Originally a graphic novel, V for Vendetta was turned into a movie in 2005. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the United Kingdom in the 90s, after a nuclear war. The titular character, V, seeks revenge against his enemies and aims to bring down the fascist party that has taken over the government. As expected, the following quotes are as controversial as they are thought-provoking.
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.
While the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth.
People should not be afraid of their government, government should be afraid of their people.
There are no coincidences, only the illusion of coincidences.
The past can’t hurt you anymore. Not unless you let it. They made you into a victim, Evey. They made you into a statistic. But, that’s not the real you. That’s not who you are inside.
That’s it! See, at first I thought it was hate, too. Hate was all I knew, it built my world, it imprisoned me, taught me how to eat, how to drink, how to breathe. I thought I’d die with all my hate in my veins. But then something happened. It happened to me… just as it happened to you.
A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having.
Beneath this mask there is more than flesh Mr Creedy. Beneath this mask there is an idea. And ideas are bulletproof.
We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world.
Evey: Are you like a crazy person?
V: I am quite sure they will say so.
V: I am quite sure they will say so.
A man after my own heart.
No one will ever forget that night and what it meant for this country. But I will never forget the man and what he meant to me.
There is no certainty, only opportunity.
Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us. But within that inch, we are free.
A building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. Alone, a symbol is meaningless, but with enough people, blowing up a building can change the world.
I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke.
Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.
Artists use lies to tell the truth while politicians use them to cover the truth up.
V: What was done to me created me. It’s a basic principle of the universe that every action causes an equal and opposing reaction.
Evey: Is that really how you look at it? Like an equation…?
V: What was done to me was monstrous!
Evey: And it created a monster…
Evey: Is that really how you look at it? Like an equation…?
V: What was done to me was monstrous!
Evey: And it created a monster…
Everybody is special. Everybody. Everybody is a hero, a lover, a fool, a villain. Everybody. Everybody has their story to tell.
You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.
Knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it.
My mother said I broke her heart…but it was my integrity that was important. Is that so selfish? It sells for so little, but it’s all we have left in this place. It is the very last inch of us…but within that inch we are free.
Happiness is the most insidious prison of all.
I shall die here. Every last inch of me shall perish. Except one. An inch. It’s small and it’s fragile and it’s the only thing in the world worth having. we must never lose it, or sell it, or give it away. We must never let them take it from us.
Since mankind’s dawn, a handful of oppressors have accepted the responsibility over our lives that we should have accepted for ourselves. By doing so, they took our power. By doing nothing, we gave it away. We’ve seen where their way leads, through camps and wars, towards the slaughterhouse.
God is in the rain.
They say that life’s a game, & then they take the board away.
Love your rage, not your cage.
Fear became the ultimate tool of this government.
One thing is true of all governments – their most reliable records are tax records.
No, what you have are bullets, and the hope that when your guns are empty, I’m no longer standing, because if I am… you’ll all be dead before you’ve reloaded.
If our own government was responsible for the deaths of almost a hundred thousand people… would you really want to know?
I wish I wasn’t afraid all the time, but… I am.
Defiant to the end, huh? You won’t cry like him, will you? You’re not afraid of death. You’re like me.
We are being buried under the avalanche of your inadequacies, Mr. Creedy!
I want this country to realize that we stand on the edge of oblivion. I want everyone to remember why they need us!
Evey, please. . .there is a face beneath this mask, but it’s not me. I’m no more that face than I am the muscles beneath it, or the bones beneath them.
It means that I, like God, do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence.
I read that the former United States is so desperate for medical supplies, they’ve alledgedly sent several containers filled with wheat and tobacco. A gesture, they said, of good will.
I think it’s high time we paid them [the former United States] back for a little “Tea Party” they threw for us a few hundred years ago!
Because he was right. This country needs more than a building right now. It needs hope.
If I am sure of anything, Inspector, it is that this government will not survive if it is to be subject to your feelings!
Words will always retain their power. Words are the means to meaning, and for those who listen, the enunciation of truth, and the truth is there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there?
My father was a writer. You would have like him. He used to say that artists use lies to tell the truth while politicians used them to cover the truth up.
Mr. Finch: Who was he?
Evey Hammond: He was Edmond Dantes, and he was my father and my mother, my brother, my friend. He was you and me. He was all of us.
Evey Hammond: He was Edmond Dantes, and he was my father and my mother, my brother, my friend. He was you and me. He was all of us.
I wish I believed that was possible. But every time I’ve seen this world change, it’s always been for the worse.
I remember them arguing at night. Mum wanted to leave the country. Dad refused. He said if we ran away, they would win. Win, like it was a game.
By the power of truth, I while living have conquered the universe.
I worried about myself for a while. But one day I was at a market and a friend, someone I’d worked with at the BTN, got in line behind me. I was so nervous that when the cashier asked me for my money I dropped it. My friend picked it up and handed it to me. She looked me right in the eye and didn’t recognise me. I guess whatever you did to me worked better than I’d ever have imagined.
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