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A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kubrick's Best Movie.
Review: I've seen all of Kubrick's movies except for Barry Lyndon and Dr. Strangelove (so this review might not be as accurate as a person would hope for) but this is his best work as far as I can tell. A brilliant and moral "shocker" that really tries to dig deep into you and successfully does so even after the first few minutes. People hate it because it "glorifies violence." If this is true, then why does the plot itself suggest that violence is an ugly thing? Alex gets my vote for best costume of the 70's (I went as him for halloween) and he did a pretty good job, although I hear him and Kubrick didn't say one word to one another after production was completed. Was Kubrick an eccentric man? You bet he was. This makes this movie all the more greater; he could care less about the criticism. He knew what he was doing. He knew it wasn't going to be a "normal" movie. And low and behold: it's still being praised after 30 years and is really clicking with generation Xers for some odd reason (LSD, anyone?). If not for all the rape and nudity scenes, this would be the perfect film to show in a religion class to teach the kiddies about the value of free will. And it's not a boring movie either. Kubrick maintains a smooth story to go along with his perfectionist style and creates one of the most beautiful and visually spectacular films of the 70's; or of any decade for that matter. Give it a shot, you're surely in for a treat... unless your favorite movie is Halloween 3. :)~

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Clockwork Orange
Review: All the academia aside, This truly unique movie shows yet again what happens when society has no standards, everyone is special, and convicted criminals are coddled. Total mayhem. A person or persons found guilty of the crime(s) Alex and his droogies were responsible for should either be executed or locked away until they die. No possibility of parole, there can be no rehabilitation. This punishment must be swift sure and consistent. Any lawyer who enters a plea of not guilty when he or she knows full well the defendant is guilty, serves equal sentence as the defendant. In the same cell. Recommend this movie to all. We may still be able to change the outcome, but probably not.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a clockwork orange mastermind genius
Review: stanley kubricks a clockwork orange is a masterpiece. It catches all elements of great theater. The only objection i had to it was it's weak ending. It just builds up to an ultimate climax, and lets you down in the end. But it you are a Kubrick fan, you won't notice a thing. A clockwork orange is a must see for a kubrick fan and for anyone else.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "VIDDY WELL LITTLE BROTHER, VIDDY WELL!"
Review: This is a very good film and I am glad that I own it on video. In the spring of this year, A.C.O will be showing at cinemas again after nearly 30 years. This film made Malcolm McDowell and I'm not surprised that it has become a cult film. In my opinion it is one of the best British films ever. Viddy Good!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A massive dissapointment
Review: Yet again a supposed great director as soiled an amazing novel. Before I watched the film I read the script, which wasnt impressive, in that it lacks the innate credibility of the novel. Kubrick didnt want this film to be seen, because of the effects it had i.e the influenced raping and violence, mimicing Alex etc. Kubrick appears to have completely missed out the point of the novel. The very fact that he annexed several important if not disturbing scenes from the original text, has led to Clockwork Orange being an immortalisation of a violent antihero, with a penchant for classical music. Perhaps if Alex's maturation at the end of the novel had been shown the film would have been more epic, and if the levels of depravity Alex sinks to such as child rape had been explored, maybe the film might have got across the point of the book. However it didnt so Clockwork Orange lapses into the plethora of fantastic books that modern "legendary" film makers have destroyed. Oh and Apocalypse Now is far, far superior to Full Metal Jacket.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The "Clock" rocks!
Review: Few films in the history of cinema leave one with as many powerfully ingrained images as Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange." Based on the Anthony Burgess novel of the same name, it's an often violent, sometimes funny, Dali-esque picture of great artistic appeal. The quintessential "love-it-or-hate-it" film, "Clockwork" makes demands of our senses and of our moral values. It is a work made for people that are unafraid to peer into the basest of human tendencies, and dares to force everyone else to look as well.

One of the underlying themes of the story lessens the irony that today's audiences find its brand of violence tame. But Kubrick does a fantastic job of using quirky humor to enhance the impact of the brutality on the screen. Juxtaposing camp that is reminiscent of the sixties "Batman" TV series, with images of sheer savagery, was a masterstroke that exposes violence for the absurdity that it is. As the viewers will see for themselves, the protagonist becomes the target of a very insidious form of evil.

The great director's use of cinematography is brilliant in this work, and his lacing of music with the imagery is potent indeed. Burgess's novel is flecked with references to music, and Kubrick exploited this fact to the utmost. We are often treated to sensory paradox, as the director blends fury with whimsy, and the mundane with menace. Among other scenes, who can forget the opening shot, the "signing in the rain" sequence, or the scene by the "flatblock marina"?

Malcolm McDowell's performance is fabulous! As the sociopathic, young hoodlum, "Alex," McDowell manages to make us laugh (sometimes with remorse), make us loathe him, and even, somehow, pity him. Malcolm takes his lines, laden with the catchy, invented language "Nadsat," and makes them memorable. Kubrick himself didn't want to make the movie with another actor, and his genius served him well; one CANNOT imagine any other actor in the role of "Alex."

The video transfer of this movie to DVD is adequate; I found little to complain about, other than the grainy appearance of a couple of scenes. The sound is fine, but consumers should be aware that it's only offered in the original mono. Purists may be disappointed with the film's "matted" widescreen format, as there has been some question regarding the legitimacy of this "preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition." Finally, there are NO special features other than the theatrical trailer. (It's unfortunate that the same elitism that helped make Kubrick a legendary director has shortchanged fans of his works.) Still, this is the best that lovers of "A Clockwork Orange" have at their disposal, and, at Amazon's price, it's hard to pass up.

