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?
Author Anthony Burgess allegedly complained that this film adaptation of his novel became so talked-about that it overshadowed everything else he did. Director Stanley Kubrick’s film was a shocking, nasty experience in 1971 and still is, even though the black sense of humor may look even stronger today. It is a story about exploiters, victims and the darkest corners of the human psyche, just the way Kubrick likes it. Watching A Clockwork Orange is not a pleasure, and not even that fascinating to me, but it is nevertheless stunning eye candy.
Hanging at the local milk bar
Some time in the future, teenager Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) and his “droogs” (buddies to those of you who aren’t down with the teen lingo of the future) spend their nights hanging at the local milk bar where the drink is spiked, preparing to engage in some of “the old ultra-violence”, which involves beating up defenseless hobos and raping women. It isn’t all fueled by drugs; Alex loves listening to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and fantasizing about acts of violence. Suddenly, he discovers that his leadership is challenged by the droogs and exacts revenge in a forceful way, subsequently making them all promise to stay loyal to him.
During the group’s next assault, everything goes wrong for Alex. They break into a house where a single woman lives, but she defends herself and Alex ends up beating her to death with a giant penis-shaped statue. He is then struck down by his droogs who leave him at the house for the police to pick up. Alex is sent to jail where he hears about a new experimental procedure for rehabilitating criminals…
Fascination for the vulgar
The director was criticized for the violence to the degree that he decided to withdraw the film in Britain; it wasn’t released again until after Kubrick’s death. There is indeed a fascination for the vulgar and extreme here; when something sexual is seen onscreen it is usually stark images of crotches or a depiction of rape and there’s plenty of raw violence. Off-putting is one way of describing it, but Kubrick’s point is that there is nothing humane about the characters or the society they live in. Alex ends up being a victim… but in the beginning of the film he does awful things and his psychopathic lack of a conscience is on display throughout the film. Those who represent the “better” parts of society invoke a general desire to keep the streets safe for normal people but have no qualms about breaking every moral code there is in doing so. The government is cold, ruthless and punishing but its members never forget to smile as they continue the cycle of physical or mental violence.
Fans of the director will recognize and admire his long takes and eye-popping sets. The costumes are unforgettable; Alex and his droogs in their oft-imitated white shirts, pants with suspenders, cane, black boots and bowler hats.
Malcolm McDowell has never impressed us quite the way he does here as wicked, poor Alex.
McDowell has never impressed us quite the way he does here as wicked, poor Alex… but my impression of the film is somewhat muted by a sluggishness at several points and an ending that is less interesting than the one in the original novel.
A Clockwork Orange 1971-U.S.-U.K. 137 min. Color. Produced, written and directed by Stanley Kubrick. Novel: Anthony Burgess. Cinematography: John Alcott. Production Design: John Barry. Cast: Malcolm McDowell (Alex DeLarge), Patrick Magee (Frank Alexander), Michael Bates (Chief Guard), Adrienne Corri, Aubrey Morris, James Marcus… Steven Berkoff.
Trivia: At different points, John Schlesinger and Ken Russell were considered as director, in the latter case with Mick Jagger in the lead. Jeremy Irons and Oliver Reed were reportedly considered for the part of Alex. Andy Warhol also made an adaptation of the Burgess novel, Vinyl (1965). Later a stage play.
Quote: “There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie and Dim. And we sat in the Korova Milkbar, trying to make up our razudoks what to do with the evening. The Korova Milkbar sold milk-plus; milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and get you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence.” (McDowell)
Last word: “As far as I was concerned, we’d made a wonderful black comedy. So when it came out, I was shocked and rather pissed that the audience didn’t get the humor. But this is the difference between the audiences then and audiences now. Because if you see it with an audience now as I have done, I saw it a few years ago, the audiences are on every laugh that I thought was funny. I thought I was making a black comedy, which I was! But the look and the message is so overwhelming and so… look, no movie had looked like this before this movie. Nothing had looked like this. Now, everybody from Madonna to David Bowie copies it. And my god, they all wear the eyelash and the bowler, I mean how many times have I got to see that? And the codpiece.” (McDowell, Collider)
