V for Vendetta (2005)

Quotes
V: [Evey pulls out her mace] I can assure you I mean you no harm.
Evey Hammond: Who are you?
V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a
mask.
Evey Hammond: Well I can see that.
V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking
upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.
Evey Hammond: Oh. Right.
V: But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace
sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona.
V: Voil! 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, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone 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.
[carves "V" into poster on wall]
V: 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.
V: [giggles]
V: 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.
Evey Hammond: Are you, like, a crazy person?
V: I am quite sure they will say so. But to whom, might I ask, am I speaking?
Evey Hammond: I'm Evey.
V: Evey? E-V. Of course you are.
Evey Hammond: What does that mean?

V: It means that I, like God, do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence. Are you
hurt?
V: People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their
people.
[after a hail of gunfire doesn't stop V]
Creedy: Die! Die! Why won't you die?... Why won't you die?
V: Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy,
and ideas are bulletproof.
V: Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. 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. But in the spirit of
commemoration, whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with
someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I
thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by
taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are of course
those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into
telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because 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. And 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. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well
certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but
again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know
why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a
myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common
sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor,
Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return
was your silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I
destroyed the Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four
hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our
memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than
words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government
remain unknown to you, then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass
unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek,
then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and
together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot.
Evey Hammond: [voiceover] Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder
Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot...
But what of the man? I know his name was Guy Fawkes and I know, in 1605, he attempted to
blow up the Houses of Parliament. But who was he really? What was he like? 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. I've witnessed first hand

the power of ideas, I've seen people kill in the name of them, and die defending them... but
you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it, or hold it... ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain,
they do not love... And it is not an idea that I miss, it is a man... A man that made me
remember the Fifth of November. A man that I will never forget.
V: I told you, only truth. For 20 years, I sought only this day. Nothing else existed... until I
saw you. Then everything changed. I fell in love with you Evey. And to think I no longer
believed I could.
Evey Hammond: But I don't want you to die.
V: That's the most beautiful thing you could have ever given me.
Evey Hammond: [reads] Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.
V: [translates] By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.
Evey Hammond: Personal motto?
V: From "Faust".
Evey Hammond: That's about trying to cheat the devil, isn't it?
V: It is.
V: But again, truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty you need only look into a mirror.
V: What was done to me was monstrous.
Evey Hammond: And they created a monster.
V: ...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.
[last lines]
Evey Hammond: 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.
V: And thus I clothe my naked villainy / With old odd ends stolen forth from holy writ/And
seem a saint when most I play the devil.
[quoting Shakespeare's Richard III, Act I Scene 3]
Creedy: Defiant to the end, huh? You won't cry like him, will you? You're not afraid of death.
You're like me.
V: The only thing that you and I have in common, Mr. Creedy, is we're both about to die.

Creedy: How do you imagine that's gonna happen?

V: With my hands around your neck.
Creedy: Bollocks. Whatchya gonna do, huh? We've swept this place. You've got nothing.
Nothing but your bloody knives and your fancy karate gimmicks. We have guns.
V: No, what you have are bullets, and the hope that when your guns are empty I'm no longer
be standing, because if I am you'll all be dead before you've reloaded.
Creedy: That's impossible. Kill him.
[the fingermen open fire on V, but he still stands after their clips are empty]
V: My turn.
[V proceeds to kill all fingermen with his knives before they manage to reload]
Creedy: [desperately shooting at the approaching V] Die! Die! Why won't you die?... Why
won't you die?
V: Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy.
And ideas are bulletproof.
Valerie: I know there's no way I can convince you this is not one of their tricks, but I don't
care, I am me. My name is Valerie, I don't think I'll live much longer and I wanted to tell
someone about my life. This is the only autobiography I'll ever write, and god, I'm writing it
on toilet paper. I was born in Nottingham in 1985, I don't remember much of those early
years, but I do remember the rain. My grandmother owned a farm in Tuttlebrook, and she use
to tell me that god was in the rain. I passed my 11th lesson into girl's grammar; it was at
school that I met my first girlfriend, her name was Sara. It was her wrists. They were
beautiful. I thought we would love each other forever. I remember our teacher telling us that
is was an adolescent phase people outgrew. Sara did, I didn't. In 2002, I fell in love with a girl
named Christina. That year I came out to my parents. I couldn't have done it without Chris
holding my hand. My father wouldn't look at me, he told me to go and never come back. My
mother said nothing. But I had only told them the truth, was that so selfish? 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. I'd always known what I wanted to do with my life, and in 2015 I starred in my
first film, "The Salt Flats". It was the most important role of my life, not because of my
career, but because that was how I met Ruth. The first time we kissed, I knew I never wanted
to kiss any other lips but hers again. We moved to a small flat in London together. She grew
Scarlet Carsons for me in our window box, and our place always smelled of roses. Those
were there best years of my life. But America's war grew worse, and worse. And eventually
came to London. After that there were no roses anymore. Not for anyone. I remember how
the meaning of words began to change. How unfamiliar words like "collateral" and
"rendition" became frightening. While things like Norse Fire and The Articles of Allegiance
became powerful, I remember how different became dangerous. I still don't understand it,
why they hate us so much. They took Ruth while she was out buying food. I've never cried so
hard in my life. It wasn't long till they came for me. It seems strange that my life should end
in such a terrible place, but for three years, I had roses, and apologized to no one. I shall die

