Kubrick's Finest and Darkest Masterpiece

a Clockwork Orange is a dark, shocking look into a future world of inhuman forms of rehibilitation for violent acts. Based on Anthony Burgess's infamous novel from 1963, Kubrick takes the viewer on a rollercoaster ride of insanity, brutality, sexuality, and horror.

The movie stars Malcolm McDowell as the vicious and seemingly heartless Alex, and his three droogs Georgie, Pete, and Dim. Their nights revolve around brutal violence and senseless rape, that leads to the groups demise when Alex is hauled off to prision. While in prision, Alex turns over a new leaf when helping the cell preacher with his Biblical teachings. After spending two years in the prision, Alex takes part in an experiment which gets people out of prision and makes them welll again. After the operation, Alex is released but destroyed as a human being and turned into a frightened, conformed and weak citizen.

The film is a dark look into the mind of a psychopathic man, and also a look into what the loss of free will and confidence. It's a very disturbing film, but it still shows how we could go so far as to taking away a person's free will and mind, just to make society better. The film has been an influence to punk bands, social activists, and movie fans all over the globe. This is deffinately a must see.

"Artsy" Film about Violence, the Original Human Plague

Today's news reports deliver us images of senseless violence each day. School shootings, child abductions, wars in various parts of the world, evil inflicted on innocent fellow human beings. We have long grown accustomed to this aspect of life, no longer shocked or even surprised at what goes on even in our own neighborhoods. "A Clockwork Orange", although extreme in its depiction of terror, is actually not that far from the mark of realism.

Made in 1971, this was considered a very brutal film for its time. In 2002, I still wonder why this movie is only rated "R". It contains a lot of scenes of rape, nudity, graphic violence, and other mayhem that I believe caused it to be banned in several countries. But it has also won praise from many critics and is considered to be a cult classic.

Set in near-future England, this film tells the story of Alex. On the surface, Alex (played by twenty-something Malcolm McDowell) is a typical teenage boy who engages in meaningless conversations with his parents, puts on a good show in front his counselor... and does other things to keep up appearances. However, Alex is a gang member who indulges in every sort of impulsive criminal activity possible while listening to Beethoven to psyche himself up.

One night, Alex and his gang break into a lady's house. The rest of the gang is outside while Alex struggles with the lady until he eventually kills her. After Alex leaves the house, his gang turns on him and leaves him to fend for himself until the police arrive.

Alex is sent to prison. After a while, Alex wants to reform. He has a chance when a new behavioral experiment called the "Ludovico" treatment is in need of guinea pigs. Alex volunteers. The experiment is a brainwashing method that causes Alex to be sickened by any form of sex or violence. It even causes him to be sickened by Beethoven's music.

After Alex is released from prison, several things happen. His family disowns him, his former friends are now police officers that assault him, and the experiment has other side effects than just eliminating his urges. He is no longer able to defend himself when attacked as well.

This is not an easy movie to watch with the numerous physically and emotionally violent scenes, but it does make you ask yourself a few things. Is society justified in destroying a predator by creating a victim? Or who needs reform the most: the criminals or the society that continues to punish them after their legitimate sentences have been served? The film is not one that offers any quick or easy answers, yet it shows a perspective of societal problems that is equally timely for 1971 or 2002.

Clearly not for "mixed audiences", this film demands an open mind as well as a worldy view. To look inside of the warped mind of a recreational violent bully and search for the "human" hidden somewhere requires much forgiveness and a sense of wanting to help rather than seek revenge. An important film, indeed, yet due to excessive "adult" scenes (making it unsuitable even for teenagers) I give one fewer than 5 stars.

Substance and Style!

Perhaps the greatest irony in "A Clockwork Orange" occurs in the scene where Alex is reading the Bible in prison. He informs the viewer that he loves the violence and sex contained in the first part, but really has no use for the preaching in the latter half. I've come across a lot of folks who have seen this flick and it never fails- there are many out there who, like Alex and the Bible, love the brutality of the first hour of the film, and cannot abide the preachy second half. If you are one of those, stop reading this review.

"A Clockwork Orange" is an ingenious comparison of two theories of punishment- retributivism and utilitarianism. Debate has raged over the proper role of a criminal justice system. Is the goal to punish the criminal according to the old eye for an eye standard (retributivism) or to reform the criminal into a useful, law abiding citizen (utilitarianism)? At the outset, many people dismiss utilitarian values as a lot of liberal silliness: soft on crime. A more important question is whether we should reform criminals whether they desire to be reformed or not for the good of society. One of the more interesting aspects of this film is that is shows utilitarianism can be a far more brutal method than retributivism, contrary to popular thought.

Here we have the debate crystallized as if the proponents of both, Kant and Bentham, were debating the merits before our very eyes through the characters on screen. Alex is unquestionably rotten to the core; he maims and rapes helpless victims for laughs. The first hour of the film is dedicated to underscoring this point. When Alex is apprehended by the authorities, he is dealt with in the old fashioned Kantian way- punishment.

Alex then volunteers for a special treatment that will "cure" him, in exchange for freedom. The cure is a form of conditioning that causes Alex to become terribly ill whenever any inclination towards sex or violence surfaces- he now has a reflexive aversion toward evil, and "ceases to be a being capable of moral choice". The final act of the film deals with the consequences of being "cured" in such a way.

By now you probably get the idea- go see this film (but not as a "date"). To further entice you, it's one of the most visually exciting movies ever made, with vibrant images that will burn themselves into your mind. If you've never seen it on DVD, the transfer is great, and you will see things you've missed before. And as a final bonus, look for the guy who plays Darth Vader as a bodyguard.