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A Clockwork Orange (1971)
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Rating:
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MV Ratings:
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Director:
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Stanley Kubrick
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Writer:
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Anthony Burgess
Stanley Kubrick
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Release Date:
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19 December 1971 (United States) more
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Language:
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English |
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Genre:
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Crime | Sci-Fi | Foreign
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Tagline:
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Being the adventures of a young man ... who couldn't resist pretty girls ... or a bit of the old ultra-violence ... went to jail, was re-conditioned ... and came out a different young man ... or was he ?
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Storyline
A Clockwork Orange is one of Stanley Kubrick's greatest works about a gang of dangerous teenagers in future Britain. One member tries to get out and is beaten up and left for the police. He's given the option to help the police find his old gang or stay in jail for a long time. Based on a novel, the film was personally put into theatres by Kubrick adding to the film's importance and strength. |
Backdrops
The Director
 Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career. Kubrick was noted for the scrupulous care with which he chose his subjects, his slow method of working, the variety of genres he worked in, his technical perfectionism, and his reclusiveness about his films and personal life. He maintained almost complete artistic control, making movies according to his own whims and time constraints, but with the rare advantage of big-studio financial support for all his endeavors.
Kubrick's films are characterized by a formal visual style and meticulous attention to detail—his later films often have elements of surrealism and expressionism that eschews structured linear narrative. His films are repeatedly described as slow and methodical, and are often perceived as a reflection of his obsessive and perfectionist nature. A recurring theme in his films is man's inhumanity to man. While often viewed as expressing an ironic pessimism, a few critics feel his films contain a cautious optimism when viewed more carefully.
The film that first brought him attention to many critics was Paths of Glory, the first of three films of his about the dehumanizing effects of war. Many of his films at first got a lukewarm reception, only to be years later acclaimed as masterpieces that had a seminal influence on many later generations of film-makers. Considered especially groundbreaking was 2001: A Space Odyssey noted for being both one of the most scientifically realistic and visually innovative science-fiction films ever made while maintaining an enigmatic non-linear storyline. He voluntarily withdrew his film A Clockwork Orange from England, after it was accused of inspiring copycat crimes which in turn resulted in threats against Kubrick's family. His films were largely successful at the box-office, although Barry Lyndon performed poorly in the United States. Living authors Anthony Burgess and Stephen King were both unhappy with Kubrick's adaptations of their novels A Clockwork Orange and The Shining respectively, and both authors were engaged with subsequent adaptations. All of Kubrick's films from the mid-1950s to his death except for The Shining were nominated for Oscars, Golden Globes, or BAFTAs. Although he was nominated for an Academy Award as a screenwriter and director on several occasions, his only personal win was for the special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Even though all of his films, apart from the first two, were adapted from novels or short stories, his works have been described by Jason Ankeny and others as "original and visionary". Although some critics, notably Andrew Sarris and Pauline Kael, frequently disparaged Kubrick's work, Ankeny describes Kubrick as one of the most "universally acclaimed and influential directors of the postwar era" with a "standing unique among the filmmakers of his day."
Description above from the Wikipedia article Stanley Kubrick, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
User Reviews
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Viewing A Clockwork Orange for the AFI Project
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From February 8, 2009:
What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here: http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25756.aspx
A Clockwork Orange is on the following AFI lists:
The Original Top 100 (#46)
100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies (#21)
100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains (Alex De Large is the #12 villain)
The Revised Top 100 (#70)
10 Top 10's (#4 Science Fiction)
I watched A Clockwork Orange instantly on Netflix using the little TV streaming device offered by that service, which I bought to accompany my new large-screen TV. The whole experience was thrilling - watching a crazy, eye-poppingly colored film in high definition for the first time! Of course, I digress. I had intended to read the novel on which the film is based, written by Anthony Burgess, first, but, sadly, reading books nowadays for me has taken a back seat to other free-time activities, such as consuming films. As such, I had no idea what to expect again, though I knew from hearsay about the film that it was one big long strain of weird. So, if anything, I expected to be treated to weird on my new TV, in large, crystal clear detail. In that, I was not disappointed.
A Clockwork Orange was co-adapted, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick, marking his third and final entry on the AFI's Original list (after 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dr. Strangelove). The central character is teenaged Londoner Alex De Large (Malcolm McDowell), who also narrates his tale. Alex spends his days pursuing his pleasures, which include "ultraviolence," rape, and getting high (so the film implies) on milk at the local milkbar as we...
View full review
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reviewed by Pippin2010 (Filmaster.com) on the 4th of March 2010
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Kubrick's vision is brilliant, but also unrelenting and vicious. This is not a happy projection, and the feral pleasures that it documents are profoundly disturbing, especially when you consider the resignation of the society in which they take place.