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A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A masterpiece.......
Review: This is a love it or hate it movie. I choose the first, I love this film. It was a great book, and Kubrick made it into a great film. Malcom Mcdowell is brillant as Alex, a young criminal who indulges in a new form of rehabilitation. This film changed the entire media business and set new standards in both music and film. Classic Kubrick and Classic Mcdowell.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Kubrick's Worst
Review: "A Clockwork Orange" has some very interesting messages about criminal punishment, like who's really the victim when the victim wants revenge on the criminal who harmed him(when Mr. Alexander tortures Alex with Beethoven music in the locked house near the end) and what kind of control the government really has over the indiviudal (occuring when the doctors "brainwash" Alex). But, I can't believe this film is considered a masterpiece. Filled with scene after scene of rape and assault, and later, endless scenes of the criminal, Alex, wanting to be reformed and getting it at a high price. I think people only celebrate this movie because Stanley Kubrick directed it. I'm a fan of Kubrick, but I really think he wasted his time on this gloomy, moody piece of nonsense.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Moviemaking at its finest.
Review: It doesn't get much better than A Clockwork Orange. The message is very meaningful and somewhat scary. I recommend this movie to all adults out there who think they can realize that this movie is a masterpiece and not a nasty little movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Viddy good!
Review: I bought this on pirate video last year and was suprised at how good it was. They plan to re-release it here in Britain in the spring of 2000 I know this because I saw the colourful trailer. The story was well written and the notorious rape scene is not as bad as they say it is. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE delivers over 2 hours of dark humour, horror, adventure and beethoven. Also a good soundtrack.

A sequel would not be as good, but it would be interesting. This is one of Britains finest films.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not Kubrick's Best
Review: Very disappointing film. I feel that it was scuppered from the outset by the casting: the actors playing the droogs are plainly much too old to be playing teenagers. What's most bothersome however is the way Kubrick soft-pedalled the more unpleasant aspects of the book. Without exception, all Alex's victims are more 'obnoxious' than they are in the novel, as if Kubrick was attempting to 'justify' their treatment at his hands. This attitude is completely inexcusable. It is no wonder that Burgess was very unhappy with the film and chose to distance himself from it: a book about the importance of free-will had been altered beyond recognition into nothing more than a vindication of its main character.

Reading the previous reviews, I am troubled by how this film is almost universally regarded as the epitome of "cool.".END

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: In Kubrick's words...his most satisfying film
Review: I have to say that I first saw the film on pirate video about five years ago...It's still not available to buy or see in England which in my opinion is a great shame. It may be released in Spring 2000 at the cinema but there is no certainty about that. The ex- head censor James Ferman said that if it were to be released then the two rape scenes would be heavily cut. The new style BBFC has taken a liberal approach with Driller Killer etc now being released, but I just hope that there isn't a backlash about it like there was for the Exorcist - I really don't want to go into my local video store and here people saying how bad it was. In the UK there has been a select few that have seen it and it has brought a mystique to it to a certain extent. The film itself contains most of the violence in the first twenty minutes and the rest of the film is about the choice of the individual and the power of the state. The performances in the film are top class and the opening scene has to be one of the most memorable in film history. The drawback of the camera from Alex (Burgess or Delarge?) is one of the most powerful images you could imagine. Anthony Burgess defended the film and book in his book '1985' and Kubrick said that it was one of (if not The) most satisfying films he made.

Additional - has anyone heard of the film "Murder in a Blue World" which is an italian Clockwork Orange? Apparently it even used scenes from the original.

Alex is so likeable that the audience can identify with him and even though he commits terrible crimes we have to respect his ability to choose.

Society v the individual. The indivudual must win.

Someone should film Chapter 21.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unforgettable story of ethics
Review: A Clockwork Orange in both its book and movie form is not aimed at glamorising violence. The message from Anthony Burgess' novel is all there in Stanley Kubrick's movie. Burgess once said that misery and suffering are the price of freedom. What he meant was, goodness is a virtue that is chosen.

What if everyone in the world was good? Can people really appreciate goodness if they have no knowledge of evil? If there was no darkness, could people understand what light is? If everyone was good it wouldn't be something chosen by their own free will. If people can't choose then they're not really free. Gandhi wasn't born good, Hitler wasn't born evil. These men chose the way they led their lives and acted accordingly.

The same applies with Alex. Alex doesn't commit crime because he needs money. He doesn't live in poverty. He is violent because he enjoys it. When he is arrested he is forced to be good. This treatment works, at the cost of Alex's freedom. Alex's acts of "goodness" are not done out of kindness or nobility, they are desparate reactions to nausea at the thought of violence.

None of Burgess' message is lost in Kubrick's film, except for the ending. The film is full of irony and black humour, but the violence is only a superficial part of the story. The all- important message is freedom of choice. This movie won't be for every taste, but the morality of our lives and how we live them is something that concerns all of us.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kubrick's Genious
Review: Violent but excellent film that goes deep into the dark side of the human behavior. Kubrick is my favorite film director and this is (for me) his second most important work after 2001. Certainly, the movie is shocking but it is extremly well done. The mixture of images with music such as "The Thieving Magpie" by Rossini in violent scenes is artistically delightfull. The secuence of images is terrific, the script based upon the novel by Burguess is great and the acting is very good, perfectly guided by the director. The movie was supposed to be a vision of the future of society and it is sad to see how some of the things present in the film are part of our actual life. It is not a movie for everyone, but it is a jewel of film history. A must have choice for movie collectors.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A cautionary tale methinks Oh my brothers
Review: As someone who saw the film first, then read the book, I feel it is fairer for me to judge than someone who has seen them the other way round. The reason being: if you've read the book first you do develop your own preconceptions and prejudices before you see the film. This means that you know what Kubrick is trying to show and this means you are constantly comparing with what you expect. If like me, it is totally unexpected, then the film envelops you in Burgess' twisted world and takes control. The subsequent emotions you feel are those of empathy and disgust for Alex's life and deeds. It is an amazing experience where you enjoy and despise the violence, Kubrick shows you why Alex enjoys what he does and you can't help partly enjoying it with him. Malcolm McDowell plays one of his best performances as Alex (he must be one of the most under rated and under used Actors of all time - no overstatement meant!) and the cinematography is just amazing. When Alex is being punished by his victims (The Snooker Table Scene) and when he subsequently tries to end it all, the visual imagery and camera positioning is some of the most innovative I have ever seen. The music is as ever up to Kubrick's usual standard and overall I thought the film was fantastic. I must point out that though I obviously rate Kubrick highly as a director, I can be objective enough to say that the film, having read the book, doesn't compare and that's why it gets four stars. I don't think any director could get five for any attempt on this film! A modern take, perhaps by Baz Luhrman (I think thats how you spell his name!) would be very interesting to compare, who knows what will be attempted now Kubrick is fair game (God rest his soul!).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Viddy Well, Little Brother. Viddy well.
Review: "Clockwork Orange" is definitely a striking film. It unforgettably mixes elements of horror, science fiction and comedy, and still comes off as having a lot of chutzpah. The problem I run into with "Orange" is that we never get a definitive statement about the brain-washing portrayed in the film. The "protagonist" is, after all, a violent convict, and he subjects himself to the strange treatment he receives. Still, this movie is definitely one of the most important ever, as much for its artistic innovation as for the unflinching violence it portrays.


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