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Stanley Kubrick dissects the nature of violence in this darkly ironic, near-future satire, adapted from Anthony Burgess's novel, complete with "Nadsat" slang. Classical music-loving proto-punk Alex (M... read more read more...alcolm McDowell) and his "Droogs" spend their nights getting high at the Korova Milkbar before embarking on "a little of the old ultraviolence," such as terrorizing a writer, Mr. Alexander (Patrick Magee), and gang raping his wife (who later dies as a result). After Alex is jailed for bludgeoning the Cat Lady (Miriam Karlin) to death with one of her phallic sculptures, Alex submits to the Ludovico behavior modification technique to earn his freedom; he's conditioned to abhor violence through watching gory movies, and even his adored Beethoven is turned against him. Returned to the world defenseless, Alex becomes the victim of his prior victims, with Mr. Alexander using Beethoven's Ninth to inflict the greatest pain of all. When society sees what the state has done to Alex, however, the politically expedient move is made. Casting a coldly pessimistic view on the then-future of the late '70s-early '80s, Kubrick and production designer John Barry created a world of high-tech cultural decay, mixing old details like bowler hats with bizarrely alienating "new" environments like the Milkbar. Alex's violence is horrific, yet it is an aesthetically calculated fact of his existence; his charisma makes the icily clinical Ludovico treatment seem more negatively abusive than positively therapeutic. Alex may be a sadist, but the state's autocratic control is another violent act, rather than a solution. Released in late 1971 (within weeks of Sam Peckinpah's brutally violent Straw Dogs), the film sparked considerable controversy in the U.S. with its X-rated violence; after copycat crimes in England, Kubrick withdrew the film from British distribution until after his death. Opinion was divided on the meaning of Kubrick's detached view of this shocking future, but, whether the discord drew the curious or Kubrick's scathing diagnosis spoke to the chaotic cultural moment, A Clockwork Orange became a hit. On the heels of New York Film Critics Circle awards as Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, Kubrick received Oscar nominations in all three categories. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

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R, 2 hr. 17 min.

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Release Date: December 19, 1971

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DVD Release Date: June 29, 1999

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  • mumby1988
    April 21, 2012
    mumby1988
    Picking Stanley Kubrick's greatest film is like trying to choose between a series of perfectly formed diamonds. Every time you revisit one of his films, in whichever order and context, you gravitate towards that offering as a masterpiece - only to change your mind having seen the... read more next one. Such is the master's skill in almost every genre that it is hard to pick one which either epitomises said skill or accurately represents his oeuvre.

    But when push comes to shove for this reviewer, it isn't such a tough decision. For all the undeniable brilliance of Dr. Strangelove or Full Metal Jacket, the out-and-out winner is A Clockwork Orange. Kubrick's adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel is unparalleled in its time and ours, as a literary adaptation and in science fiction. It's been called everything from the first punk movie (Steven Spielberg) to right-wing propaganda (Roger Ebert), and is still as shocking, disturbing and satirically sharp as it was more than 40 years ago. Above all, it's a masterpiece of storytelling, substance and pure filmmaking, with Kubrick at the very peak of his powers.

    If asked to sum up A Clockwork Orange in one word, the only one that would suffice is mesmerising. Watching Kubrick's film is a truly hypnotic experience: from the first haunting chord in the opening titles, we are pulled into the film as if in a trance, forgetting about any world that may exist outside of it. The first shot of Malcolm McDowell, staring at us with his head slightly down, is akin to that of a hypnotist as he sends his patient into a state of complete submission. Once under Kubrick's spell, it is physically impossible to look away.

    The first key ingredient to this mesmerism is the soundtrack. Written by Walter (later Wendy) Carlos, who worked with Kubrick again on The Shining, it blends classical and electronic music to stunning effect. The dark, haunting synthesisers at the beginning serve as a murky counterpoint to the jolly and uplifting renditions of Beethoven, both in traditional orchestral recordings and the jazzy re-workings on harpsichord. The score riffs ironically on various military themes, which works particularly well during the Ludovico sequences.

