A Clockwork Orange

A seemingly post-apocalyptic world...a young man (who was but 15 years old in the book) who's greatest source of joy is found in the supposed ills of society...sex, drugs and violence. After being sold out by his droogs, Alex is arrested and incarcerated. He then chooses, despite warnings of the dangers therein, to subject himself to a new "treatment," declaring "I want to be good," in an obviously less than sincere manner. He is then put through nothing less than an array of horrifying treatments to "cure" him of his violent tendencies. The result is a drone, a "Clockwork Orange," who is capable of only what has been programmed. He is subject to revenge and, unable to deal with the repercussions of his acts, attempts suicide. After surviving, the media discovers the horrible results of his "treatment," and expose it for what it is.

A brief synopsis of Burgess's fabulous work of fiction...but words cannot describe what Kubrick has done. It can only be experienced.

Many reviews I've read shows a sort of disgust wit this film, claiming it to be little more than a shock fest. Of course, these people fail to realize the reasoning for displaying such, even disgusted at how the scenes of violence are glorified. THAT is how Alex feels while acting out these crimes. He finds joy, pleasure, excitement! "I'm...ready for love!" To have displayed it for what it truly is would detract from the expressionism of how Alex perceived it. To him, it wasn't a horrible act...it was fun! And to think that the sole message of this film is to feel sorry for criminals...well, I'm sorry that you watched it. You missed it completely. This film isn't about crime and punishment. On the surface, perhaps. But below this lies a bold statement about human nature and relates closely to Carl Jung's statements about evil. Kubrick must be a huge fan of Jung's work, because I see it in most all of his films. Jung believed evil was purely subjective. What is more evil? Beating an old man with sticks or having your thoughts and beliefs programmed into you? Obviously, if you've been brainwashed into Christianity, you'll prefer the former...but consider not being able to choose how to live. Consider being sickened when you see a beautiful member of the opposite sex. Consider not being able to defend yourself from an attacker. Consider a beautiful piece of classical music driving you to suicide. THAT is what the movie is; to me at least. Jung's idea of subjectivity towards evil.

Of course, Kubrick's cinematography is nothing short of brilliant. The scores are appropriate and add to Alex's playful moods.

A word about the nudity. There is, admittedly, a lot. Most of it, however, is represented in artwork. Painting and sculpture. Why does that offend people? Is nudity not perfectly natural? Are we all not nude under our clothing?

And the sex...would any of us be here without it?

Free your minds, people.


A master film, by a master director   December 17, 2001
Matthew K. Putnam (Brooklyn Park, Minnesota United States)
168 out of 194 found this review helpful

In 1964 director/producer Stanley Kubrick created the nuclear war comedic masterpiece "Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb". He followed that with the science fiction masterpiece "2001: A Space Oddysee". Stanley Kubrick would reach his creative peak with his next film. An Adaption of Anothony Burgess'novel "A Clockwork Orange." Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange is one of those films that you will either love or hate. The film centers around the character of Alexander DeLarge (played to perfection by Malcolm McDowell) a 15 year old "droog" who with his friends Pete (Michael Tarn), Georgie (James Marcus), and Dim (Warren Clarke) drink Milk Laced with drugs at the local "Milkbar" and then go out on the town at night, doing horrible things to people. During one incident Alex is captured and taken to prison. He finds out about a treatment that can get him of prison. He goes through with the treatment (which will make him sick when he attempts to commit an act of violence), is released from prison and thrown back into the world, unable to defend himself. Out of all the things that make this movie great, the number one element is the performance of Malcolm McDowell as Alex. The entire movie revolves around him so if McDowell's performance isn't top notch then the movie isn't top notch. McDowell was in his late twenties when he made this movie. In the novel Alex is 15 years old. So although being much older then his character McDowell plays the adventureous youth wonderfully. Suprisingly McDowell was not nominated for an Academy Award. Another really strong element is the music. Never in my life have I seen a movie (non musical) where the music plays such an important role in a film. Gioacchino Rossini's "The Thieving Magpie" during the fight scence against the rival droogs. "The William Tell Overture" played 5 times too fast during the orgy scene and the use of Ludwig Van Beethoven's "Symphony no. 9" are just a few examples of how music plays an important role in this film. As far as things being wrong with the movie. The only real thing is the lack of any real supporting cast. Sure there are a few standout performances. Particularily James Marcus as Georgie and in no means are the rest of the supporting cast bad actors. There just isn't a real supporing cast there. But McDowell's performace makes up for it. This film get's 5 stars because of 3 things. Number one is the performance of Malcolm McDowell. Number two is the use of music in such a different and unique way and number three is the originality of it. This movie came out in 1971 and I haven't seen any movie like it that came out before or since then. A Clockwork Orange was nominated for several Academy Awards including "best picture" and "best director" but it lost in all categories to William Friedkin's "The French Connection"



30 years old and still ahead of its time   July 20, 2001
Tycho Magnetic Anomaly (The Dog and Duck Pub)
46 out of 63 found this review helpful

Made in 1971, this was considered a very brutal film for its time. In 2001, I still wonder why this movie is only rated "R". It contains a lot of scenes of rape, nudity, graphic violence, and other mayhem that I believe caused it to be banned in several countries. But it has also won praise from many critics and is considered to be a cult classic.