For fans of this film, I highly recommend the excellent, seminal novel by Anthony Burgess; it's a fast, enjoyable read, containing the 21st chapter omitted in the movie version. Among movies, I suggest that you give "Trainspotting," and, the soon to be released on DVD, "Fightclub" a try. Viddy well, o my brothers!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If you remember...
Review: ...England in the 60's with the "Mods & Rockers" was, I think, a good model, and I never thought for one second that Kubricks' masterpierce (he couldn't help makng only masterpieces) was pure fiction, except maybe for the therapy part.

I saw in Worthing -Sussex- in 1962 (the year Burgess wrote the novel, incidentally) a wino who was not so lucky (he was not an actor and it was not the result of stage make-up) as the one in the opening scene after what looked like a similar treatment.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good Morning Amazon,
Review: I'm afraid I have to disagree with your Editorial Review. The author rightfully states that most people don't get the message of the movie - but he obviously doesn't, either. When it comes to judging the intent of the shown violence, his statements seem overly simplicistic. Mr. Reesman should notice that those who like and celebrate the movie's brutality are not completely wrong in doing so - at least by the movie's standards. "Clockwork Orange" depicts violence and nihilism in an ambivalent manner. And while it does not condone or encourage hurting other people, it certainly celebrates the spark of life that can only show in breaking the rules.

We have to realize that Kubrick is no flower-power-child who made a shocking movie just to send a message of peace around the world. Rather than that, he uses the screen to show us a slightly altered version of our own dead society. People's feelings have become cold and stereotype - watch Alex' parents closely. They are basically nothing more than robots, fitting into the "productive flow" of society. Basically, such people are already dead - so a cynic is compelled to ask if another beating really makes a difference anymore.

This "zombieism" is what Alex rebels against. He is celebrating life - with sex, energetic music and of course with his brutality. He is breaking the rules, basically because he doesn't want to be as dead and manipulated as the people around him. Society has depraved him of outlets for his natural instincts - which are of course not always constructive. And not very smart or humane either. But even if we may be disgusted by his acts of personal brutality, we can all relate to his loathing of "the herd".

The Ludovico therapy brings on the climactic central question of the film: Do we prefer Individuality, which may sometimes have a very dark side to it, or do we prefer a "working collective" without room for life? Should eventually everyone be treated with "Ludovico" preventively? Why does such a thought make us uncomfortable - it isn't supposed to change us law-abiding citizens's anyway, right? Maybe it's because creativity and true joy - symbolized in Beethovens work - cannot exist without the energy of humanity's violent urges? Maybe it's all about choosing between individual violence and collective oppression? In his movie, Kubrick does not give the answer - he never gives an answer in any of his movies. After all, finding answers is not the job of a good director, its the job of each viewer. Kubrick does not even comment clearly on his point of view. But he does an impressive job in showing us the many different problems that are connected to the concept of free will. And he also shows how many rewards may stem from it.

This topic has also been exploited in some more recent films, too - like Fincher's "Fight Club", for example. And although the latter was an excellent movie - probably the best movie of 1999 - the original is still unbeaten. Its not easy to make me cry, but the ending scene of "A Clockwork Orange", although it implements that people may have to suffer, almost brought tears of joy to my face.

Freude schoener Goetterfunken!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not Kubrick's Best
Review: Being a great admirer of Anthony Burgess' novel I have to say that I was extremely disappointed with Kubrick's film of it. In my opinion the project was scuppered from the outset by the poor casting: the actors playing the droogs are plainly much too old to be portraying teenagers. I was also disturbed by the way Kubrick deliberately made all of Alex's victims more 'obnoxious' than they are in the novel; the implication appeared to be that we shouldn't feel any pity for the people who suffer at Alex's hands because they were all 'asking for it.' Such an attitude is completely inexcusable. It is no surprise that Burgess was very unhappy with the film and spent the rest of his lifetime distancing himself from it; a serious statement about the importance of free-will had been distorted beyond all recognition into a vindication of the behaviour of the main character.

What troubles me the most however is the way that this film is considered by many of the previous reviewers to be the epitome of "cool." I may be missing something here but at what point did sexual violence and murder become fashionable? If Kubrick had not removed the books more disturbing aspects (such as Alex's rape of two 10 year-old girls) would the film's many devotees still be so fanatical in their adulation? Or are people prepared to blindly accept anything that is presented to them by a so-called "genius film-maker"? Judging by the number of ecstatic reviews that the truly awful "Eyes Wide Shut" has received, my inclination is to favour the latter judgement.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: How anyone could give one star is beyond me.
Review: Try 100 stars and you might be close. True this movie isn't for my Grandparents or thier friends. I don't think they would enjoy it. But for most mature people that like to use their head and experience something that is more than just a movie then this is for them.

If you only watch this movie once you are only getting about a fourth of the total experience and maybe understanding about one fifth of what was said. You really have to watch this movie at least two or three times to really get it.

This is the best movie I have ever seen and I thought this even before I knew who Stanley Kubrick was! I have continued to enjoy every viewing of this movie over the last fifteen years or there abouts that I have been watching it.

By far Kubrick's most meaningful and will be his longest lasting work (even more than Dr. Strangelove). One hundred years into the future this movie will still be modern in every way.

Whoever gives this movie one star has simply got some sort of agenda. It should be a crime to try to stop someone from experiencing this movie. Pure horror show.


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