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26 Review »

1. 

   Is there any chance of getting your work in NTSC? I love the idea of your work but can’t watch it in the splendor that is my big screen television.

   Review by amike — April 30, 2008 @ 1:36 am

2. 

   A NTSC version is in the works. Sorry for the oversight.

   Review by Rock Savage — April 30, 2008 @ 10:24 am

3. 

   can’t wait for an NTSC version

   -peace out

   Review by darthtron — May 1, 2008 @ 8:14 pm

4. 

   AM wrote 3 May 2008

   Nick. Thanks for V for Vendetta which I watched and enjoyed, although not having see the original it was difficult to see how much you changed it.
   The opening ‘nuclear’ sequence is beautifully cut to the music and works very well. It would have even more impact if the audience knew the context so why not
   add a very short intro.

   Review by Rock Savage — May 3, 2008 @ 6:57 pm

5. 

   TrishV wrote 7 May 2008

   Thanks for the link, Nick. I could not wait for this and as you know I am a fan of the original film and shamefully know very little about the Graphic Novel it is based on. I know the V For Vendetta film so well as I have seen it a dozen times, so I thought I would let you know what I thought of your remarkable and I mean remarkable fan-edit.

   I think in all honesty I prefer your film over the original because Evey is stronger and the love you have injected between V and Evey is stronger and deeper. V is also more mysterious, pensive and darker.

   I really really like your use of music and visuals a lot. Some cuts are just brilliant such Prothero switching the sound of is TV back on and you cut to the computer in the police car! Your Fan-Edit feels like a totally different movie and a better one. I love it. Really!

   Review by Rock Savage — May 7, 2008 @ 3:42 pm

6. 

   V for Vendetta: the fanedit by Nick Mollo

   review by boon23

   Prologue:
   Having just finished my review for ELEVEN I found myself in the mood to watch more from this promising faneditor and continued with his V for Vendetta fanedit. It is quite a long time ago, since I watched the original movie and my remembrance is not th every best, because most of all the movie left me kind of unimpressed. I remembered some details like the 1000s of Vs in the end and the roses, that strange Superhero creature that comes out of the flames and of course the strange mask.
   So it was actually kind of a new movie and I could enter it open mindedly and was really impressed with what I got.

   As for all my reviews: this is just my personal opinion of this fanedit. I cannot tell anybody else, if he or she will experience it in the same way or the opposite. So my review is not objective and does not reflect the opinion of fanedit.org.

   !!!!This review contains heavy spoilers!!!

   The edit:
   This fanedit cuts quite a lot of scenes from the original movie, but also features additional footage from other movies as well as some compositions created by the faneditor, which results in a 10 minutes longer runtime. Still the chnages are sometimes radical and most of all for the better.
   The introduction gives a clearer picture of what happened to change the UK to a dictatorship and is really well done. With some of the endless narrations gone, the beginning has a way better flow to it and works like a charm combining plot and pacing for a great watching atmosphere. The appearance of V and his strange way of talking is still irritating though, but I got used to it pretty soon. The idea of including chapter cards is a wonderful one.
   The relationship of Evey and V is is much improved in this version and all that crap about Evey wanting to escape is so easily solved in the fanedit, whereas it is so unbelievable in the original movie. Even the torture scenes work kind of well. Unfortunately the cutting of the flashbacks of Valerie doe snot work well, feels chopped and again, like in his ELEVEN fanedit, the usage of fadeouts got a bit too much with a bad peak at a slow motion scene of Evey being drowned, that really looks artificial and not like a part from the movie, because this technique was never again used.
   The killings work really well and so does the investigation of Finch.
   The TV studio part is an example of great editing, because it works wonderfully. Everything that was unnecessary was removed. There is one striking thing, which the faneditor already mentioned. Finch’s assistant seems to successfully stop V and the scene would have needed an outcome. It feels incomplete.
   The showdown would have worked better for me with the metal armor being still existent. Ideas are bulletproof, yeah, but people aren’t. I always like to believe what I see and in this case I couldn’t. Removing the revolution with the 1000s of Vs was a courageous move. It worked though. I am not sure it did for the better, but it did and the entire ending composition is real nice and ends the movie satisfying to the watcher, which is a great and rare thing for an extreme fanedit. It felt a bit strange to see V (who was already dead) in this composition, but it was still ok as a remembrance of him.