here. Every inch of me shall perish. Every inch, but one. An Inch, it is small and it is fragile,
but it is the only thing the world worth having. We must never lose it or give it away. We
must never let them take it from us. I hope that whoever you are, you escape this place. I
hope that the world turns and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you
understand what I mean when I tell you that even though I do not know you, and even though
I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you. I love you. With all my
heart, I love you. -Valerie
Evey Hammond: Who are you?
V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a
mask.
Evey Hammond: Well I can see that.
V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation, I'm merely remarking
upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.
V: [Quoting Polonius from Shakespeare's Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1] We are oft to blame in this,
- / 'Tis too much proved - that with devotion's visage/ And pious action we do sugar o'er/ The
devil himself.
V: 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. Tell
me Evey, do you know what day it is?
Evey Hammond: Um, November the 4th.
V: [midnight church bells ring] Not anymore. Remember, remember the 5th of November.
The gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should
ever be forgot.
Delia Surridge: You've come to kill me, haven't you?
V: Yes.
Delia Surridge: Thank God.
Evey Hammond: What is that you're making?
Gordon Deitrich: We call it "eggie in the basket". My mum used to make them.
Evey Hammond: This is weird.
Gordon Deitrich: What?
Evey Hammond: The first morning I was with him, he made me eggs just like this.
Gordon Deitrich: Really?

Evey Hammond: I swear.

Gordon Deitrich: That is a strange coincidence. Although, there's an obvious explanation.
Evey Hammond: There is?
Gordon Deitrich: Yes, Evey. I am V. At last you know the truth. You're stunned, I know. It's
hard to believe isn't it, that beneath this wrinkled, well-fed exterior there lies a dangerous
killing machine with a fetish for Fawkesian masks. Viva la revolucin!
Evey Hammond: That is *not* funny, Gordon.
Gordon Deitrich: [sighs] Yeah, I know. I'm useless without a studio audience.
V: [as "The Count of Monte Cristo" ends] Did you like it?
Evey Hammond: Yeah. But it made me feel sorry for Mercedes.
V: Why?
Evey Hammond: Because he cared more about revenge than he did about her.
Valerie: I remember how the meaning of words began to change. How unfamiliar words like
"collateral" and "rendition" became frightening, while things like Norsefire and the Articles
of Allegiance became powerful. I remember how "different" became dangerous. I still don't
understand it, why they hate us so much.
Valerie: It seems strange that my life should end in such a terrible place, but for three years I
had roses and apologized to no one. I shall die here. Every inch of me shall perish. Every
inch, but one. An inch. It is small and it is fragile and it is the only thing in the world worth
having. We must never lose it or give it away. We must NEVER let them take it from us. I
hope that whoever you are, you escape this place. I hope that the worlds turns, and that things
get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you
that, even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you,
cry with you, or kiss you, I love you. With all my heart, I love you. Valerie.
V: We're oft to blame, and this is too much proved, that with devotion's visage and pious
action we do sugar on the devil himself.
Baldy Fingerman: What does that mean?
V: Spare the Rod.
Evey Hammond: [watching a news report about Prothero's death] V, yesterday I couldn't find
my ID. You didn't take it, did you?
V: Would you prefer a lie or the truth?
Evey Hammond: Did you have anything to do with... that?

