Born To Droogie (Clockwork Orange (DVD))

Member Name: thehud

Product:	Clockwork Orange (DVD)
Date:	15/10/02 (181 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Violence, Sex, Hatred

Disadvantages: Now dated

The phrase Cult Movie Classic could have been made for the movie A Clockwork Orange, made by the renowned Stanley Kubrick in 1971 from the novel by Anthony Burgess. It had three controversial years out in the light of day and was then withdrawn from release by Kubrick himself. The film and the novel were savage indictments of violence and hedonistic life, but was claimed by the moral guardians of the time to give rise to the less desirable sectors of society apeing some of the shocking actions shown in the film.

Kubrick was disgusted by the attitude of the holier than thou merchants who had completely missed the point and frothed at the mouth with righteous indignation. The film had earned lurid headlines for its outrageous portrayal of a decadent and violent world set somewhere in the future, and spawned a host of followers who dressed in the style of the lead character Alex and his thuggish gang of Droogs, in bowler hats and white tights. The withdrawal only heightened the appeal and mystique of the film and led to its legendary status. It quickly added to its infamous status and so powerful were the memories in those who saw it in that first period that it became widely regarded as worse than it actually was. Thus, a re-release in 2000 left many wondering what all the fuss was about, because A Clockwork Orange had not aged very gracefully.

However, leaving aside the hype and over the top headlines, this film is an extraordinary piece of work which still has a great many relevant points to make.

Just before I launch into the review, however, just a quick reference. One of the better sites dedicated to the film can be found at http://www.clockworkorange.com - where you get all sorts of goodies, although the speed of the sound is pretty damned pedestrian, so I'd advise you to leave yourself a decent hour or two if you want to enjoy the content.

However, to give you an example, here's the site's take on Kubrick&#
39;s history: "Stanley Kubrick, b. New York City, July 26, 1928, is an American film writer, director, and producer with a virtually legendary status as an idiosyncratic master. While working as a photojournalist for Life magazine, Kubrick made an inconspicuous entrance into filmmaking with Fear and Desire (1953) and Killer's Kiss (1955). After his crime thriller The Killing (1956), critics began to take notice of his taut, brilliant style and bleakly cynical outlook. Paths of Glory (1957) solidified his reputation as a filmmaker interested in depicting the individual at the mercy of a hostile world. In Spartacus (1960), Kubrick met the challenge of bringing a costume spectacle to the screen. Lolita (1962), based on the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, received mixed reviews. But Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), was enthusiastically hailed for its black-comedy vision of atomic-age apocalypse. His 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and A Clockwork Orange (1971), both made in England, where Kubrick worked since 1961, engendered intense critical controversy, but the former has now become widely accepted as a landmark in modern cinema. His later films are Barry Lyndon (1975), a visually arresting adaptation of a minor Thackeray novel; The Shining (1980), a domestic horror tale; Full Metal Jacket (1987), about the Vietnam War; and Eyes Wide Shut, about sexual desires (1999)." Get the picture?


Okay, back to the matter at hand.

A Clockwork Orange stars Malcolm McDowell as the lead character, Alex, and features a host of other up and coming stars of the day, who went on to bigger things. Alex is the leader of a gang of thugs known as Droogs who roam the streets of an amoral, decadent future world, dealing out death destruction, violence and rape in equal measures, with not even a backward glance.

Eventually, Alex oversteps the mark once too often and falls foul of the law, and is used and abused
by his captives and politicians to test out their chemical suppressants.

The key message is that, violent and evil as the deeds and words of the Droogs are, the self righteous social engineering and oppression of the powers that be are just as reprehensible, especially as they claim the higher moral ground as their own.

The film glories in the violence and horror of the Droog attacks and lingers lovingly over every punch, every kick, every violent assault and rape, every ripping of clothes, with Alex kicking out at one helpless victim in time as he sings I'm Singing In The Rain.

The danger is that the vivid recreation of street crime and hate is too real, even though they seek to parody it and point up the ugliness and pointlessness of it all. There are far too many ignorant people around for such metaphor and satire to be altogether safe and it is easy to see what damage this film could have caused at the time, with the skinhead movement revelling in the images and violence.

A Clockwork Orange was so powerful and horrific that despite the passage of thirty years it is still a terrible and chilling piece, despite the obvious campness and over the top nature which was so ubiquitous in British films of the time.

I wouldn't watch this film for enjoyment, and you have to be in the right mood to suffer its rage and power, but it is undoubtedly effective and disturbing, well meriting its notoriety.

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