    Much like Blade Runner more than a decade later, the visual world of A Clockwork Orange is conceived as the future that might result if certain aspects of our present are extrapolated. With Ridley Scott's film, it is the threat of overpopulation, the environmental problems that result, the intensification of social hierarchies and the loss of humanity in a world dominated by machines. With Kubrick, it is the alienation of youth, the dehumanisation of mankind, and most chillingly the acceptance of the latter as a form of punishment or control.

    Like all great dystopian science fiction, what matters is not the surface resemblance, but the reflection of underlying moral and social problems. It doesn't matter that young thugs now wear tracksuits and Burberry rather than jockstraps and bowler hats, just as Blade Runner isn't rendered irrelevant by the current absence of flying cars. The moral questions raised in this film are still controversial, and our society is no more enlightened or mature in its conceptions of justice, freedom or possible punishments.

    While Kubrick's films have always been open to multiple interpretations, there are three general perspectives on A Clockwork Orange. The first sees it as a conservative work about youth, rebellion and the counter-culture. The film is either a reaction to the empowerment of young people, depicting them in entirely negative ways, or a call to arms of said young people which is darker, edgier and nastier than its hippie predecessors. Both views accuse the film of glorifying violence, with Roger Ebert calling it "a paranoid right-wing fantasy masquerading as an Orwellian warning". Whatever the knee-jerk appeal of this view, it is, like Ebert, well wide of the mark.

    The second interpretation, which carries more weight, sees the film is a warning against state power, and how the use of reconditioning can undermine individual freedom to such a point that the whole notion becomes irrelevant. The prominence of socialist architecture in the film, such as concrete tunnels and high-rise flats, indicate a society emerging from failed social engineering, with a rise in "the old ultra-violence" being part of the fallout. This theory is consolidated in the use of nadsat, the slang language invented by Burgess which is a mixture of English and Russian, which in turn gives the film an even more unique and timeless feel.

    Throughout his career Kubrick was fascinated by the social and political mechanisms which conspired to dehumanise and imprison individuals. Dr. Strangelove explored the absurdity of Mutually Assured Destruction, in which nuclear deterrents put at greater risk the very people they were designed to protect. In Full Metal Jacket he explored the techniques by which humans are turned into killing machines, and how said machines can so often turn on their masters. A Clockwork Orange is the most subversive of these examinations, using a guilty, twisted and depraved protagonist to reinforce the importance of choice and free will.

    Having undergone the Ludovico Technique, Alex becomes the clockwork orange of Burgess' title: fleshy on the outside, but fatally mechanical on the inside. He is incapable of crime, but also incapable of other human actions such as self-defence and appreciation of music. In order to prevent him from threatening society, the state have destroyed Alex's self. He contemplates suicide for the simple reason that he cannot choose whether to be good or bad.

    This brings us on the third and most radical interpretation. Where both the previous views argue over which party is the moral one, this school holds that morality has nothing to do with it. In this relativistic, almost Foucauldian interpretation, all the relationships within the film are expressions of power, in which notions of right and wrong are invoked only to show who holds power over whom. The prison service, the Catholic priests, the doctors and Alex's droogs are all but sources of discourse, wrestling endlessly for the right to set the rules.

    The force which Alex exerts (beating up gangs and beggars) is counterpointed by the mental and psychological forces exerted on him, from being spat on in custody to near-drowning by his former droogs. Kubrick went on record as saying that the Minister and the radical writer differ "only in their dogma", with both wanting to exert power over Alex and through him control the opinions and actions of the public. The film explores how certain human acts, such as sex, have incurred double standards in favour of the rich and intellectual. Where Alex's conception of sex as "a bit of the old in-out" is criminalised, the powers-that-be have no problem with doctors having it off in hospital, or the cat-lady's phallic sculptures.

