Reviews of A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

Posted : 2 weeks, 6 days ago on 21 October 2009 12:31 (A review of A Clockwork Orange)

Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the famous novel is a futuristic/retro film about violence, sex and our conditioning to these actions. I just wish he kept the final chapter of the international novel since it presents complexities and questions only hinted at in the film. In the film Alex stays a bad boy, but in the novel he goes back to being a good one. But how much of that is residual brainwashing? The ambiguities actually make for a deeper and darker ending than just leaving him evil.

That doesn’t make it a bad movie, far from it actually. A Clockwork Orange is a great movie, and a great adaptation of the novel, even if they did change some character traits. Alex rapes two little ten-year-old girls, not two willing teenagers. These changes slightly dull the spiked edges of Alex, but Kubrick is smart enough to keep enough of the form of the novel, if not the exact letter. While I didn’t like these changes, they didn’t distract me enough to not enjoy the film.

I loved McDowell’s performance as Alex. Slightly over-the-top, maniac eyed, sexually devious and completely unhinged this is perfect a match between actor and character as Vivien Leigh and Scarlet O’Hara. And I adored the visual design of the film – the large phalluses everywhere and nude female bodies really intrigued/confused/disturbed me. The sleek and clean lines in other scenes really gave more presence to the violence that would proceed. Kubrick was a fantastic visual filmmaker and this film is just another example of that. That hilarious/disturbing milk bar at the beginning of the film could only have been cooked up by his demented mind. This might just be my favorite Kubrick film, which is saying something since I normally can’t stand the cold sterility of his films.

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A perfect mess

Posted : 3 weeks, 1 day ago on 19 October 2009 07:20 (A review of A Clockwork Orange)

Sometimes being a clusterfuck of ideas, visuals and music is not a bad thing. A Clockwork Orange contains a manic pace, and the content it delivers during it's running time is astounding. It is perhaps one of the more or less uneven films of all time, jumping back and forth between gritty realism and realms of fantasy. However it is always a controlled lunacy. Kubrick never lets go of the strings he holds as puppet master to this cruel play. The bizarrely theatrical dialogue is always a bit out there, but never too much. Alex's journey has events symbolically and visually bizarre, but that might just be true some day. McDowell as Alex is twisted and insane, but only because he seems to have abslolutely nothing else to be in this world, as is evidenced by his perpetual and general uselessness after being cured from his "disease." A Clockwork Orange really is too many things in one movie, but it never felt overtly huge in content to me despite being so on paper. It deals with themes of growing up, govermental activities, our correctional system, medical facilities, religion, hope and many more all under a single roof. But as I said, Kubrick simply doesn't let go of this film. He always has everything under control, knowing exactly what he is doing and why. If this movie had been made by any other crew and it had as much content, it would be ludicrous and bizarre. As it is, it works as a testament to Kubrick's skills in filmmaking more than anything else. A Clockwork Orange is a film about everything aimed at everyone, but not nearly all of them will ever be able to embrace the full scope of it.

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This is one of the most unappealing movies.

Posted : 2 months ago on 7 September 2009 08:02 (A review of A Clockwork Orange)

That I have ever watched in my entire life. I can't understand the idea, that violence should fight violence. I don't understand the hype around this movie either, because for me, there's nothing to love about it. I'm used to movies that scares me, on of my fave genre of movies and generally, it doesn't bother me getting scared and spooked. But this one really spooked the crap out of me, so much that I shiver when I think about it. This is the only movie of Stanley Kubrick I can't stand.

No rating, because we can't rate in the minus. If we could, I'd have it as high as I even could. Apologize to all lovers of this movie, supposedly cult, but to me it is an absolutely failure. It will forever be the worst movie I've ever encountered.