V: Yes, I killed him.

Evey Hammond: You...? Oh god.
V: You're upset.
Evey Hammond: I'm upset? You just said you killed Lewis Prothero!
V: I might have killed the fingerman who attacked you, but I heard no objection then.
Evey Hammond: What?
V: Violence can be used for good.
Evey Hammond: What are you talking about?
V: Justice.
Evey Hammond: Oh. And are you going to kill more people?
V: Yes.
Finch: The problem is, he knows us better than we know ourselves. That's why I went to
Larkhill, last night.
Dominic: But that's outside quarantine.
Finch: I had to see it. There wasn't much left. But when I was there it was strange. I suddenly
had this feeling that everything was connected. It's like I could see the whole thing, one long
chain of events that stretched all the way back before Larkhill. I felt like I could see
everything that happened, and everything that is going to happen. It was like a perfect pattern,
laid out in front of me. And I realised we're all part of it, and all trapped by it.
Dominic: So do you know what's gonna happen?
Finch: No, it was a feeling. But I can guess. With so much chaos, someone will do something
stupid. And when they do, things will turn nasty. And then Sutler will be forced to do the only
thing he knows how to do. At which point, all V needs to do is keep his word. And then...
[Dominoes collapse with TV footages showing conflicts between rioting citizens and the antiriot police]
Delia Surridge: [V gives her a rose] Are you going to kill me now?
V: I killed you 10 minutes ago.
[shows her hypodermic needle]
V: While you slept.

Delia Surridge: Is there any pain?

V: No.
Delia Surridge: Thank you. Is it too late to apologize?
V: Never.
Delia Surridge: I'm so sorry.
[dies]
Valerie: I know there's no way I can convince you this is not one of their tricks, but I don't
care. I am me. My name is Valerie. I don't think I'll live much longer, and I wanted to tell
someone about my life. This is the only autobiography that I will ever write and God, I'm
writing it on toilet paper. I was born in Nottingham in 1985. I don't remember much of those
early years, but I do remember the rain. My grandmother owned a farm in Tottle Brook and
she used to tell me that God was in the rain. I passed my 11 Plus and went to girls' grammar.
It was at school that I met my first girlfriend. Her name was Sarah. It was her wrists. They
were beautiful. I thought we would love each other forever. I remember our teacher telling us
that it was an adolescent phase that people outgrew. Sarah did. I didn't. In 2002, I fell in love
with a girl named Christina. That year I came out to my parents. I couldn't have done it
without Chris holding my hand. My father wouldn't look at me. He told me to go and never
come back. My mother said nothing. But I'd only told them the truth. Was that so selfish? 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. I'd always known what I wanted to do with my life and in 2015 I starred
in my first film, The Salt Flats. It was the most important role of my life. Not because of my
career, but because that was how I met Ruth. The first time we kissed I knew I never wanted
to kiss any other lips but hers again. We moved to a small flat in London together. She grew
Scarlet Carsons for me in our window box and our place always smelt of roses. Those were
the best years of my life.
V: [Disguised as William Rookwood, meeting with Inspector Finch] Our story begins, as
these stories often do, with a young up-and-coming politician. He's a deeply religious man
and a member of the conservative party. He is completely single-minded convictions and has
no regard for the political process. Eventually, his party launches a special project in the
name of 'national security'. At first, it is believed to be a search for biological weapons and it
is pursued regardless of its cost. However, the true goal of the project is power, complete and
total hegemonic domination. The project, however, ends violently... but the efforts of those
involved are not in vain, for a new ability to wage war is born from the blood of one of their
victims. Imagine a virus - the most terrifying virus you can, and then imagine that you and
you alone have the cure. But if your ultimate goal is power, how best to use such a weapon?
It is at this point in our story that along comes a spider. He is a man seemingly without a
conscience; for whom the ends always justify the means and it is he who suggests that their
target should not be an enemy of the country but rather the country itself. Three targets are
chosen to maximize the effect of the attack: a school, a tube station, and a water-treatment
plant. Several hundred die within the first few weeks. Until at last the true goal comes into
view. Before the St. Mary's crisis, no one would have predicted the outcome of the elections.
No one. But after the election, lo and behold, a miracle. Some believed that it was the work of
God himself, but it was a pharmaceutical company controlled by certain party members made