    Whichever interpretation one leans towards, there is no denying A Clockwork Orange's power as a black comedy. The 'Singing In The Rain' sequence is perfectly executed, so that it shocks the first time round but then draws you in on the joke. Whether it's Alex's deranged social worker, the fraught dinner table talk with Patrick Magee, or Alex's ramblings in the hospital, it is damned impossible not to erupt into laughter. But like Dr. Strangelove, it is laughter laced with fear and deep discomfort, lest any part of what we see become reality.

    It is equally impossible to talk about A Clockwork Orange without mentioning Malcolm McDowell. Having excelled in Lindsay Anderson's If...., he was the natural choice for the part, and even without his immense reputation he is simply perfect for every second he is on screen. His snarling, boyish looks, precocious posture and fabulous voice are all immaculate, and once you have seen him in that iconic costume, no-one else can ever carry it off.

    Kubrick's direction in A Clockwork Orange is superb, both in its technical invention and its brilliant storytelling. He was often accused of being cold and clinical, being more interested in ideas than the human beings who embodied them. But so many of the film's high points are moments where the technical skill combines with deep connections to humanity. A good example comes in the lakeside scene, where Alex beats up his droogs in slow motion. This, coupled with dolly shots and close-ups, exaggerates the expressions of the characters and pulls you right into their pain, anguish and triumph.

    A Clockwork Orange is the greatest film of the 1970s and the high point of Kubrick's career. It mesmerises from start to finish, flooding us with style and substance, and reinventing science fiction as it goes along. Malcolm McDowell is nothing short of stunning in the lead role, and the film is a good example of star and director working in harmony at the top of the respective games. In the end it is impossible to summarise all its glories in such a short space. Suffice to say, it ranks only behind Blade Runner as the greatest film of all time.
  • garyX
    April 13, 2012
    garyX
    A sociopathic young street thug is subjected to behaviour modification therapy after a series of brutal crimes to find himself at the tender mercies of those he wronged in his previous life. A Clockwork Orange is a bleak and affecting study of violence and it's consequences that ... read morestruck too powerful a chord with a certain demographic; after the film spawned several copycat cases of real-life "ultra-violence", Kubrick himself censored it for 25 years. This gave the film a kind of underground chic and a certain mysticism that extends beyond the quality of the actual film itself which made it acquire a cult following of those who would proclaim it a masterpiece. It does have moments of power and certainly makes an impact, but I can't help feeling that it is based more on lurid exploitation than any kind of moral or political message making. The morality of the tale is very blurred indeed; is Alex meant to be a victim of state-sanctioned "rehabilitation" or the product of exactly the kind of media exploitation of sex and violence we see here? It seemed more like right wing fear-mongering thinly veiled by faux irony to me. The fact is, I found it rather misogynistic in its use of sexual imagery and violence and there are no sympathetic characters whatsoever, which is all mired in tasteless and horribly dated production design and ugly, sterile photography. It has its moments but I hardly found it to be the film of import its reputation suggested.
  • fb1710827246
    March 25, 2012
    fb1710827246
    A question of morality, will and existence, there a few sights that truly disturb your innards, and this one does it while taking you to places in your mind that you never thought existed at all, in a suspenseful gradual manner; all this from the great power of the film.
  • aquateen2
    March 9, 2012
    aquateen2
    Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange is one of the most ultimate mind f*cks in the history of World cinema. At times it is so political that I started to wonder whether it actually exists for anything more than that. This very film is the proof that Kubrick's direction is mesmeri... read moresing and absolutely masterful. It's very very sadistic with it's humour and that ultimately works to drag down the fact it takes itself too seriously. It's aim is to be disturbing and it without any doubts is very much that. The script, acting and as an adaption is tremendously remarkable. It's a very entertaining story of karma, control and human nature but I cant help but wonder whether or not it wanted to do anything else and could have broadened itself further too be a film with more than just a political subtext as it's primary purpose. But everything it does, it does idealistictly well.
  • fb619846742
    January 23, 2012
    fb619846742
    An intensely disturbing, phenomenally unique social satire of a dystopian society in which a young man (Malcolm McDowell) and his three best friends wreak havoc amongst a nihilistic society desperate for authority. I saw this film when I was a sophomore in high school, and I did ... read morenot appreciate it as much the first time around. Now, seeing it again as a senior in college, I believe it to be an utter masterpiece. Originally I missed a lot of the subversive darkly comical elements it possesses, but seeing it once again, the sheer balls and audacity director Stanley Kubrick displays here is simply incredible. McDowell's creepy, sadistic performance is the stuff of legends, and Kubrick's use of classical music to a demonizing effect is unlike anything done in cinema before. It is definitely a tough view, the rape scenes that hit within the first 20 minutes are particularly frightening, but there is a point to the madness. Definitely controversial, but without question educational and thought-provoking. Sex and violence have their largely negative parts, but to strip all elements away from these particular things is emotionally devastating. One of many Kubrick masterpieces.
  • blkbomb
    December 31, 2011
    blkbomb
    Alex: 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. 

