Ultra Violent (Clockwork Orange (DVD))

Member Name: lilizard

Product:	Clockwork Orange (DVD)
Date:	08/08/01 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Thought provoking, Infamous

Disadvantages: Has a bad reputation

I first saw this film when it was re-released at the cinema a year or 2 ago, lured by it's previous banned status and intrigued by what I had heard about its violence and strange language. I am glad to say I was not disappointed, in fact I was riveted, entertained, appalled and made to think.

Having just bought the video, I found watching the film a second time made me appreciate the cinematography and themes even moreso than on the first viewing.

Based on the novel by Anthony Burgess the film tells the story of the self-proclaimed "humble narrator" Alex, a young man who is the leader of one of numerous gangs of youths who terrorise the inhabitants of an England of the future. This future is a strange mixture of bizarre modern interiors and all too familiar industrial cityscapes.

Alex's gang frequent a milk bar before heading out into the night to indulge in fights, beatings, rapes, robberies and murders. It is meaningless, impulsive violence and consequently this is what caused a great deal of the controversy surrounding the film, portrayed as it is in a graphic but strangely choreographed manner.

Following a murder, Alex is arrested and imprisoned, where he manages to convince the officials to put him forward for a new treatment professing to cure violent offenders, allowing them to be released early. The treatment is horrific; Alex is strapped into a chair, unable to turn his head, his eyes forced open and made to watch violent films. At the same time he is given drugs to induce feelings of exteme nausea, to condition him against violent tendencies. Once 'cured' the government use him as a puppet to attempt to remain in office.

The second half of the film concentrates on his experiences following release and many of his old crimes return to haunt him. To say more would really spoil the plot and the key to the film, but suffice to say it is gripping and thought provoking to the end.


I didn't find the film particularly disturbing and it is also ironic that it was banned for its violence; the effects of which are a vital theme of the film. I would recommend people to watch 'A Clockwork Orange' to make up their own mind about it. not to be swayed to an opinion by the controversy and stigma surrounding it.

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