Rating: 
Summary: I'm siiiiingin' in the rain!
Review: Open narration from my all-time favorite movie: "There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim. And we sat in the Korova Milkbar, trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. The Korova Milkbar sold milk-plus; milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and get you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence."Alex's mug, with eyes twinkling with combined mischief and malice, is shown full view. Two other things make this opening scene memorable. One is the gradual pullback that gives a symmetrical picture of the Milkbar, with the furniture and milk dispensers of nude females in submission. The other is Henry Purcell's ominous "Funeral for Queen Anne" music adapted by Wendy Carlos, playing. The next few scenes are scenes of sheer violence pounded one by one like blows from Thor's hammer in rapid succession--the beating of the old drunk, the fight with Billy Boy's gang, the ride in the Durango 95, and of course, the most disturbing scene of all, the raid on the author's house and his wife's assault. However, Alex's dictatorial ways prove to be his undoing and he is sent to prison for "the accidental killing of a person." The use of aversion therapy, mind control, and the use of musical association to control behavior is explored but the conversation between Dr. Branom and Alex on violence is interesting: Branom: Violence is a very horrible thing. That is what you're learning now. Your body is learning it. Alex: I don't understand about feeling sick like I did. I never
used to feel sick before. I used to feel like the very opposite. Doing it or watching it, I used to feel real horrorshow [great] Branom: You felt ill this afternoon because you are getting better. When we're healthy, we respond to the hateful with fear and nausea. You're becoming healthy, that's all. I'd add here, yes, but surely watching violence is better than actually doing it? The theme explored in this movie that really struck the deepest chord in me is the concept of human choice and free will. Ironically, it isn't a philosopher who speaks on this subject but the padre. His conversation with Alex while discussing the Ludovico Technique asks: "The question is whether such a technique can really make a man good. Goodness comes from within. Goodness is something chosen. If a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man." The padre is also the only one who questions the treatment: "The boy has no choice does he? Self-interest drove him to that act of self-abasement. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He also ceases to be capable of moral choice." So does that mean that someone who chooses to be evil is better than someone compelled to do good sans choice? To go further, what is the unfettered instinctive nature of man and woman? Good or evil? There are two contrasting scenes: the scene with him and the two girls in his bedroom are sped up to Giaocchino Rossini's "William Tell," while the camera's in slow-motion as he and his gang walk along the waterfront to "The Thieving Magpie," also by Rossini. The swinging back of Alex's hand is totally unexpected as is his stick smashing into Georgie. The violent imagery, still potent today, Stanley Kubrick's trademark camera pulls, lingering shots, and symmetry, and the use of Wendy Carlos's music as well as by Beethoven add to this masterpiece. After watching this horrorshow movie, "I was cured, all right."
Rating:
Summary: Gotta rest mum, gotta get fit
Review: Quite possibly one of the most shocking films of the last half century, Clockwork Orange, truly opened my eyes to graphic violence. As a viewer of over 5,000 movies, I can truly say that I have never seen a movie quite like this. Shocking visuals and very intense thematic elements dominate this pseudo-futuristic view of the English underground. While I was not born in England and do not understand any of the slang, it did not stop me from enjoying this film. I thought that the use of Beethoven's 9th Symphony was a very amusing touch, as it did not quite fit in with a lot of the visuals that were expressed; I was further amused to see this brilliant piece of music used to torture Alex, as one of his victims frightenly recognizes the identity of his attacker. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is into late '60s/early '70s exploitation cinema. I'm singin' in the rain, just singin' in the rain!
Rating:
Summary: Different from what I had expected.
Review: ... The movie was very colourful and sardonically made the violent scenes in the book, seem rather jubilant and bouncy (i.e. the raping and murder of women, Alex being tortured in the cinema where they showed him Nazi movies, him being kicked out of his house, etc.), which I thought was pretty brilliant, due to the fact that such a technique used to put this book was probably very unpredictable.
The style of the movie (and the book) may be something of an acquired taste, but I recommend viewing it at least once. For some people, once is enough, even if they liked the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Do the end justifies the means?
Review: Symbolism is found in every scene. Full of sex, violence and sex with violence but goes much further. This film is a satire of family, society and politics giving rise to psychological and ethical problems. Would it be correct to alter a person's mind eliminating his free will in order to avoid criminal actions? Visually great with lots of colors and funny "futuristic" clothes and places, with a strange sound track made of pieces of classical music that sometimes do not match the scene being watched, but that makes this film even greater because of the contradiction that is also a topic in the movie. This is the story of the anti-hero, the dregs of society; but it is about the roll of society too, of you and me.
Rating: 
Summary: Cha-CHING.