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Ultra-Violence And The Ol' In & Out

Posted : 6 months, 4 weeks ago on 16 April 2009 12:40 (A review of A Clockwork Orange)

For me, this movie exemplifies everything that I like about all things Kubrick. IMO, he tends to make movies that are an inch away from being abstract beyond understanding, but yet keeps the flow of the film reeled in just enough to make it seem like it makes sense on some kind of creative level. And while I don't mind discussing what the underlying meaning(s) of ACO might be, I find that too much discussion on it tends to get in the way of the enjoyment that I get from noticing things like how colorfully crafted the art-direction is for a movie that doesn't bat a single lashed eye towards subjects like ultra-violence & the old in-&-out.
Visually, a beautifully crafted film with such a bite in it's theme that it acts as a well-balanced counterweight against the brightly set designs. Seldom do we see the contrast of light & darkness stitched on film in a manner that is instinctual, crazy & perfect all at the same time.



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Chocolate Orange...The Future...

Posted : 11 months, 1 week ago on 3 December 2008 09:42 (A review of A Clockwork Orange)

''Goodness is something to be chosen. When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man.''

The story of Alex and his droogs,(gang members) how they terrorize, rape and cause trouble. Betrayal from his Droogs follows and Alex soon becomes chosen for an experimental brainwashing technique in a prison complex with disastrous consequences.

Malcolm McDowell: Alex

''We were all feeling a bit shagged and fagged and fashed, it being a night of no small expenditure.''

Malcolm McDowell plays Alex the main character who tells the story, his way of speaking was intriguing and his journey was something to contemplate on.
I watched this for the first time a while ago and it being my 1st Kubrick film(2001 too!) i was apprehensive of seeing it. Was pleased with the narration and strange retro-music. I'm not a fan of the 70s and so being, the film to me looks and feels tacky in areas. For example the decor and fashion.
On the other hand the ideas raised in this are thought provoking and at the same time timeless and relevant even in today's society.
The first half of the film made me amused at such acts of violence or inadequacies. Alex performing ''I'm singing in the rain'' while raping a woman with husband watching will shock, the old ''in out''. With fate bringing him back later into the house, it will make you cringe.
It shocked me that once free will is taken away how helpless a person can become. How a programmed mind with blocked emotions isn't actually choosing he's lost this option entirely. He's been stripped of his god given free will.

Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange holds the recent record of being the number one film of all time on my charts. The film is everything that you'll never want to watch. The scenes are disturbing, gut wrenching, mind twisting, and way over the top. In result, "A Clockwork Orange" has the most powerful and overwhelming dramatic impact that I have ever experienced in a mainstream film.
Plot wise, A Clockwork Orange is the story of a young man named Alex DeLarge, who is, by day, a regular student who lives with his parents at home, but, by night, a homicidal rapist/killer with his accomplices who dress up like demented clowns at a bleak freak show. He and his buddies weasel their way into the happy homes housing innocent people by chanting the same deceiving phrase every night: they scream that their friend has been critically wounded in an accident near by--and plead to use their telephone to call for help.

''It had been a wonderful evening and what I needed now, to give it the perfect ending, was a little of the Ludwig Van.''

For a few unfortunate few, this devious trick proves to be successful in nature. However one fateful night, a woman known as The Cat Lady, refuses their pleas for help, and calls the police in suspicion. Alex, being both smart and sneaky, somehow manages to break into this perverted woman's home, while his accomplices wait outside. Once indoors, a fight begins. A struggle featuring a sex toy owned by Cat Lady, one that not only causes panicked arousal, but also is featured as the weapon of her graphic and disturbing murder. Alex quickly flees the scene once the police sirens reach his shaky ears, but when he gets back to his pal's waiting outside, they return their experiences with him by bashing him over the head with a hard object, allowing their jumbled escape, but his certain demise.
After the process of being sent to prison, Alex grows to learn to tell offices and guards what they like to hear. He reads the bible, is never involved with any major fights or complications, and almost volunteers for a new kind of experiment. An experiment so probationary it is still being tested and held under wraps. What it does, though a series of sessions, is cure a violent individual from his sickness; he will feel terrible pain if involved in any sort of violence after the medicine takes place.

The scenes involving the apparent salvation of Alex's disturbances are truly emotionally troublesome. They are so explicit and detailed that I myself felt tempted to look away from the screen at points. This is not a film for those who are sensitive, those who are easily offended, or especially for those with week constitutions. This is one of the most intense films around, but it happens to be one of the most perfect and precise in message. I definitely don't recommend the production to everyone, though.
The soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange is one of the most inspirational. Although the actual music is far from fitting each individual scene, the overall presence is not only worth listening to, but also worth the getting.