   This fanedit is a huge improvement over the original, especially in the overall atmosphere. The annoying John Hurt is much less annoying and a lot of needless babbling is so well removed, making this a real good movie to watch. The chapter cards add well to the flow and the atmosphere and with only some minor flaws present the entertainment does not get spoiled. I liked it a lot and recommend it to be watched by everyone. The editing was almost perfectly executed.
   editing: 4 of 5,
   entertainment: 5 of 5
   
   Image quality:
   The image is clear and kind of sharp. However, the PCM audio takes away too much from the video bitrate.
   Video quality: 4 of 5

   Audio editing and audio quality:
   The audio editing was flawless and a lot was done to make this possible. The audio comes in 48000Hz PCM stereo. With the original 5.1 this is not a perfect support for surround systems, but still very good.
   audio editing: 5 of 5
   audio quality: 4 of 5

   DVD:
   The DVD comes in the same style as the previous one (ELEVEN), which is great, because it feels comfortable, besides looking really good. All menus are animated with sound playing. There are no extras this time. Cover art is included, there is no disc art.
   This results in a 4 of 5 rating from me for DVD authoring and Extras.

   Final result: 4 of 5. This is a great fanedit. You should watch it!

   Review by boon23 — May 8, 2008 @ 1:55 pm

7. 

   Creamstick Wrote on May 11 2008

   I don’t post much, but I wanted to say that this edit was first-class, and genuinely turns a terrible movie into something not only watchable, but has re-shaped it into a very good movie that now retains a hint of the spirit of the source material that is completly missing from the studio-released version.

   Good stuff!

   Review by Rock Savage — May 11, 2008 @ 9:40 am

8. 

   Joebshmoe Wrote May 11 2008

   great job on this, nick. i just watched this last night and this is a great improvement to the original. Essentially all the ideas on this edit are awesome, just refining is needed.

   Review by Rock Savage — May 11, 2008 @ 9:44 am

9. 

   A Wallace wrote on 12 May 2008

   I remember seeing this film a while back and not being too impressed. I had the Graphic Novel and enjoyed that a the time as it took a tired format and transformed it to a new standard. This is exactly what this Fan-Editor has done with the original V for Vendetta Movie. He has taken a lame movie interpretation of a classic comic and somehow turned it into a brilliant movie. This is new movie on all accounts. How this was done I have no idea but this version is simply excellent.

   Review by Rock Savage — May 12, 2008 @ 7:26 pm

10. 

    mrg5 Wrote on 13 May 2008

    finally got a chance to watch it yesterday, it gets a thumbs up from me, and i cosign creamstick’s comments. awesome job and keep ‘em coming!

    Review by Rock Savage — May 13, 2008 @ 5:58 pm

11. 

    iturnblackkeys wrote 19 May 2008

    One of the best fan edits ever, clever and professional.

    Review by Rock Savage — May 19, 2008 @ 3:15 pm

12. 

    Grizz Wrote on 18 May 2008

    I was kindly sent a copy of V For Vendetta: The Fan-Edit and my family and I sat down to watch it with much anticipation as this is the first “Fan-Edit” we have ever seen. I am dimly aware of the original film but cannot remember much. I remember the crowds wearing V masks but other than that nothing. Luckily Nick had sent me a list of all the changes he had made.

    The opening of this fan-edit is a montage and a splendid one at that. The images of destruction and nuclear annihilation are masterfully cut and work perfectly in juxtaposition to the selected song. A impressive start. Then there is a short prologue which clearly establishes England’s dissent into fascism. I really enjoyed this film. Not for one moment was I bored or uninterested. I particularly liked the montage sequences, my favorite being the one set to The Rolling Stones classic ‘Paint It Black’. The whole experience was very satisfying. I am certain that this will stay with me longer than the original ever did.

    As a side note my daughter, who is more familiar with the original film, loved this version. She said the character of Evey was stronger and she enjoyed the sequence where they dance together. She has played that back over and over and now wants me to buy her that song. She did miss the people in V masks and kept on about it all evening. I on the other hand did not and found the ending thrilling. Nick, you are an editor supremo!

    Review by Rock Savage — May 19, 2008 @ 3:40 pm

13. 

    From thedrowing at OT 10/06/2008

    I saw it on the weekend. A very, very good edit, in my opinion.

    I preferred it to the original, which, although a very good movie, I felt didn’t quite live up to the graphic novel.

    The only “problem” I have with this edit is that there’s no Stephen Fry. All movies should have a bit of Fry.

    Review by Rock Savage — July 28, 2008 @ 4:39 pm

14. 

