"A Clockwork Orange"
Released In: 1972 - USA
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cinematographer: John Alcott
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee & Michael Bates
Rate: Underrated - 4/4
Date: Timeless - 4/4
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Rapid Review Of Film
-If you could adapt a groundbreaking novel included in the literary canon, giving it justice through film, which other director could you confide in more than Kubrick? - Answer: No One
-Beginning in 1960 with Kubrick's directing of "Spartacus", written by the blacklisted, super Marxist Howard Fast, Kubrick began to master the art of adaptation from novel to film, while engraving his name on the trophy of film's most influential figures of all time
-After 4 stellar adaptations of classic novels (Arthur C. Clarke's "2001: A Space Odyssey", Peter George's "Red Alert" becoming "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb", Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita" and Howard Fast's "Spartacus") it would be illogical for Burgess to not be on board with Kubrick adapting, but more importantly creating a pop culture icon out of his novel and his lustful protagonist Alex DeLarge (played by McDowell), just as he later made icons of characters, like Jack Torrance (played by Nicholson) in his adaptation of Stephen King's "The Shining"
-Thanks to Kubrick "A Clockwork Orange" has become more than just a staple in pop culture, more than just iconic, it has become a culture, as cities like London, Las Vegas and Toronto all have their very own Korova Milkbars, bringing the setting of a fantasy novel to the realm of reality
-Kubrick somehow managed to maintain an excellent sense of direction in the extremely difficult task of creating a controversial book into a controversial movie, while transforming "A Clockwork Orange" from a mere ideology to some of the most remarkably built imagery in film
-Kubrick's masterful work on "A Clockwork Orange" is something any viewer of the movie can rant about for hours in hate or in praise, although certainly with some sort of admiration
-The film got mixed reviews from many critics and was a big disappointment to Ebert (receiving a 2/4 on 'the Ebert Scale'), although its imagery is unavoidably remarkable
-From the mechanism that holds DeLarge's eyelids open, to the white outfits worn by his gang of "droogs", to the ultra modern design of the Korova Milkbar, "A Clockwork Orange" and its imagery are unforgettable. regardless if one dreams about it or if one is caused to have terrible nightmares from it
-Between the staged filming of rape, murder, theft and Beethoven sound tracked child molestation, the film was groundbreaking in its graphic content (probably much of the reason for critical bashing) and broke almost as much ground as the stunning imagery in the film
-The movie was extremely graphic, but this is only because Kubrick always gives justice to the novel and there was no way he would cut out the hedonistic conflict of its protaganist
-Speaking of giving justice to the novel, two of the largest criticisms of the film "A Clockwork Orange" was that it didn't even incorporate the book "A Clockwork Orange" in the place entitled "HOME" and that it ended much differently, as Alex stayed the same in the film and did not grow out of his absurd hedonistic ways
-I believe that Kubrick's alternative ending gave more meaning to his Hobbes-like approach to the film and even if he had incorporated Alex's outgrowing of nightly rape, murder and theft, it simply would not have fit in very smoothly
-When I think of chilling film soundtracks, three that have always stuck with me are Bernard Hermann's "Psycho" Soundtrack, John William's "Jaws" Soundtrack and Wendy Carlos' "A Clockwork Orange" Soundtrack
-Carlos' soundtrack was the perfect accompaniment to Kubrick's groundbreaking direction and Alcott's ("The Shining", "Barry Lyndon", "2001: A Space Odyssey", etc.) breathtaking cinematography
-Kubrick struggled in finding a fit for Alex DeLarge, a role that had to be played with a sinister face, an actor willing to perform the crudest of acts on film, and after having watched Lindsay Anderson's "If...." he had found his insanely sadistic teen prototype, Malcolm McDowell
-Kubrick was spot on, as McDowell was born to play Alex DeLarge. McDowell played the role with an evil smirk that could make Mona Lisa look like a heavenly angel, a look in his eyes that actually made him seem to have intentions of rape and murder and the perfect Cockney accent to stay true to the textual Nasdaq (mix between Russian and Cockney English) that Bugress initially wrote the novel in
-The other actors fit in greatly also, but McDowell's performance is truly worth ranting about and overshadows most of the others
-Overall the film can be considered one of Kubrick's greatest, one of the greatest of all time, a cinematic staple, a visual art staple, a staple in film soundtrack and a testament to the potential cruelty of humanity