1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- A Clockwork Orange

#542- A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick


Plot Summary: Alex DeLarge is the leader of a group of "droogs" in London. Alex enjoys listening to Beethoven, drinking milk plus, and spreading anarchy and chaos all over the city. On a night where he tries to invade the home of a crazy cat-lady, his droogs beat and abandon him for the police to pick up. Alex is sentenced to 14 years in prison for the crimes he has committed, but is given an early way out after 2 years when he volunteers for an experimental therapy that will rehabilitate him in 2 weeks. When one of the films he is shown contains the music of Beethoven, the treatment not only affects him by eliminating his perversions for sex and ultra-violence, but it also makes him incapable of hearing Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony" without getting ill.


One of the main reasons I wanted to look at Stanley Kubrick's career on here was because I REALLY wanted to watch A Clockwork Orange. I'm a lover of all things scary and creepy (as long as there's the right level of quality or cheesiness involved), and when I hear people say this is one of the creepiest movies Kubrick ever made I'm all on board. Not to mention how iconic a lot of the visuals for this movie are. You have a general impression of how the aesthetics look if you've ever seen a retrospective on the film, or the decade, or the horror genre, or Kubrick's legacy. Now, after seeing it, I can honestly say that I had NO idea what this movie was really about. There was so much more complexity to it than what I was originally expecting, that I can honestly say if someone wanted to present the claim of how much of a visionary and genius director Kubrick was, they should show someone A Clockwork Orange, because this movie will mess with their minds for weeks on end. It will stay engraved in their minds and have them questioning morality and sanity all at once.

Malcolm McDowell stars as Alex DeLarge. Initially, I thought this film was about Alex and his three droogs. I later discovered as the film progressed that it was Alex's film, which is such a great way to summarize this film's legacy and also the legacy for Malcolm McDowell: A Clockwork Orange IS Alex's movie. McDowell takes full control of the character and runs a slew of emotions that makes the audience afraid of Alex, empathize with Alex, pity Alex, and even in some regards maybe envy Alex. There is this insatiable charisma in his delivery that you can't help but be captivated by the brilliance of this young character (and in turn the young actor portraying him). A lot of the movies themes are also present in the narrative of Alex's character, so I think it would be best to discuss those and how it paints this picture of a great cinematic character like Alex.

One of the biggest themes in the film is through the idea of spreading anarchy and chaos. Most of what you see from Alex and his droogs are some of the most disturbing scenes you will ever see on film. The most notable is the rape scene set to "Singin' in the Rain," which McDowell improvised and I can only imagine didn't make Gene Kelly very happy. These scenes are absolutely horrific and have definitely left a mark on film history, with many still citing it as one of the most gruesome mainstream movies to ever hit theaters. The opening thirty minutes of the film is completely saturated with scenes of debauchery, violence, and perversion. With the idea of teenage rebellion always on the minds of the world, it fits that guys like Alex and the droogs could lead to a dystopian future where teenagers rule the world and leave adults quaking in their boots.

Music is one of the biggest features on the thin shred of class Alex has. He really loves Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony," but the imagery he adds to the piece really shows how twisted and demented his mind really is. Especially when he finds those images to be beautiful along with the music. This musical piece also becomes his Achilles' Heel as it is the sole ingredient to reforming and curing him of his perversions. It then becomes something he can't stomach. An element like this shows some of the ethics debated about the therapy sessions. Sure Alex was a little monster of a man, but he still had some culture to him, and when you cured him of his perversions, you took away part of his soul that put him at peace. Who would've known a piece of musical accompaniment could have such a big effect on the movie's plot and themes. Kubrick...that's who.

The scenery and costumes create so much atmosphere in the film, particularly within the first hour of the film. Once you see the Korova Milk Bar, Alex and his droogs in their outfits, all the naked pictures on the walls of the homes of EVERY character, the haunting tunnel on the London streets, the weird penis statue, the room where the experiments are conducted on Alex, and the home where Alex and his droogs do the whole "Singin' in the Rain" bit, they are forever left in your mind. Even if you try to shake them out of your memory, they find their ways back. They are THAT iconic. In fact, the whole atmosphere is so decadently dreary that it really made me think of Rob Zombie. Only makes sense since the music video to his song "Never Gonna Stop" pays homage to A Clockwork Orange. Now there's a devilishly good mix right there....Kubrick's films to Zombie's tunes. I can get on behind that.

The main question I had when I finished A Clockwork Orange was: "What did this movie do to me?" In no way should I ever be entertained by more than half the things I saw on this film, yet it was filmed and executed in such a way that you couldn't help but marvel at it. The scenery is captivating, the theologies on morality and sanity are poignant and keeps the audience thinking, McDowell delivers a chilling and charismatic performance as Alex, and I have finally been able to see great examples on Kubrick's famous cinematography. For those who are unaware, Kubrick liked to keep the camera on the scene with little to no cuts during a performance. Many have said it creates uneasiness with the viewer as they watch. Heck, this entire film creates uneasiness with me, but here I am saying that I actually found it to be an enjoyable experience. Maybe I need to be cured...


Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The wait was well worth it for this one. A Clockwork Orange kept me always guessing on what was going to happen next and completely warped my perceptions on what was going on with the characters and their moralities and theologies. It runs a gamut on the logistics of controlling chaos and spreading anarchy and is truly one of Kubrick's best movies. If you can stomach a lot of the shock value imagery, I absolutely recommend putting it in your collection, especially if you call yourself a movie buff.

A Clockwork Orange and movie images are copyrighted by Warner Bros.