Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" had to stun its audiences upon release in 1971. Like his previous film, "2001: A Space Odyssey", Kubrick
had violated enough taboos to stretch the envelope of cinema: what was previously unacceptable could now be done. The contribution of "Clockwork" wasn't just the explicit sexual violence and nudity, for which the film originally received an 'X' rating, but the film's misanthropic attitude and bizarre sets. The film covers sadistic anarchy, black comedy, and deep cynicism of governmental power. The whole cast is irredeemable except for the prison chaplain (Godfrey Quigley), whose task in reforming hardened criminals is presented as hopeless.
The lead (Alex, played by Malcolm McDowell)
brings new meaning to the term anti-hero. He is a
vicious, sadistic monster who lives a nighttime
fantasy life of beatings, robbery and rapings, in
which he is always the one delivering the
punishment. As in "2001", a classical score
dominates, with Beethoven giving Alex the
inspiration for his criminal activities, which
are luridly and explicitly depicted. Alex's
desire to control his fellow gang members
backfires when he is betrayed by them after
committing a murder. Alex is sentenced to prison,
where he pretends to be a born-again Christian to
facilitate his release. Alex's desire for freedom
makes him a volunteer for a brainwashing
experiment, which makes him physically nauseated
when confronted with thoughts of sex or violence.
Upon release, Alex can't escape his past, as his
former victims delight in their revenge on their
now-helpless past tormentor.
While I don't sympathize with Malcolm's
character, I do feel sorry for Malcolm. Kubrick
puts him through the works: those eyeball clamps
look painful, and it couldn't have been much fun
to lick shoes, get dunked underwater for who
knows how many takes, be trussed up in a cast,
plopped in spaghetti, etc. Did he have a stunt
double?
Kubrick freely mixes the shocking and ironic with
blatant black humor. The prison guard character
(Michael Bates) seems out of a Monty Python
sketch, while Malcolm's parents are stupid and
maudlin. Alex has a sculpture depicting a Jesus
chorus line, and commits a murder with a
sculpture of a sexual organ. Kubrick skewers both
conservative and liberal politics, with the
cynical, manipulative Minister of the Interior
(Anthony Sharp) no worse than the half-mad
'subversive' writer (Patrick Magee).
By the way, there is another film in the American
Film Institute Top 100 that has even more nudity
and violence: "Schindler's List". Presentation is
everything. (76/100)
DVDS. {$Stanley Kubrick} dissects the nature of violence in this darkly ironic, near-future {\satire}, adapted from {$Anthony Burgess}'s novel, comple...More at DeepDiscount.com
Stomping, whomping, stealing, singing, tap-dancing, violating. Derby-topped teddy-boy hooligan Alex (Malcolm McDowell) has his own way of having a goo...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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