V for Vendetta (film)

V for Vendetta
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James McTeigue
Produced by	Joel Silver Grant Hill Andy Wachowski Larry Wachowski
Screenplay by	The Wachowski Brothers
Based on	V for Vendetta 1988 DC Comics by David Lloyd Alan Moore (uncredited)
Starring	Natalie Portman Hugo Weaving Stephen Rea John Hurt
Music by	Dario Marianelli
Cinematography	Adrian Biddle
Edited by	Martin Walsh
Production company	Virtual Studios Silver Pictures Anarchos Productions Studio Babelsberg
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	December 11, 2005 (2005-12-11) (Butt-Numb-A-Thon) February 13, 2006 (2006-02-13) (Berlin) March 16, 2006 (2006-03-16) (Germany) March 17, 2006 (2006-03-17) (United States)
Running time	132 minutes
Country	United States Germany
Language	English
Budget	$54 million
Box office	$132.5 million

V for Vendetta is a 2005 British dystopian political thriller film directed by James McTeigue and written by The Wachowski Brothers, based on the 1988 DC/Vertigo Comics limited series of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. The film is set in an alternative future where a neo-fascist regime has subjugated the United Kingdom. Hugo Weaving portrays V, an anarchist freedom fighter who attempts to ignite a revolution through elaborate terrorist acts and Natalie Portman plays Evey, a young, working-class woman caught up in V's mission, while Stephen Rea portrays the detective leading a desperate quest to stop V.

The film was originally scheduled for release by Warner Bros. on Friday, November 4, 2005 (a day before the 400th Guy Fawkes Night), but was delayed; it opened on March 17, 2006, to positive reviews. Alan Moore, having been dissatisfied with the film adaptations of his other works From Hell (2001) and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), declined to watch the film and asked not to be credited or paid royalties.

V for Vendetta has been seen by many political groups as an allegory of oppression by government; libertarians and anarchists have used it to promote their beliefs. David Lloyd stated: "The Guy Fawkes mask has now become a common brand and a convenient placard to use in protest against tyranny – and I'm happy with people using it, it seems quite unique, an icon of popular culture being used this way."