Review: It would help if people actually read the novel on which this [movie] is based. Case in point, the editorial review here at Amazon, which tells us that "Kubrick maintains Burgess's dark, satirical social commentary". Actually, he doesn't. The point of the book is that our increasingly mechanized, industrial society may end up turning human beings into automatons: Alex's nightly violent debauches are just as soulless and inhuman -- and as robotically routine -- as his later medically-impelled shrinking from sex, violence, and all other vice. It's a pessimistic and brilliant satire through and through. Burgess implies that we're on the road to completely losing our way as a race. Stanley Kubrick's adaptation, on the other hand, is merely an anti-Establishment picture, in which the angry teenage characters reflect the wish-fulfillment of an angry teenage audience. In other words, Kubrick makes Alex (Malcolm McDowell, in the film's only memorable performance) a HERO for whom we're expected to feel a gut-level sympathy . . . and "we" are apparently the war-protesting student revolutionaries full of inchoate fury at "The Man", Society, etc. (Remember: this film was released in 1971. The historical context of this movie jails it to that period pretty firmly, in my opinion.) And thus Kubrick panders to "us" shamelessly by going out of his way to make the victims of Alex's gang as unsympathetic as possible. There's the ... old broad at the health farm, with her bad erotica on the walls and hissably upper-crust accent, who says things like "I'll teach you to break into REAL people's houses!" There are other examples (including Alex's clueless, laughable parents), but suffice it to say that according to Kubrick these wretches clearly deserve every tolchok they receive. Has it occurred to anybody here that no one should have to get raped or murdered simply because Stanley Kubrick is trying to connect with (and collect from) the "kids"? But maybe you've figured all that out and approve of it, since, according to your own reviews, you're all so much smarter than those of us who don't like *A Clockwork Orange*. I can only counter by suggesting that most "fans" of this movie remove the disc after the action-packed 1st half-hour (it's notoriously BORING for the duration after Alex gets thrown in prison) and move on to something else that's equally phony, like *Fight Club*, which is *Clockwork*'s update in terms of pretending to say something "serious" about "society". Both films very clearly keep their ears cocked for the "cha-CHING" of the cash register, and, considering the rabid cult following of each, have very clearly succeeded.
Rating:
Summary: Much fun for those of appropriate intelligence
Review: This film was truly excellent and superbly horrorshow. It has much violence, sexuality, and beethoven. Very interesting and fun to watch, not for the pathetic malchicks or faint of heart. Rape, gang-fights, and beethoven, what more do you want from a movie based in the ghetto of Britain?
Rating:
Summary: Like Drinking From A Garden Hose
Review: I just can't say enough about this movie. Thirty years after its initial release, it still holds up well and is the ultimate dystopia on film. Through its nightmarish view of a world where crime and chaos appear unstoppable to its equally nightmarish view of humanity in general, this film packs so much information on the human condition and our present day society that it is possible to feel like you are drinking from a garden hose, as there is so much being thrown at you at once that it is simply impossible to appreciate all of it. The story opens up showing Alex, the protagonist played by Malcolm McDowell, and his three droogs, or gang members. Initially we see them performing all kinds of "ultraviolence" and rape. Then, later, when Alex becomes angry with his droogs and punishes two of them, they turn on him and leave him for the police. Placed in a bleak prison, he hears of a new treatment that will get him out of prison in a matter of weeks. He enthusiastically signs up, but he soon finds out that this treatment will make him physically sick at the sight of violence, sex and even upon hearing his beloved Beethoven. Released back into society, he soon becomes the victim as that timeless human truism, whatever goes around comes around, is proven correct. There are so many themes and aspects of the human condition explored here that it is simply impossible to list them. Just a few are the innate moral condition of man, generally, the criminal mind, victims of crime, media exploitation, the old versus the young, and what happens when the ethics are pushed aside in favor of expediency or safety. All this being said, it is not a film for everyone. There is a lot of violence, sex, and nudity, so prudes need not apply. Certainly if you enjoy films where every question is answered and solutions to all of the problems are easy to find, this is not for you either. A Clockwork Orange raises many issues and also answers them, although you will have to watch closely to find them. Finally, the technical side. Malcolm McDowell does a fantastic job playing malevolent Alex, grasping the nuance and contradiction that make him tick. Kubrick is perfectly in tune with Burgess' novel, able to add touches that perfectly complement the book. He makes the story his own without compromising what made the book so good. Excellent score and cinematography make it seem as if you are there with Alex. If you are looking to see a film that examines the human condition without embellishing at all, gritty in the truest sense, you cannot go wrong with this movie. Although strange and not always easy to watch, it stays with you and reminds you of its timeless points constantly
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: Note: The language Stanley Kubrick's using is Russian
Rating:
Summary: top notch movie/poor dvd
Review: This was the first movie of Kubrick's that I ever saw, only 10 years ago. It made a huge impact. And made me a fan of Kubrick. Wonderful movie (taken from Anthony Burgess' novel) about society, violence and its impact, and thr role of free will and freedom. It's a movie you have to watch many times to fully get everything it has to offer. As a dvd it is poor. There are no extras (I'm not counting the awards section). It does have the theatrical trailer, which was brilliantly done for this film. No documentary, and considering the fuss it stirred up in England and with Burgess, there is a lot that could have been covered. No behind the scenes. And no director's commentary. I hope to see a special edition come out one day that contains a bit more.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: So what's your Clockwork Orange? Weather your a film buff who's seen pratically every movie known to man or you don't really watch movies all that much, everyone has that one film that they can keep going back to. That one film that no matter what they will never EVER get sick of it. For me it's Stanley Kubrick's 1971 masterpiece "A Clockwork Orange." This was the film that made me a film buff. This was the film that made me sit up and say "What the [heck] did I just see?" I absolutly love this movie. It's disturbing in parts, it's funny in parts, it's bizzaar in parts (all parts). This is a true cult classic and one that will always be around for years to come. Highly recommended.
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