    "Being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven."

    A Clockwork Orange is the classic ada... read moreption of Anthony Burgess's question raising book. Stanley Kubrick doesn't quite go the same way that Burgess did, but both the book and the movie give different answers to the same question. Kubrick deciding to change the ending doesn't take away from how amazing the film is; that is unless you're Anthony Burgess(He didn't care for it one bit). Burgess wanted the reader to go away with the belief that a human beings are good, and can change their behavior. Kubrick decided to give us a much grimmer theme, that when given the choice, a bad person will choose bad over good every time. 

    With the character we are given, I think Kubrick's decision is a wise one. There are people in the world that will never change their behavior. Alex DeLarge is one of those people. Alex's behavior is sociopathic. He has no sympathy for what he does, but can lie his way out of things. He can con people. He isn't someone that if given the choice, would change his behavior. Kubrick knows there are people in the world like this and I assume that is why he made the decision to not include Burgess's more optimistic ending.

    Alex and his droogs drink "milk plus," then go out and do what Alex loves so much. He gets to perform the old "in out, in out" and the "ultraviolence." They lie their way into a house and severely beat a married couple. It is an extremely brutal and disturbing scene, that is made all the more disturbing by Alex's singing of "Singin' In the Rain." He sings it as he beats the couple and also as he gets ready to rape the woman. The night after this attack, him and his friends again do the same thing at another house. This time Alex doesn't get away, and actually ends up killing the victim. He is sentenced to 14 years in prison for his crime. Once in prison, he volunteers for a new behavior changing experiment.

    A Clockwork Orange isn't a film for the faint of heart. It's a movie filled with violence and disturbing imagery, including rapes. It is a portrait of deranged young man, that is played flawlessly by Malcolm McDowell. For some, it may be too much. It is a pretty misunderstood movie though, even by a lot of people who like it. It isn't so much about the man or the violence. Should a man be given the choice to choose between right and wrong? God thought so, so why should we think any differently?  And can bad men ever change, or will they stay evil until they die?

    The issue of whether Alex should have the choice between right and wrong is really well done. The argument is shown between the chaplain and the experiment leader. The chaplain argues that if Alex doesn't have a choice, but is forced to at a certain way, he isn't really a man. The counter argument isn't as though out. It's more along the line of, "Hey, who cares? It works."

    Prison Chaplain: Goodness is something to be chosen. When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man. 
  • fb733768972
    December 6, 2011
    fb733768972
    Honestly, I must first begin by saying that this film begins with a very hard to watch first half hour; However, after he is caught and thrown in prison, the film switches gears and seems to become a little more natural and flowing. The conversion from helplessly awful to a menta... read morel stabilization, has never been more effective. From a hard to watch premise, an amazing script, jaw-dropping lead performances, and an outcome that will have you think twice for believing this film to be any less than perfect. This is one of the finest pieces of film that I have ever laid eyes on. This picture is pure horrific genius!
  • jamers2011
    November 28, 2011
    jamers2011
    Another one of Kubrick's films that I liked, but at the same time I didn't. There certainly are many classic elements in this film that are well worth while, but I was still left with that same sense that I felt upon watching other Kubrick classics (2001 and The Shining)...why am... read more I supposed to care? I understand what the film is about, but I don't get the point of the film. After I watched this film the only thing I could think was... "okay."