them all obscenely rich. But the true genius of the plan was the fear. A year later, several
extremists are tried, found guilty, and executed while a memorial is built to canonize their
victims. Fear became the ultimate tool of this government. And through it our politician was
ultimately appointed to the newly created position of High Chancellor. The rest, as they say,
is history.
Finch: Can you prove any of this?
V: Why do you think I'm still alive?
Finch: Right. We'd like to take you into protective custody, Mr. Rookwood.
V: Oh, I'm sure you would. But if you want that recording, you'll do what I tell you to do. Put
Creedy under 24 hour surveillance. When I feel safe that he can't pick his nose without you
knowing, I'll contact you again. Until then, cheerio.
Finch: Rookwood. Why didn't you come forward before? What were you waiting for?
V: For you, Inspector. I needed you.
V: I, like God, do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence.
Finch: Who was he?
Evey Hammond: He was Edmond Dants... and he was my father. And my mother... my
brother... my friend. He was you... and me. He was all of us.
Finch: Why are you doing this?
Evey Hammond: Because he was right.
Finch: About what?
Evey Hammond: That this country needs more than a building right now. It needs hope.
Evey Hammond: Are you a Muslim?
Gordon Deitrich: No. I'm in television.
Evey Hammond: Are you like a... crazy person?
V: I'm quite sure they will say so.
Interrogator: I am instructed to inform you that you have been convicted by special tribunal
and that unless you are ready to offer your cooperation you are to be executed. Do you
understand what I'm telling you?
Evey Hammond: Yes.
Interrogator: Are you ready to cooperate?

Evey Hammond: No.

Interrogator: Very well. Escort Ms. Hammond back to her cell. Arrange a detail of six men
and take her out behind the chemical shed and shoot her.
Guard: It's time.
Evey Hammond: I'm ready.
Guard: Look all they want is one little piece of information, just give them something,
anything.
Evey Hammond: Thank you, but I'd rather die behind the chemical sheds.
Guard: Then you have no fear any more. You're completely free.
V: Penny for the Guy?
Sutler: [shouts] We are being buried beneath the avalanche of your inadequacies, Mr. Creedy!
V: May I inquire as to how you have avoided detection?
Evey Hammond: A fake ID works better than a Guy Fawkes mask.
[Prothero is showering, while watching his own television rant about the terrorist V]
Lewis Prothero: [on television] I'll tell you what I wish. I wish I had been there! I wish I had
the chance for a face-to-face. Just one chance, that's all I'd need!
[V breaks into Prothero's home]
Dominic: What do you think will happen?
Finch: What usually happens when people without guns stand up to people *with* guns.
V: Wait! Here comes the crescendo!
[explosion and fireworks go off]
Sutler: What we need right now is a clear message to the people of this country. This message
must be read in every newspaper, heard on every radio, seen on every television... I want
*everyone* to *remember*, why they *need* us!
Evey Hammond: I don't even know what you really look like.
[Evey tries to remove V's mask]
V: [V stops her] 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.

Evey Hammond: I understand.

V: Thank you.
Guard: Look, all they want is one little piece of information. Just give them something...
anything.
Evey Hammond: Thank you... but I'd rather die behind the chemical sheds.
Guard: Then you have no fear anymore. You're completely free.
Evey Hammond: [watching a woman anchor on TV covering Lewis Prothero's "accidental
death"] She's lying.
V: How do you know?
Evey Hammond: She blinks a lot when she's reading a story she knows is false.
V: [V enters Evey's field of vision as she walks into the Shadow Gallery, directly from the
prison] Hello, Evey.
Evey Hammond: You. It was you.
V: [quietly] Yeah.
Evey Hammond: [gestures behind her] That wasn't real... Is Gordon - ?
V: I'm sorry, but Mr. Deitrich's dead. I thought they'd arrest him, but when they found a
Koran in his house, they had him executed.
Evey Hammond: [whispers] Oh God...
V: Fortunately, I got to you before they did.
Evey Hammond: You got to me? You did this to me? You cut my hair? You tortured me? You
tortured me! Why?
V: You said you wanted to live without fear. I wish there'd been an easier way, but there
wasn't.
[Evey whispers, "Oh my God...?]
V: I know you may never forgive me... but nor will you understand how hard it was for me to
do what I did. Every day I saw in myself everything you see in me now. Every day I wanted
to end it, but each time you refused to give in, I knew I couldn't.
Evey Hammond: You're *sick*! You're *evil*!
V: *You* could've ended it, Evey, you could've given in. But you didn't. Why?

