clockwork orange?

Question

Ive never seen it, but what was so special about this movie????

Answer 1

A Clockwork Orange (1971). Visually stunning, and incisive in many ways about human behavior, yet the deck is stacked against us from the beginning. As Alex the delinquent (Malcolm McDowell) is a bastard psychotic, so are those of the bourgeoisie who ultimately take revenge on him, and it leaves a sour taste in one’s mouth. Kubrick also expressed some reservations when copycat incidents in England forced the film’s banning. Perhaps hindsight is always 20/20 and A Clockwork Orange does remain Kubrick’s most immoral film. Then again, where is it written that the cinema be moral for always and ever?

Randomly ultra-violent, over-indulgent, graphically-stylized film of the near future. It was a terrifying, gaudy film adaptation of Anthony Burgess' 1962 satiric, futuristic novel of the same name. This was Kubrick's ninth feature film, appearing between 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Barry Lyndon (1975).

The luridly-colorful set designs by John Barry, costume design by Milena Canonero, the synthesized electronic score by Wendy Carlos [sometimes credited as Walter Carlos - her birth name until undergoing a sex-change operation in 1972 to became Wendy], the colorful and innovative cinematography by John Alcott, and the hybrid, jargonistic, pun-filled language of Burgess' novel (called Nadsat - an onomatopoetic, expressive combination of English, Russian, and slang), produce a striking, unforgettable film. Some words are decipherable in their contextual use, or as anglicized, portmanteau, rhymed, or clever transformations or amputations of words. Originally, the rock group The Rolling Stones were considered for the main cast roles of Alex and his droogs, until Kubrick joined the production.

The controversial film's title and other names in the film have meaning. The title alludes to:

a clockwork (mechanical, artificial, robotic) human being (orange - similar to orang-utan, a hairy ape-like creature), and
the Cockney phrase from East London, "as queer as a clockwork orange" - indicating something bizarre internally, but appearing natural, human, and normal on the surface
The film's poster and tagline advertised its themes of violence in a police state, teen delinquency, technological control, and dehumanization:

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

Originally rated X, A Clockwork Orange was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Screenplay, but was defeated in each category by William Friedkin's The French Connection (1971). It was one of only two movies rated X on its original release (the other was Midnight Cowboy (1969)) that was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award.


To underline the assaultive nature of the film's content, much of its camera work is deliberately in-out, with few pans or much lateral/horizontal movement. Because of the copy-cat violence that the film was blamed for, Kubrick withdrew it from circulation in Britain about a year after its release. [Shortly after the ban was instituted, a 17-year old Dutch girl was raped in 1973 in Lancashire, at the hands of men singing Singing in the Rain. And a 16-year-old boy had beaten a younger child while wearing Alex's uniform of white overalls, black bowler hat and combat boots. Both were considered 'proof', after the fact, that the film had an influential effect on violence in society.] In preparation for a new 1972 release for US audiences, Kubrick replaced about 30 seconds of footage to get an R-rating, as opposed to the X-rating that the MPAA initially assigned to it. (The replacement footage was for two scenes: the high-speed orgy scene in Alex's bedroom, and the rape scene projected at the Ludovico Medical Center.) In the spring of 2000, an uncut version of the film was re-released to British screens.

The frightening, chilling and tantalizing film (a morality play) raises many thematic questions and presents a thought-provoking parable: How can evil be eradicated in modern society? If the state can deprive an individual of his free will, making him 'a clockwork orange,' what does this say about the nightmarish, behavioral modification technologies of punishment and crime? Do we lose our humanity if we are deprived of the free-will choice between good and evil?

Answer 2

CLOCKWORK ORANGE is one of Director Stanley Kubrick's best films but it is not for the faint of heart. It is faithful to a novel by Anthony Burgess, reflects the pessimism of the early 1960's, has several truly violent scenes, it may be difficult to understand, much of the dialog is extremely English - - it is one of Malcolm McDowell's best performances - - very stylish - - often quite funny. It is a film that examines the nature of thuggery and how best to cure a man of the compulsion to hurt though the cure might be worse than the initial illness.

Answer 3

a clockwork orange is an awesome movie , the narrative has to be the best part, the way he describes the events in his life are to good to miss, a definate must see

Answer 4

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE..... Read the book first. It is a short read but the movie changes a lot of things that make a huge difference.

For Example: The main charchter in the movie is portrayed as a young adult. The don't specify his age but he looks to be in his early 20's. In actuallity his is only 14 years old. There is a scence where he sleeps with two women - in the book he drugs them and rapes them.

The movie is supposed to show an evil charchter and his rehabilition, but that people can never really change - no matter how hard you try and that Karma really is a *****.

Answer 5

Its one of my friends favorite movie of all time, but ive never heard of it before he told me about it.

Answer 6

It is a mixture of sight and sound used to tell a poinient tale of sex drugs and debauchery leading to an obscene view of justice. You will have to ask yourself which was worse the crime or the punishment.

Answer 7

chilling 4 its time nobody had eva shown the reality of war and insanity especiially in a acid tripping style

Answer 8

Not sure but I have to watch that movie eventually.

Answer 9

great stanley kubrik movie
it is movie about good and evil things

Answer 10

Stanley Kubrick

that's what.