    The concept of this film is interesting and it was certainly ahead of it's time and is still unlike anything I've seen. Malcolm McDowell is really good in this.
  • joelkelly319
    October 27, 2011
    joelkelly319
    Stanley Kubrick's controversial adaptation of Anthony Burgess 1962 novel of the same name, A Clockwork Orange is a visually stunning, brilliantly acted, and refreshingly disturbing piece of cinema, with a great soundtrack to boot. It follows the exploits of the teenage thug Alex ... read moreDeLarge, who enjoys rape, ultra-violence, and Beethoven. But he's soon enough sent to prison, and there he applies for a special new treatment which conditions people against violence. Banned (withdrawn?) by its director on its UK release, and lambasted by the British press for apparently inspiring copycat crimes, A Clockwork Orange has a bad name that it doesn't deserve. It's an intelligent, satirical, and sublime film.
  • fb1664868775
    October 27, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Thought provoking and highly disturbing, Kubrick turns Burgess' novel into a extremely dark, futuristic nightmare.

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Critic Reviews

August 22, 2008
TIME Magazine

A merciless, demoniac satire in the future imperfect. Full Review

A.D. Murphy
May 8, 2007
A.D. Murphy, Variety

Stanley Kubrick's latest film takes the heavy realities of the 'do-your-thing' and 'law-and-order' syndromes, runs them through a cinematic centrifuge, and spews forth the commingled comic horrors of ... Full Review

Dave Kehr
May 8, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

A very bad film -- snide, barely competent, and overdrawn -- that enjoys a perennial popularity, perhaps because its confused moral position appeals to the secret Nietzscheans within us. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A Clockwork Orange is an ideological mess, a paranoid right-wing fantasy masquerading as an Orwellian warning. Full Review

Michael Atkinson
January 1, 2000
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

At once [Kubrick's] most thematically problematic film and his most unforgettably sensational. Full Review

Vincent Canby
January 1, 2000
Vincent Canby, New York Times

A most unusual -- and disorienting -- movie experience. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

It demands thought, compels the attention, and refuses to be dismissed. Full Review

Afsheen Nomai
January 1, 2011
Afsheen Nomai, Common Sense Media

A violent meditation on violence. Not for kids. Full Review

Jason Newman
September 4, 2010
Jason Newman, Bullz-Eye.com

The rare film that hits you in the head and stomach simultaneously. Full Review

Cole Smithey
July 25, 2009
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

There's Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange," and then there's everything else. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Minister: This vicious young hoodlum will be transformed out of all recognition.
    • Alex: Alex replies: Thank you very much for this chance, sir.
    • Constable: Minister replies: Let's hope you make the most of it, my boy.
    • Alex: The Korova Milkbar sold milk plus, milk plus vellocet or sythemesc or drencom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of old the ultra-violence.
    • Tramp: Go on, do me in you bastard cowards! I don't want to live anyway, not in a stinking world like this one. [to Alex]
    • Alex: Oh? And what's so stinking about it?
    • Alex: I was cured, all right!
    • Prison Chaplain: Goodness comes from within. Goodness is chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man.
    • Alex: Eggy wegs... I want to smash em.
    • Alex: Bliss and heaven! Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh. It was like a bird of rarest-spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now. As I slooshied, I knew such lovely pictures!
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A Clockwork Orange Trivia

  • In which movie would you find a gang of Droogs?  Answer »
  • In what movie does Malcolm McDowell sing Singin' in the Rain while beating up a man and raping his wife?  Answer »
  • In this movie, the song "Singing in the rain" is used during a perverse, violent and shocking scene.  Answer »
  • After the hard work in making 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick decided to make his next film as simple as possible, small budget, crew and lighting equipment. It was the the fastest film Kubrick shot, edited and released.  Answer »
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