Evey Hammond: Leave me alone! I *hate* you!

V: 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.
Evey Hammond: Shut up! I *don't* want to hear your lies!
V: Your own father said that artists use lies to tell the truth. Yes, I created a lie. But because
you believed it, you found something true about yourself.
Evey Hammond: No.
V: What was true in that cell is just as true now. What you felt in there has nothing to do with
me.
Evey Hammond: I can't feel *anything* anymore!
V: Don't run from it, Evey. You've been running all your life.
Evey Hammond: [gasps] I can't... can't breathe. Asthma... asthma! When I was little...
[V reaches out his hand, Evey grabs it, they fall to the ground together]
V: Listen to me, Evey. This may be the most important moment of your life. Commit to it.
[Evey continues sobbing]
V: They took your parents from you. They took your brother from you.
[Evey groans]
V: They put you in a cell and took everything they could take except your life. And you
believed that was all there was, didn't you? The only thing you had left was your life, but it
wasn't, was it?
[Evey sobs, "Oh please...?]
V: You found something else. In that cell you found something that mattered more to you
than life. It was when they threatened to kill you unless you gave them what they wanted...
you told them you'd rather die. You faced your death, Evey. You were calm. You were still.
[Evey continues gasping]
V: Try to feel now what you felt then.
Evey Hammond: [breathes heavily] Oh God... I felt...
V: Yes?

Evey Hammond: I'm dizzy. I need air. Please, I need to be outside.

Lewis Prothero: So I read that the former United States is so desperate for medical supplies
that they have allegedly sent several containers filled with wheat and tobacco. A gesture, they
said, of good will. You wanna know what I think? Well, you're listening to my show, so I will
assume you do... I think it's high time we let the colonies know what we really think of them.
I think its payback time for a little tea party they threw for us a few hundred years ago. I say
we go down to those docks tonight and dump that crap where everything from the Ulcered
Sphincter of Arse-erica belongs! Who's with me? Who's bloody with me?
[audience applauds]
Lewis Prothero: Did you like that? USA... Ulcered Sphincter of Arse-erica, I mean what else
can you say? Here was a country that had everything, absolutely everything. And now, 20
years later, is what? The world's biggest leper colony. Why? Godlessness. Let me say that
again... Godlessness. It wasn't the war they started. It wasn't the plague they created. It was
Judgement. No one escapes their past. No one escapes Judgement. You think he's not up
there? You think he's not watching over this country? How else can you explain it? He tested
us, but we came through. We did what we had to do. Islington. Enfield. I was there, I saw it
all. Immigrants, Muslims, homosexuals, terrorists. Disease-ridden degenerates. They had to
go. Strength through unity. Unity through faith. I'm a God-fearing Englishman and I'm
goddamn proud of it!
Dascomb: Chancellor, there is a contingency that has not been addressed.
Sutler: And what is that, Mr. Dascomb?
Dascomb: Should the terrorist succeed...
Sutler: He won't!
Dascomb: I understand that it is highly unlikely, but if he does...
Sutler: If he does, and something happens to that building, the only thing that will change, the
only difference it will make is that tomorrow morning, instead of a newspaper I will be
reading Mr. Creedy's resignation!
Creedy: Not so funny now is it, funny man?
Delia Surridge: Oppenheimer was able to change more than the course of a war. He changed
the entire course of human history. Is it wrong to hold on to that kind of hope?
V: I have not come for what you hoped to do. I've come for what you did.
V: There is no court in this country for men like Prothero.
Sutler: [actor on Deitrich's show] Ah! Warm milk, there's nothing better.
Gordon Deitrich: I understand you enjoy a glass every night, chancellor.

