery, and his fist is raised in an iconic image of strength, and the military signal for "attack", which is what he commands the people to do, as the head of the revolution. Above him is one of the taglines of the film, “FREEDOM! FOREVER!”, which further suggests the idea of rebellion against an oppressive force in the film.

V is mainly in black, but beside him is Evey, who is mainly white, and is cradling her head, making her a far more vulnerable figure and indicating that she undergoes trauma during the narrative. They are both larger and above the title, which shows that their relationship and character development is the most important part of the film.

Beneath them is a crowd of people dressed as V, representing the call to revolution that the film represents, and how the governement has removed all identity from the people through censorship. They are above the title, which shows how the notion of the masses revolting against the government is a key idea in the film.

The title is in a white stylistic font, using V's logo as part of the typography. Using the red and white on the black background makes the title stand out, and also continues the connotations of violence and the battle of morality. In our own film poster, we want to use the symbol of our rebellion as part of the typography, and this poster is a particularly effective example of that.

Beneath the title are the credits, and beneath them, in much larger writing, is the release date. This makes the release date stand out and helps the viewer remember it.