    Absolutely in awe is all I can muster up for this edit. 5 out of 5 for the flawless cuts and sheer amount of work that must’ve gone into planning them. It turns a standard Hollywood crowd-bait into a genuine “art” film much closer in tone to the book. I am completely floored by the quality of this edit and the bold choices made by Nick – in terms of scene additions and music changes- and will spread the gospel of this version as the REAL one. Good work mate!

    Review by Fleetwood — August 8, 2008 @ 11:32 am

15. 

    I watched the other night, and I must say I am quite impressed by the outstanding rearranging of scenes. Top quality. This edit gives the film quite a different feel than the original. The only things that bugged me are the following (though there are several, they are still minor):

    - Missing some sort of intro to the montages
    - 2 opening montages felt a bit heavy (personal opinion). The movie in that respect took some time to get rolling
    - The time-line compromise during the broadcast speech was a bit glaring, I believe the speech could be cut to take of this
    - I’m afraid I did not care much for any of the added music, although I like the songs themselves, I felt they were a bit too loud and in your face for the theme. The first song (nuclear intro) worked decently, but Paint It Black felt off and the dancing sequence just felt changed for the heck of it. Needs a sort of 30-40’s era song.(like “If I didn’t care” by The Ink Spots)
    - Lastly, the lesbian kiss sequence is used at least one time too many. Most glaring in the end sequence.

    If this tidbits were addressed, this would be my de facto go to copy of V for Vendetta. As it stands, its a great compliment to my original

    Cheers mate!

    Review by miketava — August 27, 2008 @ 9:02 pm

16. 

    Just finished watching this, finally. To be honest I was very sceptical when I first heard about this edit, and some of my worries it seems were founded.
    Personally, I rather enjoyed the movie of V for vendetta as it stands and enjoy the graphic novel differently. I also agree with Moore that it is essentially unfilmable, which is why I didn’t think this was a necessary edit. That said, edits are made because someone wants to make them, and I applaude every effort that takes such pains.

    The edit itself is very good, and I actually rather liked some of the contributions, however others seemed a tad weary and vapid, usually because there simply isn’t enough footage in the film to properly complete what the Faneditor was trying to do.
    The montage opening with the song was brilliant, and worked really well until about half-way through when it all got a bit repetative. Had he faded or cut out of the song faster then this would have worked just as well or even better. The
    The second addition, from It Happened Here was nice, but doesn’t quite work. Combined with the first montage, it slows down the beginning far too much to the point that I was just plain wondering when it was going to start telling the story proper.
    The removal of the BTN takeover to later in the film was done very well, however it suffers because V explicitly mentions that he blew up The Bailey ‘Last Night’ which makes a mockery of the several days and nights that have passed.
    The Sympathy for the devil montage was well made, but serves little purpose in the film seeing as most of the footage is reprised in the Doctor’s diary sequence later. Similarly the Domino opening seems redundant when we see it again, (although I doubt it could have been removed without causing massive problems)
    The end works brilliantly although the Kiss does go on too long, again, what else could the editor have done? Similarly with the final V conducting montage, despite being a bit repetative was good.

    All in all a very good fan-edit with a few personal qualms that are the symptom of our art. C’est la V.

    Review by Finn — August 31, 2008 @ 11:13 pm

17. 

    1. “Dancing In The Streets” by Martha & The Vandellas (a song penned in part by Marvin Gaye!) was featured in the Graphic Novel. V plays it to Evey in the Shadow Gallery, the lyrics are featured in the Graphic Novel and V tells Evey that the song is by Martha & The Vandellas.

    2. “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones was used for the montage, not Sympathy For The Devil. The footage used for this montage was from 2 scenes that were cut. Prothero having a flashback before he is killed and the expository scene of V disguised as an old man. Few of these shots are repeated in the Doctor’s Diary sequence and the Paint it Black Montage is an attempt to see inside the complex character of V for the first time.

    3. V now dispatches Dominic in the TV Tower before he is reported as dead.

    4. Yes, the line where V states he has blown up the Old Bailey during his broadcast. This continuity error is in the description of this FanEdit.

    5. Moore did not state V For Vendetta as “essentially unfilmable” (There may be some confusion with his remarks about “Watchman”) as Moore wrote the first draft of the screenplay that was rejected by the producers.

    6. Please clarify what is a “necessary edit”?

    Review by Rock Savage — October 3, 2008 @ 1:05 pm

18. 