Sutler: [the real chancellor watches, holding a glass of milk] Since I was a boy.
Evey Hammond: [after V leads Evey up to an empty rooftop, promising her an orchestra] I
don't see any instruments.
V: Your powers of observation continue to serve you well.
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Valerie: But America's war grew worse and worse and eventually it came to London. After
that there were no roses anymore. Not for anyone.
Valerie: They took Ruth while she was out buying food. I've never cried so hard in my life. It
wasn't long till they came for me.
V: At last, we finally meet. I have something for you, Chancellor; a farewell gift. For all the
things you've done, for the things you might have done, and for the only thing you have left.
[V places a scarlet carson on Sutler's lapel]
V: Good-bye, Chancellor. Mr. Creedy...
Creedy: [leveling his pistol at Sutler's head] Disgusting.
[Creedy shoots Sutler]
[Finch looks out his window on the morning of November 4]
Finch: Tonight's your big night. Are you ready for it?... Are we ready for it?
Evey Hammond: Is everything a joke to you, Gordon?
Gordon Deitrich: Only the things that matter.
Evey Hammond: [takes a bite of the breakfast V cooked] It's delicious! God, I haven't had
real butter since I was a little girl! Where did you get it?
V: A government supply train on its way to Chancellor Sutler.
Evey Hammond: You stole this from Chancellor Sutler?
V: Yes.
Evey Hammond: You're insane!
Gordon Deitrich: I am V. At last you know the truth. You're stunned, I know. It's hard to
believe, isn't it, that beneath this wrinkled, well-fed exterior there lies a dangerous killing
machine with a fetish for Fawkesian masks. Viva la revolucin!
Evey Hammond: That is not funny, Gordon.

Gordon Deitrich: You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.
Dascomb: Do you have any idea how long it would take to rebuild this facility?
Finch: Do you have any idea what you're doing?
V: [during his BTN broadcast] I thought we could mark this November the 5th a day that is,
sadly, a day that is no longer remembered by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit
down and have a little chat. There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect
even now, orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their
way. Why? Because 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 ennunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country,
isn't there?
Creedy: [V has just made a deal with Creedy] Why should I trust you?
V: Because it's the only way you're ever going to stop me!
V: [Quoting Macbeth from Macbeth Act I Scene 7] I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more is none.
V: [Quoting Viola from Twelfth Night Act I Scene 2] Conceal me what I am, and be my aid
For such disguise as haply shall become The form of my intent.
Evey Hammond: I can't feel *anything* anymore!
Lewis Prothero: Strength through unity! Unity through faith!
Lewis Prothero: [shouting into phone] England prevails because *I* say it does!
Evey Hammond: Does it have a happy ending?
V: As only celluloid can deliver.
Evey Hammond: OK. Put the sword away.
Valerie: It seems strange that my life should end in such a terrible place, but for three years I
had roses, and apologized to no one.
Lewis Prothero: You... it is you!
V: The Ghost of Christmas past.
BTN News Poppet: Now, this is only an initial report, but at this time, it's believed that during
this heroic raid, the terrorist was shot and killed.
Little Glasses Girl: Bollocks.
Lilliman: Oh please, have mercy!

V: Oh, not tonight Bishop... not tonight!

V: There's no certainty - only opportunity.
Evey Hammond: My father was a writer. You would've liked him. He used to say that artists
use lies to tell the truth, while politicians use them to cover the truth up.
V: A man after my own heart.
Creedy: Now that's done with. It's time to have a look at your face. Take off your mask.
V: No.
V: Would you... dance with me?
Evey Hammond: Now? On the eve of your revolution?
V: A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having!
Finch: One thing is true of all governments - their most reliable records are tax records.
Evey Hammond: God is in the rain...
Evey Hammond: Tell me... do you like music, Mr. Finch?
Interrogator: Do you know why you're here, Evey Hammond?
Evey Hammond: No please...
Interrogator: You've been formally charged with three counts of murder, the bombing of
government property, conspiracy to commit terrorism, treason, and sedition. The penalty for
which is death by firing squad. You have one chance and only one chance to save your life.
You must tell us the identity or whereabouts of codename V. If your information leads to his
capture, you will be released from this facility immediately. Do you understand what I'm
telling you? You can return to your life, Miss Hammond. All you have to do is cooperate.
[pause]
Interrogator: Process her.
Little Glasses Girl: [camera follows many BFC trucks delivering packages to front doors all
over London] I'll get it.
BFC courier: [at Finch's door] Eric Finch?
Finch: Yeah.
Finch: [opens box: One of V's Guy Fawkes masks is inside, along with a spare costume]
Bloody hell...

Finch: [at police HQ] How many went out?

