A Clockwork Orange (1971)

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

The adventures of Alex DeLarge that is.

Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange is the magnificently made dark humor satirical sci-fi film. It centers on so called “ultra-violence” and the government’s controversial method of stopping it in a near-future dystopian England.

The film follows Alex, played by Malcolm McDowell, who is a young teenager who loves to wreak havoc upon his city along with his “droogs”. However one night, he is set up, and arrested on murder charges. He is then put under the government’s new program, the Ludovico Technique to “cure” Alex. But, you can’t just cure pure evil.

A Clockwork Orange is a film adaptation of the novella of the same name written by Anthony Burgess. Both contain the same themes of psychology and morality. Alex’s life revolves around violence. He grew up with it and he’ll die with it. Curing his violent behavior was somewhat a success; he would become sick whenever he encounters sex, violence, or music, most particularly Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony. His aversion to violence however is by choice, raising the elements of civil and personal abuse.

This film is purely satire. It raises the awareness of the government’s attempt to put an end to violence. It also hopes to change the mind of the government. This device couldn’t have been done without the amazing direction that Kubrick took. Despite this being based on a novella, it’s an original and visionary film.

I give this film a brilliant 5 out of 5, due in part to Malcolm McDowell’s great portrayal of this perverted sadistic hooligan. It is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.