Set in near-future England, this film tells the story of Alex. On the surface, Alex (played by twenty-something Malcolm McDowell) is a typical teenage boy who engages in meaningless conversations with his parents, puts on a good show in front his counselor... and does other things to keep up appearances. However, Alex is a gang member who indulges in every sort of impulsive criminal activity possible while listening to Beethoven to psyche himself up.

One night, Alex and his gang break into a lady's house. The rest of the gang is outside while Alex struggles with the lady until he eventually kills her. After Alex leaves the house, his gang turns on him and leaves him to fend for himself until the police arrive.

Alex is sent to prison. After a while, Alex wants to reform. He has a chance when a new behavioral experiment called the "Ludovico" treatment is in need of guinea pigs. Alex volunteers. The experiment is a brainwashing method that causes Alex to be sickened by any form of sex or violence. It even causes him to be sickened by Beethoven's music.

After Alex is released from prison, several things happen. His family disowns him, his former friends are now police officers that assault him, and the experiment has other side effects than just eliminating his urges. He is no longer able to defend himself when attacked as well.

This is not an easy movie to watch with the numerous physically and emotionally violent scenes, but it does make you ask yourself a few things. Is society justified in destroying a predator by creating a victim? Or who needs reform the most: the criminals or the society that continues to punish them after their legitimate sentences have been served? The film is not one that offers any quick or easy answers, yet it shows a perspective of societal problems that is equally timely for 1971 or 2001.


Kubrick's Most Noteworthy Accomplishment   June 4, 2000
Weston J. Kathman (Lakeside Park, KY USA)
42 out of 51 found this review helpful

A lot of people would say that Stanley Kubrick's best work was 2001: A Space Oddyssey or Dr. Strangelove, but Clockwork Orange is his most remarkable film. Combining the best qualities of both 2001 and Strangelove -- which are both fantastic films also -- never before has Kubrick given audiences such a satirically brilliant movie. For some people, Clockwork will be hard to stomach; the rape scene at the beginning is pretty explicit and there's a lot of nudity. The fighting scenes, though, are for the most part more comical than brutal. Whether you hate it or love it -- and there isn't a lot of room for middle ground to be taken with this film -- you will certainly remember it because it will most likely have some kind of impact on you. In his first film role, Malcolm McDowell gives an incredible performance as the twisted gang leader Alex, who delights in rape, ultraviolenece, and Beethoven. McDowell is amusing and frightening at the same time and, without a solid, believable performance from the lead, this film would not have worked. The rest of the characters are eccentric, too, although their sole purpose is to reinforce the qualities of Alex. There are two major themes in this film, one of which deals with politicians and the manipulation with which they operate in order to avoid bad publicity. When the operation to reform Alex backfires, causing him terrible trouble as opposed to making him a decent person, the politician who originally championed the controversial operation does a quick clean-up job so that the situation won't seem as bad as it is. He offers Alex a cushy government job, basically an attempt to bribe the criminal so that he won't go to the papers with his horrifying experience. Alex, of course, is too young and unschooled to realize that he has been taken advantage of -- both by the people who promoted the operation and by those who opposed it -- and he is just happy to be himself again. The other main theme of this film deals with how far we should or shouldn't go in order to reform people who commit heinous crimes. If we ever developed the technology to do such a procedure as was done on Alex, this film gives us a good reason not to go through with it. Besides taking away a person's inborn ability to make his own moral choices, this would also leave the person particularly vulnerable to the revenge of those he's wronged in the past (which is what happens to Alex). The book of the same title, which was authored by Alex Burgess, is even better than the film and deserves more credit as a literary masterpiece. Some people believe that the movie is too soft and doesn't go as far as the book as far as the sexual scenes are concerned, but this movie will offend enough people without Alex taking advantage of two naive, pre-teen girls. Burgess himself was disappointed by the film (he makes this obvious in the newer version of the book) because the book was 21 chapters and the movie ended at the conclusion of the 20th chapter; however, the ending of the movie works better on screen while the ending of the book works better on paper. In each context, the endings work. Besides, the movie was already two and a half hours, and adding the book's ending would have meant at least 30 more minutes. Anyway, A Clockwork Orange is a thrilling experience and should not be missed, whether you like Kubrick or not. This film should have been ranked higher on AFI's Top 100 list.


A masterpiece!   August 22, 2007
musicman123456789 (USA)
30 out of 34 found this review helpful

What a great moment in movie history, and one of the greatest adapted screenplays of all time! This is the all new remastered Clockwork Orange, and finally released on a bran new dvd set with all new special features!

Special Features include:
Commentary with the main star!
Remastered version of the movie!
Channel 4 documentary: Still Tickin: The Return of Clockwork Orange!
Career profile: O Lucky Malcolm!
New featurette: Making A Clockwork Orange

Purchase a work of art by one of the greatest filmakers ever!