Dominic: So far we count eight box cars: several hundred *thousand* at least.
Finch: Christ.
Sutler: [cut to shot of little girl playing in street wearing V's costume] I want anyone caught
with one of those masks arrested!
Convenience Store V: [man wearing a V mask is robbing a convenience store] Give me the
money! Give me the fucking money!
Dominic: [police HQ: all phones are ringing off the hook] We're under siege here, the whole
city's gone mad!
Finch: [dawning realization] This is exactly what he wants.
Dominic: What?
Convenience Store V: Anarchy in the UK!
[fires gun into air]
Finch: Chaos.
Lewis Prothero: England Prevails!
Evey Hammond: I can't stay here.
V: I know. Well, you won't find any more locked doors here.
V: There are no coincidences, Delia... only the illusion of coincidence.
V: 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.
V: The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain.
Evey Hammond: I don't want you to die.
V: That's the most beautiful thing you could have ever given me.
Tweed Coat Fingerman: By sun-up if you're not the sorriest piece of ass in all'a London...
you'll certainly be the sorest!
V: I promise you it will be like nothing you have ever seen.
V: It is to Madame Justice that I dedicate this concerto.

Sutler: Gentlemen, I want this terrorist found... and I want him to understand what *terror*
really means.
Sutler: I want this country to realize that we stand on the edge of oblivion. I want everyone to
remember *why* they need us!
Finch: If our own government was responsible for the deaths of almost a hundred thousand
people... would you really want to know?
Evey Hammond: I wish I wasn't afraid *all* the time, but... I *am*.
V: Certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held
accountable.
V: [V interrupts the three policemen about to rape Evey, whips out a dagger, and quoting the
sergeant from Macbeth Act I Scene 2] "The multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon
him
[skips 4 lines from the original Shakespeare]
V: disdaining fortune/with his brandish'd steel, which smoked with bloody execution...?
Hide options
Evey Hammond: Where did you get all this stuff?
V: Oh, here and there, mostly from the Ministry of Objectionable Materials.
Evey Hammond: You stole them?
V: Oh, heavens, no. Stealing implies ownership. You can't steal from the censor; I merely
reclaimed them.
Evey Hammond: God, if they ever find this place...
V: I suspect if they do find this place, a few bits of art will be the least of my worries.
Evey Hammond: I can't believe you watch that shit.
Fred: What? Laser Lass is bangin'.
Fred: [as V enters the TV station] You show me ID, or I'll get Storm Saxon on your ass.
Fred: [V opens up his coat and shows a bomb strapped to his chest] Fucking hell.
Sutler: Spare us your professional annotations, Mr. Finch. They are irrelevant.
V: [fights with a suit of armor] Hah! Take that my fat metal friend!

Sutler: My fellow Englishmen: tonight our country, that which we stand for, and all we hold
dear, faces a grave and terrible threat. This violent and unparalleled assault on our security
will not go undefended... or unpunished. Our enemy is an insidious one, seeking to divide us
and destroy the very foundation of our great nation. Tonight, we must remain steadfast. We
must remain determined. But most of all, we must remain united. Those caught tonight in
violation of curfew will be considered in league with our enemy and prosecuted as a terrorist
without leniency or exception. Tonight, I give you my most solemn vow: that justice will be
swift, it will be righteous, and it will be without mercy.
V: Sutler can no longer trust you, can he, Mr. Creedy? And we both know why. After I
destroy Parliament, his only chance will be to offer them someone else. Some other piece of
meat. And who will that be? You, Mr. Creedy. A man as smart as you has probably considered
this. A man as smart as you probably has a plan. That plan is the reason Sutler no longer
trusts you. It's the reason why you're being watched right now, why there are eyes and ears in
every room of this house and a tap on every phone.
Creedy: Bollocks.
V: Oh, a man as smart as you, I think, knows otherwise.
Creedy: What do you want?
V: Sutler. Come now, Mr. Creedy, you knew this was coming. You knew that one day, it'd be
you or him. That's why Sutler's been kept underground, for "security purposes". That's why
there are several of your men close to Sutler. Men that could be counted on. All you have to
do is say the word.
Creedy: What do I get out of this deal?
V: Me.
[V offers him a piece of chalk]
V: If you accept, put an "x" on your front door.
Creedy: Why should I trust you?
V: 'Cause it's the only way you're ever going to stop me.
Security Guard: Creepy Creedy.
Creedy: Defiant till the end, huh?... But you won't cry like him, will you? You're not afraid of
death. You're like me.
V: The only thing that you and I have in common, Mr. Creedy, is that we're both about to die.
Creedy: How do you imagine that's gonna happen?
V: With my hands around your neck...

