Warner Bros continues to deliver some of the best HD-DVD movies on the planet with the release of V for Vendetta. V for Vendetta is a surreal, unnerving, deeply thought provoking political film brought to us by Andy/Larry Wachowshi (fathers of the Matrix Trilogy) and stars Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving and Stephen Rea. The story was originally written by Alan Moore and David Lloyd (published by DC Comics). The film focuses on the fight and vengeance of a man (known as “V”) imprisoned, experimented on and tortured by a totalitarian government in Britain. The ideas conveyed in the movie can be offensive to many as the movie has some Anti-Christian tones and instigates anarchy in the name of ending oppression and total control by a government that rules by FEAR. The movie has already been reviewed many times on the web so I will not go into detail over the movies content as our purpose is to deliver the “HD-DVD” prospective of the film.

When the movie was released back in March of this year, I was ill (damn flu) and missed the IMAX release of the film (the first IMAX major release I have missed). I then decided to wait for DVD. When I heard a HD-DVD version was in the works, I was ecstatic as the HD-DVD version totally makes up for the IMAX Experience I missed earlier in the year.

V for Vendetta HD-DVD supports 720p, 1080i and 1080p (of course) video formats in addition to TrueHD Audio and Dolby Digital Plus. The aspect ratio supported by the film is 16x9 2:4:1.

The film sports the “In Movie Experience” which delivers a combination of director/actor/actress commentary and the comics storyboard in overlay. The storyboard is very cool as it displays the scenes as they were delivered in the original comic. I like this feature a lot. Allowing you to view the comics storyboard during the playback is nice touch that adds a level of depth to the story telling in the film. Also included are extras (of course) such as the Making of V, a very cool Saturday Night Live Digital Short feature Natalie Portman and a look back at the beginning of the revolution by exploring Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.

The visual quality of the film is very good. WB has softened most of the film to induce a more natural look. Skin tones are very in tone with actually skin color but take a bit getting used to after watching movies like Riddick and Serenity. Red tones very pronounced in the movie which is the exact opposite of most of the colors in the film. For instance, V’s Red Roses are bright and vivid along with his trademark “V” symbol. The pink in the school girl outfit Natalie sports during a scene in the film is also very vivid with the color jumping out at you. The majority of the movie is very satisfying and should please any video enthusiast.

Make no mistake, TrueHD Audio is the star of this HD-DVD version of V. The sound is absolutely amazing and eclipses the TrueHD Audio support in Batman Begins HD-DVD. The dialog is crisp and clear with every word resonating through your body. Special effects are nothing short of astonishing. The sounds of his blades as he whips them around killing are sharp and several times during the movie sent a chill down my spine. The bass in the movie is deep and heart pounding. I lost count of the number of times I thought someone was knocking at my front door. And the scene where he knocks down the dominos is mind blowing as you can hear each and every domino falling as if you were in the same room with your ear to the floor, nothing but pure bliss! I need to file criminal charges as my senses were totally assaulted during the viewing of this film.

Do not worry if you cannot support TrueHD. Dolby Digital Plus is also supported and sounds fantastic. Dolby Digital Plus is no slouch but once you hear the movie in TrueHD, there is no going back (ever).

If you have watched this movie several times already, I still suggest you pickup and watch this HD-DVD version of V for Vendetta or you will be missing out on one of the “BEST” HD-DVD releases of this year.

FREEDOM FOREVER!

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"True adaptability involves changing ones self to meet ones environment, not changing ones environment to meet ones needs" - Species8472

Thanks, now I want to see this movie, I've heard good things, but your review is really excellent

same here, i loved this movie and now its in high def

For some reason i have been skipping over this movie without giving it much thought, but now i think its time to give it a go