A Clockwork Orange

Rating:
Summary: Being the adventures of a young man...
Review: Being the adventures of a young man whose principle interests are rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven

A Clockwork Orange Reviewed by Bruce Cantwell, a-movie-to-see.com

Alex and his droogs arrive outside an isolated, hillside home. A woman in a bright red jumper answers the doorbell cautiously.

ALEX Excuse me, Mrs... will you please help, there's been a terrible accident.

She opens the door on the chain and peeps out.

ALEX My friend's lying in the middle of the road bleeding to death. Could I please use your telephone for an ambulance? Her husband, overhearing the desperation in his voice insists that she let him in.

The door swings open and the droogs don their phallic masks. They pulverize the writer, scissor the woman's jumper off, drop their drawers and proceed to gang bang her in full view of her husband, all to Alex's upbeat rendition of Singin' in the Rain.

Stanley Kubrick's striking imagery of Alex and his droogs night of ultra violence is one of the most disturbing sequences ever filmed. Its brilliance, however, is not in the horror of the images we're shown, but in the point-of-view. Through Alex's eyes, these despicable acts are perceived simply a night out with the boys.

Based on Anthony Burgess's novel, A CLOCKWORK ORGANGE imagines a future where gangs have run amok and liberals and conservatives alike leverage the fear of these uncivilized punks to their political advantage.

Malcolm McDowell's enigmatic hooligan remains one of the most unforgiving performances in cinema. He has his head held underwater in an uncut shot running over a minute while his body is bludgeoned with (fake?) billy clubs. A disappointed social worker (Name) spits in his face while informing him that his latest victim has died and he's to be charged with murder. McDowell's uncertain half grin, the cold stare of his mascaraed eye, the gleeful chomping of food as he's being spoon fed by a high government official, all performed with such cocksure bravado make his a standout performance in a must-see film.

I first encountered A Clockwork Orange as a late night show during my college days. Though I still have quibbles about the film's second act, where Alex serendipitously stumbles upon all those he has wronged, I was attracted to subsequent viewings by its prurient appeal.

Beyond the shock value, I've come to appreciate the film's rich and twisted sense of humor, much of which is played out in the film's score. Walter (now Wendy) Carlos of Switched-On Bach fame, creates synthesized Henry Purcell to represent the warped future of jolly old England. Alex masturbates to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony Scherzo while fantasizing about gloriously violent images and the Ode to Joy is employed as background music to Alex's violence aversion therapy.

As a satirist, Stanley Kubrick was at the top of his form. Lolita, Dr. Strangelove and A Clockwork Orange were all drop-dead funny takes on deadly serious issues.

One of the funniest things about A Clockwork Orange isn't in the film. The British version of Anthony Burgess's novel contained a final chapter that had been truncated (inadvertently?) from the American version. Burgess's denouement shows Alex growing up and leaving his rebellious ways behind. Stanley Kubrick was an American who lived in England but happened to pick up a copy of the British writer's novel while in the United States. But for this unusual circumstance, A Clockwork Orange might have been about coming of age instead of coming of psychosis.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Kubrick Comedy
Review: With Clockwork Orange banned in the UK since its release I visited the cinema on the day of its re-release in this country with the anticipation and wonder of a kid in a sweetshop. For a good many years now, Stanley Kubrick has been my favourite director and this film had always been one I wanted to see - despite my parents warnings not to. A Clockwork Orange is, to my mind, one of the finest pieces of cinematography I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. Kubricks mastery of the camera coupled with a stunning performance by Malclom MacDowell makes this film unmissable for the generations deprived of it until now and for those who missed it when it was originally released.

Compared with modern graphic scenes of violence the parts of the film which caused most outrage now seem tame. However Kubrick is clever in that what shocks is not what is portrayed, but is that which is left to your own imagination thus making this masterpiece very different for each individual who watches it. Rather than being a frightening horrific film I found A Clockwork Orange to be a story of the triumph of Alex's will. Sublimely amusing in parts, this film is a beautiful commentry on the corruption of government and how it will use people to whatever ends it seeks to achieve. In this way Alex becomes very much a hero - a charachter we can relate to and even feel sorry for despite the fact he enjoys nothing more than raping women and giving tramps (to use the coloquial english) a good shoeing.

I was pleased to find that this film was not a two hour montage of graphic violence and shocking rape scenes as I had been prepared for by those who had only ever heard rumours of its content. Instead I walked out of the cinema with a broad grin on my face. Kubrick had stirred my emotions once again leaving me to brood more on what I had not seen than what he had decided to show me. He had given me a film of humour and a story of the triumph of one man, trying to be himslef, over the government which tried to oppress him.