Creedy: [inhales with hint of fear] Bollocks. Whatcha gonna do, huh? We're swept this place You've got nothing. Nothing but your bloody knives, and your fancy karate gimmicks... we
have *guns* - !
V:

Now, what you have are *bullets*, and the hopes that when your guns are empty, I'm
no longer standing, because if I am... you'll all be dead before you'll reloaded.

Creedy: That's impossible!

[cocks gun, points at V]
Creedy: . Kill him.
V: More than 400 years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in
our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more
than words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of government
remain unknown to you, then I suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked.
V: [V invites an unknowing Evey to join him in setting off a bomb] I'm a musician of sorts,
and on my way to give a very special performance.
Evey Hammond: What kind of musician?
V: Percussion instruments are my speciality.
V: [Evey has returned to the Shadow gallery on the evening of November 4th] May I inquire
as to how you escaped detection?
Evey Hammond: A fake ID works better than a Guy Fawkes mask.
Evey Hammond: [telling V about her experiences after she left him] I worried about myself
for a while... but then one day I was 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 at me right in the eyes...
didn't recognize me.
Evey Hammond: I guess whatever you did to me worked better than I imagined.
Evey Hammond: [V has taken her to the shrine dedicated to Valerie Page] She was real! She's
beautiful. Did you know her?
V: No. She wrote the letter just before she died, and I delieverd the letter to you as it had been
delivered to me.
Evey Hammond: Then it really happened, didn't it?
Evey Hammond: You were in the cell next to her. That's what it's all about... you're getting
back at them for what they did to her... and to you.

V: What was done to me created me. It's a basic principle of the Universe that every action
will create an equal and opposing reaction.
Evey Hammond: Is that how you see it? Like an equation?
V: What was done to me was monstrous.
Evey Hammond: And they created a monster.
V: [referring to his jukebox after Evey has told him that she's leaving] There are 872 songs on
here. I've listened to them all... but I've never danced to any of them.
Evey Hammond: Did you hear me?
V: Yes.
Evey Hammond: I can't stay here.
V: I know.
Evey Hammond: [holding out Valerie's letter] I thought about keeping this, but it didn't seem
right, knowing you wrote it.
V: [takes the letter, then:] I didn't.
Lewis Prothero: [on TV screen] I'll tell you what I know. This is not a man.
Lewis Prothero: What is he?
Lewis Prothero: [on TV screen] A man does not wear a mask!
Lewis Prothero: What is he?
Lewis Prothero: [on TV screen] I'll tell you what he is, he's what every gutless freedom
hating terrorist is, a goddamn coward!
Lewis Prothero: [on TV screen] This so called V and his accomplice Evey Hammond, neodemagogues spouting their message of hate, a delusional and aberrant voice...
Lewis Prothero: Aberrant and abhorrent!
Lewis Prothero: [on TV screen] delivering a terrorist's ultimatum...
Lewis Prothero: Traitor!
Lewis Prothero: [on TV screen] An ultimatum that was met with swift, surgically precise
justice!
Lewis Prothero: No mercy!

Lewis Prothero: [on TV screen] The moral of this story ladies and gentleman is...
Lewis Prothero: [turns off TV] Good guys win, bad guys lose, and as always, England
prevails!
Evey Hammond: What is that?
Gordon Deitrich: It's a copy of the Quran, 14th century.
Evey Hammond: Are you a Muslim?
Gordon Deitrich: No, I'm in television.
Evey Hammond: But why would you keep it?
Gordon Deitrich: I didn't have to be Muslim to find the images beautiful, or its poetry
moving.
Evey Hammond: But is it worth it? I mean if they found that here...
Gordon Deitrich: I told you, you'll be the least of my worries.
Gordon Deitrich: [about his TV show] We threw out the censor-approved script and shot a
new one that I wrote this morning.
Evey Hammond: [dumbfounded] Oh, my God...
[Evey gulps her champagne as the TV camera pans over the clapping audience, revealing
soldiers aiming shotguns; Evey chokes]
Creedy: Disgusting.
V: The time has come for me to meet my maker and to repay him in kind for all that he's
done.