    Ok, here is my review of this fanedit.
    Now as a way of setting this up I must mention that I do know Nick Mollo, he is famous for starting the “Consecution” series.
    Also I don’t hold any hatred or animosity towards him.
    Sometimes I have been accused of being unduly harsh and insensitive.
    But that is not my intention, I just call it like I see it.
    So Mollo if you are ready for this read on…

    V For Vendetta – The Fanedit
    Just finished watching it.
    The dvd comes with animated menus and music. very nice.
    I was a little confused that there was no “Play” button but soon realized that the title of the dvd was the play button.
    The first thing I noticed is that the aspect ratio seems a bit odd. there are black bars on either side. As if the 2:35:1 has been shrunk a bit. Odd.

    After the logos a nice bit of montage editing intros the film. This leads to a second intro of England 1992 which really looks like England 1942 which leads to a third intro which leads to a Chapter title card. The editor is having fun.
    Finally we are into the film proper. Boy the film looks really noisy.

    And after a while I realize that the editor is having too much fun.
    As audience I feel lost and confused as if the projectionist has mixed up the film reels.
    Characters appear and seem to know each other even though I just met them.
    Scenes are taken out of order. I hang in there, waiting for the purpose of not setting up and introducing the protagonist proper.
    And then came the second music video montage.
    this montage along with the opening indicates that the editor needs a producer with a firm hand to reign in his 80’s music video montage tendencies.

    There are some criteria for the music montage to be effective:
    - The song that is used must be a good one. Tired, overplayed songs will take the viewer to a different place, perhaps where they remember that song in their own life.
    -The music video inside the film should advance the plot. At the end of it, we should be aware of something that we weren’t aware of before the song started.
    - It should fit the movie.

    “dancing in the streets” although as stated a tip of the hat to the novel, is too well know and dramatically indifferent to the visuals. The result of the juxtaposition of music and visuals is a vague feeling of confusion. there is no real advancement of plot and it is too long. Probably the entire song. The suggestion of it being used as a credit bed is a good one. And finally it doesn’t fit the style/art direction of the movie. Now compare this song with the choice of “Cry me a River” used later in the film and the differences are obvious.

    “Paint it Black” also suffers from over-familiarity. it also doesn’t advance plot. dramatically it is more like a montage you would see on mtv for the release of a new movie whose music mtv is peddling. what’s important in those types of montages are images and music not story.
    All that was missing was the MTV bug in the corner and
    Quote:
    Painted Black
    The Rolling Stones
    from the V for Vendetta Soundtrack

    typed across the bottom.

    On the positive side I did not miss the Stephen Fry character nor the V-mob and the film ultimately did engage me.
    The ending was well conceived and executed.
    An ambitious yet awkward effort that is redeemed by it’s sheer love of editing.
    I only wished the editor would consider the audience and story a bit more and less on editing fireworks.

    On a technical level the video is noisy and strangely cropped. Audio seems to go up and down.

    On the editing level it is very well done. clean edits.

    On a story/entertainment level I found it awkward and confusing.

    On my street-wise rating system I give it a
    Red Light: Don’t Go

    Review by killbillme — November 2, 2008 @ 5:54 pm

19. 

    Some knowledge of the Graphic Novel would help with writing a more balanced and informed review.

    ….it is an achievement that you found this FanEdit engaging and well cut.

    Review by Rock Savage — November 6, 2008 @ 9:17 pm

20. 

    let me preface this short review by saying that I own and have seen the original version once back when it was first released to DVD.
    I enjoyed parts of the original film but didn’t really know what to make of it. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it. I have never read the graphic novel so my only prior exposure to this film was when I watched it once a few years ago.

    That said, I loved this fanedit. I cant tell though if I enjoyed it because the fanedit was so good or if sufficient time had p[assed and I just enjoyed the film more on my second viewing (something that often happens to me with films that arent “bad” but just catch me offguard and I may not be ready for them)
    regardless of why I enjoyed it, I did.

    I don’t have much to say about editing technique but (other than the obviously added material in the beginning) the edits are seamless and the story flows (IMO) better than the original with this viewer not noticing the removals of scenes and characters. many other scenes such as evy dancing w/ V and the musical montages made certain scenes more powerful than I remember.

    I did miss the images of the people turning up at the end at Parliament wearing V masks because I thought it looked cool (and it better explained where all the people that weren’t watching the TV’s at the end were) but I suppose that was cut due to not being part of the graphic novel.

    4.5/5

    I always enjoy Mollo’s edits and this is no exception. I will rewatch the original version to see if it still doesn’t sit well with me but whether it does or doesn’t Mollo’s version sits just fine.

    Review by elbarto1 — November 11, 2008 @ 1:04 am

21. 

