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A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Can an Author Sue a Director For Butchering His Work?
Review: It may sound odd for a story as bleak and satirical as A CLOCKWORK ORANGE sometimes gets, but at its' best, the book is a sort of love letter to the human race, which Burgess saw as being stifled by a bureaucratic, if well-meaning state. His central character, Alex DeLaage, is a brutal criminal, but Burgess makes you understand that in such a regulated state, criminality may be one of the few outlets available for energy and high spirits.

But Stanley Kubrick wasn't a high-spirited man. And I doubt he loved humanity. This film is full of his air-conditioned contempt for his fellow human beings, whom he shoots mostly in long shot or distorted, disfiguring close-up, with particular distaste being reserved for the women in this story (Kubrick ALWAYS reserved particular distaste for the women in his stories--you get the feeling he didn't date much in high school?). But such distaste and contempt renders the film almost unwatchable and, therefore, essentially useless. Pop literature, particularly science fiction, was full of the kind of cool, tidy, emotionally neutral material with which Kubrick was most comfortable. It's a pity he didn't realize his limitations and leave the great literature to the grown-ups.

The wild card in all of this was Malcolm McDowell as Alex. Despite everything Kubrick did to make the character seem loathsome and unspeakable, McDowell came through with a boisterous, chilling, yet finally very appealing performance. He gives this film the hot breath of life, despite all of the freon dumped on it by the director.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Never lets you settle with one idea.
Review: Having read the book, I was somewhat disappointed that chapter 21 was missed, which really resolves the question of Alex's choice more fully. Nevertheless, perspective, lighting, and the use of music, allied to realism in the acting gives the whole film an extra dimension to convey its message, and aptly captured the mood of the Alex and his droogs as their lives metamorphosize. The violence was taken in context and portayed stylishly, and with panache from McDowell & co, creating a lasting impression that carried the film and conveyed the very powerful ideas that the book dealt with in a very honest way. Top stuff!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: superb
Review: This DVD is not supposed to be widescreen. It is absolutely excellent on dvd. well worth the price

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: DVD is 1.66:1
Review: The format of the DVD is 1.66:1 which is the original format Kubrick intended. This is a very shallow letterbox which is hardly noticeable. Not all movies are 1.85:1. Also, the point of DVD is ultra high quality non-degradeable video... not to put a lot of extras. Extras are nice but lack of them is no reason to rate down a movie of this caliber.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classic satire
Review: Despite comments to the contrary, the version of Clockwork Orange on DVD is the original version. The differences in the ratings have more to do with revisions to the original MPAA codes and the passage of time more than anything else.

Kubrick's adaption of Burgess' novel is a sort of inverted Pygmalion. As brilliant as Burgess' novel (Burgess himself acknowledged the brilliance of Kubrick's film. He stated that Kubrick's film was a "radical remaking of my own novel" that was every bit as much Kubrick's as the source material was Burgess)is, the film brings some of the best sequences in the novel to life with stunning, brutal clarity and satiric wit.

Kubrick's most controversial film ( perhaps even more so than Lolita), this is a classic film that is a radical as mainstream cinema gets.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Junque
Review: Well, not really an accurate rating....As a movie it gets 5 stars, but as a DVD it gets 1. Nothing new here at all ("awards won" does not count...this can be found anywhere). Worst of all, the box claims "widescreen" but it is not. A total waste of money if you own it on VHS.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Still way ahead of its time, always a masterpiece
Review: Oh my brothers, this is one of the best movies I have ever seen. The late Stanley Kubrick created from the equally involving novel by Anthony Burgess a vision of the corrupted mind of a British youth, the price of reform, and the mechanisms used to control behavior. Even with such violence in the world today (most recently, youth attacking youth in Littleton, Colorado), I still think that "A Clockwork Orange" is mostly untouched by reality, and will always be. I should warn anyone who may watch this film that it is very disturbing in many respects. I would not call it excessive, because there are many films that take violence and sex to higher levels than seen here (although not many, and even fewer simultaneously), but none do it so realistically. A marvelous, horribly underrated piece of work.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Stanley Kubrick is ahead of his time in this violent story
Review: For a movie to be great, it has to feel like a total experience when its over. A Clockwork Orange is beyond that. Released in 1971,it shocked the world. Kubrick tends to have that effect with his movies. "2001" being a good example. A Clockwork Orange is funny, violent, and will open your eyes. Malcolm MacDowell gives on of the best performances of that decade. The music, the camera shots and angles, the scenery, and the deep story brought primarily by the magic and charisma of Stanley Kubrick. This is one of my favorite films, and will always be ahead of its time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Relevant to today
Review: A Clockwork Orange, the Stanley Kubrick-Anthony Burgess masterpeice is as relevant today as it was in the 70's. The brainwashing technique in the film is very much like the cheap quick but poor solutions to socities ills (like the new law about R rated films)that are so prevelant these days. The film is exellently made and McDowall's performance is unmatched as well as filled with black as pitch humour. I highly recommend the novella by Mr. Burgess as it is far different in theme to the film. Both book and novel play out the same story though the book focuses on politics wheras the film focuses on the nature of sex and violence and their similarities.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Definitely one of the greatest movies of all time!!!!!!!
Review: Stanely Kubrick's classic A Clockwork Orange is a brilliant, fantastic movie everyone should see at least once. The movie creates a certain depth in human consciousness that others may immitate, but can only be reached by such brilliant storywriting, and the incredible direction of the late genious Stanely Kubrick. Although it may be confusing in the begining to many viewers, it will get easier to understand, I've seen this movie four times in the past 9 months, it honestly gets better every time I see it.


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