Here, a young Malcolm McDowell explores the character of a lifetime with vivid imagination and tremendous description. His character fits him very well as an actor. Even though the character is meant to be despised, I couldn't help but to be very convinced and interested in his sick, demented, psychotic mind. Most of this is because of the flawless point of view the film contains, one that both provokes empathy and involvement. It investigates the mind of a killer, rapist, and a confused, somewhat harmless, adolescent--all existing in the same character. This is no doubt the character, and the performance, that inspired a generation.
There was a point in the film where I could relate to how helpless Alex was. Unable to even defend himself or even listen to his favored Ludwig Van Beethoven. You're powerless to intervene and therein lies the beauty and genius to the backbone of the film.
When you get to the end you're bewildered, in a good way by what you've just witnessed. I know I was left breathless by the questions Orange raises in numerous intervals and occasions during the film's duration. The first half being the reckless endangerment while the second half being the consequences, the nightmarish repercussions.
''I was cured'', Alex says and you feel the journey of the film, you wonder, human nature is it correctable? I know what conclusion i came too, simply what defines us are not only our emotions but the choices that drive them and the freewill of acting upon the choice that lies within our power, good or evil. It's simply human nature. It's A Clockwork Orange.

''Initiative comes to thems that wait.''

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Hurrah for ultraviolence!

Posted : 1 year ago on 31 October 2008 08:25 (A review of A Clockwork Orange)

I adore Alex's dandy, frolicking lines.
I adore Ludwig Van's symphonies.
And everything in between.
Enough said.

"What we were after now was the old surprise visit. That was a real kick and good for laughs and lashings of the old ultraviolent."
Brilliant!

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Deliciously deviant

Posted : 1 year, 7 months ago on 19 March 2008 05:39 (A review of A Clockwork Orange)

Kubrick was a master of the controversial. When Clockwork came out, mass hysteria ensued, bannings off the film took place left, right and centre; it was even banned in areas that didn’t have cinemas.

Naturally themes such as rape, violence and youth gangs are going to be demonised; what is really scary about this film however, is how Kubrick finds a way to glorify them. Despite his actions, Alex DeLarge is still in essence a likeable character. McDowell plays Alex in a innocent and childlike manner that starkly contrasts his highly sexed and violent lifestyle.

This film is work of an auteur, every part of it is a feast for the senses. Seductive statues, sweeping architecture, colour and patterns are everywhere. Rather than the piano, harsh electronic instruments are used to play classical tunes; creating an air of uncertainty and malevolence throughout.

Such erotic symbols and unconventional portrayal of traditional scores are controversial alone, add this to the plot and you are left with a dip into a level of deviance beyond imagination.

Very few films are able to stir such levels of depravity; and for that reason alone, Clockwork is nothing short of a masterpiece.

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A Clockwork Orange review

Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago on 31 January 2008 04:57 (A review of A Clockwork Orange)

This movie has milk. Can you really fault it?

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Moving

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 27 July 2007 07:22 (A review of A Clockwork Orange)

I like this movie. I know this statement will immediately make some people assume that I like it because it is cool to like it, because it makes so many lists of "essential movies".

However, I like it because of what's in the movie in itself. It makes lists and gets a high rating because it's great.

It's deeply disturbing because it has a disturbing theme. A person such as Alex has a behavior which we should not oversee.

The movie is greatly done, with an excellent addition of music. The actors are also amazing. Malcolm McDowell's interpretation is nothing but brilliant.

As for the story itself, we owe this to the book, of course, but I will allow myself to comment on its greatness. Alex might be twisted, but he certainly is not the only one. The entire movie is filled with weirdos and sickos (humans, after all) and I cannot help but detest each one of them. Yet, everything is interlaced so well.

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A unique masterpiece

Posted : 3 years ago on 27 October 2006 06:34 (A review of A Clockwork Orange)

The moment I heard the first lines of the film, I was hooked:

Alex: 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 make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence.

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