A true masterpiece. Forget the rumours, sit back and enjoy Kubrick at his very best.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece-Musically, and Visually
Review: I thought this movie is yet to be the best. I love the way Stanly Krubrick {however you spell his name} directed it, and how everything is so dark and in keeping with the book. Even though I am 13, I must say that this was a very brave move for the director, and that it is really realistic, about both politics, and violence.

Rating:
Summary: There are pointless, violent films...
Review: but A Clockwork Orange isn't one of them. All the one star reviews that fixate on the ultra-violent first third of the movie do a disservice to the whole. Unlike Hitchhiker, Friday The 13th Part VII and that ilk, there are ideas expressed in this one. What they are, I suppose, is open to interpretation.

The movie is divided into thirds: An introduction to little Alex who seems incapable of moral choice, i.e., a misbegotten clockwork orange. Second, his attempted 'rehabilitation' by a weary society at its wits end ('We've been studying the problem for well over a century, yet we get no further with our studies'), i.e. a modified, misbegotten clockwork orange still incapable of choice. And, finally, the aftermath of the treatment, where society realizes its 'mistake' and returns little Alex to his formal self. The final words of the film drip with irony as little Alex proclaims, "I was cured allright."

I haven't read the book in 30 years, but from other reviews I guess that Burgess had little Alex finally realize the error of his ways and choose goodness. I don't know, somehow I prefer Kubrick's ending. I like to believe that I'm good because I don't get off on torturing others for my own self-gratification and not just because it's, like, against society.

As for Kubick's depiction of women in the film, remember that this movie was made in 1970 as a futuristic sci-fi thriller. Looking at some Calvin Klein commercials 30 years later, I can't see how he was terribly far off the mark.

Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: Oh my brothers...this is a movie which can not be foerget..in the first part the violence part you enjoy the film tahe actions movements and background Beethoven and in the second part in prison it sfunny that the film becomes normal ant violence and and u get bored but when the theatre scene comes all action comes again without non violence.. it s a movie that kubric send all hiss guniestiy to the wievers.. if you re a person who interest in movies you must watch this movie and see a reall movie...Also Dvd hasnt got any problems althogh its from 70

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing, Bloody, and Violent....I LiKE iT!
Review: Yeah, I know this is every teenage boy's favorite movie, but come on, you can't deny the genius here. Kubrick has taken a work of literature and made it his own. Who do you associate more with "A Clockwork Orange"? Anthony Burgess or Stanley Kubrick? The answer is clear, and the reason is that this film is a true achievement of cinema. So, if your into a little bit of the ultra-violence, check out this film....you will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: CO is, in my opinion, Kubrick's best work. I have not seen Dr. Strangelove so maybe my opinion is a little biased. 2001 was great for it's originality and the gates that it opened, but I think the story just wasn't as good as Clockwork Orange. I love seeing the reaction simple-minded folk that like everything to be concrete and calculated have to this movie. My mother (an avid fan of trash movies like "Con Air") walked out during the rape scene. CO not only makes you *think* but it's also downright funny in parts, too. Definately recommended to any open-minded person who's sick of paper thin movies put out for morons who can't distinguish "entertainment" from "art".

Rating:
Summary: greatest
Review: Clockwork Orange should be in the top 10 of all time. The lighting, the cinematography, its wonderful soundtrack, and of course, the story made it like, perfect.

Rating:
Summary: It's your social responsibility to watch A Clockwork Orange.
Review: I'm one fan who is entertained by the artistry of Kubrick's portrayal of brutality. Again, as in Dr. Strangelove, Kubrick gets the subject matter into the viewer's head. In this case, enough to give you a headache. This movie is so disturbing (originally rated X for violence) that one viewing is never enough. You have to see this movie many times to desensitize yourself to violence, allowing more subtle aspects of the work to shine through. For example, underlying the violence is a dark comedy of extremely funny proportions. Making thugs into cops, using the theme song from Singing in the Rain during a brutal beating, then having that song later be the reason Alex is arrested, all have hilarious overtones for societies that would prefer to turn a deaf ear to society's ills.

Scott Supak supak.com

Rating:
Summary: Kubrick's Best!
Review: There isn't much you can say about A Clockwork orange. It is indeed a powerful experience from your eyes to your heart. Although very violent and mature, also very educational about the future, and modern science. This is more of a piece of art (fabulous art of course) than a film. But, however, I recomend you read Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork Orange" before, not only to compare and contrast' but to educate, prepare, and give you a better explanation of what "A Clockwork Orange" is about.

Thank You, Omar Mouallem