    “Some knowledge of the Graphic Novel would help with writing a more balanced and informed review.”
    Thanks Rock. You’re right, my fault. I must have missed the WARNING screen that told me to “read the graphic novel” before being able to enjoy your fanedit.
    Does the novel also have music montages in it? Because you see I mostly wrote about that.
    Is the novel also part of the download or do i have to purchase it separately?
    Cheers Rocky!

    Review by killbillme — November 12, 2008 @ 7:24 am

22. 

    ….it is an achievement that you enjoyed this FanEdit. KMB. Thanks for the kind words.

    Review by Rock Savage — November 18, 2008 @ 10:35 am

23. 

    This edit is both inspired and inspiring. One of the best I’ve seen, changing not only the narrative but the whole drive and character of the film. Both for the better. Here is a more sophisticated and mature version of V for Vendetta far truer to the scource material and far more satisfying than the original.
    If only we could convince Nick Mollo to do a re-mastered version to clean up the picture quality a bit and we’d be approaching perfect.
    Praise and applause.

    Review by el_silloneb — April 1, 2009 @ 2:25 am

24. 

    griff wrote » Tue Apr 07, 2009

    Not liking the original film at all, I felt this did as much as it possibly could to salvage what was so good about the novel. The editing was great, especially the new intro that sets the scene differently – it was just my dislike of the source material that stopped my enjoying it completely.

    Many thanks though – keep up the good work.

    Review by Rock Savage — April 8, 2009 @ 8:59 pm

25. 

    You could have called this F FOR FANEDITTA: it is so precisely what the form is all about. Consciously or no, every faneditor is a potential version of V and, conscious or no, maybe everyone who watches an FE is some version of Evey. I may be relatively new to fanedits in general and I haven’t cut my own teeth on the actual production of one yet, but as producers and audience this little community already knows like V does that something is wrong and it needs to be changed. Why shouldn’t we be able to make the things we consume do anything we fucking want them to, particularly if we’ve paid hard cash for them? What do we do when they trash the dreams our culture is made of to make a few more bucks to line their pockets? How can we change the world they are selling us into the world we want it to be?

    Rescuing this particular co-opted film (which so hopelessly garbled the themes of freedom and truth and subversion that it was supposed to be about) from it’s Wachowski-addled confusion was completely satisfying for me on so many levels. By re-creating this film in the shape and content and venue that it deserved, you own it more than they do.

    Thanks.
    Blemishes and all, you should be mad proud.

    Review by uncleblue — June 7, 2009 @ 10:37 pm

26. 

    This is indeed a huge step above the commercially released travesty. Gone are the most embarrassing and just plain wrong elements like the Benny Hill video (gasp!), the Count of Monte Cristo movie garbage (like V would be so attached to a Hollywoodized dumbed down version of the tale, yeah sure), and all of Stephen Fry. I love Stephen Fry, but his character here was nothing but a lame and lamentable PC replacement for the unacceptable-to-Hollywood older lover of teen Evey. The result is much closer to the graphic novel. Unfortunately, fanediting can only achieve so much, and while garbage can be removed, what was never filmed can’t be put there, and the movie as a whole now feels like a succession of vignetes going back and forth from V and Evey to the cops. It lacks cohesiveness and plays like a Greatest Hits or Reader’s Digest version of the source material. Just as unfortunately, some cringeworthy moments had to stay for narrative reasons (yes, egg frying sequence, this means you!), and while a lot of crap dialogue is gone, I think some other out-of-character lines should have been removed (about half of V’s dying speech) and sure there has to be a way to get rid of that Edmond Dantès reference in the end, which means nothing now that element has been excised. Also, the Wachowski-ness of V should have been toned down: that “snikt!” sound of the blades, the most obviously choreographed and show-off shots of the fights, maybe speeding up the slo-mo. Too MTV. MT*V*. Lame pun. Haha.

    Otherwise, Mollo achieved quite something here. I liked the montages, even if they were a tad too long, the chapter titles and the new songs. Editing itself is mostly invisible, even if there were tiny audio pauses in several spots of the .avi version I watched. I don’t think it was my computer, I rewatched the spots several times and they happened exactly in the same places. This is a good edit that is not great because of the limitations of the source material, not because of the faneditor’s work. If you have to see the V for Vendetta movie, make this one your choice. But if you have never read the graphic novel… boy, oh boy, you don’t know what you’re missing out. 7/10.

    Oh, and the V wallpaper is dressing my desktop right now.

    Review by DwightFry78 — October 9, 2010 @ 2:28 am

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